Madballs in… Babo Invasion (Xbox 360) Review

Read on to see Brutal Gamer’s review of Madballs!

Madballs: Babo Invasion is a licensed game. Not only that, it’s a licensed game based on a toy that was popular in the 1980’s. Knowing that, it might surprise you that Madballs is not only competent, but also very entertaining as well and does just enough to stand out from the crowd of online downloadable games available.

Madballs features elements that from many different games that a lot of people will recognise immediately. You control the titular “Madballs”, spheres of various sizes which roll in a similar fashion to the morph ball in Metroid Prime. Each of the weapons has an alternate fire mode allowing you to switch between “impact” and “energy” attacks. Enemies will be resistant to one, but weak to the other so you are forced to switch between attacks modes in a manner very reminiscent of Ikaruga. The game also allows players to switch between two camera viewpoints. The default camera hovers behind your character and is useful for gauging the environment or tricky platform sections. However when being swarmed by enemies, it is sometimes useful to switch to the top down perspective. When set at this angle, the game plays like a twin stick shooter in the vein of Geometry Wars, with the left stick controlling movement and the right stick handling the cursor for aiming. Both camera angles come with a learning curve, particularly the default set up. The stick only allows the camera to be moved on the x-axis and at first I found it incredibly frustrating that I couldn’t tilt it forward a little more to see what was ahead or line up a shot more accurately. However after about fifteen minutes, these problems fade away and the camera stops being an issue.

One of the greatest strengths of this title is the sheer wealth of options and game types on offer. There is a single player campaign which can be played from two perspectives, a separate tutorial mode, and a multiplayer which goes above and beyond the norm in the choices available to players. Included in the game is the standard deathmatch, a co op version of the single player campaign (4 player) and an Avatar attack mode. Avatar Attack is a fun distraction as the usual spherical character is replaced by your avatars head. The head then proceeds to grow as you chain kills together marking you as a high priority target. Avatar Attack is certainly a unique way of using those bobble head masterpieces and it would be great to see more titles follow Playbrains’ example on this front. The star of the show , however, is the Invasion mode. This is a two stage game, the first part allowing each team to place various elements of the map in locations of their choice. The result is that each game is always a little different meaning you’ll constantly have to adopt your strategies to fit the current set up. The second phase of this mode is a domination style game where you take control points and install artefacts at them. These must then be defended from the opposing sides attacks. While standing beside them, your character will gain health but repairing the artefacts forces you to stop moving so you become a sitting duck. This introduces another element of strategy into the mix, as you have to balance holding your ground and knowing when to cut and run. It’s the invasion game type that will have you returning to Madballs long after you tire of the other options.

The multiplayer is not without its faults though. Though most modes support 16 players, the matches can lag. Though it’s usually not by much, it can be enough to throw you off manoeuvring a thin platform or circle strafing another player. Also, with that number of people playing at once, things can get very chaotic and it can be tough to discern exactly what is going on at any given time. This is especially true at the beginning of the game, when you’re arsenal is pathetic compared to some of the other players and death comes quickly. Now this can go two ways. It will either frustrate you to the point where you turn it off or turn you toward the single player campaign with the aim of unlocking the various weapons and characters. I was in the latter group so it was not really an issue; however it is still worth noting.

The variety on offer in Madballs in terms of weapon and character choice is worthy of special mention. Both factions have a number of different characters which break down into a series of classes. However the assault class of one is not simply a reskin of the opposing teams assault Madball. Your faction choice will influence your elemental weaknesses and resistance, as well as your special ability. These range from offensive dashes to growing super size and crushing everything in your path, to the ability to place healing towers and are unique to each character. Much like the guns, these must all be unlocked, and as you play through the game, you are constantly rewarded with new weapons and abilities.

Final Thoughts.

It’s clear that Playbrains put a lot of time and effort into the game, and their work has paid off. Before release the price was cut from 1200 to 800, and at that price point it is not difficult to recommend. The four player co op in the campaign is ideal for going through with some friends but beyond that it is simply a complete package. The final point I’ll mention is the writing. The campaign had me chuckling quite a bit and it is hard not to be charmed by its light hearted nature. While it is certainly not a “triple A” title in the same vein as Battlefield 1943 or Bionic Commando Rearmed, there is enough here to warrant a purchase and I would definitely recommend anyone who’s curious to give it a spin.

Find more Xbox 360 reviews over at Test Freaks!

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