Space Balls

Space Balls might well have been entitled "Snooker with the Stars."

That's not because it contains the futile attempt to relight the careers of a bunch of former soap stars and boy band members, but because this is a ball-centric physics game played out amongst the planets.

Its similarities to snooker might not be immediately apparent – the game pitching itself as a battle between the Space Balls and their square-shaped rivals the Cuboids – but the gameplay is all about angles.

Just like thwacking the cue ball off a cushion, Space Balls relies on your ability to bounce solar spheres off a series of obstacles. Instead of the beer-stained table down at your local, the universe your playground. Your goal is to fire your ball through everything from a cluster of planets to hulking great lumps of space rock.

Navigating these obstacles is the main challenge. Your target, usually hidden in amongst them, is in fact one of the Cuboids. The idea is to fire your ball out of a cannon at the bottom of the screen so that it takes out your foe along the way.

The controls involve setting the direction and force behind your shot. At the bottom of the screen are two sliding pads: one that handles the cannon's starting point and another the angle of the shot. Once you're in position, power then becomes key: the force behind the putt is determined by how long your hold down the 'fire' button.

What makes Space Balls really difficult – it's worth pointing out that this is a game that takes no prisoners – is that your main ball is essentially useless. It does nothing but fire off in a straight line, bouncing off anything in which it comes in contact.

Clearing a path to glory comes down to the game's line-up of power balls, each one coming with its own special ability that you can employ to clear the route to the Cuboid.

These balls, naturally, have to be put to good use before you can take your main shot. The tools at your disposal include everything from pushing objects out of the way or even knocking the Cuboid itself into the line of fire.

Once a route is open, success comes down to lining up your final shot correctly, but even the most careful planning doesn't always lead to a direct hit.

So tight are the margins that getting your ball from point A to point B often requires excessive trial and error – few are the levels that can be conquered with one lucky strike. This fairly hostile level of difficulty is sure to alienate some.

Though the storyline attempts to soften the blow somewhat – a cheeky mention of Rolando likely to endear the game to ngmoco fans – the levels themselves are sparse, there aren't substantial rewards for success beyond a star rating, and there's no real motivation to play on beyond satisfying your own ego.

As such, Space Balls feels like a great setup slightly marred by uninspired delivery. While the game successfully marries a focus on physics with a puzzle elements, not much thought appears to have been given to how this all translates into addictive and, most importantly, fun gameplay.

While Space Balls is entirely solid, it lacks the spark needed to keep you on board for anything longer than a flying visit.