Review: Madballs in Babo: Invasion

Every so often there’s a title on the Xbox Live Arcade that serves up plenty of fun, but stays wholly unrecognized for one reason or another. I decided to check out Madballs in Babo: Invasion simply because it looked like it might be some fun that wasn’t a rehashed fighter, side-scroller, or platformer. I was pleasantly surprised by this strange little game, and I believe it has much to offer for a simple XBLA title. Unfortunately, most gamers will pass it right up due to its name and unfamiliar franchise.

Apparently, Madballs were real products once upon a time, sporting strange creatures on balls that didn’t really bounce or do much of anything. I vaguely remember toys like these growing up, but you can see how forgettable a toy like that could be if it doesn’t even do ball-oriented things. Strange history aside, for some reason Microsoft saw fit to include an arcade title tie-in with the toys on the Xbox Live Arcade, so they must have seen some potential in the brand, right?

This strange little title is actually a lot of fun for its normal 800 Microsoft point price tag. It’s quite simple to pick up and play without having ever tried it out before. You’ll take up the mantle of a Madball of your choosing that’s strapped with some heavy weaponry. Throughout a rather short campaign that’s comprised of ten missions, you’ll roll around isometric terrain, blasting anything and everything in your path. The top-down view does make it a bit difficult to navigate unless you tilt the camera to a more comfortable angle, though this is a very minor flaw that should only take a little getting used to.

You’ll roll along mercilessly taking out any poor schmuck in your way with a variety of weapons, including shotguns, machine guns, and grenades. There’s definitely not a shortage of guns to do a ton of damage with. Each of the weapons interact in a sort of weapon triangle much like what is seen in games such as Fire Emblem. Certain firearms are more effective against others. Subsequently, there are also different character traits that open up and allow you to power through different areas of the game. It’s a very casual, breezy sort of isometric shooter that begs a couple playthroughs since it takes very little careful planning or thought to sit back and enjoy.

That’s the single-player campaign, but there is much to be said for Madballs’ extensive multiplayer offering. It serves up a whopping 21 maps available upon purchase of the full game, and five different types of games to play. That’s quite a robust offering for a game that admittedly not many will be purchasing, and a lot of support for online play. You can participate in Team Skirmishes (deathmatches), CTF matches, and two very interesting modes that should well pique your curiousity. Avatar mode takes your Madball and turns it into the face of your avatar and blood into confetti (Grunt Birthday Party, anyone?). It’s just a regular deathmatch, but it’s so strange and quirky that you’ll want to check it out more often than the regular, plain deathmatch mode. One of the most interesting things? As you rack up a bodycount, your head enlarges so you become much more difficult to miss. How many games are that surreal with their multiplayer offerings?

The second unique multiplayer mode is called Invasion, and offers a high level of customization that anyone who chooses to play online will most definitely appreciate. In fact, more multiplayer map-dependent titles should take notes. Invasion is essentially a CTF game with a twist. Players actually create the maps the matches will play out on. At the beginning of a map both players will lay down parts of the map like a giant puzzle, also choosing spots for setting up bases and whatnot, making each new game different and fun to play around with friends on since it is impossible to gain a familiar advantage from replaying the maps enough times. The multiplayer offerings here are quite impressive, and it’s a real shame that it’s already trickled down to little more than an afterthought. Such is the lifespan of Xbox Live Arcade title multiplayer modes.

As a whole, I would highly recommend Madballs in Babo: Invasion as an entertaining and refreshing arcade title. You’ll encounter some decidedly different gameplay with unique twists not found in other games for the same cost of 800 Microsoft points, and both the single-player campaign and multiplayer modes are quite simply a blast to play. Even if you’re hesitant to give it a spin due to its off the wall name and obscure property, this is a hidden gem that you’ll be glad to have tried.
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