'Swing the Bat' Swings Into Action in a Tiny Wings-esque Kind of Way

Vampires have all the fun. What media have they yet to dominate? They’re the stars of best-selling books, blockbuster movies, high-rated television shows. You think you can walk through a mall without a stare-down with a fanged heartthrob’s cardboard cutout? Think again. Few remember that even vampires have humble beginnings—furry, winged beginnings. Bats were almost forgotten by today’s mainstream media, until app developer Chillingo’s recent release of Swing the Bat.

Okay, okay, so maybe Swing the Bat won’t break box office records like a certain sparkly vampire, but it will make for hours of enjoyable game-play. The premise of the game? Well, you quite literally must swing the bat. Players tap to swing a tiny black bat across a screen of towering trees or through the narrow tunnel of a cave. You gain points by eating fruit and maintaining consistently solid swings.

You gain momentum by swinging accurately and timely. (A brief training mode at the start of the game will show you when to tap and release during your swing.) Eat 15 fruits to enable flying capabilities, and eat more to remain in the air. But be careful to avoid some very violent animals hanging around in the trees or running amuck on the ground. Pandas and tigers with planks (Oh my!)

There are two game modes: “dusk til dawn” and “night fire”, that offer daytime or nighttime gameplay. You can also customize your bat’s “look” with different headgear including cowboy hats and graduation caps. Unlock new looks by hitting point goals. Swing the Bat bears a striking resemblance to the similarly formatted game Tiny Wings. However, this acrobatic bat could probably swing circles around that roly-poly Tiny Wings bird.

Slow load time becomes an issue as you progress, and the swinging motion feels a bit unnatural. Chillingo’s app still has addict potential, and your swing finger will be tired in no time. If Chillingo sounds familiar, it’s because they’re responsible for a few of the most popular app games to date: Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. With a track record like that, it’s easy to fall short of prior successes.

Although Swing the Bat doesn’t offer quite the same amount of additct-creating fun as some of Chillingo’s earlier releases, it still flies into action fast and offers a nice “bite me” to those freeloading vampires. AppPicker Rating: 3 / 5 Stars Pick It Up in the App Store: Swing the Bat Other apps by Chillingo

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67uI9kqjftg