This is Not a Ball Game

This is Not a Ball Game is a game of two halves.

On the one hand, you have an elegant-looking physics puzzler that's full of possibilities and promise. It's a beguiling treat for the eyes, with a charming carnival theme and an alluring soundtrack.

On the other hand, it's a poorly designed, infuriating game of missed chances, spell-breaking IAPs, and bad ideas that make you wonder why you ever thought it was a good idea to pick the title up in the first place.

This is Not a Ball Game is a first-person ball flinger in which you launch a series of different balls at the scenery inside the ring of a Parisian circus. There are three golden stars located somewhere within, and you need to smash them to complete the level.

Cardboard cutouts, moving fans, bouncing drums, and a host of other obstacles are there to block your shots or entice you into experimenting with new angles and clever shots.

The longer and faster your flick, the farther and faster your ball goes. Unfortunately, for all the bluster and drama of the game's early stages, Absurd Interactive has failed to really get this core mechanic right. Too often, you're flinging balls and failing to get them to hit the scenery you need to smash.

That's annoying when you've only got one more star container to smash and you realise you have a limited amount of balls left and buying more either involves spending some of the in-game currency or some real-world money.

Progression is further stymied by a system that means sometimes you don't have enough magic to move on to the next level. In that instance, you have to wait patiently for the magic to recharge, spend some of that in-game currency, or flash some cold hard cash.

This all leads, somewhat inevitably, to a hugely disappointing, confusing experience.

There's a decent game here somewhere, don't get me wrong. But the developer has got the basics wrong, then exacerbated the problem by implementing a monetisation model that distances you from the aesthetic and setting it tries so hard to build.

So, yes, This is Not a Ball Game is a game of two halves. Unfortunately, though, it's the messy, broken half that comes to the fore far too often.