Take me out to the …

“Backyard Baseball”

••• (out of four)

Atari for PlayStation 2 (also available for GameCube), $29.99. Rating: E (Everyone).

The Backyard Kids are at it again, this time in a baseball game that features a whole lot of cute action and 14 pros (playing as kids, natch) to spice things up.

Appropriately for the series, the controls are pretty easy to pick up, and the tutorial-practice mode offers more than just the basics. Once you’re done, it’s off to the real games, with a choice between a pickup match you can play immediately, a longer career-style mode and mini-games, such as Home Run Derby, and shorter games against the machine with specific objectives.

I love the “Backyard” series in general because it’s always good fun, a hoot to watch, and the games are among few sports titles specifically aimed at kids. Baseball is no different.

This one won’t win any prizes for animation, though the character designs are clean and the backgrounds reasonably detailed. Game play is more arcade-style than simulation. Special power-ups give you the ability to multiply the ball, or split it, or a number of other goofy animations, which are a hoot to use. It’s possible – even common – to make triple plays.

On the flip side, don’t expect simulation-like precision out of the controls. I found it unpredictable to direct where my fielders should go, and the pitch sometimes didn’t respond precisely to my efforts, either.

You can choose the lineup of players on your team, design custom players, pick your logo and even pick the fields you play on. They’re not major-league parks, as in most of the “Backyard” games, but rather are typically corner pickup diamonds.

There isn’t much multiplayer action in this title, other than a few token attempts in the mini games. That’s surprising, because this game would be a lot more enjoyable if you could play someone else.

Still, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a fun title to pick up on a lark over the weekend. Don’t expect perfection, but enjoy it for what it is: a lightweight, lighthearted take on the old ball game.