Backyard Baseball 2009 (Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, Windows)

BACKYARD BASEBALL 2009 is a return of an Atari favorite, last seen in Backyard Baseball 2007, with an expanded cast of real baseball players. The game imagines professional players as children in a backyard baseball lot playing with other children of all races.

There are six different games in all. Play Now and Pickup Game are one- or two-person games. The former randomly selects the players for each team, the latter allows you to pick your game options, teams, and players. Tournament allows up to 8 players to pick a favorite team and play a series of games, Season is the single player game with the most options including selecting coaches. Home Run Derby is a 2- or 4-player mini-game to hit the most home runs, and the All-Star Game fields only Pro players as kids on your team.

What makes this game so good for kids is that the controls are simple. Flick the Wii remote like you are throwing a baseball to pitch and swing it like a baseball bat to bat. The force of the throw and the force and timing of the swing does make a difference but neither is too difficult for a child.

Two wacky commentators add to the fun. Plus, the game features "power ups" which are unusual powers that create unpredictable results. A "Slime Ball" covers the ball with goo so that when you hit it, and no one can field it. Another excellent feature is that the players have moods. Good days, Okay days, and Bad days affect players' performance on the field.