The idea of rolling a virtual ball around the screen is not new. Nor is the idea of a physics-emulating puzzler. What Iām looking for, when I try a mobile app fitting that description, is execution and charm. Amazeballs provides.
Itās not complicated. At least, not at first. Press button for rotation, roll ball around, collect stars. Fab. I can do this. Gold medal for me, yay! Onlyā¦ okay, now I have to change my iconās color as I roll around, to match the surface Iām on. Check! Blue, green, I can do this. Silver medal for me, yay! Wait, whatās this you say about sudden death from red walls? Okay, I get it now, that took a few false starts, but I finished. Wait. I didnāt finish well enough to move on? Okay, Iāll do it again, now that Iāve got the hang of it. Bronze medal for me, yay! This isnāt hard. Wait, whatās this about slowing down time?
Amazeballs was more of a challenge than I had expected, and it took me by surprise. It takes a while to get the hang of exactly how much inertia you need to compensate for, and how quickly you need to rotate the screen. If youāre me, it also takes you a while to lose the habit of unconsciously turning the whole phone, instead of just pressing the buttons.
I played the free edition; there is also a paid version (currently $1.12), which removes the advertising and adds more playable levels. Truth be told, Iām probably just as well off without more levels; some of what Iāve played is phone-crushingly hard and I canāt afford to throw my Droid across the room. Still, those challenging levels create a definite sense of pride on the (sadly rare) occasions I manage to get a gold finish. If I accomplish nothing else today, I will have rolled a little cog around the screen fast enough to beat the clock. That isnāt amazeballsā¦ itās Amazeballs
Amazeballs [Free, Google Play]
