Magic Ball 2

I came into Magic Ball 2 with a real open mind. I will admit that I did not play the first game, but truth be told I did not even know that it existed. What made me want to play this was that a good friend of mine told it was a “more fun” version of Breakout. As someone who played the heck out of Breakout on the Atari 2600 back in the day that was all, I needed to hear to jump into this game!

Smashing Them All

The goal of the game is rather simple. Each stage is its own thing/puzzle or whatever you want to call it. You start with a rather interesting scene that is made up of blocks and you need to destroy it. That is all there is to the premise of the game, but just like it was with Breakout in the 80s, Magic Ball 2 is a very fun game. Not only is it fun, but it is also very, very addictive as well.

Blocky Fine Art

What I think makes this stand out from other similar block smashing games is the personality. Each level is its own scene and some of these are great and feature moving characters. Two of my favorites are the one where it is like an artic scene and there are penguins and another where it is like the woods and there are these what I think are moose on the stage. Each level makes you wonder what is next and it is this that keeps you playing and wanting to see what the next level has in store for you.

The overall gameplay is so basic that anyone can pick up and play this game. However, I will say that while I love Breakout, it is much more involved than that, and with that comes a bit more fun and a lot more of a challenge.

Watch Out For Those Powerups

Many other games that built upon what Breakout did include power-ups and Magic Ball 2 is no different. There is a great variety of power-ups here. These range from extra balls to smash round the level to what is almost like a machine gun that shoots at a high-speed. It is always exciting when one of these appears on the stage, but it can sometimes be a risk getting one. For example, if one appears and you move to go and get it, there is a chance you can miss the main ball!

I feel that Magic Ball 2 is one of those games that is a bit tricky to describe to people. It really does not sound all that exciting and the videos and images you can see online of it do not showcase how much fun it is. I found this to be a very charming and addictive game and a game I can easily see myself going back and playing many, many times. If you enjoyed Breakout and other games like that, you will enjoy this.

Pros:

• I like the way the game looks
• Each level is its own fun scene
• There are plenty of levels
• Getting a high-score is very addictive
• The game is easy to learn, but hard to master

Cons:

• I feel the soundtrack could be a bit more fitting
• It sometimes feels like a power-up is a trap!