The often overlooked, but nonetheless fantastic, Baseball Superstars 2011 has officially gone "free" on the app store. Or as the app-savvy like to call it, "freemium." There will still be costs associated with playing the game, but they will appear in the form of optional purchases that enhance the existing play experience.

This usually means the player is able to purchase items that accelerate experience points artificially or extra characters that aren't normally included. That said, some companies do occasionally screw up the freemium formula by placing artificial roadblocks that force players to pay to continue. Fortunately, the freemium version of Baseball Superstars 2011 looks like it nails a quality freemium balance.

There are now two versions, Baseball Superstars 2011 Pro [iTunes Link] and Baseball Superstars 2011 Free [iTunes Link]. The pro version comes loaded with 3,000 free experience points to spend while the freemium version comes with none. You can either buy these experience points in the store or gain them through playing. The free version also comes with some in-game advertising.

Baseball Superstars is a fantastic series for anybody who is a fan of either baseball or RPGs. It's a hybrid of the two genres, but still executes both very well. It's immensely satisfying to build up and train your team of tiny custom heroes to dominate the baseball diamond. If you enjoy the mechanics of baseball, leveling up, or tiny anime characters, you'd do well to spend a few minutes downloading this free gem.