14 DAY TRIAL // Just a couple of days ago, Switchball was conformed as one of two upcoming Xbox Live Arcade titles. In the meanwhile, Sierra Online has released the new puzzle game for Xbox LIVE Arcade users to download and enjoy. The game won TeamXbox.com's Best Downloadable Game of E3 and Editor's Choice awards, as well as a 9.4 out of 10 rating from the site.
"Switchball exemplifies the innovation and level of quality we are bringing to Xbox LIVE Arcade," said Nicole Perez, vice president of marketing, Sierra Online. "Switchball's striking graphics, as well as the physics-based gameplay, advances the genre."
Switchball is a game where players have to conquer labyrinthine mazes as they manipulate the physical properties of an "ever-changeable ball" to solve clever puzzles. Kind of like Mercury Meltdown I guess, only the ball stays round. Speaking of which, Sierra says that game features an advanced Ageia-based physics engine, making the physical puzzles intuitive and allowing players to interact with objects just as they would in the real world.
Basically, players morph into the Metalball and ram objects out of their way, charge the Powerball to dash up ramps and jump over obstacles, switch to the Airball to float over physics based death traps or use the Marbleball for speedy rolling around action.
Ball descriptions (as found within an early fact sheet of the game):
Marbleball - all around ball good for rolling around quickly Metalball - dense, heavy ball great for moving objects out of the way Powerball - highly-charged ball, zap with energy to dash or jump Airball - airy, light-weight inflatable ball to float over obstacles
The 5 different 3D environments, in which 30 levels of labyrinths are set, sound a little something like this:
Skyworld - Players can switch between the Marbleball, to balance and manipulate objects, and the Metalball, to ram heavy boxes off the path.
Iceworld - Players fly the Airball over gaps
Caveworld - Set in the dark with glowing crystals, it introduces players to the Powerball, which can be charged with different powers to solve a variety of dexterity challenges.
Cloudworld - It sport more complex challenges, being set inside a large cloud of colorful gas
Lavaworld - The most challenging level of all, of course. It is set inside a huge volcano with fiery explosions - if players get one puzzle wrong they must start from the beginning!
Switchball is rated E for Everyone and is now available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 Microsoft points. The PC version is on its way too.