Little League World Series Baseball 2010 is not going to make it to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The official video game of the summer tournament that annually features the best Little League ballclubs from across the globe isn't world class by any stretch of the imagination, committing more errors than the Bad News Bears did before they picked up Kelly Leak. While the game has a likable enough personality, courtesy of anime-style ballplayers and a love of baseball right up there with Field of Dreams, many mistakes are made in core areas of the design, like pitching mechanics and the fielding camera. As a result, this shiny-happy ode to kids playing baseball can be more than a touch aggravating.
What first strikes you about Little League World Series 2010 is its unique presentation. Japanese developer NOW Production has given the game an anime style, complete with spiky-haired players with saucer eyes so big and glassy that they wouldn't look out of place on a teddy bear. It's a bit off-putting at first, especially if you're coming into the game expecting more of a serious arcade baseball simulation, given that the subject
matter is a real-life tournament. Still, the kids look great, with cutesy expressions when they're showing off after making a big play or knocking in a run. Ballfields have a sunny, cheery appearance, with endless green grass, blue skies, starry nights, and spectators who sport lottery-winning grins. Sound effects are just as jolly. The ping of the aluminum bat, old-time music that sounds like something ripped from a Konami game circa 1990, and play-by-play from Brent Musburger and Gary Thorne that says little aside from how great these kids are provide even more of a lighthearted vibe. Another problem is the camera angle. Most of the time in the field, the camera tracks a hit ball so closely that you don't see your fielders until the last second. As a result, you get great scenic views of pop flies that show little but ball and sky, and sideline shots of liners that obscure where the ball is on the field, so you don't know if the ball is going into the gap, landing for a routine single, or going to be caught. Thankfully, default fielding is mostly automatic, so at least your defense won't suffer too badly. Generally, an unseen fielder runs under the ball and takes care of business. Still, the wonky camera takes away the fun of watching plays, and it makes it hard to tell when you can push for extra bases when batting. The game should not have been released with the camera in such a poor state.
With more finesse and depth, Little League World Series Baseball 2010 could have been a contender. The action is fast-paced, and the anime graphical style gives the game a unique personality that straddles the line between a traditional arcade sports game and its more cartoonish brethren that usually sticks close to the funny-animal ghetto. But the gameplay is just too shallow to keep you playing for long, and issues with pitching and the camera add extra frustration to the mix. Little League deserves a better game than this.
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