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dreamalot2007's Marble Mania (Wii)
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| [February 9, 2008 03:35:25 AM]
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Gameplay:
The more that I play this game the more addicted I become. Instead of becoming bored of it as I might with a single or possible even multi level multi player game, I can’t put the Wii mote down. This feeling is created for me by simplicity of the game as a whole. It is difficult to not fall off of the edge, but there isn’t a bunch of different combos to memorize or buttons to push. All you have to do is tilt your hand.
The simplicity of the actions made by the player also helps create a sense of flow to the game. As you tilt your hand to the side the little panda glides across the screen in a sometimes ethereal way making cute little grunts. After you have had to repeat a level several times going through the level is like driving in a hover car. You anticipate turns and your marble doesn’t deviate from the center and inch. It feels like flying and makes passing the level smooth. The levels steadily progress in difficulty, which makes each new challenge less daunting.
Design:
One of the things that I particularly liked about this game was that it was a game of precision, not timing. I was disappointed when I got further along in the game and there were rotating lights that if you touched would send you back to the start. The game was adequate without this added challenge that in my opinion was overdoing a good thing.
This game is very much single player oriented and doesn’t leave a large amount for discussion. In this way it is more an exercise of dexterity and a brainteaser than a possibility for social interaction.
The interesting part of this game is that though it is a game of progression, there is no hint of a choice in the path that the player must take. It is made very clear that there is only one, often narrow way towards the goal. This path is also deceivingly simple. The challenges aren’t always easy to see as in fighting games (i.e. punch a minion three times and it dies).
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| [February 9, 2008 02:27:59 AM]
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Summary:
Marble Mania is a game based on old-fashioned marble tilt game. The point of the game is to guide a marble through an obstacle course and collect all the red jewels and make it into the goal.
Gameplay:
While playing this game my adrenaline began to pump. I favored the slow and steady approach to the game so my hands started to shake a little when I was concentrating more thoroughly on what I was doing. This increased as the levels progressed. This game seemed more serious to me than fighting games because it was about precision and it was completely unforgiving. This aspect made me more eager to dedicate myself to it and I found it addicting.
Some of the marbles were actually animals that made cute noises as they rolled around the maze. This is the closest that this particular game comes to characters. This was very aesthetically pleasing as were the different backgrounds, some more than others. The first scenes were set in a forest area and were very calm and low pressure. The next levels were set in a candy land kitchen. This was nice as it put the player into a sugared frenzy and the cute factor was high. This higher levels of the one’s that I got to were set in a city and they were my least favorite. The animation was good but the setting was dull and it made me feel all the pressure with less of the tension cutting cuteness.
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dreamalot2007's Marble Mania (Wii)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Saturday 9 February, 2008
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