Kid computer game online

Ultimate Baseball Online

It’s roughly 14 days, 15 hours, and 50 minutes until pitchers and catchers report—and we’d be lying if we said UBO filled the gap entirely, because it’s far from perfect. Pickup games are predicated on having enough willing participants on the server, so you may be in for a wait while rosters fill up. When you do hit the field, be prepared for various bons mots in the chat window (one recent gem during a game: “Anyone seen the movie Anchorman?” Uh, play ball, kid). And prior experience with baseball games probably won’t help much here: Proper fielding requires perfect positioning, and a defensive practice mode hasn’t yet been implemented. We’re told it’s on the way, along with deeper league play, the ability to catch and throw while running, and—if UBO is a success—a whole slew of sports MMOs.

Yet it’s still easy to spend a ton of time on UBO. Batting is easy to get the hang of, and the crack of the bat is damn satisfying. When chats stay on topic, the small (but dedicated) community does a good job of strategizing and cheering each other on. There’s also an undeniable appeal to playing a baseball game against other human-operated opponents.

Hit 'Em Where They Ain’t

You’ll earn points by practicing and by making offensive and defensive plays on the field. Parameter points raise your overall level, while skill points can be distributed as you wish, allowing you to really customize your character—for example, you can max out your pitcher’s curveball or your batter’s ability to smash inside pitches. The only way to know a player’s specialties is to face him repeatedly—just like in real baseball.

According to developer Netamin, UBO is designed to put “you” in the game—to let armchair knuckleballers live out their dream of going to The Show. I’ll be spending most of UBO’s launch date watching the A’s home opener against Baltimore, but there’s a good chance I’ll have my PC running in the background—Weasel, my catcher, has some practicing to do.

The Word: CAN OF CORN

WPUBLISHER: Netamin DEVELOPER: Netamin GENRE: Sports MMO RELEASE DATE: April 2005