Even if you've never heard of the Madballs franchise, you can still have a lot of fun with the quick paced, pick-up-and-play shooter, Madballs in... Babo: Invasion. The variety of modes and interesting graphics make Madballs a game to pay attention to.
In the game, players control a rolling ball with the left stick and shooting is mapped to the right trigger. You have full aiming ability with the right stick. The default camera angle is somewhat off-putting at first. You will likely get used to it, but it doesn't always provide the best angle to gun down your opponents. There is another camera available by pressing down on the dpad. This overhead angle gives you a better sense of the playing field but lacks some graphical fidelity. Madballs controls are not perfect. The reticule never feels entirely in your grasp. You can get by fine, but this aspect could have used more polish. It also would have been fun to have the ability to jump.
An engaging training mode lets you learn the ins and outs of Madballs and is highly recommended. You can choose characters based on health and speed, among other abilities.
The amount of unlockables makes the game feel particularly rewarding. With each enemy you kill, multipliers are available for pick up. Weapons and characters become available as well. Grenades are extremely satisfying to deploy, as their blast radius has you killing enemies you never thought you could.
Graphics in Madballs look great and the lighting effects really stand out. Audio in Madballs also shines as firing your gun has a satisfying, visceral sound. Technically, however, the game is not perfect. When the screen fills up with enemies, the slowdown is noticeable and sometimes hampers your performance.
The campaign mode is lacking a noticeable story, but in a way, its a good thing. This game shouldn't be about story. Instead it focuses on good old fashioned shooting. It is also commendable that gameplay isn't completely linear. The levels are somewhat varied but it would have been nice to see a few more enviornments.
Online options are plenty deep, as Co-op, Versus and Avatar mode greet you. Co-op is a four player story mode option and Versus offers the standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, and Capture the Flag. The unique multiplayer mode is Invasion, which allows map creation prior to a match. Unfortunately, even less than a week after the game has been released, it was tough to find a full room to try this mode out.
Madballs offers a complete package for $10 but because of a lacking online community you will be playing most of the game in single player mode. Overall, Madballs is worth a purchase if you are looking for a fast paced shooter.
