Over the years, there have been a variety of physics based games that have been developed. Now, King Oddball has stepped up to take his place atop the throne of those games. Should all kneel before King Oddball or should the people revolt against him? Have the crowns shined up it’s time for the review.

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King Oddball Ends The World

King Oddball is a physics based that would draw some similarities to the Angry Birds franchise, however it is more puzzle oriented. The titular character is out to destroy the world around him, and he must take out everything in his path to do so. You as the player initially have three chances to clear the level of consisting of a mix of a number tanks, helicopters, and/or soldiers to advance. The enemies are atop makeshift platforms made of straight boards, bricks or stone. Several hazards such as dynamite or a rubber replica King Oddball add into the mix. King Oddball himself starts at a set spot on the map, and swings rocks with his tongue from side to side on the screen. Clear three or more enemies with one shot or hit King Oddball, you get an extra rock. All that’s really required is having the timing to push the button at the right time to get the best result. Of course lucky breaks or some unlucky occurrences happen.

A lot of trial and error throws let you figure out which tanks/helicopters should be taken out first. Maybe save the dynamite for the second swing, ricochet the rock off the rubber replica to get the helicopter on the other side. Every solution is different, but once you figure out how to do it it becomes an issue of timing and a sometimes a little luck. What is that a force field? Challenge accepted!king_oddball3

Stop the rock, can’t stop the rock!

Clearing each level opens up more of the map and new areas. The world is divided by a grid with areas that have about 15-16 levels, and once you clear that, you can advance to the next area. With about 9 areas you’re getting well over 100 levels, plus side challenges. Side challenges in the game mix things up a little. Those challenges include grenade challenges, where the rocks are replaced with grenades; Diamond challenges, where the player has to use all but one rock to clear a level; and One Rock Challenges where the player is only given one rock.

The game itself looks decent enough in the art with the background looking like a watercolor painting, and the characters that look like a basic animation. The same song will be playing throughout each level, but that isn’t what keeps you coming back to King Oddball. Though everything is kind of generic as far as the look of the game goes, the gameplay itself is very simple and quite addicting. Some levels require the right timing of when to throw the rocks, others require some very lucky breaks, but it never feels overwhelming to the point of where you can’t beat the level.

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A pendulum of destruction.

There aren’t any major problems with the game that came up. All the problems stem from minor gripes such as the generic background and design of the game. Also, another minor drawback in the game is when you know you lost a level, occasionally the game takes some time to make sure the entire game is settled before calling it over. It’s admirable, but when you know a level has been failed you want to get back in there and try again. Due to all that, it feels as though King Oddball is better suited for mobile platforms as opposed to a full console release. This might deter some players from buying the game on consoles which is understandable.

If you do put those issues aside, you’ll find King Oddball is a fun game that on the surface looks simple, but challenges the players mind as well as their timing. Gameplay is quite addicting and before you know it a lot of time spent playing. This is usually because of the player trying to complete the level or that “one more level” mentality kicks in…And you have multiple attempts at that too. It’s fun is in the simplicity and blends in a deceptive challenge in timing and puzzle solving.

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Final Verdict: King Oddball gets 6 destroyed tanks out of 10.

This review is based on the review copy of the Playstation 3 version of King Oddball developed and published by 10tons LTD.

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King of Swing | King Oddball Review
Overall Score6
Positives
  • Simple but challenging
  • Addicting gameplay
Negatives
  • Best suited for mobile platforms
  • Generic sound and art
6Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)
0.0

About The Author

As a three time platinum trophy earner, Jose is always serving his master Gaming...FOREVER MAY HE (or she) REIGN!!! Writing for New Gamer Nation and might pop up just about anywhere. Oh yeah, follow him on Twitter @DSB_IV