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Humongous Entertainment steps up to the plate with another release in its sports series and hits a home run. With original animation, a delicate mix of Major and Little League rules, and kid versions of Major League Baseball heroes, Backyard Baseball 2001 is an excellent sports title for kids. A lighthearted feeling of a pick-up game combined with simple controls and fun power-ups will draw kids in for the long haul as they bat their way to a world series championship under a real life team name like the Reds or a name all their own.
For kids (and grownups) who know anything about baseball, they can delight in choosing a roster of a baseball greats such as Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Randy Johnson, and Ken Griffey Jr. just to name a few. Their sweetly animated kid-versions can be combined with the Backyard Sports series regulars, or users can comprise a team of all superstars. Whatever players are left behind after assembling a team will be placed on the opposing team, which is nice since generic computer opposition is avoided. Mixing up the characters provides the most fun, and creates the best teams since only a few pro pitchers are available. Once a team is chosen, players can designate the batting lineup and their outfield positions. Single games and series games are both options, and many other features can be customized such as choosing if the game should be six or nine innings. Younger players can customize the controls and strike zone as well as play with a tee, while more experienced PC armchair athletes can turn off the pitch locator and select the hard setting for a more challenging game. Hardcore PC sports fans however, may not like this game because of its simplicity.
Regardless of chosen settings, the games play out much like any baseball game minus any poor sportsmanship. Batters can bunt, steal bases, but cannot hit the batter with a pitch. Depending on the sound control settings, players will hear a lot of chatter and off the wall commentary. A few choice phrases such as 'we want a batter, not a broken ladder,' are mostly humorous, but the repetitive chanting could potentially grate the nerves of some adults. In fairness, all the silly incantations are perfectly inline with an adolescent baseball game, and can actually be very funny.
Both the batting and pitching power-ups add to the overall good time most players will already be having. Pitching power-ups are earned with every strike out, and it's not an impossible feat. The fireball is the best pitch to throw, but since it costs the pitcher's entire juice box stamina it should be used wisely. Strategically, the power-ups alter the game only slightly. In other words, you can still win without them; yet certainly add to the fun. In addition to these added 'bonuses,' the game boasts possibly the easiest controls of any Backyard Sport to date. Though it supports a gamepad, a good working mouse will suffice. The large arrow icons pointing the way to navigating the game are also simple for kids to use.
Backyard Baseball 2001 is a great selection for young sports fans. Being the first title to feature child versions of real life players, it relates to kids and appeals to their interest in the sport. The game has plenty of fun and kid-friendly features and is definitely one of the better sports titles for children. It wouldn't be a seventh inning stretch to say most kids will want to play over and over.
People who downloaded Backyard Baseball 2001 have also downloaded:
Backyard Baseball, Backyard Soccer, MVP Baseball 2005, Oregon Trail Deluxe, RollerCoaster Tycoon Deluxe, Game of Life, Zoo Tycoon 2, Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings
I am a big fan of the Backyard Baseball series and Backyard Baseball 2003 is one of the more fun entries in the series. Many people do not realize just what a big deal this series was. It lasted for around a decade and showed up on a ton of different systems over the years.
Batter Up!
The point of Backyard Baseball 2003 is to give players the chance to play baseball like they did when they were kids. It is such a clever idea as when it comes to kid sports there is just something so very wholesome, fun and adorable about baseball. While the game is all about kids, it features kid versions of some of the players of the day and that is pretty awesome if you ask me.
Like A Cartoon
One of my favorite aspects of the series is the presentation. I know that you could easily make the argument that Backyard Baseball 2003 does not look a whole lot different from the previous game and that is fair. However, there is so much charm here and I do think that things look that little bit sharper and the kids look awesome and just like the kids you would play with at recess when you were at school.
Speaking of recess that is what the graphics actually remind me of, Recess the TV show. That along with other late 90s early 00s kids shows like All Grown Up.
Step Up To The Mound
While it has a cutesy kind of art style and a look like it is a game for kids. Backyard Baseball 2003 actually plays a really great game of baseball. This is the perfect blend of realistic baseball action and arcade fun and as a result, it is very addictive. No matter if you are pitching or batting, the gameplay is nice and tight and you have plenty of different moves that you can do so you can play the game just the way you want.
Plenty To Do
The main game mode is your season. Here you make up your team and then try to take them to backyard baseball glory. It is awesome how they managed to use actual teams in the game and it does make it that little bit more fun if you ask me. The season is very addictive, but if you want to just jump in and have a quick game you can do that. What is neat about that is you can pick all kinds of options ranging from the park you play in, the difficulty, how long the game lasts and so on.Backyard Baseball 2003 also puts a lot of effort into the actual players. You can customize them if you want and that is cool, but what I really like is the way the game will track stats and it even has a hall of fame which for a stats nerd like me was a lot of fun.
In all, I feel that Backyard Baseball 2003 is another solid entry into the series. It is a fun baseball game and the kid style it has really does have a lot of charm. This is a game that can be found on many old game sites, but even tracking down a physical copy is easy and cheap to do. If you like older baseball games, you know before they got all serious. Backyard Baseball 2003 is one that you will have a lot of fun with.
8/10
Pros:
- I really do love the presentation
- Kid versions of the pros are adorable
- The season mode is very addictive
- The actual baseball is a lot of fun
- Getting players into the hall of fame
Cons:
- Not a whole lot different to the last game
- Despite the kiddie look, it can be tough