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Madballs in… Babo: Invasion Review for Xbox 360

Madballs in… Babo: Invasion Review for Xbox 360

Rolling Strong

Madballs in… Babo: Invasion is not your typical, churned-out XBLA entry as the title may convey. In fact, it’s a bargain-priced offering that provides gamers with a fun, third-person shooter for either single- or co-op play. To top it off, the competitive multiplayer portion allows up to 16 players to challenge each other over Xbox LIVE in five different combat modes focused on challenging and addictive gameplay. All of this adds up to a great value with lasting appeal. That being said, this is a standard arcade shooter (with minor puzzle-solving in the campaign and frantic competitive action online). As such, be sure the genre interests you before slapping down the MS Points. Still, I was pleasantly surprised with what’s on offer in Babo: Invasion, and I’ve got a feeling this sleeper title will convince more than a few wary gamers.

Madballs in... Babo: Invasion screenshot

Babo: Invasion uses the Madballs license in an attempt to broaden its appeal. However, Madballs haven’t been popular since I was in the fourth grade. Even then, they couldn’t hold a candle to Garbage Pail Kids or M.U.S.C.L.E. Men. Moreover, only a handful of the classic characters from the franchise are used, and the Madballs-infused story-arc is wholly insignificant. Finally, the “Madballs in…” portion of the moniker severely dumbs-down the impact of the title, curbing its appeal. Consequently, I’m not sure why Microsoft Game Studios felt compelled to have developer Playbrains pad the game with the 80s IP.

Marketing foibles aside, gameplay in Babo: Invasion is decidedly entertaining. Whether playing alone, with friends in co-op, or competitively through Xbox LIVE, rolling around the labyrinthine environments as a little ball, toting high-powered weaponry, and turning foes into goo is a good deal of fun. While shooting at everything that moves is simple enough, the constant obstacles thrown at you and the mild platforming maneuvers that need to be executed from a top-down perspective are demanding enough to keep you playing. Adding fuel to the fire are the host of unlockables and the exponentially-growing point tally (further enhanced through leaderboard support).

Madballs in... Babo: Invasion screenshot

The campaign portion of the title tells an asinine tale of enlightened, lost aliens and their journey through space. While the story is completely inconsequential, making your may through the 10 puzzling levels, taking out minions, and socking it to the challenging, level-ending boss battles makes for an engaging campaign despite the poor narrative. Also, uncovering all the hidden bits, unlocking new characters, classes, weapons, and enhanced abilities that you can take over to multiplayer is more than enough incentive for players to buzz through the story mode. As icing on the cake, online multiplayer co-op is a nice touch, adding a distinct flare to the gameplay.

Once you’ve bested all the baddies and worlds of Babo, taking your hard-won skill set online to compete against fools in frantic 16-player battles keeps the fun going and makes the time spent in single-player more rewarding. The game lets players challenge each other in classic Skirmish, Team Skirmish, and Capture The Flag multiplayer game modes. Also, Avatar Attack allows Xbots to turn their Avatars’ heads into rolling commandos – taking out randoms’ too-hip-to-be-accurate Avatars is surprisingly gratifying. Finally, the game’s online showstopper is that of Invasion. Rather than just teaming up with other players and protecting a pre-set, specified zone, teams are actually able to design their own sides of the battlefield from a bunch of environment tiles. This makes Invasion games play out uniquely even after several runs through.

Madballs in... Babo: Invasion screenshot

Graphically, Babo: Invasion is no slouch. The environments all look tidy, varied, and crisp. The game is also pleasingly colorful, and the enemy design is of high quality despite the reliance on spherical bodies. The 720p output means the resolution is always high, but players will frequently run into framerate issues such as screen tearing on inferior television monitors. Also, the storyboard scenes are uninspired – inspiring me only to button-mash my way through them.

Madballs in... Babo: Invasion screenshot

Sounds in Babo: Invasion are somewhat lackluster. While catch phrases are often comical, they become tiresome after a short while. Also, the background music, while professional in composition, doesn’t elevate the gameplay experience. All in all, Babo: Invasion won’t have you turning up the volume – you may even decide to replace the sounds with your own soundtrack or a simple press of the mute button.

Fortunately, controls in the game are inch-perfect, outshining both visuals and the aural presentation. Rolling around the stages and sniping away at enemies is extremely precise. Also, the Xbox 360 controller isn’t cluttered with too many extra options even though additional abilities and secondary weapons fire are available. The developers did a great job of translating the often trying action onscreen into gamer-friendly controller inputs.

While Madballs in… Babo: Invasion may seem an unlikely candidate for download, the name belies a quality title that many will enjoy. What’s more, the low price, attention to detail in terms of gameplay mechanics, and breadth of play options make this an excellent candidate for purchase through the XBLA. If you like third-person arcade shooters, and you have found yourself getting board with the relative dearth of gameplay opportunities this summer, take a look at Madballs in… Babo: Invasion – you’ll be glad you did.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.4 Graphics
The visuals do a fine job of supporting gameplay, though they’re nothing to get too excited about. 5.0 Control
Rolling around the world, while blasting things, is perfectly executed. 2.8 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The sounds from voice over work to background music is forgettable. 4.0 Play Value
There’s a lot of fun and depth to be found here for the right gamer. Furthermore, the bargain price is a real treat! Still, not everyone will enjoy this game – it’s definitely for fans of arcade shooters. 4.0 Overall Rating – Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Avatar ready: Play as your own Xbox 360 Avatar.
  • Multiple game modes: Take on the campaign, a ten-level epic quest to save the galaxy. Play multiplayer with up to 16 players, or try four-player online co-op throughout the campaign. And try Invasion Mode, where teams strategically square off to build their side of a never-before-seen map. Once the map is designed, it is rendered in real-time and the combatants meet on it to battle for supremacy!
  • Versus arenas: Play on 21 multiplayer maps, with five combat modes: Skirmish, Team Skirmish, Capture The Flag, Invasion, and Avatar Attack.
  • The Madballs: Play as your favorite childhood toys, with 10 character classes each with their own unique special abilities, and 10 powerful weapons, each with two fire modes.

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