Backyard Soccer 2001

$19.99, PlayStation

Teaches: sports, soccer, logic, strategy

CTR Review

The first Backyard Sports to run on PlayStation, this soccer simulation is one of the best around, and it can now support one or two players. As in the PC version of the game, each kid has a unique personality and set of skills. We were surprised by the amount of narration in the game... rare for PlayStation titles. The main strength is the game play. It is easy to move the ball around, pass to other players and shoot when you want to. The tournament play mode offers lots of playing time, but you'll want to make sure you have a memory cartridge with at least three blocks free to save games. This is a great program for many reasons. The software is one of the few that breaks stereotypes by putting boys and girls from all ethnic groups on the roster. It gives kids unusual control over the action, and is easy to figure out.