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Niki Rock 'n' Ball - WiiWare Review

Game Info
Niki Rock 'n' Ball

WiiWare | Bplus | 1-2 Players (local co-operative play) | Out Now | 500 Nintendo Points
Controller Compatibility: Wii Remote; Wii Remote (sideways)
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Review
24th January 2009; By Billy White
   When Bplus announced their latest WiiWare game, Niki Rock 'n' Ball, it looked like a fairly good addition to the Wii Shop Channel. It followed a simple concept - completing levels by collecting pearls and rolling into enemies, and the controls couldn't have been easier to understand. Plus, the retro style gameplay made it look even more appealing, so how on earth could they get it wrong? At first, I thought they had.

   Initially, I was quite disappointed by the quality. The physics were all over the place, the world structure was awful and the graphics seemed below par. After giving the game a little bit of time though, there was a real gem underneath, with some great controls that just needed a bit of practice, and an art style that really began to work in line with the rest of the game.

   The gameplay is very easy to understand. You play as Niki, a ball whose mission is to collect pearls and defeat enemies to help conquer the evil shadow Plättchen (which you may recognise from Bplus' other WiiWare title Plättchen twist 'n' paint). Along your journey, you come across the ZeLeLi amulet, which allows you to transform into a rock, thus helping you to destroy stronger enemies, albeit also making you slow down a lot more.

   Each of the levels is played across a two dimensional arena, controlled by tilting the Wii remote left and right or using the D-pad on its side. You can also jump around the stages by pressing the A button (or 2), and alter the camera viewpoint using the up and down D-pad buttons. In most levels, you'll also come across a ZeLeLi amulet. After collecting this, you can transform into Niki Rock by holding either the B or 1 buttons. All of the controls work well, although I found the Wii remote to be a bit harder to get used to.

   One important thing about Niki is the physics. Every time you roll up and down a slope or jump into a wall, you'll rebound off at a different angle, depending on the angle of incidence and speed you went at. This is what adds in a lot of the element of skill, and once you get the physics mastered, you'll have complete control over the game. Sadly though, it may take you a while to get to used to them, since the jump button doesn't always function when moving, and since you can often end up rebounding in many different ways, frustration is likely when you're still learning.

   Thankfully, the learning curve is a lot better than that in Plättchen, and gives you chance to get used to it before throwing some really hard levels in your face. There is a time limit, which activates a few minutes into a level, unleashing a flood of water, leaving you to float to the top of the screen with it as Niki Ball, or sink as Niki Rock. The game isn't that hard once you get used to it though, and so this shouldn't be much of a problem, even as the levels start to expand off the screen and new, stranger enemies join in on the action.

   You get five lives in each level, but so that you won't get "game over" too easily, since every time you collect all the ZeLeLi pearls in a level you will get an extra life, which is a good thing, since you have to play through ten levels (one world) before getting the chance to save. If there was a chance to stop halfway through each world, then that would make the game more fun in shorter bursts, but since there are still ten worlds to complete, Niki will still keep you busy for a while. On the bright side, a friend can help you out in a simple drop-in drop-out co-op mode, as you share lives and objectives to complete levels together.

   The presentation hasn't been overlooked here, with some great music taking its place in the game, alongside some colourful graphics, which although may not look graphically stunning, still bring life into the game and include some nice little animations as well. There have been a lot of neat additions as well, including Plättchen making an appearance every now and then, and the menu screens having a fun practice stage for you to play around in.

   Niki is what WiiWare was created for: small developers to create new, innovative games at an affordable price. Whilst Niki takes some elements from older platform games, it's still a great new experience. With a little practice, you'll soon find yourself rolling, bouncing and thrashing your way through each stage to earn the best times on each level. Sure, it may not be the best game on WiiWare, but is still a very good retro-style game that'll keep you going back for more.

24/30 - Very Good

Gameplay 8/10 - Once you're used to it, the game plays brilliantly, with only occasional bouncing problems and the world structure spoiling it
Presentation 8/10 - Slightly repetitive sound, but the catchy music and appropriate graphics work really well
Enjoyment 4/5 -The simplicity compared to Bplus' previous effort makes it a lot more fun than Plättchen
Extra Content 4/5 - With 40 levels to complete and a co-op mode available, you should be occupied for a decent amount of time, just 500 points

Equivalent to a score of 80% (percentage score is approximate and based solely on the previously stated rating)

Niki Rock 'n' Ball

Review by Billy White | How we rate games