The Ball

The Ball

In 2007, Portal Valve conquered our hearts with puzzle gameplay and AI snarky. Now the ball Teotl Studios aims to revive what made the experience so memorable by putting a gate around the physics-based confusing. But while it is packed with challenges intelligent enemies ugly, and a unique design Aztec much finer moments of the game so buried under many layers of boredom that you can never reach them.

Originally a mod for Unreal Tournament III, Ball won second place in the "make something unreal" competition for Epic Games, before being taken by the editor of Tripwire Interactive. Located in Mexico in the 1940's, the game leaves you on an expedition gone wrong deep within a volcanic mountain. You have no choice but to plunge into the abyss. Little in his descent, is a pocket pistol and ball Aztec: A solid metal sphere is both quiet and a friend the key to his escape.

By using their weapons in hand, you can easily handle the ball, either by blows away from you or magnetic pattern for you. Together, you and the ball with a lost civilization basement full of puzzles, puzzles that start easy and stay until the credits. Most of these mental exercises involve either standing on a switch, push the ball to a switch or foot switch, while guiding the ball to another switch. Naturally, it starts to get very repetitive very quickly. With fine diverse as the front, there is little to motivate you to keep the ball in the early stages.

For the most dedicated, but patience is rewarded in the final acts of the meeting. Challenges evolve from simple switches to, for example, have the ball to take special features. In one area, the ball projects a low gravity field, which allows vertical movement, impressive. Another is to paint the floor with oil before lighting a fire trail. Why are these brilliant ideas are hidden in the game now is a mystery. This creativity has been playing better service at the front.

Unlike the puzzles is the struggle in the ball everywhere hungry for variety. Your enemies are mainly stupid in one of two variants: Bum Rush or a ball. When you see a bunch of bullion trade them your way - mouth agape and eyes eager to kill - just drop the ball rolling dead in their direction, and pop like ripe tomatoes (complete with screen gore splatter). Although simple and satisfying at first, carnage, quickly loses its luster after your first dozen meetings. Some more serious at the end of the game creatures (you can not just roll into oblivion) ​​is the only legitimate issue of interest in forcing you to use both the ball and the environment to defeat them.

But while Ball is a lack of substance, it has a great sense of style. The presentation of the lost Aztec city feels unique because it guides you through a maze of ancient ruins, emerald lakes, and seas of molten magma. It's a shame that history has not received this level of attention. Practically disposable, is the key plot elements are processed via the static display at predetermined intervals. Other nuggets of detail is also nestled in the form of secret items at each stage.

Outside the campaign, the ball four steps in the survival mode, the weakest showing of the game: combat. These areas trap full of objects to a wave of enemies more and can make you feel like you've fallen into a serious version of vanilla Sat Without a full combat system to support the survival mode is not to survive beyond the initial curiosity and list serves only one bullet point of the game features

Portal that excelled at cutting the supply to provide a gaming experience that is highly concentrated, the ball comes to thwart the brand. With the lack of variety is disappointing that afflict the first two thirds of the game is unnecessarily laborious task to discover the best of times. As a mod of Unreal Tournament, the ball is definitely one of the most beautiful. As a commercial product, however, the poor rate, which prevents stacking against the competition.