Captain Steelbounce Review

The awesomely named Beardshaker Games (although with a pretty creepy looking logo) make their day view with a modern take on the eternal classic Paranoid with Captain Steelbounce.

A pirate with steel balls? Sold.

I must say I got terribly excited when I realized this game was based on the tile-destroying-super-addictive game genre, not only because I really like the genra, but also because it has been a while since I played one. But awesome steel-balled pirates aside, the game was quite a let-down.

The game has a nice art style and a solid concept. With the tried-and-true Paranoid gameplay, the player advances levels when he achieves a score high enough to unlock it. It has six levels, and some intriguing level design.

Why make such a deep well? Its just counter-instictive to play this level.

Some interesting ideas in the game, but they are just not well implemented. First of all there is a time limit for each level, which really draws a lot from the gameplay. Secondly you have three balls, but you can launch them all at once, making it pretty difficult to maintain them in play, but since the time is so limited, you feel short-pressed to do so. And last but not least, and for me the major problem with the game, are the controls. They are just awful. The speed is weird, and most of the times you just feel powerless when trying to aim your balls, making the whole thing a really weird experience.

Although it is a nice effort from the developer, a little bit more time perfecting the controls and some of the level design would've gone a long way for this game. But as it was release, it's pretty disappointing.

Game rating: 4/10