Fuzz Ball – quirky & fun memory game
by Paul Wilks
Jun 13, 2012 8:58 AM –
Install
Fuzz Ball is a quirky and fun memory game where you have to follow and remember the required actions for a fuzzy blue ball-creature. Looking a little like a lost Chuzzle, the fuzz ball reacts to your moves: up, down, left, right and a variety of tabbed buttons: zap, hair and eyes. It’s simple, cute, challenging and, if you like memory games but feel the need to try something else after playing Simon Says clones, this is great option.
Price: Free, ~$1.94
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Intuitive gameplay!
- Smooth graphics!
- Nice variety of actions!
- Saves your best scores!
Cons
- Graphics are smooth and clear, but very dated compared with most games in the Google Play Store.
- ‘Progressive’ Mode causes the game to crash.
Features:
Fuzz Ball is a neat little memory game where you have to remember the sequence of actions, then perform them on your fuzz ball. Whereas with Simon Says-style games, even great ones like Floozled, rely on following a sequence of colours or boxes, Fuzz Ball gets you to remember a series of actions. Your Fuzz Ball is presented, hovering, in front of you. He can move left, right, up, down… he can bounce away from you (called Dribble), be zapped and then two other actions; Eye and Hair, which animate his eyes and fuzzy hair. Each sequence is replicated every turn, only with one addition at the end- as is traditional with these kind of memory games.
It’s pretty cool to see a nice range of actions- it’s not just a sequence of shapes and colours, and this makes for fun-yet-challenging gameplay. The actions are highly intuitive and as the game progress relies more and more on your memory. Because the actions are very different, diverse and broken up, it’s arguably more rewarding than just remembering a colour sequence for example. The game saves your scores and displays your best score in the top left of the screen.
The game graphics are incredibly smooth and well-animated. The moving fuzz ball is detailed and the backgrounds change as you progress. This said, there’s no way to hide the fact that, compared to the majority of games in the Google Play Store, the visuals do appear very dated. While this doesn’t detract from gameplay in any way, memory games such as Floozled do offer a better graphical experience. It comes with two modes; Normal and Progressive. Unfortunately trying to play Progressive mode caused the game to crash on my HTC One X.
http://youtu.be/T-PREIFp9i8
Watch on Mobile
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Fuzz Ball – Main menu
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Fuzz Ball – Chuzzle-esque Fuzz Ball
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Fuzz Ball – Spin right
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Fuzz Ball – Spin Left
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Fuzz Ball – Bouncing downwards
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Fuzz Ball – Remember to zap!
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Fuzz Ball – Mid-zap
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Fuzz Ball – Getting the sequence wrong
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Fuzz Ball – Instructions
Fun Factor:
While I’m not really a huge fan of memory games, I liked the diversity you get with Fuzz Ball. It’s not just numbers, colours or shape sequences to remember. You have to follow, then carry out, a number of different actions. The sequences are more than varied and dynamic enough to keep gameplay interesting, and the challenge of beating your previous scores is lots of fun.
Addictive:
Some people really love memory games- hence the reason why Simon Says was such a big hit back in the day. There are a few games in this genre available via the Google Play Store, but most get you to remember basic sequences. Fuzz Ball is more diverse, and arguably something you might prefer over other games. If you’re competitive enough, you might also get quite addicted to beating your best scores.
Graphics:
To be fair to the majority of other games in the Google Play Store, those in Fuzz Ball aren’t great. They are smooth, clear and demonstrably simple to follow in terms of the action sequences, but they still appear quite dated alongside other games.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound is quite good. Each action has a different sound effect- a great feature as some people have great aural memories- and there is also a pretty funky music track in the background.