***** [Jun 7, 2006] by frank using amd, windows xp
XtzBall is a bouncing ball game where you must click on the ball to keep it bouncing in the air and prevent it hitting the ground and deflating. It features very challenging gameplay, powerups, good graphics, good sound effects, high score, and more. This is potentially a good game that suffers because there is no instruction, no Helpfile (not even a README file), and no indication what you should be doing. After some trial and error we discovered that if you click on the ball it will start to fall and, if you keep clicking on it, the ball will remain in the air. If the ball touches the ground (dramatically illustrated with pyramid-style spikes), it will puncture and deflate. This is not so easy to prevent. If you click off the ball before it starts you can change the accuracy from 100% down to virtually zero, but we are unsure what this actually does (if anything). XtzBall is not an easy game to play, certainly when you first start, and the lack of Helpfile makes you less inclined to learn. The graphics, while simple, are reasonably good but some more work in improving graphics would enhance the game's appeal. Once you start playing it does have an addictive quality as you try and get more and more successful bounces before it hits the floor. The powerups offer different point scores for each successful bounce, and there is one powerup that slows down the ball. XtzBall could be a better game than it is if the author considered some basic instruction worthy of inclusion with the game. It has no setup or install routine, simply download, unzip into the folder of your choice, and double click on the game executionable. If basketball or soccer is your game, then you should feel right at home with XtzBall.
