Last, but certainly not least, in the newest Humongous lineup, is the latest addition to the Junior Sports series -- Backyard Baseball 2001 (for 5-10 year olds). I must tell you that this title has to be one of the most highly anticipated releases at my house. My 9 yr old son asked me about it nearly every day from the time the first press release on it arrived. There was a delay getting titles out to press members by the announced release date in June, and I thought I was never going to hear the end of it. You'll be relieved to know that the toughest critics have again awarded their highest praise to this action-packed baseball simulation game, which sports many improvements over its much beloved predecessor Backyard Baseball, released a couple of years ago.

In some ways, Backyard Baseball 2001 is an incredibly easy title to describe. It simulates all the action of a baseball game with controls incredibly easy for kids to use. Kids pick the players, team colors, the field, and whether or not they want to use a tee. They also control the action on the field and simulate hitting and pitching. This latest version also adds the prowess of 30 junior versions of Major League Baseball players, includng fan favorites Normar Garciaparra, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Tony Gwynn, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGuire. There are also some cool gadgets that let kids dabble in fantasy plasy -- super hitting and fielding mechanisms that set kids to giggling and cheering. But it doesn't stop there. There's a special 'zen' about this program that teaches kids about cooperation, sportsmanship, and the fact that you can't always judge a kid's abilities by they way he or she looks or talks. I've written in the same terms before about other titles in this series. This isn't just a boy thing either. This title appeals to boys and girls in much the same way. If you don't have one of the Junior Sports titles in your software collection, maybe this summer is the time to get one.