Table tennis on the Nintendo DS - Balls of Fire! (Balls of Fury (DS))

Member Name: julwhite

Product:	Balls of Fury (DS)
Date:	07/07/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of playability, good fun

Disadvantages: Sound and graphics not brilliant, multi-player mode needs multiple copies

This review is for the Nintendo DS game, Balls of Fury, developed by Black Lantern Studios and published by Destination Software. The game is a table tennis game, with numerous options and challenges to work through.

It's easy to start learning how to play the game, but it can take some time to perfect all the special moves which are available in the game. These are called power moves, and do take some practice to get right. However, for those new to the game, there are three difficulty levels to choose from, and you can get right into playing the game using the easy mode.

The two screens of the DS do suit this game quite well, as the top screen is your opponent's half of the table, and the bottom half is your area of play. You use the stylus to control the ball and its direction. The controls slightly surprisingly do work quite well, and you do feel in control of the game and players, and I was rarely frustrated with them.

There are numerous ways of playing the game, there's an exhibition mode, arcade mode and a story mode, as well as the multi-player option if you want to play with friends. In the exhibition mode, you just play a set match against an opponent of your choice, good if you just want to play a quick game. The arcade mode and story modes are similar, but the story options comes with a plot line, the arcade mode is all about just playing table tennis!

In terms of longevity, there's quite a lot in this game. You can build up points on your player profile, which you can also share with friends, by winning matches and winning various different trophies and tournaments. There are a range of opponents in the game, generally based on the film which this game is a loosely linked licence of.

The graphics and sound in the game aren't too bad, but aren't the most impressive that I've seen on the Nintendo DS. Maybe more effort could have been put into this element of the game, they're good enough to enjoy the game, but it would have improved the game's atmosphere if they'd been better.

There is a multi player mode so that you can play with friends, but unfortunately it require both players to have copies of the game. This is disappointing, as many other games only require one cartridge between the players. On the bright side however, copies of the game are cheap currently to pick up if you do want to play Balls of Fury with a friend.

The game's original price was 19.99 pounds, but is currently available on Amazon for under five pounds. Second hand copies are also available on sites such as eBay and Amazon, but at the time of writing, only for a little less than a new copy. The game is rated 12+, so isn't suitable for younger children. This is actually a shame, as in the easy mode, kids would probably really enjoy the game and be able to win matches without getting bored too quickly.

Overall, this isn't actually a bad game. There's lot of different options in the game, various players and additions to unlock. The sound and graphics in the game aren't necessarily the best I've seen, but the game play is good. The game is available for just a few pounds and as such, really does represent good value as there's lots of game play to be had in this product.

Summary: Good value for money