Friday, June 5, 2009

Marble Blast Mobile Review

Once I had played Marble Blast Gold for the computer, I knew it would be perfect for the iPhone. Imagine my surprise when it came out, very recently, on the App Store, costing $4.99.
In Marble Blast Mobile, the goal is to collect all the gems in the level, then get to the exit. Some levels do not have gems, just the objective of getting to the exit. You tilt the device and use arrows on screen to control your marble and change the view angle. An alternate control scheme is also in the game, where you use virtual analog sticks to move and adjust the camera. The graphics are also incredibly good.
There are two modes in Marble Blast Mobile; Single Player, and Multiplayer. In Single Player, there are 20 levels, which may not be enough for a Marble Blast fan. The level selection is easy, just tapping arrows or swiping to move through the levels. In Multiplayer, you play on one of a few courses, against a player on WiFi. The only downside to this is that unless someone is on WiFi near you, in the game lobby, you will never use this game mode. Other features included on the main menu are the ability to choose one of many marbles to play as, Options, to change the controls, calibrate, change your high score name, or turn sound effects and music on or off.
The game was quite fun for the first few levels, but I didn't like having to collect the gems. I wanted to play the later levels, which were more streamlined and didn't have gems, but they were locked, until I could get a gold medal on one of the levels I had already unlocked. But, it you are a casual gamer, it is very hard to get the gold medals, and unlock the later levels. So, I eventually stopped playing the game, and I keep wishing that there could be different difficulty levels.

Pros:
Lots of different marbles
Great graphics
Good controls

Cons:
Needs difficulty levels

Bottom Line:
This is a good game for fans of the Marble Blast series, but if you are a casual gamer, there are better options for you. The game has all the features it needs, but it just doesn't nail it.

Scores:
Graphics: 5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Controls: 4.5/5

Overall: 8/10 (not an average)



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