We keep rollin' rollin' rollin' with this preview of Tripwire's The Ball

With a World War II multiplayer shooter and a zombie-killing co-op extravaganza under its belt, Tripwire Interactive's next move appears to be a rather odd one. Both Red Orchestra and Killing Floor were generally well received and gave players some great multiplayer action, so this shift to a single-player title appears to be quite unexpected.
 

If Portal had been a puzzle-horror game...

The Ball originally began life as an Unreal mod back in 2008, and won itself a fair few awards, including the ModDB Single-Player Mod of the Year. It's not all that surprising, then, that Tripwire has decided to take development to commercial levels - and with that move, created a game which is most likely going to be one of the most under appreciated games of 2010.

You take on the role of an archaeologist who is working with a team on the slopes of a dormant volcano in Mexico. The floor beneath you collapses, and you're plunged into a series of caverns which, on further exploration, reveal themselves to be rather special. Ancient ruins describe an intriguing artefact - a gold-plated ball. It's not long before you've discovered this colossal ball, and a special device for manipulating its movement.

This is first and foremost a puzzle game. The ball can either be fired around the place using the left mouse button, or sucked into your handheld mechanism by holding the right mouse button, and dragged around with you. You're presented with a series of room and corridors, through which you must push the ball onto switches, through dangerous areas and over certain peril. Where you cannot go, the ball can - and the majority of the puzzles are based around this fact.



Make no mistake, there are some really clever puzzles on offer. So clever in fact, that I found myself constantly comparing The Ball to Valve's 2007 hit Portal, in that both games involve a special gun of sorts which must be used to manipulate your surroundings. As you move through the seven-hour long story mode, the puzzles become more diverse and brilliant, and I found myself completely hooked and unable to stop playing.

The scale of your surroundings is immense. One minute you'll be rolling the ball through tight corridors and through small caves, then the next you'll walk out into an enormous cavern, complete with ancient ruins and lava pits. It's an utterly beautiful game, with slick graphics and smooth physics-based play.
 

A name like 'The Ball' really doesn't do this justice...

It's also pretty scary stuff. Being trapped in the depths this ancient place, not seen by human eyes for centuries, there's a very eerie feel to it all. You'll hear whispering every now and again, and it will chill you to the bone. The question of what this place actually is will keep you playing, as you'll want to know exactly what the hell is going on.

Around an hour into play, the terror increases as enemies are introduced. Zombie-like creatures will charge towards you, and you will start bricking it with fear. Fortunately, your trusty ball isn't just good for completing puzzles - it's great for crushing your foes too. Grab the ball and fire it in the nasties' direction, and watch as blood splatters all over the place.

You can be pretty creative with your killing too. Let baddies run between you and the ball, then hold right-click and watch as the ball comes surging towards you and mows them all down. Taking ancient creatures out is incredibly satisfying stuff - in fact, dragging the ball around in general feels satisfyingly clunky. Later on, you'll meet much more ferocious baddies, and you'll need to give the ball that extra bit of oomph to see them off.

Apart from the lovely main story mode, there is a survival style game to contend with. Think you can keep the hordes back with just a crazy gun and a huge rolling ball? You probably can, but not for very long! There are also plenty of secrets to find on each of the eight available levels. The game will also house full multiplayer features, with things like achievements and leaderboards so you can challenge your friends to speed-runs and the like.

As it's an indie title, The Ball will be pretty cheap too - just $19.99 will bag you this beauty of a title. And yet, while I reckon this is one journey you'll definitely want to take, I also believe it really won't sell all that well, which is a shame. The main reason is that name - 'The Ball' clearly describes the concept suitably enough, but also feels a little amateurish. Hopefully the game's mod-orientated back-story will help put it on the map.
 

Going up against that thing? He's got some balls...

Dare I say it, this may well be the next Portal. There's plenty of clever puzzling action to be had, with some lovely enemy crushing and chilling set-pieces thrown into the mix. The Ball launches next month on PC and will be launched both digitally and in boxed retail, in Europe by Iceberg Interactive and in N-America by Tripwire Interactive and should definitely be on your wish-list.

Most Anticipated Feature: Taking out a whole room full of nasties with just your ball and your quick reactions.