Ark: Ultra Pong [byIllusion Software]

Starting from the opening moment I went to download the Ultra Pong demo I wondered what was up.  After all, most games do not have nearly 17 MB demos, and those that do typically have extremely flashy shots on their website.  Things basically went downhill from there.  I installed the game and then went to launch it.  The first thing I was hit with was a series of messages about missing files.  Then I got a 15 second nag screen.  Thinking that my installation had gone bad I immediately tried to exit and reinstall.  On my way out I got another 15 second nag screen.  Reinstalling did not fix my problems.

So I went into the game to play.  I started with training mode, and immediately got more messages about missing files.  This is one of those games that gives indie games a bad name.  The graphics are very poor, with different graphic styles displayed in nearly every graphic.  Nothing really looks good.  After looking at the game and hearing its music it makes you wonder what exactly we needed a 17MB download.  The general idea is that you have a paddle and hit a ping-pong ball across the screen.  They've attempted to spruce it up with special tricks, like making your paddle disappear momentarily, but that doesn't help to save the game at all.  Playing against a computer opponent it is dreadfully obvious how bad the game is.  The physics are awful.  Hit the ball of the wall at a 30° angle and the ball bounces back at you!?  The computer opponent is even worse.  It just moves the paddle across the top of the screen disappearing as it moves to each of its apparently pre-set positions.  Terrible AI takes away any challenge, leaving the game without any redeeming aspect at all.  This is just a bad game.
 

Added: September 23rd 2003
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
Score:
Related Link: Illusion Software Website
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