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I'm sorry to announce that after 13 years and three months as a games journalist, I've finally sold out. A developer indirectly bribed me into covering its game, and I took the bait and accepted.
It's not that I don't think Madballs In...Babo: Invasion is worth covering. The upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game actually seems pretty darn fun from the half-hour demo that we got, and that's the real me talking, not the one who sold out.
No, the me who sold out took an offer from the developer to make a special Madballs edition of our logo. (You remember those classic -- not classy -- grotesque squishy-ball toys, don't you?) They didn't even ask for anything in return, but here I am, writing a story about their game, just because they made this awesomeness for us:
OK, fine -- they win. Let's talk about the game some, but I'm going to give you three legitimate and honest reasons why you should care about it (and one why you shouldn't...which you've probably figured out already).
Why you should care about Madballs In...Babo: Invasion:
1. This is a real game. No, really. This isn't some kiddie licensed fare with generic platform platforming and collectible collecting. It's an arena-based shooter with a wide variety of units, unit classes, weapons, and a rock-paper-scissors attack system (some Madballs are weak against fire attacks, for example).
2. Babo: Invasion is actually a sequel to a free-to-play PC game called Babo Violent 2 (which you can check out here) that had nothing to do with Madballs.
3. The game's base-defense/domination mode has players and teams quickly taking turns building a tile-based map (think Carcassonne) before each match. The players fit squares together with walls, ramps, bases, shield generators...basically customizing every stage before they play. The combinations and strategic possibilities seem endless here.
Why you shouldn't care about Madballs In...Babo: Invasion:
If any of the above "reasons to care" seem apologetic, it's because...well, this is Madballs. This isn't exactly the Watchmen of licenses (and that didn't turn out too hot, did it?). Yes, this is a legit game, but you're going to have trouble convincing your non-gaming friends of that, especially when the Madballs start spewing out extreme-attitude one-liners during the action....
But then again, would this story have happened if the developers only offered to make a Babo Violent 3 version of our logo? Hmm...maybe Madballs isn't such a bad license after all.
