XBLA Wednesday Brings Switchball, Word Puzzle

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The puzzle-filled labyrinths of Switchball and the logic challenges of Word Puzzle represent this week's Xbox Live Arcade Games. Both arrive on the download service this Wednesday, November 7, and both will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

The mazes of the Atomic Elbow-developed, Sierra Online-published Switchball require players to alter the properties of their ball to clear obstacles, such as barriers vulnerable to the Metalball or what Microsoft describes as "physics based death traps," which mandate the Airball. In addition to five environments, the game packs two-player online co-op and eight-player racing.

According to publisher Microsoft, InterServ International's Word Puzzle contains "a whole host of synapse melting challenges." It includes five different game modes, allowing up to four local or online opponents to compete for word searching glory, and InterServ promises an abundance of downloadable word packs to keep the action fresh.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 5, 2007 9:55 AM

    If Switchball is more puzzler and less platformer than it could be nice. A lot of games like that end up relying on frustrating action stuff instead of making you think but I'll give it a go and hope for the best.

    • reply
      November 6, 2007 12:17 AM

      Switch ball is pretty much 80% puzzler and 20% "action" and even that is pushing it. You do still have to maneuver around and not fall off, but that's not really the focus here.

      The selling point is that they have a heavy use of physics in all the levels so you're bumping boxes around and stuff like that -- coupled with different ball physics normal/heavy/light/bouncy.

      It's .... a ... solid game I guess, but... I guess the problem really was that it wasn't puzzle enough nor action enough. The puzzles were all simple for the most part and the action wasn't the focus so...

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