There are two matters that need to be addressed right off the top. First of all, Sammy Sosa Softball Slam is a softball game, not a fastball game. There is no windmill pitching style or any kind of fast underhand pitching for that matter. In other words pitchers don't dominate, this is a hitter's game. Another aspect that should be addressed is that this game, much like the sport itself, is designed and aimed at all ages, genders and abilities. If you're expecting Softball Slam to depict the kind of competition you've experienced in softball tournaments, you'll be disappointed. Softball Slam is the kind of softball you'd find in a community league, where not all players are superstars in there own right. Now that those warnings are behind us, let's find out what Sammy Sosa Softball Slam is all about.

Softball Slam offers three modes of play: Family Mode, Single Mode and Tournament Mode. The Family Mode is very similar to the Quick Start modes we've seen in other titles, that's to say that it allows you to dive right into a softball game without worrying about all the stats, controls and other hindrances that might boggle a beginner. In the Family Mode, control is very limited. You'll only get to swing the bat and pitch, the fielding and running skills are performed by the computer for you. I suppose its termed Family Mode, not only for the ease at which you can start a game but the fact that it makes for an easy hot-seat game. The Single Mode is similar to the Family Mode except you'll control not only the batting and the pitching, but the fielding and base running as well. The Tournament Mode allows you to begin a tournament with up to 8 teams involved. This is the closest thing to a Season Mode as you'll get in Softball Slam.

Softball Slam features an assortment of leagues including both male, female and even a co-ed league to boot. Each league features an assortment of teams such as Metro Zoo, Zippy Accountants, Buffy's Gym and even Sammy's Slammers. In case you didn't see the connection, Sammy Sosa plays for the Slammers although you can place him on other teams using the league and team editor. There's a whole medley of softball players ranging from the stereotypical male and female players right down to the guy with the huge gut (and the pickle up his ass). Softball Slam also features a player editor so you can create your own softball leagues and players.

Softball Slam uses a modified version of the High Heat Baseball engine. For those of you familiar with the engine, you'll know that it features true-to-life physics. The AI model has been changed completely to contrast the hardcore style of High Heat Baseball. During a single game you might see players come up to the plate with a drink in their hand. You'll see players brace themselves and constantly miss fly balls. I even witnessed an outfielder go for a fly ball only to have it hit him on the head and knock him out, literally. Players will do cartwheels and summersaults as they 'dive' for ground balls. Players will annoyingly throw the ball away, an event that takes place at least 30 times a game. What I'm trying to say is you'll witness somewhere between 20-60 errors in a single game. The scores will run themselves well into the 50's at times. I've participated in games that ended as high as 57-52 and that was with the ten run rule in play.

Softball Slam is a game that is probably best described as 'cute' or 'fun'. Unfortunately, it's the kind of fun that you either love to hate, or hate to love. For me, it was entertaining the first couple of times around, but wore thin the more games I played. It was fun watching the fat guy waddle like a duck, like he has a pickle up his ass, but it's only funny for so long. Wait a second, the pickle up the ass bit never grows old, but the rest of the comedic errors seen throughout the game did get old, fast. I could certainly see a younger gamer having fun with the humorous events taking place, but don't you think he or she would become frustrated when they're constantly getting scored on and they can't do anything to prevent it?

Softball Slam's graphics follow the same rule that High Heat Baseball's do. The rule states that anything within the field of play will look fantastic while things outside of the field of play will look absolutely horrendous up close. Much like High Heat Baseball, the background graphics are terrible. When seen up close trees, fans, buildings and even the sky come across as 2D sprites from hell. On the field, everything looks as sweet as ever, except for the player models, which seem to have been simplified for Softball Slam as they have little to no detail in them whatsoever. High Heat Baseball 2000 had a catch. It was an incredibly realistic simulation of the game of baseball due to its physics engine, but faltered in terms of graphics at times not to mention bugs. Softball Slam features that same engine with those same graphics, but this time they aren't making use of the physics engine since realism is no longer a priority.

Softball Slam is a mixed bag when it comes to the audio department. Larry "Monster Truck" Huffman offers his boisterous voice by announcing players and giving us running commentary during the game. He's got one of those voices that you either love or hate, and after a few games of softball I was just about ready to kick his butt on SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! You can only hear "Uh Oh, here comes Burger Boy" so many times before you turn those speakers off. Softball Slam also features a fun little musical score, which is more than appropriate for the title. There are also plenty of sound effects that can be heard depending on the ballpark you choose to play in. If you decide to play a game in the Inner City Park, you might hear sirens and car alarms going off in the distance while you take a few swings. The assortment of sounds added a nice touch to the atmosphere of each park, but why I kept hearing an owl hoot in the Rural Park in the middle of the day is beyond me. Another nice touch is the availability of both day and night games, a feature that will also appears in High Heat Baseball 2001 now as well. Thank you!

In terms of multiplayer, hot-seat is the only action you'll be able to take part in. There is no support for other types of play such as Internet or LAN, so if you're looking to play with your buddies, you better be ready to invite them over.

So what's left to say about Softball Slam? Some might say the game features an over-the-top presentation that includes dynamic camera action cuts, exhilarating special effects and side-splitting animations. Others might say it just plain sucks. There's no question that Softball Slam requires a certain taste. Personally, the 'cutesy' style gameplay became annoying far too quickly. Despite the fact it's nearly impossible to strike out in this sport, Softball Slam manages to do just that.