Review: Doodle Balls – artistic fun?

Doodle balls, a game created by Stubbjax02 yesterday, is in the beta stages–though it is rather difficult to tell!

The graphics are superb, and the sounds are indeed brilliantly done, plus the gameplay is rather addicting – even though the only mode available is easy.

You’re a ball that draws a line behind wherever you go, with a spark chasing you. The ball is guided by the mouse cursor, however it has a curve, in that it does not go in the exact path that the mouse is going in. Rather, it meanders and slides around in a frustrating way. I often found myself trapped, the ball bouncing back and forth between two corner blocks, desperate to get the last coin for the coveted extra life! This may seem like an easy-going game, but there is one small problem: There is a small spark of Absolute Death following your line!

All is not lost, though, for a variety of powerups (and, unfortunately, powerdowns) are available. One such powerup is the “red coin”, which lowers the timer by five seconds. Once the timer reaches zero, you win the level. One of the powerdowns is a red ball that follows you, though not exactly in a straight line, and it’s very slow. If you hit said red ball, you slow down, while the spark continues to chase you! Luckily, this effect lasts for only about five seconds.

The slew of sound effects are OK. The ball shatter sound (which occurs when the spark touches you, or you touch a red ball) is rather realistic. There is, unfortunately, no music though the sound effects are varied, and almost every event has one.

I was surprised by how polished the graphics look. Buttons are nice, the walls are clearly identifiable and look amazing. I don’t know why, but the ball’s line is even nice looking–you can make art with it! The spark looks pretty darn good, though I suspect it’s a particle and not actually a sprite.

There is a level editor available, though loading into the game is not functional yet. Using the level editor is as simple as click to select your object, and click around the level to make it! You can also have multiple balls, and make some nice-looking, er, “art”, if you can call it that.

All in all it’s a great game, and it’s still in the 0.08 beta stage! If this is only a fraction of what the finished game will look like, i’m sold! I give this game an eight out of ten.

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