REVIEW: Hamsterball – PSN
By
Zack Wenson
Published: March 26, 2010Posted in: Reviews
REVIEW: Hamsterball – PSN

VIDEO

Thursday, March 25th is the day hamsters finally got their due. Well I suppose the head strong, highly delusional hamster from the animated movie Bolt started the revolution, but TikGames new addition to the Playstation Network, Hamsterball, took what they started and made the furry little creatures even better!
As I downloaded Hamsterball, my curiosity was at a high level wondering what I was going to spend my next few hours doing. It didn’t take long after I fired it up to realize that this game, although simple, was full of fun.

There are 3 game modes in single player including Hustle, Stunt, and Trial. The object is simple; get your hamster-in-a-ball from the start line to the goal in the time limit. Sounds easy enough but I assure you, there are plenty of challenges that are ahead to slow you down. The levels in Hustle Mode remind me of the special levels in the old Sonic the Hedgehog games with huge slopes, fast-paced swooping turns, multiple paths and jumps. Also standing in the way are barriers that pop up out of nowhere that will stop your hamster on a dime. Power-ups can be collected along the way such as ones that will earn you extra points and others that will increase your time limit. This mode made me feel as if I were on the largest, most elaborate water slide ever created. Stunt Mode has your friend racing to the goal on a much more compact course. Sharp turns, S-curves, and nasty tar pits are some of the obstacles that Frank (that is what I named my hamster) has to conquer to make it through. Finally Trial Mode has the player racing to the goal as quickly as possible. Instead of a timer counting down, it is counting up, timing your journey to the finish. Once finished you are rewarded in medal style, except instead of the popular gold, silver, and bronze, there are carrot, cherry, apple and watermelon times. Each of these mode options has their own charm. Personally Hustle was my favorite but with the others very close behind.

Multiplayer wise there isn’t much, but there really doesn’t have to be. Gamers can go split screen and race a friend to see who has the most talent in driving a hamster. If you feel that you want to be “King of the Hamsters”, you can battle your friends in Sumo Mode. This puts players on a small platform with the goal of knocking everyone off and becoming the last hamster standing. Sumo Mode is really overshadowed by the rest of the modes because let’s face it, it’s nowhere near as exciting to just run into each other when you have to option to race.

All in all I really enjoyed this game. Again, there really isn’t much to it but for a PSN game that runs just under 10 bucks, it has remarkable replay value. I found myself trying to beat my time over and over again. There are a ton of levels that are well designed and at times make you feel that you yourself are inside the ball. I felt like I was playing Putt-Putt, going down a water slide, and playing with my pet all at the same time. Interesting combination I know, but it works! Why stop here? Hamster bowling, hamster pinball, hamster golf… sky’s the limit in my opinion!

FINAL SCORE – 85/100
http://spawnio.com/2010/03/26/review...;E2%80%93-psn/