The first impression I have of OOTP 12 is that it is highly comprehensive. Offering every season of baseball rosters from here all the way back to the 19th century, and absolutely every option you could possibly want. Perhaps the most attractive aspect of OOTP is network play, allowing you to get all of your baseball buddies together and hold entire fantasy baseball leagues of every imaginable type wherever, whenever.

And as I said, the options are extensive. Want to provide your own face images for players from any time period? You can. If you want you could also generate random faces for all the players. How about posting the "manager messages" you get over the course of a season to Twitter or Facebook, so your fantasy league buddies can keep abreast of your league's developments?

No problem. Heck, let's get creative. Want to change the cities and team names of your league? Not a problem, in fact that's one of the options you cycle through when starting a new game. Likewise, most of OOTP's outstanding customization features are not hidden in obscure option menus but are right there, available in-context when they need to be.

That being said, OOTP's demographic is highly limited. There is no hand-eye coordination involved here, but it's doubtful that anyone would download this game without being fully aware of that fact already. OOTP appeals to baseball fans - REAL baseball fans - the stat head fans that can spend an entire afternoon debating players and talking about the best moments of the best seasons of all time.

Of all sports, baseball commands the most encyclopedic and historically learned fans (they'd have to be, with so many stats to track) and such connoisseurs demand accuracy. OOTP aims to please, and doesn't fail. In fact, I'm reluctant to call OOTP a game at all, as it feels more accurate to refer to it as a simulation program. And while automatically simulating games will be the appeal for fantasy leaguers, you don't have to do that at all. You can "play" the game yourself, although your role will be reduced to calling the plays for the pitcher or hitter.

OOTP offers more than a plethora, more than a myriad, but an entire mini-universe of customizable options and configurations packed into a slick, organized interface that any stat-head could jump into in five minutes. Some readers might wonder, however: Would someone new to statistical games and fantasy baseball leagues be able to handle this monster of a program? Tentatively, I argue that they would. OOTP packs a lot of power, sure, but as long as your knowledge about baseball and baseball statistics is passable, you shouldn't fear. Although mastering everything about OOTP would be akin to learning a new language, getting started is no more difficult than learning to ride a bike.

-Josh Waters United States Team Writer Impulse Gamer