As soon as you start the game, you will notice that the mood, setting, and atmosphere are superb. The storyline is mysterious and well thought out, with interesting to watch cutscenes. The lighting effects further enhance the overall flavor of the game, and adds an eery feeling as you explore each level. The game mechanics are well implemented, but they do take a bit of getting used to, asAs soon as you start the game, you will notice that the mood, setting, and atmosphere are superb. The storyline is mysterious and well thought out, with interesting to watch cutscenes. The lighting effects further enhance the overall flavor of the game, and adds an eery feeling as you explore each level. The game mechanics are well implemented, but they do take a bit of getting used to, as initially, the controls may seem clunky. The game rewards you with an achievement for killing innocent bystander monkeys and even keeps track of how many you have killed, which is rather pointless and mean. Regardless of the monkeys, there are plenty of monsters to kill that will come at you relentlessly. With that said, there is not much variety in who your enemies are, but this does not feel too repetitive or boring, since you will be doing all you can to control the ball and attack them with it, and there is a great amount of excitement and fun in the process. This mechanic really isn't as simple as it sounds, and it does take getting used to and learning the techniques. Killing the monsters makes them splat with some gore and loose body parts. These moments are incredibly tense, exhilarating, and action packed. The Ball manages to put together various aspects from a few genres and implements them quite well. It feels like a first person shooter, adventure, puzzle game, slightly reminiscent of the Portal series. The level design is outstanding, and truly sets out to make an experience that is memorable, tense, edgy, creepy and extremely satisfying. The buildings and other structures are masterfully crafted and placed in the game world for much enjoyment. Simply looking around each level is an absolute delight by itself. In The Ball, there is an overall feeling of loneliness, as you must progress through the dire situation of being lost all by yourself, without anyone helping. It also manages, through its mood, setting, and atmosphere to positively produce emotions of fear, despair, worry, and awe. Being inside the various tombs, caverns, and other structures presenting a theme of ancient Mexican civilizations is truly amazing. Everything has near perfect timing, expert design, wonderful execution and flawless placement. There aren't that many bosses in The Ball, but the few you will encounter are skilfully crafted, and a joy to watch and fight against. The puzzles are all quite intuitive and requires the perfect amount of thought in conjunction with action dexterity. They are all well developed and enacted, providing much satisfaction as you complete each one. If some of the puzzles may seem a bit complicated, the designers have included a hints system that allows you to get on the right path of puzzle solving without sacrificing the gaming experience and other plot elements. Adding to an already extremely positive overall experience, the ending was thoroughly satisfying. Once you're done with the campaign, you are also given the option to go through small, new levels not found in the campaign, in the so-called Survival game mode. It is an interesting change from the campaign, but it does not compare, as it is taken from an entirely different context, and has a whole different approach. This has been the best overall experience in a first person game since Half-Life 1. The Ball is that amazing. The environments are beautiful, the game play is rich and interesting, and it never gets boring. It is also perhaps the most fun you will have as a virtual, in-game archeologist. The Ball is a truly magnificent experience. It took me about 8 hours to complete.… Expand
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