Giveaway of the Day - Inca Ball

Only played Zuma a few times and liked it. I actually, so far, like this game just as well. Thanks G_GAOTD for this Easter gift. Just finished playing a quicky before hitting the sack.

There were 4318 downloads from yesterdays game. Quite low on average, but then it was Easter weekend so many community members probably didn’t get chance to download the game, which is a pity IMO. If you missed the game but still want to check the game out, just Google the game or check out ‘online tributes’ link to the free browser version of the game which he posted in yesterdays game comments. You can find his/her link:

http://www.game4players.com/hry/610_arcanorum.swf

Yeahhhhh! images are back.

Inca Ball:

Download & Installation:

The downloaded zip file is 17.4Mb in size and unpacks to a read me and a dual activation and set up module. The game installs to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Playrix Entertainment\Inca Ball on Win 7

C:\Program Files\Playrix Entertainment\Inca Ball on XP

Shortcuts are installed to the desktop and Start Menu programs folder (including a shortcut to Playrixes home page) and you’ll also find an uninstall shortcut in the programs folder. Look for Playrix Entertainment in your Start Menu/Programs list. The installed game takes up 52.7Mb of disk space. The game works on all my platforms (Win XP Pro 32 bit, Vista Home Premium 64 bit, Vista Home Basic 32 bit, Win 7 Pro 64 bit and Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit). This game has consistently received a good score from the community. The last time it was given away it received 75% positive votes from 475 votes and previous to that a positive 77% out of 418 votes (January 2008).

You can read previous comments via the following links:

Jan 2008:
http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/inca-ball/

Oct 2010
http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/inca-ball-2/

If you want to check out the game before you download it you can either watch one of the videos that I’ve linked to below or play the game in a browser for free via Gamehouse (where you can also get a free advert supported game every day). You’ll find Inca Ball via the following url:

http://www.gamehouse.com/online-games/inca-ball-online

Introduction

Inca Ball Launch into the valiant quest for the treasures of the ancient civilization in a marvelous arcade puzzle shining with nice visuals, 60 challenging levels and a variety of bonuses. Complete the game and you will get a splendid reward that’ll come in handy even if you are not in the game. The adventure requires you to use your quick wits and skill as you will need to shoot an orb into the moving chain of colored balls trying to create a sequence of spheres of the same color, which will disappear. As all the moving balls vanish, your way to the treasure room will be cleared.

Reference http://www.playrix.com/games/pc/inca-ball.html accessed 30th Oct 2010

Features:

• Explore 60 thrilling levels

• Access 15 exciting power-ups

• Earn money and buy explosive artifacts in the shop

• Save and restore games from any point

• Win a surprise prize at the end of the game

The Game:

The main menu contains a help file that gives you an animated run through of the various aspects of the game. This help page also appears when you first start the game. You start with 60 000 credits which you can use to purchase several of the power ups that are available. At the start of the game there are only three of these out of a total of nine available. The bomb ball costs 10 000, the chain bomb costs 20 000 and an extra life costs 40 000. Other power ups include Rain (15 000), lightning (20 000), Trident (25 000), Fireball (30 000), Firewave (30 000) and Inca Ball (40 000). These are unlocked as you progress through the levels. I think the first one is unlocked after level 4 or 5. Any power ups that you purchase are accessible from the bottom of the playing arena. You just click on the one you want to use before you shoot your next marble.

There are 60 levels available in game, each level having a different layout. The aim of the game is to destroy all the rows of marbles that are slowly moving towards a tunnel. You get successive waves of these marble ‘trains’. If you are slow to destroy any row you’ll find the next row catching up. There are several power ups that appear when you destroy marbles such as a reverse flow power up or a targeting marble. Other power ups include the stop power up, the slow down power up and the colour bomb power up.

If any marbles enter the end tunnel you lose one of your three lives. However buying a new life is relatively cheap when you see how many credits you can earn from each level. So it should be fairly easy, even for a novice at this game to complete the whole 60 levels.

Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGotJkxfRzI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIMmWr4THxU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gppvATBCMw

Conclusion:

Inca Ball is a decent ball popper on the lines of Zuma, with loads of power ups to keep the game interesting. What I like about this game compared to the likes of Zuma and others of this ilk (Luxor and a few others excepted because they have some excellent power ups that are upgradeable) is the ability to purchase nine different power ups that can help you out of sticky situations for example If the row of marble is about to enter the final tunnel you can use one of your purchased power ups such as the chain bomb or bomb ball to destroy those marbles by clicking on the one you want (from the bottom of the arena). There are also more power ups that appear after destroying particular combinations of marbles. (Great stuff). As you would expect from any arcade game, the difficulty gets a little harder as you progress.

I’d give this a good 7.5 out of 10 for replayability and family fun.

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Additional Information:

There’s no way of easily changing the in-game music unless you are adept at editing executable files using a suitable test editor. The only way around this is to turn the volume down via the options menu where you can also toggle full screen/windowed mode then use your own music for background music. I find the music appropriate to the theme of the game. Though I do turn it down so that it’s right in the background.

You can get Inca Ball from both MyPlayCity and Gametop, though it’s called Azteca at Gametop:

http://www.myplaycity.com/inca_ball/

http://www.gametop.com/download-free-games/azteca/

For those new to the Gamegiveaway project you’ll find over 40 match three games at the above addresses and from MyPlayCity you’ll find well over 250 commercial games for free. They are given away free becasue the owners of these sites pay the developers a retainer to be able to give them away. The only negatives with these games is that your browser is opened when you close the game down, but that is innocuous (i.e. doesn’t harm your computer). also both sites do operate a policy wherby during installation they will ask if you want toolbars and sometimes your home page changing. These can be stopped by unchecking the tick boxes that appear. If you accidentaly miss the checkboxes and find you now have tool bars that you don’t want or that your home page has been hijacked, there are relatively easy fixes to return your computer to normal. The first one is always create a restore point before you install the games. The rest you can ask in the forums if you end up with those annoyances. so long as you are observant all the games from MyPlayCity and Gametop are absolutely safe from malware and other crapware.

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