News, reviews, information and apps for Nokia and Symbian.
Review: TezBall
Score: 68%
Sometimes you want a game with depth, complexity and a story that will last for hours (in which case head over to David’s review of Crusade of Destiny). Other times you just need a quick blast of reflex testing, putting aside any idea of a over-arching plot, acres of help files and a dedicated corner of the brain reserved to remembering all the commands. Tez Ball is the latter.
Let’s be clear, there is very little going on here. Remember the classic bat and ball game, where you bounce the ball against a wall of bricks, destroying them all to progress to the next level? Tez Ball is just like that, but without the bricks. That’s right, all you have is the bat (controlled by your finger), the ball, and the walls. Nothing to get in your way, no distractions, just see how long you can bounce the ball.
Neither are the graphics perfect. The animation of the ball is not a smooth movement around the screen, it jumps between frames like it’s 1984. The background of the screen, which I think is mimicking the look of a chain link fence, gets in the way of the black text and the bat’n’ball,
Yet I love this game.
It’s the short of quick burst of gaming adrenaline that used to be delivered by titles like Defender, Tempest, and Joust, in the arcades of my university days. It’s unashamed in presenting itself as a pure reactions based game, the graphics have a swagger that says “come and have a go, we’re going to beat you”, and there’s an attitude to Tez Ball. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not, it’s there, and it’s going to suck up your time.
There are three lives in each game, and only on the third missed ball is your score declared the final score. So there’s a bit of pressure on you as the player to keep up your skill over multiple balls, and also offering you a bit of a “one more chance” feeling.
There’s not much more to write, you bounce a ball, you want to try and beat the score. It’s hard to put down, even with all it's faults.
