Faceball 2000

Usually 16-bit games get shrunk down for the Game Boy. Faceball 2000 by Bullet- Proof Software goes the other way, and scores big.

Play Ball with Faceball

Faceball 2000 for the SNES takes essentially the same tag 'em and bag 'em action from the popular Game Boy cart and gussies it up with outta sight SNES graphics. You enter a bizarre series of mazes to play virtual reality dodge ball with a bunch of smiley-faced, geometric creatures gone berserk called Smiloids.

At its wildest, the game's like a 1970's nightmare flashback. Smiley Faces swarm around you. Every time they knock you for a loop, they say, "Have a nice day". The silly, vapid phrase drives you nuts after awhile. You gotta admire such a deliciously depraved sense of humor!

Maze Daze

There are two basic games: Cyberzone and Arena. Yes, that's Cyberzone not Cyberscape, Game Boy Faceball fans. Unlike GB Cyberscape, where you had to search for the exit, Cyberzone focuses on Smiloid smackin' fun. You merely zap a certain number of Smiloids to reveal the way out. The 'Zone consists of 41 increasingly tough levels, plus eight Bonus Levels. You won't beat this game anytime soon!

Smiloids-in-your-Face

The Smiloid opposition has rolled over from the Game Boy version. Shootmes, lshootu2s, Rovers, Gremlins, Turkeys, and the obnoxious Bouncers are out in force.

To help against your good-natured geometric foes, you can find power-ups hidden in special Pods. Power-ups include Armor, Speed-Ups, and Sensors, which reveal your foes on your Level Radar.

Put on a Happy Face

Faceball's graphics are SNES sharp. There's really not that much variety to them, but oh how they move through those weird mazes! You get an awesome first-person perspective of the action, which surrounds you with the labyrinthine Faceball environment. Some of the backgrounds are knockouts.

Two-player games feature a slick split-screen view. In versus games, you can see yourself in your opponent's screen. However, the cheat factor isn't significant. The music and the sound effects are just right. You might even turn up the volume.

Have a Nice Play

Faceball 2000 is a simple game concept that works. What you see is what you get. So, if you like what you see and read here, get it. The only thing this game's missing is the Game Boy's four-player capability. Until that SNES technological breakthrough occurs, that's right...have a nice daaaaaay!

Here's the game that's bound to help the Game Boy grow up. Why? You don't have to squint to play, you don't destroy anybody, and up to four people can play. It's Faceball 2000 from Bullet-Proof Software and its guaranteed to be unlike any Game Boy title you've ever played.

Bullet-Proof touts Faceball 2000 as the Game Boy's first virtual reality game. The cart does in fact thrust you into a highly absorbing first-person perspective game of dodgeball in an elaborate labyrinth.

With the Nintendo Four-Player Link and four Faceball carts, you and your friends can dive into dodgeball madness and chase each other all over the place. Any combination of players can team up-four against the computer, one-on-three, two-on-two. Naturally, the regular two-player link works, too.

Your character appears as a Holographically Assisted Physical Pattern Yielded For Active Computerized Embarkation (HAPPYFACE) character called a Smiloid. That's right: Have a nice day! In fact, your opponents flash that annoyingly cute phrase across your screen after they tag you with a good shot. Aaaaaaargh! But it's good fun.

Faceball features two basic games, CyberScape and Arena. In CyberScape one or more players take on the Master Smiloid and his Smiloid team in 60 mazes. In Arena you and up to three other players play a computerized version of tag, either against each other or a team of Smiloids. There are multiple arenas to choose from, and the winner is the first player who tags another player ten times.

Your Smiloid glides through the air as you chase down your grinning opponents. You use an onscreen crosshair to take aim and punch a button to pitch a ball. Labyrinths feature hidden doors, traps, and breakable walls. You'll come across floating Pods, which reveal clues to navigating mazes, key strategies, 1-Ups, and band-aids.

Don't worry, Bullet-Proof hasn't abandoned its non-violent games credo. This is fun-on-the-run video dodgeball. Faceball 2000 is out just about now, so make a run for it, and have a Nice Daaaaaaaay! We teamed up three Pros, and one nongamer (good ole Fancy Pants) to check it out. Here's what they had to say: Faceball 2000 is extremely playable... any gamer, hot or not, can pick it up and immediately play it and enjoy it to its fullest. The fact that four players can simultaneously move in real-time makes for an infinite number of different games. No two game sessions will ever be alike. This is the first game where I can honestly say that I felt like I was an integral, active participant...! can't wait to check out the color version for the SNES, but even the Game Boy graphics are great. No flicker, and smooth movement. The perspective as you travel through the maze and shoot at each other is well done and believable. I'd say this game packs a universal appeal for players of any age, sex, or ability (or planet?) since the parameters are dictated by the players. The game can be as intense, complex, or competitive as they decide to make it.

Hey, I could play instantly even though I'd never touched a game before! I don't know what they mean when they talk about virtual reality, but heck, it sure is fun! I on ly wish they gave me more spaces so i could have a longer name!

Faceball 2000 is without a doubt the top Game Boy title I've ever picked up. Playing against the CPU is a little tough (that Vampire's a ghoul), but playing against other humans, especially a four-player game, makes for hysterical fun. The game's 3-D, virtual-reality type perspective gives you the feeling that you're running around that maze, despite the small Game Boy screens. And there's nothing like the chill that runs down your spine as you round a corner and run smack into a gigantic smiloid. I really liked the fact that no player is out of the game until it's over-otherwise Fancy Pants would've been crying his eyes out. I can't believe anybody wouldn't like this game...O.K. someone won't like it...but they're crazy!

If this is virtual reality, it's definitely unreal! Get ready to get lost in cyberspace. Faceball's so good enough you want to buy a few more Game Boys just so you can turn your buds on to it. There's something about hunting down and tagging a real live human being that's a real turn on. Ever read a story called "The Most Dangerous Game?" Faceball isn't bloodthirsty at all, but it is absolutely dangerous! For outrageous fun, develop your own rules such as playing without using the overhead map, so no one knows where anyone else really is. But don't cheat like that smiley-faced weiner, Gideon. He was constantly in our faces until we figured out that he was using the map while we weren't. We forgive him, Faceball can make you crazy.

Blow away those smiley faces with Faceball 2000 for the Super NES! Select from 15 odd-ball faces and head straight into the combat ring!

One or two players can compete in the Cyberzone or Arena areas. In Cyberzone, you will not only fight each other, but you must face a selectable number of other Smiloids.

Set in a three dimensional, first person perspective maze world, you are a sphere in search of a way out! Play against the machine or get three other friends and link up to make the best multiperson GameBoy game made! Besides looking for the exit, search out the other player's spheres and shoot them. Watch out, as they are doing the same. Choose the Cyberscape option or go for the real challenge in the Arena.

As you get to the higher levels, the computer enemies become smarter. Watch behind you, because these adversaries will try to shoot you in the back!

A combination of hide and seek and tag, Faceball 2000 features first person perspective. Up to four people can play, and the game takes place in real time. Faceball features over 80 levels.

Based on the GameBoy title from Bullet Proof Software, FaceBall 2000 is sort of a modern day stress reliever. You're a smiley face with a bad attitude and you must go around a maze and blast your rivals.

If you had a "nice day" with Faceball 2000 for the 7 Game Boy, get set to put on a new Smiley face with the Super NES game due out in June. Here's a preview of Bullet-Proof Software's 16-bit version of virtual reality tag-ball.

About Faceball

Faceball fa the SNES sports clean 16-bit graphics that will make Game Boy Faceball fanatics go ga-ga. But they'll surely miss the monochrome handheld's four-player capability. Other than that, the game of Faceball is essentially unchanged.

One or two people chase each other, or a grinning gang of "Smiley" Faces called Smiloids, through two sets of mazes, Arena and Cyberscape. In Arena, you'll play through 14 mazes against another player or versus computer-controlled Smiloids. Cyberscape will consist of more than 75 mazes overrun by Smiloids. You toss a ball at your opponents to "tag" them -- three tags and they're out.

As in the Game Boy version, you can find Pods which contain 15 different Prizes and Power-ups. The Smiloid opposition has rolled over from the Game Boy too. Shootme's, Ishootu's, Turkey's, Rover's, Gremlin's, and Bouncer's are all out in force.

The game sports great 16-bit background graphics, including a city setting, a red volcanic landscape, and a snowy Ice Age environment. You can also choose the cola and shape of your Smiloid character.

During two-player games, both players' views appear on-screen at the same time. No fair peeking in versus mode.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

Faceball 2000 may sound very similar to its Game Boy progenitor, but FB probably won't need a total facelift to be an outrageously fun SNES game. It's a video game concept that just plain works!

Have you ever had enough of those silly smiley faces? Well, now you can blow them away with Bullet-Proof Software's Faceball 2000! Choose one of four different shaped smiley faces and set off to attack your foes. Cyberscape and Arena are the two different modes of play. In Arena, the smiley faces shoot back. An awesome soundtrack and smooth graphics compliment this new cart. Have a nice day!!