~ FACEBALL ~
Riverhill Soft / BPS / Xanth Software
Super CD-ROM
1993
The first order of business when preparing for battle in Faceball is to select a head. I usually go with the gruff, thuggish cube-carven fellow, but a globular guy, a star-shaped guy, and a mushroom-like guy are also available.
Then it's death-match time. You zip about a small mazelike environment while pelting your cranial adversaries with little red balls. The contest can be a one-on-one affair to be resolved between you and the computer or a battle royal should you be able to assemble a drove of Faceball-loving friends. As damage is dealt and received, cracks appear in the participants' viewing windows, and the characters themselves begin to show damage and shatter.
Should you tire of the cat-and-mouse games of combat mode, you can opt to partake in timed trials that call for the heroic heads to scour mazes for eggs and escort strange little hatchlings to flashing exits.
Whether you're racing or scuffling, you won't find much substance to the scuttle-and-blast events, but plenty of options are available as far as labyrinth layout and difficulty level are concerned.
You can even allow ugly pink bubblegum ghosts access to the fray to make matters more chaotic.
Faceball is a simple sort of thing, but it's also an entertaining sort of thing, as its snazzy soundtrack and amusing voices lend liveliness and charm to the cut-and-dried proceedings. The game is unlikely to hold your attention for days on end, but it's enjoyable in bursts and worth picking up for the player who'll be satisfied to reap once-in-a-while rewards from it.
