Ballblazer

Many centuries have passed since the Great Madness, a time when war was at its most rampant and horrific peak. A multitude of great space battles were both won and lost but few survived to revel in any glory. That was centuries ago and man has since learned from his mistakes. Peace now reigns and the only battles fought are those on the grid of the Ballblazer playfield.

Objects are rendered with graceful scaling sprites, and the framerate never stutters. Since you turn in 90 degrees increments and automatically face the direction of the ball, the constant reorientation can be confusing - especially to novice players. Ballblazer offers nine skill levels and adjustable game lengths. New players may have a hard time getting a feel for this, but when two Ballblazer veterans face each other, it can get pretty intense.

This game was revolutionary when it first came out (on 8 bit computers) in the mid-80s. Ballblazer, a futuristic one-on-one split screen soccer-style game, was the first video game to let you play another human opponent from a first-person perspective. You move a small "rotofoil" around the 3D field, attempting to grab a floating ball and shoot it through moving goal posts. When your opponent has possession, you can knock it loose. The game is totally original and has an incredibly catchy theme song. If you prefer to play against the cpu, there are nine skill levels and the AI is impressive. The limited visibility and simplistic gameplay may wear thin after a while, but Ballblazer stands the test of time.

The sound effects are incredible, and the music is simply amazing. These remarkable tunes sound both ultra-modern and funky. Ballblazer is an exciting game, and the action gets more intense as the clock ticks down. The control is outstanding - you can accurately aim your shots -- even from a distance. If there's one inherent problem with Ballblazer, it's that the camera angle is constantly changing with respect to the ball, and therefore it's easy to get disoriented. There are nine levels of difficulty available in the one player game. Ballblazer was later "updated" for the Playstation, but that awful game didn't deserve the Ballblazer name.

So, though there are suggestions of other games and game types, there's nothing quite like Ballblazer. Go for it, and them. Those intergalactic balls of fire.

If you're expecting this Pony Canyon port to match Atari's offerings on the 5200 and 7800, you're in for a major letdown. The scrolling is incredibly choppy due in part to the low frame rate. In addition, the frantic pace has been slowed to a crawl, making it play more like a simulation than an in-your-face arcade action game. And the tremendous music and sound quality that was a trademark in prior versions of Ballblazer has been significantly watered down. Only die-hard NES and Famicom collectors will want this one.