Backyard Baseball for PlayStation 2

by Atari

Product Features

• Great 3D action as you play with a group of 30 Backyard Kids and 10 pro players -- Sammy Sosa, Randy Johnson, Mike Piazza, Derek Jeter and more
• Create your own line-up, uniforms, and team names -- then hit the backyards for a real backyard ballgame
• Gorgeous 3D environments -- you'll practically feel the roar of the crowd, the warm summer air, even the dirt on your pants
• Create and save your own custom players, and track player and team stats easily
• Play single games or go through an entire season for fun baseball action!

Product Details

• ASIN: B0000V475I
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,261 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #21 in Video Games > PlayStation 2 > Sports > Baseball
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Backyard Baseball is your chance to play with your favorite pros as kids, in a fun backyard league!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FUN BASEBALL GAME FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES!!!, April 9, 2004

By 

SwellBooks (Park Ridge, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backyard Baseball for PlayStation 2 (Video Game)

This game is really and truly fun to play and I think kids of ALL ages will enjoy it. It's the most fun I've had playing a video baseball game since "RBI BASEBALL" for the Sega Genisus.

You play as either big name pros as kids (Sammy Sosa, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza) or a selection of cute backyard kids (one kid's in a wheelchair) in a series of nice looking 3-D ballparks such as a junkyard, a drive-in theater, a desert, a glass dome underwater and more ( 11 in all, 3 locked as you start the game). The controls are a bit hard to learn with a lot of things to memorize but with practice you'll be playing like a pro after only a couple of games.

There is season play mode (16 or 32 games, with a mid-season all-star game and playoffs and world series) or single game mode. Mini-games (Home Run Derby, Fielding Practice) are also included. There is also complete stat tracking in season play mode.

The graphics are quite nice. The parks look great with cars and trucks driving by on the streets, birds flying overhead, alligators in the water of the park in the swamp (Gator Fields), and crowd noises, etc. The players also look very nice. They may be too cute for some but if you liked the characters in the "HOT SHOTS GOLF" series, you should like these guys and gals. I like the kid in the wheelchair (Kenny Kawaguichi). He's a great leadoff hitter with lots of speed. He leads the league in stolen bases (31) after only 17 games!!!

Once you learn the controls the game is maybe too easy on rookie mode, but there are two harder modes that give you more of a challenge.

The only negative I can find in the game is the very repetitive play-by-play by the two cartoon announcers and the various phrases the players repeat over and over again. But some of it is funny, and after a season and a half of play, I really have gotten used to the inane chatter ( which, I believe, can be turned off if you wish). But this shouldn't deter you from this game.

In conclusion, I recommend this game most highly. It is fun to play and looks quite nice and that is all one can ask for in a game. Try it, I think you'll like it! -George Bauch.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So Much Fun!, April 15, 2004

By 

ChaucerCat "ChaucerCat" (Staten Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backyard Baseball for PlayStation 2 (Video Game)

When I first heard about Backyard Baseball, I said, "I have to buy it," even though I'm not the world's biggest baseball fan (that distinction belongs to my best friend Christina). It looked like such a cute, fun game that wouldn't be too technical to play.

I started by running through the tutorials. I had no problem with the batting tutorial once I learned how the controls worked. I ran into a problem with the fielding tutorial, however. One of the fielding scenarios was impossible for me to complete, even after several dozen tries. There just wasn't enough time allotted! And you can't move on in the tutorial until you've completed each scenario in turn. So I gave up on that, even though completing the tutorial unlocks one of the "goodies" (more on that later)

So then I tried a mini-game against the CPU. It was really fun! My husband Matt, who hates sports in general and baseball in particular, was so intregued he asked if he could play too. He enjoyed it! So then we figured we would start a season together, and discovered that the 2-player feature is only for the mini-games. A little disappointing.

So I put together a team of my own (an all-girl Yankee team), and I even created a custom player, which was neat, and started season play. It really is fun! What I especially liked was that the players (even the ones controlled by the CPU!) can make mistakes--dropping the ball, overshooting a base, stuff like that. It gives a sense of randomness to the game that is very refreshing.

My only complaints are these: 1. the color commentary, which is given by a voice actor who very, very badly wants to be Jon Lovitz, gets quite annoying after a few games, mostly because he repeats the same things over and over. 2. You can't trade your players for other "backyard kids", only for one of the unlocked professional players.

Speaking of unlocked players, completing certain tasks--getting to the playoffs, striking out so many players--will unlock other games or professional players. I haven't used any of them (all-female Yankee team, remember?) so I can't comment, but I think the goodies are neat anyway.

This is a great, fun game for everyone, baseball fanatics or not.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Game!, February 19, 2005

A Kid's Review

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Backyard Baseball for PlayStation 2 (Video Game)

Backyard Baseball for the PS2 is a very fun and addicting game. The only bad part is that you don't all the Major Leaguers at the beginning of the game, you have to earn them. This game is easy to master and has a variety of different playing fields. If you liked the Backyard Baseball on the computer you should buy this game.