by Emele Maisey

Created on: November 13, 2008   Last Updated: May 17, 2012

Bally is a tiny little guy who can roll himself up into a ball. Using a paddle which is basically a rectangular piece of wood it is your job to bounce and somersault him around the garden and house, guiding him over and around obstacles without him getting hurt.

A rainbow coming from the paddle shows you where Bally is going to somersault and land. The challenge is to move the paddle to another place to make him bounce higher and / or in the direction you want him to go before he falls to the ground. Sounds simple enough right? Oh if only, I am not a new PC gamer, I'm pretty good at moving that mouse but with this game every time I moved the paddle I made Bally go in the opposite direction that I wanted.

The game starts in the garden in a cartoon little world where you have to get Bally through the basket ball hoop and into the house through the kitchen window. Once in the kitchen you need to watch out for killers A chopping board and knife as well as a blender and more.

I wish I could tell you what happens beyond the kitchen but I'm afraid that's as far as I got in this frustrating game.

The game is played entirely with the mouse. A cursor on the screen which indicates where you are moving the paddle seems really large in proportion to the actual board and Bally. Size wise it felt like someone wanted me to hit a marble with a tennis racket.

Sure all games have a bit of a learning curve but does it honestly usually take you 30 minutes to work out how to make the character move where you want him to?

You need a ton of patience, perseverance and excellent mouse skills for this game as well as hand-eye coordination. I'm not known as a quitter generally but this game I just could not get the hang of. Bally was on the ground most of the time or when I did get him in the air it was only for a second or 2 at a time, mostly from luck rather than skill.

I would not recommend this game for kids who could easily get frustrated at not being able to do the required actions / movements. Nor for adults who want some escapism games with the normal jump and run = fun. This game is probably quite rewarding once (if) you get the hang of it but for me it was just too much of a learning curve.

I give this game 1/5. I was very disappointed and felt the game would have been better played on a game console rather than a PC A mouse does not give you enough control. If the movements had of been easier I probably would have given this game 3 or 4 out of 5 but because of the issues I was having controlling the board and Bally it was a non-starter for me and a wasted hour when I could have been having fun playing a different game.

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