Review | Madballs in… Babo: Invasion
Format: Xbox360 | Genre: Arcade action | Publisher: HeadGames | Developer: Playbrains | Release date: 15/07/09 | RRP: 800 MS points
By Greg Giddens
Madballs in… Babo: Invasion is a true arcade game that fully embraces the style. You’re a head with a gun strapped to your face, and you roll around picking up different guns and destroying other faces or balls. Expected result: fast paced shooting action – and that’s exactly what Madballs deliverers. However, underneath the arcade shell is a surprising amount of innovation and strategy.
The single-player game isn’t the deepest of experiences, but it doesn’t really need to be. But the length is a problem – although the 10 levels are initially challenging, once you learn how to approach them you can breeze through them very quickly. Once it’s over, the fun dies with it, as replaying the same levels can only entertain for so long. The humour through the single-player game is excellent, not so much from the characters’ annoyingly frequent one-liners but from the hidden dairy entries scattered around each level, providing amusing release from the often hectic shooting action. The levels themselves are well-designed and varied, with good presentation through vivid colours and great fire effects. It’s amazing how much is squeezed into each area, from the copious amount of enemies to all the hidden areas and collectables. And collecting them, along with killing all the enemies, provides much more than just fulfilling your rampant needs; the experience gained unlocks more weapons and characters.
//Rolling, rolling, rolling
As you play through single- or multiplayer, you gain experience, unlocking more as you go. This omnipresent progression means every kill counts, especially as the difficulty ramps up in the single-player game’s later levels. Despite this increase in challenge, it’s certainly best to begin with the campaign, as in the multiplayer mode you’ll find yourself easily out-gunned you until you unlock some of the more powerful weapons.
There are an impressive 10 of these to unlock, each with a secondary fire mode that too needs unlocking, usually through kills with the primary fire option. Many enemies have specific weaknesses and strengths, which your fire modes are geared towards, so figuring out which mode is best for each enemy is crucial. It all adds a dose of strategy to what is essentially a traditional arcade shooter, and affects your playing style whether in the campaign or online.
Ultimately, the single-player acts as a primer for the excellent multiplayer game. Madballs in… Babo: Invasion sports no less than seven multiplayer modes, the most interesting of which are the Avatar Attack mode, which allows players to use their avatars’ heads instead of the ordinary characters (for once, the inclusion of an avatar game mode doesn’t feel tacked on) and innovative and strategic Invasion mode. In Invasion, the objective is to secure control points around the map, each of which able to be fitted with an offensive weapon or health station to support your team. It’s fast-paced, action-packed and agreeably tactical – something which surprisingly extends throughout the otherwise typically arcade experience.
The variety of game modes on offer is magnificent, and none of them feel rushed or compromised by the others. However, for all the engaging features of the multiplayer and the challenge of the single-player, Madballs is lacking in depth and nuance, so prolonged play is difficult to sustain.
For 800 MS points (£6.80), it’s a good buy. But it’s still shy of its full-priced competitors. Madballs in… Babo: Invasion is an arcade game, and it lives up to that completely: the fun is present in abundance, but it’s a casual and short-lived affair.
7/10
I would suggest you try 4 player coop in Hard difficulty. By the 4th level you will be well challenged.
You forgot to mention that this game is based on a line of toys from the 80’s. They were awesome and grotesque like the ‘Garbage pail kids’.
The challenge is certainly present and, like you said Demozord, playing in hard would certainly up the ante, but challenge along isn’t enough to make a game great.
The Madballs license is barely present in the game to be fair, it’s a bit tacked on. I preferred the Boglins to the Madballs as far a gross out toys from the 80’s and early 90’s go, I love Boglins, and I wish I could justifiably buy them in my mid 20’s :)
You can! Just say you’re a collector of retro toys from the 80’s. Seriously, when I’m rich I’m going to buy them all back, He-man, Transformers, Bravestar, Visionaries, Supernaturals, Battle Beasts, M.U.S.C.L.E Men, Manta Force etc.
Then I’m going to sit in a room and play with them all to try and escape from my jaded adult mind. :(
You can’t go wrong with this for 800 MS points. Agree that the Madballs tie-in is a little bit tacked on, it doesn’t really add anything to the game and I think there’s only two actual Madballs characters in there at present. Wondering if more will be released as DLC in future? But whatever, this is a great shooter with enough content to have kept me busy for a while.
Don’t fear JD, I’ll be in the padded room next door doing the same thing :)