A game where the only character is a bouncing ball and it bounces around of square platforms, dodging spikes and lasers while collecting pieces of fruit to enter the worlds trippiest levels ever seen in a game, it does make me wonder what publisher heard that pitch and went, 'Y’know what...that sounds like a winner'. The game I am of course referring to is the epicness that is Kula World.
The reason for the review is that I have just found it on the Playstation network and quickly gave that a download. Honestly though, while the concept sounds like the creators were smoking something trippy while at a beach, its a design that works and it works well. Any game that can have you hooked for hours on end has to be a winner, especially when, once you've bested all ten levels, you go back to one just to start the whole painful process again.
So what happens in it? Well read the first sentence of this blog again and you've pretty much got it. You take the form of a bouncing ball who has no greater objective in life than to reach a large 'X' floating over an exit. To do it you bounce over platforms, collecting keys to enable you to use the exit. Which is actually a lot harder than it sounds. Every level is a puzzle that you must solve to successfully move on. This involves collecting the keys you need, sometimes one, sometimes up to four, collecting coins and fruit while avoiding the things that can cause you to pop. These include spikes, lasers, crumbling platforms and weird little star things that apparently 'capture' you. Oh and lets not forget the drugs. That's right, drugs. Scattered around levels, looking quite odd are small yellow and red pills that, should you pick one up, the world starts to distort for a short period of time, you movements become sluggish and time, if you're unlucky enough to have a timer, starts to move faster.
Well if we're being honest, the graphics are nothing overly special, but then again, how special do they need to be? This is a game relying solely on the game play it has on offer, not on any special effects. Same with the sound, just some generic background music that you sort of zone out listening to, until you hear this dreaded clicking noise and realise, to your dismay, that you've taken too long and suddenly have a timer that is rather close to zero. However it is the game play of this game that causes me to be rather fond of it.
The levels are downright tricky and you can waste more than a few lives trying to navigate some of the harder ones. Level eight is one that will always stick in my mind as I believe that is the one where lasers are introduced and you must navigate moving platforms to turn buttons on and off in order to reach your goal. But the difficulty is the joy of it. There’s a real sense of achievement when you finally finish. Especially if you managed to access most of the bonus levels. Of course the difficulty means that, despite it's bright colours and using a ball as the main (and only) character, this game is probably not for children. Heck I got more than a little frustrated at times, I can already see small children pulling their hair out as they try, and fail, to get across the ice platforms without sliding off the end.
It was awesome when it was on the Playstation 1 and I would highly, highly recommend it to anyone as the download on the Playstation network. For the £2.99 or however much it is worth, it'll keep you occupied for hours lol. Trust me on that.
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