This is not Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra -- “Tim Trance”
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I always get a couple of odd looks when I say that one of my favorite games ever made is Marble Blast Ultra for the Xbox 360, its the kind of game you’d assume to be quite casual. You could compare the game to Super Monkey Ball, or Marble Madness, simply because you’re rolling a ball around a level. Theres a greater depth to Marble Blast though, which makes the game deep and challenging, but at the same time simple and accessible.
While Marble Madness in the arcade was a frantic and ruthless race against time, where you had to navigate across taxing levels with sloppy controls, Marble Blast Ultra is about clearing a level in as best a time you can, with controls that excel in absolute precision.
While Super Monkey Ball is about reaching a goal by tilting the entire world, in Marble Blast Ultra you have direct control over the ball itself. If you drop off an edge of a platform above another in Super Monkey Ball, you are very VERY lucky if you can land your monkey on it. However, in Marble Blast Ultra, using spin and ‘blasts’ both in the air, and when landing on the ground, you can bounce your ball in a precise direction; a feature that both later puzzles and online multiplayer demand if you are to succeed.
This is also not Marble Blast Ultra
Its this surprising amount of depth that makes Marble Blast Ultra so compelling, and competetive for me. Theres a tension I always feel, when throwing myself across the level, bouncing across the very edges of platforms, just to gain those extra milli-seconds in an effort to grab gems first. The multiplayer half the time is fierce, where an elite number of players will zip around the level unnaturally to stay ontop.
As for the other half of multiplayer sessions though, there are a number of fun glitches that are often exploited. For instance, if you jump off the level in certain places, all players will spawn in the exact same spot, causing bounces and ‘blasts’ to catapult players miles above the level. Another glitch would cause players to lodge themselves in a levels platform, if they drive themselves underneath a slope for long enough. Grabbing a super-speed, using it, holding down the trigger and jump whilst running into another super-speed up the half-pipe is always fun too.
If you’re after something you can pick up and play, yet master like a pro, I highly recommend Marble Blast Ultra. Although I grabbed it the day it came out for full price, I believe its now discounted. With additional map-packs now out too, theres not been a better time to check it out y’all. Especially if you’re a fan of either Marble Madness or Super Monkey Ball!!
Play Marble Blast Now on InstantAction
Marble Blast Ultra (C) GarageGames
