Having a Ball Playing Atari's New Sandlot Sluggers

Last week we were treated to an amazing baseball wonderland at Atari's headquarters in celebration of the upcoming launch of their Backyard Sports Sandlot Sluggers video game. They really outdid themselves bringing in Astroturf, a hot dog vendor, popcorn stand, t-ball equipment - thanks to Franklin for the backstop tents that saved me from spending my entire time chasing down baseballs to keep placing atop the t-ball stand for Li'l Boo to hit ;-) Oh yes, there were lots of video game systems set up for us and the kiddos to play Sandlot Sluggers.

Li'l Boo had a fantastic time (they had baseball pinatas! He got to play with @SelfishMom's kids!), and all of the kids appeared to pick up on the game quickly. The game feels like a diverse neighborhood gathering of kids playing baseball. Li'l Boo played it on the XBox and the Wii systems, and told me that he likes the mini games best. "Dingers" is his fave, and it's similar to playing a home-run derby with continuous power batting. Of course, this morning he awoke asking to play a "The Cube" mini game of pitching skills. ;-)

If you're new to the Backyard Sports games, I recommend starting with a pick-up game to familiarize yourself with general game play. In this mode, screens with tips and tricks will pop up while you play and it gives a good overview for kiddos. Li'l Boo thought the "power-up" features were funny, which enable the player to play tricks like pitching a "booger" ball where green slime covers the screen so the batter can't find the ball to hit, or a "yo-yo" ball so the batter can't tell when the ball will actually cross the plate to swing at it, and the batter in turn can "freeze" fielders in place amongst other tricks.

Sandlot Sluggers will hit shelves on May 25th, and retail for $29.99. It's available for PC download, the Wii, XBox 360 and Nintendo DS systems, and is rated "E" for Everyone by the ESRB. Here's some shots of Li'l Boo at the Sandlot Sluggers party - we had a blast!