Radica Play TV Baseball- PLAY BALL!
Written: Jul 02 '02 (Updated Jul 02 '02)
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Pros: A fun interactive game that allows you to play baseball without leaving the house.
Cons: The foam on the bat may be tempting for little ones to destroy.
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a game that your whole family can enjoy together, Radica Play TV Baseball would be a perfect choice.
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| patch3boys's Full Review: Radica Play TV Baseball |
Papa steps up to the plate. "Everyone stand back now!" Strike one, Strike two, Strike Three... Your Out! Next, comes dad. "Allow me, you old man!" Dad straddles the plate. Strike one, Strike two (a drop of sweat hits the floor), Strike Three... YOUR out! Laughing, Mom grabs the bat from Dad, "let me show you both how it's done" smack ... it's a Foul (At least Mom can hit it!) Mom gives a cocky smile then... Strike one, Strike two, Strike three, YOUR OUTTA HERE! Meanwhile, Matthew (whose birthday it was) sat back and quietly watched as every adult in his family made complete fools out of themselves. Finally he gently says, "Can I give it try now Mom?". Mom with a look of: "Yeah right! Like a 6 year old can do what we adults could not!" passes the bat to her little boy to let him give it the ol' college try. WHACK! HOMERUN! LOL, that was humbling moment. : )
My son received the Radica Play TV Baseball for his birthday from his Grandfather. Even though the age requirements stated for ages 8 and up, Papa thought this would be a lot of fun and would be something that he could grow into. The above story is a VERY true story, LOL. Shows you that age recommendations don't always mean everything when it comes to ability.
First off I want to say that my family (both the kids and the adults alike) absolutely love this game. We have spent many evenings together as a family playing this game. We never seem to get tired of it.
What is Play TV Baseball?
It is a "motion detected" interactive baseball game. You hook it up to your television (either directly to your TV or through your VCR). The home base, bat and ball are what you will physically use to control the game, hit the ball and pitch the ball. The animated scene on the TV imitates exactly what you do with your bat and ball. Kind of like virtual reality, except without the glasses.
What are you able to do with Play TV Baseball?
There are three different modes that you can play in with Play TV. You can play: Batting Practice, Home Run Derby or Competitive Play.
Competitive play is the only mode where the Pitch controller is active. That means that in this play you can "virtually" throw the baseball and select different pitchers for their opponent whom is batting. We have found this play to work better with older children and adults. It is too difficult for the little ones, not only because of the setting level but because it takes a lot of time to play an entire game of baseball. Little ones just don't have the patience for that. My 12 year old and my 28 year old brother like to play this together. Everyone is to back up and get out of the way when those two have a game going on. They love it. My brother has played baseball his entire life and even coached ball in College and he is like a "kid in a candy shop" with this toy. A couple of times I have had to remind him that his nephews would like to play too!
Also when you get into playing the competitive mode there are a few other options that you are able to choose from. One is that you are able to choose between four different pitchers. Each has a different style of pitching and throws certain pitches better than the others. You are able to go into the menu to make these selections. Another option is that you are able to choose how long the game will last by choosing how many innings you would like to play. You have a choice between 3, 5, 7 or 9 innings long. You can also do this when you are playing in batting practice mode as well.
Batting practice is just what it says. It is a chance to practice hitting the many different balls that can be thrown to you. You will get randomly computer selected pitches which makes it a challenge. By "selected pitches" I mean that you never know while you are up at the bat if you will be pitched a fast ball, curve ball, knuckle ball or a change-up! So keep your eye on that ball! This will help you so that during competitive play, you will be ready for what ever your opponent throws at you!
Homerun Derby is our favorite game play. Everyone in the family can play and it just seems to be the most exciting to those of us whom have short attention spans. On this game you hit until you miss the ball 5 times and then it is on to the next person. This keeps the game fun and moving consistently. Home Run Derby is played with the computer throwing pitches to you. The pitch controller is inactive. All pitches will be thrown as strikes. This mode truly is fun for everyone.
Do you have a choice as to which game level you can play?
You sure do. We, for obvious reasons, are still playing on level one. However there are three different levels of game play to choose from. Each level you go up shortens the time frame to hit the ball. This is good for the more advanced players.
Other neat options
When starting to play you are able to choose the time of day that you want to play in. You have a choice of playing a day game or a night game. Also from the home base control pad you are able to put your name (as well as the name of your opponent) on the roster, using the alphabetic keyboard. That makes it kind of fun and personal.
How sensitive is the bat/ball with the computer?
When we first started playing and getting use to how this game works, we were very gentle with it. By gentle I mean, when swinging the bat we did it gently as if not wanting to break it. But we later discovered that swinging the bat, just like you would if you were out playing ball is what makes it work the best. Swinging it too light and gently sometimes causes the computer to not pick or sensor up the swing. For some reason we thought that we would break it if we weren't gentle with it, but it is designed for the ball to be pitched and the bat swung just like you would normally. So my suggestion is to not be afraid of breaking it, just get in there and swing that baby like you would out on the ball field. We have gotten the best results that way.
You do have to be over the home base while you are swinging. That is how your swing (motion) is picked up by the computer. Don't get up on top of the plate, just swing your bat over the base. Stand up to the plate just like you would in a real ball field.
Also when we first started to play, we thought that we (the adults) had to be down on our knees to hit the ball. That is definitely not true at all. Thanks to my little brother for showing us how you "really" do it, standing up will hit the ball harder and farther and the computer picks up the swing just fine.
Oh yeah, the batteries!
Just a quick note to say loud and clear that the home base and the bat require batteries. (6 AA total. 4 in the home base and 2 in the bat). I want to stress this because we sat there for over an hour the first night thinking that we had a defected set when in fact it didn't dawn on us that we needed batteries. Five of us adults fiddling with this toy and not one of us realized it needed batteries. It was a Loooooong night!
Is there anything that we do not like about Play TV baseball?
There really isn't too many cons that we have found with this game. As I said above, we have really grown to love this game and the family fun that we have had together has been very memorable. The only thing that I can think of that concerns me a bit is with how the bat is designed. The top portion of the bad is foam, with the computer chip (or whatever makes it interact with the base) embedded deep inside. I am sure that they made the top foam so that if someone or something accidentally got hit by a swinging bat, it wouldn't cause any damage. And for that, it is wonderful. I only worry about my little one getting a hold of the foam and destroying it. But that is just a concern I have. If you follow the age recommendation requirement (which is 8 years old and up) then this will not be an issue for you at all. You just need to watch any little ones in the house that they don't get a hold of it and possibly destroy it. What we have done since this could be an issue for us is to keep it up high when not in use and only allow the little ones to play with it when we are all playing together as a family. That way, there is no chance of anything getting destroyed.
So, what is my overall recommendation?
You have to ask after reading this? I highly recommend the Radica Play TV Baseball game. The whole concept is amazing. This is a game that has brought many hours of fun and play to my entire family. Everyone loves it, from our youngest child to the oldest adult (remember Grandpa liked it too, even if he couldn't hit the ball!) If you are looking for a good Birthday/Christmas gift or if you are just looking for something that your whole family can enjoy, Radica Play TV Baseball would be a perfect choice. I can't wait to get more interactive toys from Radica. This gives playing baseball, a whole new meaning.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.99
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patch3boys
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