Squeeballs Party review

Broken controls are a party foul

12DOVE Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Wonderfully animated cutscenes

  • +

    Squeeballs sure are cute

  • +

    Several different minigames

Cons

  • -

    Stylus just doesn't work

  • -

    Just six core challenges

  • -

    Dull and ugly in-game graphics

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The big deal with Squeeballs, we’re told, is that it’s the first cross-platform motion-controlled game. But while the developers may have figured out motion controls on Wii or Xbox 360 with their cool peripherals, they didn’t get their heads around the stylus. Taps, swipes and slides don’t seem to register on the touchscreen, making aiming, throwing, slicing or any other task ten times harder than it needs to be. And you’d better get used to those tasks, as they’re repeated throughout this minigame compilation. With just six core challenges (and slight variations thereof), there isn’t much to do here.

While the cutscenes suggest this is a dull but wonderfully animated game, the in-game footage reveals it to be dull and ugly. It’s almost like this is a tie-in game in waiting – are the developers hoping to get a cartoon series off the back of the cutscenes? They’re certainly better at those than making games.

Nov 9, 2009

More info

GenreOther Games/Compilations
DescriptionTaps, swipes and slides don’t seem to register on the touchscreen, making aiming, throwing, slicing or any other task ten times harder than it needs to be. And you’d better get used to those tasks, as they’re repeated throughout this minigame compilation.
Platform"DS","Xbox 360","Wii"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating"Rating Pending","Rating Pending","Rating Pending"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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