Game; Super Slammin' Dodgeball
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Access
Release Date: 2001
As the only entry in the 12 Days of Midas to be from the Simple Series, you might expect Super Slammin Dodgeball to be slightly worse than even the most hideous budget games featured so far. At first glance that definitely appears to be the case, with mediocre cartoon images featured on the box art and menus, and a choice of Single Game, Tournament and Tutorial modes available from the main menu.
As tutorial mode is literally a slideshow of images detailing the game's controls, and Single Game mode is essentially playing just the first round of a Tournament mode game, it's safe to say that there's not a great deal of content included. Even the options menu has a pitiful amount of things to fiddle with, difficulty being the only one that affects gameplay in any way.
Gameplay follows the general rules of Dodgeball in that any player hit by the ball without catching it is out of the game. Catching a throw doesn't result in elimination, however and players often cross the centre line of the court without consequence. The strangest change to the rules is the inclusion of three players from each team along the sides of the court who are also able to eliminate opposing players with their throws, but don't need to be eliminated in order to win a match. I can only assume these players were included in order to speed up gameplay and eliminate the need for rules regarding out of bounds throws.
The controls are simple and allow for anyone to quickly master the game, but this also means that there's no advanced strategies to use. Beating the game is fairly straightforward; players must win 6 games to become champions and then play a final game against "The Elementals" who appear to be a race of alien Dodgeball players, to become the best team in the world. Once the game has been beaten once, players can play as The Elementals.
Graphically the game uses 2D sprites which while more primitive than other games of the time is probably a good decision as budget games never really got the hang of good looking 3D graphics. The art style is bearable, and although there's a lot of reused sprites throughout the game, there's a strange Mega Drive era feel to the visuals. The music behind gameplay doesn't really fit the action in any way, but its better than complete silence.
Overall while the Dodgeball action is generally enjoyable in a flash game sort of way, the lack of depth and unlockable content cripples the game's replayability. I felt like I'd experienced everything the game had to offer after 20 minutes or so, in which time I'd completed Tournament mode twice. Perhaps with a little more to do, and some deeper strategy, this could have been a hidden gem, but that's a lot to expect from a Midas published title.
Rating: 38/100
Grade: E
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