Backyard Baseball 2005 E3 2004 Preshow First Look

Backyard Baseball 2005 will overhaul the popular family-friendly baseball game with a new 3D graphics engine that will bring the action to life like never before. If you're unfamiliar with Backyard Baseball, the game presents baseball in a way that's appealing to younger children. As a result, the players in the game are all kids, and there are plenty of fun power-ups, including the fireball pitch (complete with flames) and the lightening bat.

The game will have logos and colors from all 30 Major League Baseball teams. As with earlier games in the series, you'll be able to play as either the Backyard Kids (who appear throughout all the Backyard Sports games) or as kid versions of some of MLB's biggest stars. Ten pros have signed up for the game, including Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Dontrelle Willis, Eric Gagne, Alfonso Soriano, Jim Thome, and Carlos Delgado. A further six pros can be unlocked throughout the game, including Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Shawn Green, and Greg Maddux.

Backyard Baseball 2005 will also feature minigames, such as a home run derby. Furthermore, it will have a number of different baseball diamonds on which to play, each very creative and distinctive from the other. Field backdrops include a desert mesa environment, a beach boardwalk, and an urban field. You can play with full stats and customizable characters, and you can play either a single game or an entire season. The game is being developed by Humongous Entertainment and should ship in June.