![]() ![]() I was like 12 years old and I was so obsessed with DX-Ball 2, I wanted to steal my mom's credit card so I can buy the bonus stages. ![]() I wasn't even particularly good in it, but the sheer action, the colors, the music, the insane powers-ups… just mesmerized me. I shoved the shareware demo on every computer I had access to, even my grandparent's old PII and my mom's PC in her workplace, so wherever I went, I ensured that I have access to this game. I rammed up the volume to the max on my old stereo speakers and I was just… disconnected from our world! I could entertain myself for whole weekends with nothing else but playing with DX-Ball 2. I've found the old shareware version of this game probably on a local gaming magazine's bonus CD. Base it on if you really need 520 levels, of which maybe 250 are actually fun, of classic Breakout action. So don't base your buying decision on the animation. Of course, the frequency of instant death powerups, and their habit of coming down exactly where you need to be to catch the ball, remains unchanged. These levels also add animation control items into the random power up item table, meaning you're less likely to get powerups you actually want. Keep in mind as well that the promo materials really emphasize the animated boards, but there aren't actually very many in the bundle, only a few boardsets have them, and it's mostly just a gimmick that doesn't really add all that much to the basic gameplay. Sometimes that's just a shorter and less boring method than trying for the dozens of successful trick shots that send the ball above wall to then bounce around for a minute while you just watch and pray, but on some levels it's actually required, because Wendy actually locked required-to-break bricks inside unbreakable clusters. These levels are about as fun as waiting in line at the DMV, where if RNGeezus doesn't gift you an early transformer or fireball the best strategy is to deliberately bounce the ball against the unbreakable wall for over a minute just to eventually trigger the "ball is stuck" failsafe that transforms them into normal bricks. Also keep in mind that almost half of those 520 boards were designed by Wendy McNally, whose concept of level design is to hide most of the bricks behind walls or jungles of unbreakables, with barely changed repeats of the same design over and over and over. I can't recommend it enough!Īs someone who played the old 90s freeware DX-Ball, I can recommend this as a proper sequel that is as fun as that game, or most any Breakout clone, is.īut it is pretty pricey for the genre, so unless you want a lot of levels - by my count, including the season pass right now, there are 520 boards to play - you might get more value for your dollar with a smaller, cheaper game (such as Brickochet). It's a great game and you should be playing it instead of reading further. Longbow Games is one of those old indie game companies where one can tell they love their games, and the fact that DX-Ball 2 comes out once again with great improvements brings a smile to this old fan. ![]() The kind of update that makes it obvious it's a labor of love. With new powerups (and the removal of some that felt kind of redundant like Ice Ball), new boards, better graphics and what seems to be a faster/smoother engine this game is a treasure. ![]() The 20th Anniversary edition of DX-Ball 2 beats Rival Ball in pretty much every conceivable way. A bunch of different powerups, a very generous mechanic of helping the player whenever the ball got stuck (in a loop or otherwise), the scoreboards when scoreboards were not quite as big a thing as they became over the years. I had always loved breakout games and this series did not disappoint. I came across this game as "Rival Ball" way back in the day, probably around ten years ago, mostly because it had a free/shareware version that one could pay to get extra boards for. ![]()
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