Mindball Play

When I was a kid, I must have sunk hundreds of hours into the game Marble Madness. It was a fun and frustrating speed course that had you navigating a tiny marble past a whole host of crazy obstacles. But for as much fun as I had playing it by myself, I always wanted to see that concept turned into a full-fledged racing game. The developers at Interactive Productline Team must have had the same thought, because the new game Mindball Play can best be described as WipEout meets Marble Madness. It's a slickly produced racer that may be a little rough around the edges at times, but that doesn't keep it from capitalizing on a pretty great concept.

You better enjoy your NASCAR and rallycross while you can, because the future of racing is giant balls racing down a bunch of tough obstacle courses. Okay, that may not come to pass, but it's the premise behind the science fiction racing game Mindball Play. This is a fun twist on the futuristic racer genre that tosses us into a bunch of crazy courses that you wouldn't be able to speed through with the usual cars.

Much like Marble Madness, the courses in Mindball Play are full of weird (and sometimes frustrating) obstacles that are ready to stop the ball dead in its tracks. This can be everything from ping-ponging around a bunch of metal poles to dodging large swinging balls to sneaking past laser beams. These are long and winding courses with narrow paths and jumps you'll need to make, all while doing your best to stay ahead of the competition. What's nice is that the computer-controlled balls on the track will be just as thrown off by these obstacles as you are, leading to races that are both tense and fair.

The single-player campaign is split up into a couple different circuits, each with a bunch of races you'll need to complete in order to take on the big bad boss. Often the goal will be simply to get to the bottom first, but sometimes you'll be racing against ghosts and other events will see you picking up and using Mario Kart-style weapons. There are also races where pushing forward will make your ball grow bigger, while letting off the acceleration will shrink the ball back down to size. They do a good job of mixing things up and making you forget that there are only thirteen tracks to race on.

When it comes right down to it, the somewhat limited amount of tracks isn't the real problem here. The stage designs are all generally pretty good and lead to a lot of nail-biting finishes. The problem I ran into is that the sci-fi setting gets a bit boring and stale after a while. The backgrounds and different obstacles look great, but the dark and drab stages start to blend together after a while. We barely get a glimpse of our future world, and there are only one or two stages that bother to take us outside. There came a point where I just wanted to see the sun again.

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On that note, I also wish there was more to the gameplay. In theory, you can use the trigger buttons to spin the ball and help you take sharper corners. In practice, the shoulder buttons don't spin the ball nearly enough. Unless you're going really slowly, you're probably not going to notice a big difference when you're pulling the left or right trigger. Thankfully, I was still able to win most races by simply relying on the brake button, but I found myself wishing that the trigger buttons were a little more responsive.

The good news is that once you get beyond a few of the game's rougher edges, you'll discover a fast and fun racing game that gets almost everything right. There are a bunch of modes, online support, unlockable skins, single-player challenges, split-screen multiplayer and more. Hell, you can play the game with an eye tracker or one of the brain-sensing headbands, though it's worth noting that I didn't get to experience any of that. Regardless of whether you move the ball with your eyes or a standard gamepad, this futuristic racer is a strong first effort from Interactive Productline Team.

While it may not be the first game to attempt this style of racer, Mindball Play is still a great looking title that doesn't feel like any other racing game I've seen this year. I like the complicated level designs, the fair AI and the upbeat electronic dance music. That said, I wish there were more outdoor stages and a little more depth to the gameplay. This is a fun little racing game that is easy to recommend, but it may take another sequel or two before it fully realizes its true potential.