Derek Jeter: Real Baseball Review

Derek Jeter: Real Baseball is an impressive game by Gameloft that gives the full experience of baseball on your iPhone/iPod Touch. However, don’t purchase this title thinking you’ll be playing with the Mets or Yankees. Derek Jeter: Real Baseball has nothing to do with Derek Jeter or ‘real’ baseball. Even though it has fake teams, the game is still extremely amusing. Gameloft uses graphics and the excellent gameplay to compensate for what they are missing; legit teams/players.

Real Baseball, by Gameloft, offers two stadiums, and a variety of unauthentic teams. You can play from Rookie all the way to Legend. Several game modes are featured in Derek Jeter: Real Baseball. These include “Season Mode,” where you play 162 games, “Playoffs,” and “Home Run Contest,” where you see how many home runs you can hit. A Trophy Room is also available to view all the trophies you’ve earned (Hitter of the Year, Playoff Champion, etc.) These are just like achievements.

Controlling your character in Derek Jeter: Real Baseball is pretty simple. When batting, you have to options to hit the ball. You can simply hit the ball, once you have proper timing, or you can use the special slider to hit the ball. The slider is located on the right of the screen and you drag the icon down once ready and slide it back up when you choose to swing the bat. You can also steal bases and choose where you want your character to be (first base, home, etc.) When you are pitching, you first aim the ball (make sure it’s in the box, unless you want a “ball.”) Then you choose your pitch type (cutter, fastball, etc.) And then you’re good to go. You can tap a base on the mini map depending on where you want the ball to go. That’s controls in Derek Jeter: Real Baseball.

Graphics are fairly impressive in Real Baseball. They are some of the best the iPhone has to offer, when it comes to baseball games. The detail really blows me away. However, there definitely is room for improvement. I’m not asking for PS3 MLB 09’ graphics on an HD TV. But, the graphics aren’t at it’s best; they are the best for a baseball game though, just not best in general. It would be nice to see better graphics. The stadiums and the crowds don’t have much detail into it.

Therefore, Derek Jeter: Real Baseball isn’t so realistic, however, it is a very fun game. The gameplay is great and the game is just fun, in general. It would be nice to see authentic teams such as the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, or even more stadiums. But Gameloft compensates for this by adding nice graphics and bringing a full baseball experience to iPhone.

Pros:

Decent graphics

Full baseball experience

Excellent gameplay

Game modes

Cons:

Unrealistic teams/stadiums

Poor commentary

Bottom Line: If you’re looking for a baseball game that gives you full experience, Derek Jeter: Real Baseball is definitely the way to go. Without real teams or stadiums, the graphics, low price, and gameplay definitely add a lot of entertainment to this app.

Ratings:

Graphics: 4/5

Gameplay: 4.75/5

Controls: 5/5

Sound: 3/5

Replay Value: 3/5

Overall: 7/10 (not an average)

Derek Jeter: Real Baseball, $.99