With my vast knowledge of kids entertainment, I’ve often wondered what it would be like to host my own Kid’s TV show (we all have dreams don’t we?) on some extended cable channel. Unfortunately, that dream will probably never come true, so I’m going to settle for the next best thing…. kids, welcome to Uncle Buzz’s game review, uh, show thingy.

Hi kids, my name is Uncle Buzz. Can you say "hello Uncle Buzz"?

(Audience: "Hi Uncle Buzz!!!")

Today we’re going to be talking about a basketball game that’s made just for you guys, it’s called Backyard Basketball 2004. I’m sorry, but Elmo and Big Bird aren’t in this game, but there are 10 of your favorite NBA players, and guess what? They’re not seven foot tall millionaires wearing baggy shorts anymore, they are all kids just like you in this game.

(Audience: "Ooohhh…ahhhh!!!")

You can pick your team from a list of pro players such as Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, and the biggest kid of them all, Shaquille O’neal (the big genie from the movie Kazzam). There are seven basketball courts, each with its own look and original surroundings. There is also a whole school bus load full of "backyard kids" that you can place on your basketball team. You can also create a player of your very own and can even name him Elmo if you like. Just remember to tell your parents to stay close by while you’re trying to play this game, because they will probably need to reboot the computer several times due to this game being so buggy. Can you say "buggy"?

(Audience: "Buggy! Buggy! Uncle Buzz said a dirty word!!!")

Backyard Basketball 2004 is pretty simple for you to pick up and play and the controls are very basic and easy to use. You will be dribbling (the ball that is) up and down the court, passing the ball to teammates and slam-dunking with ease. You can quick start a game and let the computer automatically select your team, the court and the opposing team. There are also some mini-games such as horse, around the world and hot shot (see who can make the coolest shot or slam-dunk). If you’re a smarty pants, you can try playing the season mode that lets you to draft new players while trading off the yucky ones and adjust their abilities. Heck, you can and even choose the color of their jerseys. If the game seems a little too hard for you don’t cry, just have your Daddy or Mommy set the difficulty to a more suitable baby level for you. Just remember, there’s no crying in basketball.

Backyard Basketball 2004 can be more fun than putting you sister’s hand in a bowl of warm water while she’s sleeping. There are cool power-ups that can be used to pull off some awesome looking slam-dunks. There are also power-ups that will make the ball jump around like a jumping bean, speed boosters and one power up that will transport the player from one end of the court to the other. It’s too bad the gameplay can be ruined by those nasty little reboot bugs I mentioned earlier. Don’t worry, though, these aren’t the kind of bugs that will bite you; these bugs are much worse. The game crashed back to Windows on several occasions while my daughter and I was playing it, and it’ll probably do the same to you. Too bad we can’t kill these bugs with a can of bug spray though. Come on kids, let’s act like you’re all spaying those nasty bugs.

(Audience: "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…kill the bugs kill the bugs!!!")

Who likes to watch cartoons? Raise your hand! Then you’ll like the way Backyard Basketball 2004 looks. It’s almost like you’re playing a cartoon, the 3D characters models do a great job of giving the game a cel-shaded cartoon feel that every kid will enjoy. The NBA pro kids look just as you might imagine the real players looked as kids, and there’s a nice selection of courts to play "B-ball" on. Although the graphics may not be as pretty as your Daddy’s basketball game, they do a fine job of giving this game that "made for kids" look.

(Audience: "How does it sound, Uncle Buzz?")

You may not be as impressed by the audio in Backyard Basketball as you are with the rest of the game. The pre and post game commentaries are delivered by Sunny Day and (not so) funny man Berry Djay. They will mistakenly announce the wrong team names and they will even get the players’ names mixed up from time to time (sort of like Marv Albert with a hangover). After a couple of games you’ll probably rather listen to that big purple dinosaur singing, "I love you, you love me" than to hear the same lame jokes and comments over and over again.

Backyard Basketball 4004 is an entertaining game and is pretty enjoyable. It does almost everything right, offers tons of options, nice menus, good graphics and lots of cool slams and power-ups. Unfortunately, the crashes and bugs will leave a bad taste in your mouth, like when your Mom makes you finish all the broccoli that she piled on your plate before you can leave the table. But if you don’t mind a few crashes or annoying commentators you may find Backyard Basketball 2004 to be more fun than an all day marathon of Sponge Bob reruns.

That’s all time we have this week boys and girls, tune in next time for another fun filled episode of Uncle Buzz’s review show, thing-a-ma-bob.