GENRE
	Sports
	DEVELOPER
	Black Lantern Studios
	PUBLISHER
	DSI Games
	LOCAL WIRELESS MULTI-PLAY
	Yes
	Wi-Fi/GLOBAL ONLINE MULTI-PLAY
	No
	MICROPHONE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Conventional gaming wisdom says that games based on movies are something to approach with caution. This is because, unfortunately, too often gameplay plays second fiddle to the movie tie-ins. Keep reading to find out whether or not this is the case yet again in Balls of Fury for DS.

visuals

Balls of Fury's use of DS's dual screens to show the entire table is an excellent visual choice. The player's paddle follows where the stylus touches the screen. It works well for the most part, but sometimes players may feel that there isn't enough space to swing beyond the table as it takes up most of the screen. While DS can handle 3D models, competitor AIs are instead represented in higher detail as 2D, animated sprites.

audio

Balls of Fury features unobtrusive competition music, voice recordings for player taunts, and sound effects that indicate what's going on with the rally. Not only can one hear the tap of the ping-pong ball as it bounces, but also power moves being charged and executed. While the use of voice for taunts is a step in the right direction, each character has only one taunt and so always says the same thing.

gameplay

Balls of Fury for DS delivers solid, touch screen controlled table tennis. Players move the paddle by dragging the stylus across the bottom of the screen, and tracing a short line delivers the swing. It's fairly intuitive and just about everything one could ask for in terms of touch control.

Once players get rally basics down, they can then delve into adding in taunts and special, character-specific power moves. A rally gauge must be charged up to use power moves, which, when delivered at the right time can be devastating. Some power moves cause the ball to curve unpredictably, or to simply wink out of existence and reappear somewhere on the opponent's side of the table.

Players can choose from a variety of play modes, including Exhibition, Story and Arcade. Exhibition mode is a simple, single match where players choose their opponent, Story mode follows the events of the movie through still frame and text cutscenes, while Arcade mode pits players against AI characters without the story between matches. A choice of difficulty levels plus unlockable characters and achievement trophies are enough to keep players busy for some time.

multiplayer

Multiplayer here is multi-card only; both players must have a copy of the game. Having only one copy of the game we were unable to try out this mode.

overall

While movie tie-in games should be approached with caution, Balls of Fury is an exception to that rule. It achieves its success by landing solid gameplay first and letting the movie tie-ins follow after. Overall, Balls of Fury for DS delivers surprisingly solid touch control ping-pong action on the go.

7.0/10