It’s time for the August Classic—we’re not talking about Major League Baseball here; instead we are talking about Little League World Series. The ping of the aluminum bat, those crushing 200 feet home runs; the bunt triple…it’s all at the World Series. Surprisingly we haven’t seen a Little League game aside from the Backyard Baseball series which really is just geared to kids rather than being a true Little League game. Leave it to Activision to think hmmm…kids + Wii + Wii Sports + Little League = potential goldmine.

The game only requires the Wiimote which allows anyone to get right into the game. The nunchuck is not an option. If you’ve played Wii-sports you’ll have no problem getting right into the batting and running mode in the game; fielding and pitching work a little different. When pitching, you pick a location and use a combination of the A and B buttons to throw a pitch.

Unlike WiiSports, you’ll have to wind up by pulling the Wiimote back and then throwing it downward as the pitcher on screen throws the ball; if you want to add curve or make the pitch a slider, you’ll need to twist it when moving downward. The pitching mechanic does work quite well. Fielding is accomplished by shaking the Wiimote to make the fielder run. You can enhance the fielder’s chances of catching the ball by pressing A to leap or dive. You also choose what base to throw the ball to. While there’s no stealing in the game you can control going for an extra base if you’re so inclined (which is different from Wii sports).

Game modes could have been more fleshed out; the tournament mode is the most fun but you’re already at the big show and start in pool play (two groups of four teams in a round robin tournament). The teams you choose from are all regionalized in the US (Mid-Atlantic, New England, etc); however the idea of starting off as a local ‘all-star’ team and making it to the Regionals and then the Final would have really enhanced the true feeling of getting to Pennsylvania for the big tournament. The other two play modes are exhibition and skill challenge – however skill challenge has some depth with minigames such as a traditional home run derby (with actual rounds and you play against the CPU or another opponent head to head) and of course pitch bowling, which is actually quite fun.

The in game action is a lot of fun. Connecting with the aluminum bat provides that perfect ‘ping’ sound over your Wiimote speaker. Although there are no credits, it sounds like Gary Thorne from ESPN and Baltimore Orioles play by play is the announcer, and he sounds great (memo to Konami and 2K: get this guy for Power Pros!)