Backyard Baseball 2001

Backyard Baseball 2001
Cover art as taken from the game's AutoRun menu featuring a child caricature of Cal Ripken Jr.[a]
Developer(s)Humongous Entertainment (original)
Mega Cat Studios (remaster)
Publisher(s)Humongous Entertainment (original)
Playground Productions (remaster)
SeriesBackyard Baseball
Backyard Sports
EngineSCUMM
Platform(s)Windows, Classic Mac OS
ReleaseOriginal (Windows, Classic Mac OS)
  • NA: June 6, 2000
[1]
'01 remaster (Windows)
  • WW: TBA
Genre(s)Sports video game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Backyard Baseball 2001 is a baseball video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. It is the fourth installment of the Backyard Sports franchise, the second installment of the Backyard Baseball series, and the first Baseball installment to include Major League Baseball teams and a MLBPA license. A remastered version of this game, retitled as Backyard Baseball '01, is planned to release for Windows via Steam in the future, following Backyard Baseball '97.[2] Cal Ripken Jr. appears on the game's cover, along with other fictional characters.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay in Backyard Baseball (1997 video game)

The gameplay of Backyard Baseball 2001 is mostly the same as in the first Backyard Baseball title and retains all of the original game's modes: Single Game (formerly Pick-Up Play), Season Play (formerly League Play), Batting Practice, Spectator, and Tee-Ball, with the addition of a mode called Online Play, which allows players to compete with each other worldwide; this mode is only available for Windows users.[1] With the new Major League Baseball license, the player has the ability to choose a major league team to play in pick up play and season mode, in addition to six of the original custom teams. Season Play has been revamped from the original game: the player can now choose the pick-up-play fields to play at home and regular season and postseason has been modified to resemble the real-life MLB, including the National and the American League's three divisions and renaming the postseason's rounds to resemble the Major League Baseball postseason, including the Backyard World Series.

The game has a revamped menu interface differing from the original release, with menu tabs allowing for quicker, easier navigation, the ability to track the stamina of all players on the player's team (rather than just the player's current pitcher during pitching) and being able to see if a player's stats have been temporarily buffed or nerfed. It also switches the playable characters' displayed skill points from the four-point system used in the first three Backyard Sports games (Backyard Baseball [1997], Backyard Soccer [1998], and Backyard Football [1999]) to a ten-point system, allowing for a more accurate reflection of the players' stats (including the aforementioned temporary buffs and nerfs).

Playable characters

Along with the original 30 playable children characters (the Backyard Kids), Backyard Baseball 2001 introduces child caricatures of 31 professional baseball players into the game's roster, each of which represent one of the Major League Baseball teams.[3] The game also allows players to create a character to play in a baseball game with the player being allowed to pick a name, nickname, and a limited number of skill points for them.[1]

Development

At the 1999 E3 event, Humongous Entertainment announced license deals with the MLBPA, along with the NFLPA and the MLSPA; the announcement teased a new Backyard Baseball installment.[4] More details of the game were given the following year, including its title, Backyard Baseball 2001 and the inclusion of 31 real-life professional baseball players and 30 Major League Baseball teams.[5] To promote the game, Humongous Entertainment hired baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. as a spokesperson.[6]

Each MLB team is represented by one professional baseball player, with the exception of the Cincinnati Reds, which is represented by both Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr. due to the latter's transition from the Seattle Mariners to the Cincinnati Reds late in the development of Backyard Baseball 2001.[7]

Reception

Backyard Baseball 2001 has received positive reviews from critics. The game received a score of 4.5 out of 5 from macHOME,[8] a score of 89 out of 100 from Gamer's Pulse[9] and a score of 3 out of 5 from PCMag.[10] macHOME, in particular, praised the game's addition of real-life baseball players as playable characters and, while noting its online mode's exclusive availability on Windows, stated that children playing the game on Mac would still have plenty of the game's content to enjoy.[8] Gamer's Pulse felt that the game was perfect for children but stated that its sound effects might annoy parents over time and that children might get too addicted to the game.[9] PCMag gave Backyard Baseball 2001 a mixed review, saying that while the game was fun, it would be too difficult for younger players and uninteresting for older players.[10]

Sequels

Following the release of Backyard Baseball 2001, more sequels of Backyard Baseball were released, starting with Backyard Baseball 2003, which was released in 2002.[11]

Remaster

Following the release of Backyard Baseball '97, a remastered version of the original Backyard Baseball title, a remaster of Backyard Baseball 2001 was announced for release via Steam.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ The other kids depicted on the cover are some of the fictional "Backyard Kids". The catcher is Stephanie Morgan. The cheering kids in the audience are, from left to right, Maria Luna (partially obscured), Pablo Sanchez, Vicki Kawaguchi, Marky Dubois, and Gretchen Hasselhoff (partially obscured).

References

  1. ^ a b c "Baseball 2001 Availability". Archived from the original on 20 November 2000. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  2. ^ Moore, Logan (2024-10-10). "Backyard Football, Basketball, and Soccer Remasters "Coming Soon" to PC". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  3. ^ "Backyard Baseball 2001 June Release!". Archived from the original on 19 June 2000. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  4. ^ "HE Announces License Deals". Archived from the original on 10 June 2000. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  5. ^ "Backyard Baseball 2001 June Release!". Archived from the original on 19 June 2000. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  6. ^ "Baseball 2001 and Cal Ripken!". Archived from the original on 18 November 2000. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  7. ^ Kram, Zach (2017-10-10). "How 'Backyard Baseball' Became a Cult Classic". The Ringer. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  8. ^ a b "macHOME". 2003-11-05. Archived from the original on 2003-11-05. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  9. ^ a b "Gamer's Pulse". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  10. ^ a b "Backyard Baseball 2001". PCMAG. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  11. ^ "Backyard Baseball 2003 (PC/MAC CDROM)". 2002-12-01. Archived from the original on 2002-12-01. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  12. ^ Schomer, Matthew (2024-10-10). "Even More Backyard Sports Games Are Getting Remasters". Game Rant. Retrieved 2024-10-25.