BallBlazer Champions Review

Oleh Unknown

Senin, 01 Desember 1997

BallBlazer Champions looks good and sounds fine, unfortunately the gameplay can't keep up. Controls are not bad but the action is hard to follow with the ball constantly going in different directions. A button allows you to turn quickly, but it uses energy and rotating without the button makes locating the ball even more difficult. Four different views are available, but all of them are too close to your vehicle, so an overhead view would have been very useful.

Some stadiums also make following the action difficult. Stadiums look really good and each have an impact on the game. It is just that some obstacles can cause frustration when you are trying to move. Another annoyance is that after a goal, the ball launches again without letting you reset to the starting area. This leads to easy goals for the computer because it always knows where the ball is, while you only get an arrow letting you know which direction to rotate.

Action is so fast, with you constantly changing directions in the 3-D environment, it causes headaches and hand cramps after an hour of playing on the standard PlayStation controller. However, since BallBlazer Champions is about fast action, these problems may be part of the experience. Graphically the stadiums and rotofoils look cool, making you feel like part of the action. Sounds are decent but you will be so busy looking for the ball that you may not even notice that an announcer makes some comments.

Overall, BallBlazer Champions is a cool concept; each character has their own rotofoil that can be upgraded to give the game some depth, with plenty of power-ups to add to the action. While the rapid action is the idea behind this futuristic competition, the camera doesn't position itself well enough.

Graphics

Stadiums look great.

Sound

The effects are entertaining and the announcer is okay.

Enjoyment

The action is fast as well as hard to follow.

Replay Value

The tournament, save feature, and eight playable characters add to the replay value.

Documentation

Documentation provides character profiles.