Amazon.com

In Backyard Soccer, the Backyard Bunch returns for another fun-filled season of action-packed sports. This season, the kids really use their heads as they challenge other players to a friendly pickup game. Each character brings his or her own unique soccer skills to the field, and kids can learn more about them by checking out the Backyard Soccer League's talking trading cards. Sunny Day returns to provide entertaining play-by-play commentary, and rookie announcer Earl Grey is on hand to assist with his own brand of color commentary. Kids have a ball as they choose their team's name, colors, and logo and then head over to the bleachers to handpick their team from the kids in the Junior Sports neighborhood. (Ages 5-10)

Review

All right, your child should be playing soccer outside on a grassy field--not sitting at a computer clicking tiny players up field. That said, if you kid's passion is soccer, this funky simulation might provide some kicks between real games. What's coolest is kids get to manage this team-from picking its name and uniforms to choosing 10 players from a bleacher full of animated kids of diverse backgrounds with different personalities and talents. Actual soccer rules apply. But one big penalty: The soccer itself plods along slow with dull control. A 1999 Parents' Choice Silver Award Winner. Ages 5 to 10. (Don Oldenburg, Parents' Choice®) -- From Parents' Choice®

If you're a 10-year-old who's totally into soccer, Backyard Soccer is for you. For starters, as the coach you can choose from 30 cute multicultural characters for your team. Each player comes with a minibio and special skills. You can also pick your team name and colors and what type of field to play on. Once your team is on the field, you can choose to be a spectator or actually play. (The controls are a bit hard to master at first, so starting as a spectator is a good idea.) After the game, you can see what happened in instant replay, with kid-level sports commentary that goes on a bit too long. If you're into stats, all your players' and teams' numbers are available for a whole season of play.

We recommend this game to any preteen soccer fan, but we don't think it's appropriate for the low end of the stated age range. Five-year-olds might not understand the controls or strategy. (The game offers three skill levels, so older kids can ramp up to regular or hard play.)

Gameplay gets easier with practice, and you can customize it on the fly by substituting players or making them play more aggressively. But the Mac version suffers next to the Windows version because you can't use a two-button mouse to control running and kicking at the same time. You also can't play against a real opponent, just against the computer. Still, Backyard Soccer is a groovy sports game for kids and adults alike, so put on your virtual cleats and kick off today. -- Miriam Anzovin

Good News: Very cute. Cool instant replay. Balanced characters. Pickup games.

Bad News: Animation parts are too gabby. No Internet play.

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