Previews

Hands on with N-Gage's Bounce Boing Voyage

Free the world of Pongpingy from the rule of the evil Hypnotoid

Hands on with N-Gage's Bounce Boing Voyage
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| Bounce Boing Voyage

Like the archetypal rotating stone lacking stagnant moss, the rolling ball game has been reworked so many times it suggests there's little some gamers enjoy more than controlling a spherical object on the move.

During Mobile World Congress last week, we managed to track down a couple of N81s running the first demo batch of N-Gage games from Nokia and Bounce Boing Voyage was one we checked out.

There are plenty of comparisons that could be made – anything from Marble Madness to Super Monkey Ball – and at its heart, Bounce sees you controlling a red ball which rolls down various 3D sloped levels.

In terms of atmosphere the bright colours and cartoon characters are vaguely reminiscent of a Mario-style experience. You know the sort of thing. There are three themed worlds populated with goodies, baddies and folks requiring your help, while the character of Bounce himself can switch between various forms – normal, rock and mud – to solve different obstacles.

But as we played, another game sprang to mind: Sonic The Hedgehog. This was due to the fixed tracks through the level, linked to item collection (in this case pink and yellow fruits) and the various types of mechanisms you have to operate in order to make progress. Examples include moving platforms, which force you to time your jump just right, as well as timed switches you must trigger and then jump up before the time runs out and they reset.

Perhaps more interesting, however, is that while you roll down the various slopes, it doesn't seem as though you can roll over the edge into the abyss. Hopefully this will be a design feature throughout the game, meaning that your progress is only frustrated by dealing with the various mechanisms and not having to restart the entire levels from the beginning.

And on that more general point, Bounce would seem to be a game very much targeted at a younger audience. It's colourful and cutesy – you're trying to free the world of Pongpingy from the rule of the evil Hypnotoid, after all – and so while it's unlikely to gain the most attention when N-Gage finally launches, it appears to deserve its place as part of a balanced initial line-up.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.