Monday, October 25, 2010

The Ball (PC) Review


When I first saw The Ball gameplay’s, I was not exactly sure what to think. The concept seemed interesting enough, but game looked a little dated. When I finally was able to play the game, my initial reaction was good, but did that good feeling last? Well you will have to read the rest of the review to find out.
                The Ball is an action-puzzle game, so I expected the puzzles to be fairly difficult. I was not disappointed. Although not impossible, it did take a few minutes of wandering around to try and figure out the puzzles, unless you used the game’s hint system. This hint system was more of a “tell you exactly what to do in order to solve the map” system. I found myself constantly going to this because it was so much easier.  It would have been better to provide a hint on what action needed to occur or direction I needed to go. Even though this made the puzzles easier, it did allow for the game to go a little faster.
                Another huge part of the gameplay was the ball itself. This mystical ball of power allowed humans to gain all of the technology and skills they have now. It was also the only way you could kill the monsters in the game. At times, I would not have the ball with me, and I would run into a monster. I would have to solve the puzzle to get the ball back while running around trying not to get killed by the creatures. I was also granted a special arm piece, which could attract the ball to me or push the ball away from me. This weapon could also push enemies away and, if I was lucky, into lava. Having to lug around this giant ball of doom everywhere I went did get old. If I was pushing the ball in front of me, the ball would turn semitransparent; however, it still was difficult to see anything in front of me, so many times I ended up dragging it behind me. This would pose a problem when I ran into an enemy because I would be wide open for attack. Luckily, this was not the case too often because I was able to run away or react quickly enough.
                The overall graphic presentation in the game was pretty dull. Although very detailed and vast, the world had a constant clay tone to it. This was due to the heavy Aztec influence found throughout the game. However, there were many smaller things that did shine quite brilliantly within the game. The numerous panoramic cutscenes of the different levels you entered had a very majestic feel to them, and the animations for the water, fire, and oil really felt realistic.
                Many times you could just roll the ball over the enemies to kill them. However, you had to get more creative in order to kill the bigger creatures. I would have to send the ball into a chamber to become super heated and then roll the ball at the enemies to deal damage. Although tricky at times, I really enjoyed being able to kill them this way.
                The audio scores within the game were okay, but did not jump out as anything amazing. There seemed to be a very dreary, serious tone to the music. Other than a few monster growls, the sound within the game was nonexistent.  Many times a “leader” creature would come on to the screen only to walk off again. I expected more for this, maybe some kind of warning or sound.
                The premise of the game is the main character has fallen down a hole during excavation. His team says the crane that would raise him back up is broken, and they will not have it fixed for a while. This allowed me to explore this underground passage my character had found. As I explored farther down this passage the small cave begins to open up into a large world. I was tasked with solving puzzles and eluding traps to make it out the other side. This made up the majority of the story, along with learning more about the Ball and the civilization it inhabits. The lack of a central storyline took away from the motivation to complete each level. On top of that, there was no character development within the game, not allowing me to become attached to anything or anyone. 
                The Ball offers many reasons to come back and play. There is a survival mode, which makes you solve a puzzle while being bombarded with creatures, and secrets hidden throughout the game. The survival mode did nothing more for the game other than adding a few new levels and puzzles.  No multiplayer is currently implemented within the game, so you are doing all of this on your own. The campaign is also worth another go around which will help allow you to get some of the achievements.
                If you enjoy first person puzzle games, this game will not disappoint you. Although the atmosphere seemed to be rather dark at times, the puzzles were entertaining and there was always a sense of achievement after solving one. Tripwire Interactive and Teotl Studios did a good job of taking a mod for the unreal engine and turning it into a full-fledged game.

~William Dewey

6/10
 Solid

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