Backyard Baseball '10 - Review and Giveaway

So, I think I have a problem. I think I play too many shooters. I got this game, Backyard Baseball 2010, to review and give away. Great, I thought to myself, a new game and, more importantly, a new game for the Wii and one which I can share with readers. Boo-yah. Win-win. I fired up the Wii last night, stretched (dude, I'm nearly 42-years-old - I stretch to brush my teeth) and prepared myself for a little hard ball. I stacked my team with some pros - Big Papi, CC Sabathia, Josh Hamilton, among others - and some kids and prepared to face off against cough the Royals cough. Time for an ass-whuppin'. Little did I know it would be mine.

Just a quick note: I never read the manual for a game. I break that puppy out of its case, put it in the tray and away we go. Not the way to go with this game. RTFM! I was wondering why my curve ball was grooving the center of the plate; why my slider decided to grow the size of a beach ball as it hit the strike zone; and why my change up was the equivalent of hitting it off a tee. Turns out, had I read the manual, I would have learned I can actually change the location with the nunchuck. Heh, go figure. Maybe should have learned that before I was six runs in the hole. Note to self. As competitive as I am, I was little annoyed at getting shelled by the f'in Royals so I wanted to throw inside to little Kenny - a little towheaded left-fielder who had some slugging power - but the controller kept vibrating and getting angrier and angrier that I wanted to throw outside the strike zone - my game has a conscience? Son-of-a....Know what else I learned? Can't charge the mound when a pitcher gets a little close either. My gamer instinct tells me I should be able to beat the pitcher about the head and shoulders with the bat until he's a bloody pulp (Maniac on the Mound Achievement, 20 pts. FTW!), but the Wii is too cute and nice to let that happen. Silly non-violent video games.

Anyway, once I got the feel for the game, it was quite enjoyable to play, I especially liked that I was able to work on some hitting in the Home Run Derby as it does take some time to get the timing down pat. It's also nice to go yard 596 ft. deep too. Some other highlights:

* All 32 MLB teams, logos, uniforms.
* Updated roster with pros from every team including David Ortiz, Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro, Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, Ryan Howard.
* Season play with stats & standings.
* Tournament & All Star modes.
* Improved game controls for precise & intuitive hitting, pitching, fielding.
* Superior gameplay—more variety, options, rewards.
* New fields, lighting, art, unlockables.
* Custom Players and teams.
* New audio—improved scripting, voice, play-by-play.
* New personalized player announcing (kids can have their own name in the game).
* Hall of Fame Kid teams from previous version of Backyard Baseball.
* Multiple levels of difficulty.

It was a fun game to play - it would be nice if Atari could release some downloadable content, though. Maybe they could introduce a zombie team. And, oh, oh, a team of ninjas. Nijas vs. zombies in Backyard Baseball. How cool is that?

I'm giving away a copy (maybe two) of this newly release title. Here's how you win: remember those number puzzles that got passed around during your early cubicle rat days? (Example: 26 L of the A=26 Letters of the Alphabet) Well, below you'll find a baseball-themed (maybe heavy on the Red Sox, who knows) one for you to try and answer. The winner (or winners - depends how magnanimous I'm feeling on Tax Day) will be the first to answer them all correctly and will be announced Wednesday, April 15. For another chance to win and a completely different contest, go to www.dadcentric.com.

502 - in F - L M H R inside F P
47,627 - L C at F P - September 22, 1935
762* - H R H by B B
232 - D the '94 B S L
30  - M L B T
20 - I in L G P at F P
33 - R S P in H of F
2,632 - C G P by C R, Jr.
5,714 - M S O
4,256 - M H (held by P R)