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Wednesday 20 February, 2008
[ entry #2 ]
GAMEPLAY
In my second play session I unlocked the third row of levels, corresponding to the third world. The roadway-themed world was less interesting than the previous dessert-themed world. It didn’t have much color to it, but I noticed a greater change in the level of difficulty. I had a bystander watching me play and at some points he was surprised at how I thought of rotating the board a certain way to advance the ball. I suppose I gained enough experience to get past the learning curve.
The game’s story is nonexistent. From the main menu, the game shows the player the controls and it jumps right into the puzzles. Near the end of my game session I realized this game is best played in short sessions, maybe half an hour. If you have time to burn, this is a good game for that purpose, but it doesn’t feel as if you accomplish anything.
DESIGN
I believe Kororinpa Marble Madness is innovative in its variety of ball types, but I’m not sure, as the only other similar game I’ve played is Super Monkey Ball. The gentle tone of the game is achieved with the light soundtrack of ambient sounds and simple art style. The level design in the game is varied enough to keep it interesting for an hour of play. Each level usually has puzzles that are found in previous levels, plus a new challenge unique to the level.
The game is easy to learn, but hard to master, as skill is measured by the completion time. Anyone could probably finish a particular puzzle, but not as fast as an experienced player who never lets the ball fall from the board. For those who can complete the levels quickly, it seems that the pacing of rewards in the beginning is too fast. The first set of rewards consists of balls of the same type, but they just make different noises. It either discourages the player from playing more games or makes them want to play more to get better rewards.
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