It’s even more frustrating considering there is no real singleplayer to speak of. Thus, its absence is a complete missed opportunity. Considering the game was designed with more than just two people in mind, it would seem like a shoe-in that online competitive play would be at the crux of the experience. Sadly, the game is only local multiplayer, which is quite baffling. It’s still a good deal of fun, but never reaches the heights of the four-player madness. However, when played with just two people, things never heat up the way they’re apparently intended to. Its peak enjoyment is certainly when there is a group of friends huddled around the television, cursing and trash-talking their way to victory. Sportsball was clearly designed with four players in mind. Although Chasing Aurora has been our favorite indie party game available on the Wii U eShop, Sportsball is giving it a run for its money. We could easily see this being a huge hit at a party, or an good fit for a group of friends wanting some lighthearted, competitive fun offset by good old-fashioned beer-drinking. Our contests routinely broke out into shouting matches, interspersed with hearty laughter. That being said, once things start to click, and players’ brains acclimate to the unadulterated chaos that comes with playing alongside three other friends, there’s a great deal of fun to be had. In other words, on paper Sportsball looks easy enough to grasp but it’s far from it. Taking into account the speed, direction of one’s bird, along with having to repeatedly hit a button to keep one’s bird flapping its wings and using the dive button to rapidly descend on the ball is like informational overload at times. Doing this at break-neck speeds is incredibly challenging at first. To do that though, one has to be able to line up their shot expertly. The only way to score in Sportsball is by knocking a ball into a basket that sits in the middle of the screen. Because the matches are so quick in nature, even its two-button setup can feel overwhelming, as there’s actually quite a bit more than just hitting two buttons. Controlling one’s bird, while straight-forward, takes a lot of getting used to. In fact, it’s that depth and adjustment time that gets in the way of being able to fully enjoy Sportsball, at least right out of the gates. Indeed, it is a game with a truckload of strategic depth, and quite a learning curve to boot. Though, this accessibility is somewhat illusionary sure it allows for practically anyone to jump in and start playing immediately, without having to worry about learning many systems however, once playing the game for more than a few minutes, it’s easy to see that Sportsball is not for the faint of heart. It’s all quite rudimentary on the surface, and appears even more superficial given the game’s two-button system. Once teams and characters have been chosen, it’s off to a handful of arenas to compete in, what is essentially, a lightning-fast version of soccer - just with the addition of flying birds and jousts meant to knock the ball around. Players start by choosing between four teams, each of which has four characters that posses their own unique abilities and attributes. The setup to get to that point is basic, as well. The foundation of the title, then, is quite simple: players tee off against each other in a battle for sportsball court dominance. In fact, the game is pretty much Joust, just with a sports feel to it and neon-colored bird-riders. Sportsball’s most obvious source of inspiration comes from the cult classic Joust. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously as a result, but also one that has been lovingly crafted. That’s what Too DX’s Sportsball embodies: throwback design philosophies built for local multiplayer with maximum fun in mind. With those titles and many other Wii U eShop releases, there’s a sense of nostalgia to them in terms of their design, meaning that they all have a decidedly arcade feel to them thanks to the employment of design mechanics that feel ripped straight from that bygone era of gaming - in the best of ways. The Wii U eShop has some true gems nestled away in its awful interface titles like Chasing Aurora, Nano Assault Neo, Armillo and Mighty Switch Force Hyper Drive Edition are fantastic examples of the old-school goodness just waiting to be discovered.
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