One of the things I need to do very soon with my oldest son is pass on my love of football to him. He’s been to a game, sometimes watched it with me on TV, but for the most part isn’t all that into it right now, most likely due to the other typical distractions that a six-year-old tends to have. He might enjoy a football video game, but there aren’t a lot of options out there right now as Backbreaker wasn’t critically received well and seems a bit too violent. And of course, Madden is a non-starter since I can’t even get into that one myself.

This Fall, though, there might be another option with Atari’s Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush. The Backyard Sports series has been around for a little while, and in fact is the best-selling kids sports videogame series of all time. Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush marks the second title (Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers was the first, and was a critical and retail success) released featuring the new look and feel of the Backyard Sports franchise. With hard hitting power-ups, imaginative new fields, stylized graphics, exciting new array of super-charged gameplay options and a compelling story mode, Rookie Rush is well trained and ready to take down the competition this October.

“The re-imagined vision for Sandlot Sluggers has proven to be a hit for critics, parents, and kids seeking a fun, dynamic and action packed videogame,” said Jim Wilson, President of Atari. “Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush continues the successful evolution of our Backyard Sports series, offering a truly enriching sports videogame for kids of all ages.”

Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush offers kids the opportunity to block and tackle their way through energetic, kid-friendly football games on 12 interactive, neighborhood fields, many representing each character’s home turf and also a “My Backyard” field mode in which players can unlock items and populate their unique backyard. Kids can play pick-up football games with their Backyard Sports neighborhood friends in both single game and tournament options, or play the game in Backyard Sports‘ inventive new story mode. The Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush storyline centers on the Backyard kids who must come to terms with the new kid on the block, combine their unique talents, overcome egos and the odds in order to win a tournament and a big grand prize.

The game looks to have an more arcade feel to it, as would be expected with the target audience. Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush features super-charged power-ups such as Banana Peels, Deep Freeze, and Leap Frog, 5 new mini games including Sack Attack and Target Practice, unique character customization options, and a family mode, making this an exciting gameplay experience for all ages.

The idea of allowing kids to learn and follow traditional football rules in a wholesome gaming environment is certainly appealing to someone like myself, and likely many dads who have kids that are getting old enough to appreciate one of North America’s favourite sports. And the suggested price of $29.99 is pretty compelling too.

Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush is scheduled to ship October 26, 2010 for Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, as well as a downloadable version for Windows PC.