''Switchball'' is a 3D action-puzzle game, made by the Swedish developer
Atomic Elbow
Atomic may refer to:
* Of or relating to the atom, the smallest particle of a chemical element that retains its chemical properties
* Atomic physics, the study of the atom
* Atomic Age, also known as the "Atomic Era"
* Atomic scale, distances comp ...
, which was released for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
on June 26, 2007, on
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent ...
for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
on November 7, 2007, and on
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
for the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
on September 17, 2009. A HD version of the game was released on Steam on May 17, 2021.
Gameplay
The game puts the player in the role of a
ball
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...
, which is guided through various courses suspended in mid-air in five different environments: Skyworld, Iceworld, Caveworld, Cloudworld and Lavaworld, each one having six courses.
Each course contains multiple puzzles for the player to solve. The ball is used to push around objects, activate switches, among other things. Using
PhysX
PhysX is an open-source realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as a part of Nvidia GameWorks software suite.
Initially, video games supporting PhysX were meant to be accelerated by PhysX PPU (expansion cards designed by Ag ...
as its core physics engine, the game features many physics-based puzzles. Obstacles, traps, and other objects are common throughout the game. Some common objects include boxes, switches, fans, cannons, magnets, and rails.
The ball can be morphed into four different forms, each one having unique traits. The Marble Ball is the default ball that every level starts with, and it has no special traits. The Steel Ball can push heavy objects around. The Air Ball can be inflated in order to float for a short period of time. Lastly, The Power Ball can be charged to have one of three abilities: a dash ability, a jump ability, or a magnetism ability. Each ball reacts to the environment in different ways; For example, Steel Balls will tear cloth platforms and be drawn to magnets, while Air Balls are very easily blown by fans and can be popped by nails.
Each level is timed, and players are rewarded with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, depending on how quickly they complete the level. A scoreboard is available for each level, displaying the top seven players who completed the stage the fastest.
Development
Originally called ''Crazy Ball'', the game won "Best PC Game" during the 2005
Swedish Game Awards
Swedish Game Awards is Sweden's largest video game development competition. It has been held annually since 2002 and is organized by the student-driven, non-profit entrepreneurship association at the Royal Institute of Technology, Excitera. The c ...
and was a finalist in the "Technical Excellence Class" during the 2006
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...
. ''Crazy Ball'' was developed in five months.
The gameplay is similar to Atari's 2004 game ''
Ballance'', but features worlds instead of levels.
Reception
''
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' awarded the PC version of ''Switchball'' 8 out of 10, praising the AGEIA physics engine, commenting "the rolling and bumping and knocking and flinging are all exquisitely well done. And physics, the best thing to happen to games since explosive barrels, has a way of making you care."
''
Team Xbox
''TeamXbox'' was a gaming media web site dedicated to Microsoft's Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms. While the majority of content was Xbox and Xbox 360 related, the site occasionally covered general technology and other video game news.
...
'' awarded the Xbox 360 version a 9.4 of 10, stating "''Switchball'' is certainly one of the best puzzle games on
XBLA
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independen ...
."
''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' commended the AGEIA physics engine, saying "The real star of ''Switchball'' throughout the entire experience, online or off, is the physics system."
''
CVG'' criticized the difficulty of the later level puzzles in its review of the PC version, saying, "It doesn't run out of brains, but in later chapters it does succumb to that misguided urge to crank up the pressure. This goes badly. ''Switchball'' is a thoughtful puzzle game, but neither its camera nor controls are up to the dexterity-driven tasks it sets here."
Xbox Live Arcade re-release
On March 26, 2008, ''Switchball'' was re-released on Xbox Live Arcade with a patch that enhanced graphics and tweaked the scoring.
See also
* ''
Marble Madness
''Marble Madness'' is an arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide a marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within a time limi ...
''
* ''
Ballance''
* ''
Kula World''
* ''
Neverball
is a 2001 platform party video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The game debuted in Japan at the 2001 Amusement Operators Union trade show as ''Monkey Ball'', an arcade cabinet running on Sega's NAOMI hardware and cont ...
''
Notes
References
External links
*{{moby game, id=/switchball, name=''Switchball''
2007 video games
Puzzle video games
Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
PlayStation Network games
Windows games
Video games developed in Sweden
Video games using PhysX
Marble games