The Ball Review
The property in a game I value most is immersion. I want to get lost in the game and play as if I was really there. But some games just aren’t real enough to get into. That doensn’t mean they aren’t fun. It just means that they must be played with a different mindset. The Ball is such a game. You play the part of an archeologist who stumbles into a jungle cave filled with ancient artifacts. The most prominent item is a five foot sphere which was the source of power for an alien race who had once befriended Man. You also find a bizarre motorcycle made of bones, but with no wheels. This vehicle has both a hammer and a magnet installed in the front. With these you can send the sphere out from you or attract it to you. It’s almost like playing a giant game of billiards.
The game is played like a console game using the A-D-W-S keys to move around and the mouse to steer. The mouse buttons control the hammer and magnet. Fair enough. So I started up the game and tried to get into it. But any attempt at immersion just got me into trouble.
In the lower area you find all sorts of old stuff which should set your archeologist’s heart atwitter. So do you patiently wait for your equipment to arrive so that everything can be measured and documented? Not if you want anything to happen. You must take control of the Ball and proceed to smash through everything in your path. Some scientist you are.
I would try to position myself behind the Ball juuuuust right to line up the shot. But the movement keys are not very sensitive. I would need to move two inches to the left, but when I tapped the “A” key I would jump two feet. So I would have to perform all sorts of elaborate maneuvering to get into just the right spot to make the shot. It was like trying to play miniature golf with an RC tank. So I slogged on through one painfull puzzle after another when I encountered my second frustration – there is no way to save a game in progress. Just like the consoles, there are only save points and they come after every few puzzles.
After almost two months of playing I still had not completed the Introduction. Now, to be fair, I was playing a beta version. The LOAD GAME option showed about a dozen slots for save games, but only the first slot was ever used. It could well be that a SAVE GAME option was included in the final version.
The player in the video was using the magnet almost non-stop. They would keep the magnet on and drag the Ball with them everywhere. Then when they got to the right spot, they would simply release the Ball right where it needed to be and then use the hammer. Infinite energy. Perfect aim every time.
OK, now having established that Robert is an Idiot, just how is the game? Not bad, although it is an Action/Puzzler rather than a true Adventure game. You will need good hand/eye coordination and reflexes. There will deffinately be adrenaline. What makes it more than just a pure Action FPS is the constant supply of puzzles. It is the puzzles which make the game.
The story line is best ignored. I’ve already explained the Stupid in the begining. As the story unfolds you are led to believe that the Ball is the all important Thing and that it must be protected. The worst thing would be for the Aliens to get it back. So why is it placed at the entrace to the caves where it would be easiest to find and remove? And why are you expected to take it deeper and deeper into the caves where it would have been best protected to begin with? And, of course, you have infinite energy, immortal camp fires, wood which never rots and machines which still function after thousands of years. No, we can ignore the story and just get on with the game.
System Requirements:
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