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!

If you haven't played Backyard Baseball 2003 or want to try this sports video game, download it now for free! Published in 2002 by Infogrames, Inc., Backyard Baseball 2003 is still a popular baseball title amongst retrogamers, with a whopping 4.3/5 rating. Backyard Sports Baseball Online Humongous Entertainment reached back into the past and captured all those childhood memories of baseball and digitally assembled them into this game. All the details that make the memories real are here - from the kids taunting the pitcher to the child with the asthma inhaler.

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.

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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

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Cons:

• Not a whole lot different to the last game
• Despite the kiddie look, it can be tough

Backyard Baseball 2001 broke ground by being the first game in the beloved series to feature major league baseball players. A streamlined batting and pitching system combined with an easy learning curve made this game accessible for all ages.

Team Selection

All 30 Major League Baseball teams are available for use. There is also a selection of the classic Backyard Baseball teams, such as the Watermelon Heads and the Wombats. Customizable team colors and nicknames are available for custom teams.

MLB Players

31 MLB players are playable in the game, one from every team in the 2001 season (2 from the Cincinnati Reds):

• Jeff Bagwell (Houston Astros)
• Carlos Beltrán (Kansas City Royals)
• Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants)
• Jeromy Burnitz (Milwaukee Brewers)
• Jose Canseco (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
• Marty Cordova (Minnesota Twins)
• Nomar Garciaparra (Boston Red Sox)
• Jason Giambi (Oakland Athletics)
• Alex Gonzalez (Florida Marlins)
• Juan Gonzalez (Detroit Tigers)
• Shawn Green (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Ken Griffey Jr. (Cincinnati Reds)
• Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal Expos)
• Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres)
• Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
• Randy Johnson (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves)
• Jason Kendall (Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Barry Larkin (Cincinnati Reds)
• Kenny Lofton (Cleveland Indians)
• Mark McGwire (St. Louis Cardinals)
• Raul Mondesi (Toronto Blue Jays)
• Mike Piazza (New York Mets)
• Cal Ripken Jr. (Baltimore Orioles)
• Alex Rodriguez (Seattle Mariners)
• Ivan Rodriguez (Texas Rangers)
• Curt Schilling (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Sammy Sosa (Chicago Cubs)
• Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox)
• Mo Vaughn (Anaheim Angels)
• Larry Walker (Colorado Rockies)

Fictional Players

Included alongside the 31 MLB players were the original 30 characters whom were all included in the first installment of Backyard Baseball.

1. Jocinda Smith
2. Ronny Dobbs
3. Mario Luna
4. Tony Delvecchio
5. Dimitri Petrovich
6. Gretchen Hasselhoff
7. Lueane Lui
8. Annie Frazier
9. Mikey Thomas
10. Lisa Crocket
11. Amir Khan
12. Sally Dobbs
13. Vicki Kawaguchi
14. Reese Worthington
15. Kenny Kawaguchi
16. Stephanie Morgan
17. Ashely Weber
18. Marky Dubois
19. Billy Jean Blackwood
20. Ernie Steele

Create a Player

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Game Types

Power-ups

During the game, you are rewarded both batting and pitching power-ups. To get a batting power-up, you need to make a double or triple play. To get a pitching power-up, you must get a strikeout with your pitcher.

Pitching Power-ups

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• Big Freeze: Right before the pitch reaches the plate, it freezes in place, throwing off the batter's timing
• Corkscrew: Does a circular spiral towards the plate
• : As the name suggests, it goes in all different directions
• Elevator: The pitch rides the ground on the way to the plate, but quickly rises right before reaching the strikezone
• Fire Ball: An extremely fast pitch
• More Juice: Refreshes pitching stamina
• Slo-Mo: An extremely slow pitch
• : Reduces hitting power when contact is made
• Zig-Zag: Extreme horizontal movement

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Batting Power-ups

• Aluminum Power: The batters' wood bat transforms into an aluminum bat, increasing the chance of a home run
• Crazy Bunt: A bunt that goes in all different directions. The only way the ball can be stopped is if a player touches it or if it hits a fence
• Screaming Line Drive: A lightening fast line drive that screams while in the air
• Under Grounder: Causes the ball to disappear into the ground, then reappear randomly in the outfield