Kickball
A fun diversion - play it just for kicksGenre: sports - other
Publisher: Masaya
Year: 1990
System: PCE
Gameplay Score: 4
Gameplay Notes:
What a fun little baseball-like! It looks and feels like a Mario Baseball title and even includes characters from Masaya's other franchises, including Kaizo Shibbiman. The gameplay is incredibly simple - maybe even dumb. Pitching requires no skill whatsoever. Just position yourself laterally and roll the ball. Kicking require some timing by pressing II to run up and pressing again at the point of contact. The physics is actually good since the angle you approach the ball determines which direction it goes. But the ball rolls so slowly that you nearly always make contact. That means that virtually all of the experience is in fielding and running the bases. And this is where it sets itself apart from normal baseball games. You can get outside by either catching the ball or force outs, as usual, or you can hit a base runner with the ball. However, a well timed jump can send that ball zooming anywhere on the field. This makes it fairly easy to mess with the computer, but it doesn't an admirable job of making things interesting. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Probably for the novelty, but also for how snappy the game plays. Games are over quickly since they're only 5 innings and again, nearly every pitch leads to a play. Oh and I forgot to mention the limited use special kicks and throws that are similar to Baseball Simulator 1000. Good stuff.
Level Design Score: 3
Level Design Notes:
Only one mode - tournament. No fuss or frills. Choose from seven teams which seem to have the same characteristics. I appreciate the pick up and playability.
Theme Score: 4
Theme Notes:
Silly and cute. Where else can you play as a team of seals, sumo, or aliens?
Art Style Score: 4
Art Style Notes:
Yes it's simple, but I love the art direction of this game. Its colorful, expressive, and adorable.
Audio Score: 4
Audio Notes:
Cute music and sound effects. Perfectly pleasant.
Overall Score: 75
Review ID: 8072
No comments:
Post a Comment