I had some of the most fun at PAX South playing Sportsball by Too DX. Imagine if the original arcade game Joust had a child with the sport of soccer and that child was really hyper and hopped up on sugar. That is Sportsball.
The game itself is not particularly deep, but after one match, you’ll realize why it doesn’t matter. Sportsball is all about sitting (by the end of a match, you’ll probably be on your feet) on the couch with your friends, screaming at one another as the drama unfolds on the screen. Depending on the type of match, you are on a team with another player against two opponents. Each side picks a team to represent and each team has a choice of four birds, each unique in speed, size and joust placement. The object is then (like Joust) jump on top of your opponents and knock them out, which releases one or more “balls” onto the screen. You must then hit these balls to turn them into your team’s color and put them into the goal to score points.
Here’s the rub. It’s not that simple because the maps are not particularly large, so you’re constantly on top of one another, and you have to figure out your bird’s strengths and weaknesses. I was on a bird that was more like a velociraptor, which was great except he did not gain altitude quickly, meaning I was hit a lot, but I was strong on the ground. So, now I’m yelling at my teammate that I’m going to hit the balls in the air and he was to hit them into the goal. Hilarity ensued when we discovered that his bird only hit balls down unless he was holding the dive button.
Sportsball is out now in the Nintendo eShop on the WiiU. This zany game is a great edition to your WiiU collection, especially if you are having guests and are looking for a great time.