By Alec Meer on October 19th, 2010 at 9:41 pm.
Unreal Engine mod-done-good The Ball is finally due for its big-boy release, after months of cooing and dribbling about how its mental puzzle-carnage could evolve given time and money. The answer’s below, in video form. In word form: a sort of omni-geek power fantasy.
Dramatic music. Enormous monkeys. Dinosaurs. Blood. So much blood. And that’s even before you factor in the titular Ball, a titanic death-machine that’s both weapon and puzzle.
While a completely different thing in crucial ways, it somehow evokes the singular psychopathy that the Unreal Tournament games once plumbed before the cold and spiky UT3 put a stop to all that.
The Ball’s out a week today, on all your favourite digi-shops and some of those dusty high street ones too. I suspect most of us will want to give it a shot, eh?
19/10/2010 at 21:50 BobbleHat says:
Looks like its shaping up to be a well-rounded game.
19/10/2010 at 21:53 supdude says:
HAH! LOL!!!
19/10/2010 at 22:04 MarkSide says:
Well, they certainly had a ball making it.
19/10/2010 at 22:49 SuperNashwan says:
I’m really liking the atmosphere.
19/10/2010 at 23:01 televizor says:
This thing’s gonna be ballin out of control.
19/10/2010 at 23:27 Ballisticsfood says:
Although I think they threw a bit of a curveball with their music choice.
19/10/2010 at 23:53 Burc says:
Yeah, the choice of music was a ballsy move, but I like it!
20/10/2010 at 00:07 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:
you round it up pretty nicely
20/10/2010 at 00:13 Shih Tzu says:
I tried to adjust the volume, but I couldn’t find my pie.
20/10/2010 at 00:29 stahlwerk says:
I don’t like games that are balls to the wall hectic.
20/10/2010 at 00:34 Wipa says:
Balls.
20/10/2010 at 01:24 golden_worm says:
It looks pheri-cool.
20/10/2010 at 01:29 stahlwerk says:
We’re on a roll!
20/10/2010 at 01:45 Haplo says:
It seems as though the ball might be radioactive. Perhaps it’s some sort of glowball.
20/10/2010 at 01:47 Shazbut says:
You guys are hyspherical
20/10/2010 at 01:59 gerafin says:
This one is really gonna round out my game collection.
20/10/2010 at 03:04 jd says:
It looks extraorbinary.
20/10/2010 at 03:51 MDevonB says:
You guys are a bunch of screwballs. The game looks bearings to the wall insane.
20/10/2010 at 09:29 ffrank says:
The level design looks great, just hope they can keep-it-uppy in the later levels.
20/10/2010 at 15:15 adonf says:
rotfl
21/10/2010 at 01:23 Tetragrammaton says:
I love puzzle games. I love zombie gorillas. Let the good times roll!
21/10/2010 at 11:28 The Colonel says:
This game’s going to be the bollocks!! Oh.
19/10/2010 at 21:52 Jake says:
Not sure that’s a great ape, surely it’s a super monkey.
19/10/2010 at 22:20 Feet says:
I see what you did there.
19/10/2010 at 21:53 Farkeman says:
looks like a good game ,
puzzle , blood , zombies , monkeys ?
im sold ..
20/10/2010 at 08:58 BAReFOOt says:
Am I the only one who thinks that ball looks like a Pokemon ball, and therefore can’t take this game serious anymore?
19/10/2010 at 21:54 Matt says:
The best game based entirely around an escort mission?
19/10/2010 at 22:05 Protagoras says:
@matt
Nope. Now if they make a whole game based on escorting a sweet cube with a heart symbol on it, making it your “companion” – that would be the best game based entirely around an escort mission.
20/10/2010 at 01:24 9of9 says:
Ball VS. Cube
Coming soon to deathmatch near you.
20/10/2010 at 09:13 klo3 says:
As much as i love Portal i’ve come to believe that the best considered game based on an escort mission would be Ico. I’ve yet to play it myself but it being released as a HD version together with SotC was the tipping of committing heresy in the form of giving my money to a Japanese manufacturer black boxes meant to enhance your TV’s interactivity.
19/10/2010 at 22:04 Lambchops says:
What with this and Rock of Ages games sure are becoming a load of old balls.
19/10/2010 at 22:10 Chris Evans says:
I am really looking forward to this one, I’ve watched the videos and they are great. The idea of the Ball being your tool and weapon is great. I’ve got an interview with the project lead on The Reticule. Shame they don’t have any immediate multiplayer plans though.
21/10/2010 at 11:30 The Colonel says:
Pity TFI Friday got shelved really.
19/10/2010 at 22:16 KBKarma says:
How very odd: RPS has the title of the game on the LEFT of the colon. Normally it’s the right.
Yes, that was the only thing I wanted to say.
… Oh, the game? Looks pretty cool, actually. The music is great.
Also, zombie gorillas and dinosaurs.
A final note: did anyone else notice the little ticker in the bottom-left, above the health meter, that shows how far away THE BALL is from you (and yes, it must be written as THE BALL at all times).
Another final note: someone mentioned an escort mission, and drew parallels with Portal. Now… anyone ever played the Advanced version of Test Chamber 17? Yeah…
19/10/2010 at 22:24 terry says:
Are balls the new cubes? Discuss.
19/10/2010 at 22:28 Taillefer says:
For added roll playing elements.
20/10/2010 at 00:15 Shih Tzu says:
I hear Hitler only bought one copy.
19/10/2010 at 22:29 Shadowcat says:
Looks like laugh-a-minute and die-a-metre action.
19/10/2010 at 22:40 Spacewalk says:
Hey hey…
19/10/2010 at 22:46 kutkh says:
Ladies and gentlemen, Clive Barker’s Super Monkey Ball.
20/10/2010 at 15:13 EthZee says:
…by Clive Barker.
19/10/2010 at 22:50 ScubaMonster says:
I’m assuming the ball is the only weapon you have against the bad guys?
19/10/2010 at 23:06 Dominic White says:
Yes. That’s kinda the entire point of the game.
19/10/2010 at 23:08 Lambchops says:
Actually I’m pretty sure there’s no point!
20/10/2010 at 00:07 ScubaMonster says:
The point is to move the ball, that doesn’t necessarily mean you couldn’t use anything else to defend yourself.
06/11/2010 at 00:22 ZhouYu says:
I approve of Lambchops’ comment here in every possible way.
19/10/2010 at 23:09 Freud says:
Looks like it could be fun/annoying.
19/10/2010 at 23:22 Rane2k says:
Looks like somebody enjoyed QPong so much that they made a single player game out of it, nice! :-)
19/10/2010 at 23:33 Gaytard Fondue says:
I sense a dangerous lack of IS-2′s.
20/10/2010 at 00:10 KingOfTheCosmos says:
I want you all to roll that thing over monkeys until it is the size of a planet.
20/10/2010 at 00:17 Ted says:
This looks completely ridiculous. Who thought this was a good idea?
20/10/2010 at 00:33 stahlwerk says:
Your cerebellum did, a few microseconds before your cerebrum kicked in.
20/10/2010 at 00:36 stahlwerk says:
What’s the rash, monkey boy?
20/10/2010 at 00:56 Pantsman says:
“…it somehow evokes the singular psychopathy that the Unreal Tournament games once plumbed before the cold and spiky UT3 put a stop to all that.”
If it really does this, it’s a day one buy for me.
20/10/2010 at 00:58 rammjaeger says:
Shameless self promotion:
The Ball is also now available for pre-purchase here:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/35460/
And if you pre-purchase The Ball you get an exclusive “The Ball” themed playable character for Killing Floor.
Ok shameless self promotion over :)
20/10/2010 at 09:20 Bungle says:
No TF2 hat??? You crazy.
20/10/2010 at 01:49 Alan Wilson says:
Well, I suppose it has to be done… seeing someone else started the ball (theme) rolling:
Hitler only bought one ball.
Goering bought two, as the price was really small
Himmler was rather similar
But poor old Goebels
Got no balls at all
[He couldn't even get a friend to gift it to him on Steam]
20/10/2010 at 02:57 droid says:
While the game does have a point, the point of the game doesn’t.
20/10/2010 at 03:29 Gwathdring says:
Ah, bad puns. You folks are awesome. As a side note how much bigger/longer/well featured/different is this from the modification of the same name? I found it a while back as a standalone modification for the Unreal 3 engine.
20/10/2010 at 03:30 DMJ says:
Pah. Totally redundant. I don’t think I have a single person I know who doesn’t already have an enormous spiky death-ball they can use to crush their enemies into pulp and leap on top of to climb higher than they could on their own.
20/10/2010 at 04:00 MDevonB says:
This is topping the list of games perfectly suited for tessellation.
20/10/2010 at 05:01 Ptoxiq says:
Why does most video game music SUCK? Really, they should have used some public domain something or other before paying someone to compose that typical crap. Rant over.
20/10/2010 at 05:21 The Hon. Reverend Fred Gherkin says:
$18-20 for a six hour game? Pass. Looks like good contender during the Christmas sales if it drops to fivebux though.
20/10/2010 at 06:04 markcocjin says:
I know everyone’s praising the Unreal Engine technology but whenever they try to do a creature or a character in a grimy detailed and armored theme, they all look the same visually. Not in a realistic manner but with the way they look in the light.
Even the Kronan in Mass Effect looks like a character from Epic studios. Look at Bulletstorm’s character. So strangely identical to what Epic would do.
20/10/2010 at 12:40 terry says:
Yeah, everything looks like it’s being lit by a full on spotlight to show off the shiny surfaces. I think the only really pleasant looking UE3 game is Bioshock. And that looked pretty because it used soft lighting effectively and sparingly. Everything else I’ve seen out of this engine has all the atmospheric subtlety of a school nativity play.
20/10/2010 at 22:54 DestinedCruz says:
Mirror’s Edge, Bioshock, Borderlands, Fairytale Fights, I Am Alive, Medal of Honour: Airborne, The Last Remnant, Rainbow Six Vegas/Vegas 2, Red Orchestra 2.
Those all look different.
I don’t see your point.
20/10/2010 at 07:01 fuggles says:
I was quite interested until I found out it was by tripwire and comes with a character for the worst game I have ever installed :\
Still, there is something primordially appealing about running over a giant ape with a giant ball…. I shall await the reviews and see if its worth full price, which is better than not looking at the reviews at all! Ah, the value of a trailer. As an aside, you are described as a swashbuckling archeologist – I hope you actually get to do some archaeology as a juxtaposition at the start.
20/10/2010 at 21:09 Eclipse says:
it’s not by tripwire dude, it’s by Teotec Studios
20/10/2010 at 21:12 Eclipse says:
tripwire is just publishing it, also the “full price” is $20 – 17 Eur or less if you preorder it
20/10/2010 at 08:58 Grubblik says:
Wonder if there is a level based at C.E.R.N. think Icosahedron collider mission would be cool.
20/10/2010 at 09:00 Grubblik says:
bah! reply fail
20/10/2010 at 09:23 Bungle says:
I could see myself enjoying this game with a nice Seven and Seven… or Highball, if you will.
20/10/2010 at 13:14 Porcupine says:
You guys are on the ball with these puns.
20/10/2010 at 13:54 james says:
:rolls eyes.
20/10/2010 at 14:40 Krimson says:
Do not taunt happy fun ball,
20/10/2010 at 17:22 Nighthood says:
Mirror’s Edge is pretty, and it’s UE3.
20/10/2010 at 17:26 Nighthood says:
Replyfail, it was meant for the person saying all UE3 games looked the same.
21/10/2010 at 11:32 The Colonel says:
Pretty… shitty. YOINK!
20/10/2010 at 22:40 Nike says:
Round objects!
21/10/2010 at 19:48 Scandalon says:
And you didn’t even mention the Mod and/or Standalon UDK demo?!?
http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-ball/news/the-ball-stand-alone-udk-demo
24/10/2010 at 23:11 pupsikaso says:
Um, the size of the ball in the video makes me cringe. If it’s going to take up the whole screen, exactly how would I be able to effectively use it to fight monsters or solve puzzles? It’s just going to get in the damn way every time.