Humongous Entertainment — the Microsoft of the children’s software world — has recently made a foray into the sports genre with its kiddie–friendly Backyard series of games. Their latest release, Backyard Soccer MLS Edition, allows kids to play soccer games as their favorite MLS teams, complete with miniaturized version of soccer stars such as Brandi Chastain (don’t worry parents — her shirt stays on), Carlos Valderamma and his amazing hair–do, wunderkind Cobi Jones, and women’s World Cup hero Brianna Scurry, to name but a few. Humongous really goes above and beyond what is necessary with this game. The company has not just released some brain–dead, watered down soccer game for kids. Backyard Soccer MLS Edition features Season Mode, Single Game mode, a player draft, statistics, different arenas, and players that actually have different abilities. Not only that, but some of the players don’t like playing with one another, and having two enemies on the same team can cause one or both of them to play below their possible level! Eat your heart out EA Sports — THAT’S innovation!
With play–by–play announcers Sunny Day and Earl Gray (sigh), you’ll experience end–to–end action using a well–implemented, mouse–based control mechanism that should be easy for your 5 to 10 year old to learn. The game difficulty was pretty easy for an old fuddy–duddy like myself, but I’d imagine that it’s just about right for the age range that Humongous is targeting. And the details in the game are downright incredible — not only will you get individual player statistics through the 14 game season, but you’ll also be able to make substitutions when players get tired (which they’ll tell you during game play), realign your teams setup (do you want to drop back into a 3–1–1 formation, or go for a more offensive 1–2–2?).
You’ll also get to choose between a number of different pitches upon which to play, EACH WITH THEIR OWN PHYSICS! On the sandy beach field, the ball sort of dies when it hits the ground, while on the asphalt pitch, the ball bounces as if it were made of rubber. Humongous has also implemented power–ups that will enable your players to make incredible moves that’ll leave your opponents stunned. Finally, if you do well enough during the 14–game season, you may find yourself qualified for an INDOOR soccer tournament, as well. In short, Humongous threw in everything but the kitchen sink into this game, and did so with its normal high standards and quality design.
The only bad point I can think of is that the players are so small that sometimes it’s hard to tell the teams apart. Also, the mouse–based interface is about as well done as it possibly could have been, but it’s no replacement for a robust gamepad setup. You can still play the game with a gamepad, but it only makes use of two buttons, so there’s really not much of a point to doing that. Other than those couple of nitpicks, Backyard Soccer MLS Edition really delivers the goods. Young fans (and old fans) of the world’s greatest sport will have a great time with this title, and some of us fans of the EA Sports FIFA series may be wondering when EA is going to implement some of these features!
If your little ones are soccer fans or soccer players, rush out to your local electronics store before Christmas and pick up a copy of Backyard Soccer MLS Edition. It’s a guaranteed score for your family – top quality children’s software from a company that stands head and shoulder above the rest.
More information on other Humongous sports titles can be found at the Humongous Entertainment website.
"Superb execution by the company that is considered by most to be THE "Microsoft" of software for our younger citizens. Wonderful game play and game choices...a winner in almost all aspects."
