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Developer: Activision Value
Publisher: Activision Value
Genre: Shooter
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 18 Oct 05
User Rating
10 (2 votes)- Preview
- Review
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- Painballing gets its own video game, with smooth gameplay and decent visuals that will appeal only to fans of the sport.
Overview
Who would have thought that the sport of paintball would have taken off in the manner that it has in the past years. I can't say I have ever been a huge fan, but I can see the thrill of a real life tactical shooter, without the death. So with paintballing on the mind, today we are going to check out the latest game in the Greg Hastings series, which thus far has been very successful. So how does the latest game Paintball Max'd turn out? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
When you sit back and think about what a paintball game would entail, you really wouldn't think it would be much different from your average shooter, minus a mature rating. To make a great paintball game, you would really think that they would have to really capture the environment of a typical paintball arena, and just the true pace of paintball matches. This in itself seems like a tough challenge with the massive number of shooters out on the market, but surprisingly Paintball Max'd does a good job of it.
So let's first just start by discussing what you have to deal with in this game starting with the modes to choose from. You end up having an exhibition mode, a career mode, and multiplayer modes. Now this should sound familiar if you have played any sports games, as this is exactly what Paintball Max'd has to offer. The career mode is actually quite deep and it has you go from match to match (like a season) and just take on different teams in different environments. One of the great things about this game is that it does a nice job of giving plenty of environments to play through, which in turn gives the game a whole lot of variety.
The career mode doesn't really try and throw anything new at you, so don't expect there to be a huge change in the way the game is played. Like season games in a sport's game, you will just be taking on more and more teams. This does have a tendency to be fun, but also a tad bit repetitive. The difficulty level in the game is actually pretty low at first, but ramps up about half way through the career. The AI in the game is what you would expect, not the brightest bunch, but capable nonetheless.
The real draw to this game however is not the single player mumbo jumbo, but instead the multiplayer. This is where you will really find the true thrill of this game. The online play really played beautifully with very little lag, and just a very smooth and fun experience. I can't say that I was too impressed, but you have the same sort of modes from the single player available online. The game plays much better with human players, and this is where you really get a true paintball match feel.
The overall feel of the gameplay is just smooth, but there are times where the AI shows itself as being a little dumbfounded. But for the most part the game just plays like you would expect it to, nothing more, nothing less. I would have liked to have seen more originality in the career mode and maybe even some more modes online as well. In the end, if you like paintball, you will like the way this games played, as it is obviously made for the fans.
Graphics
I hate to say it, but I was not surprised to find the visual quality of this game to be a little less than satisfactory. For whatever reason, when I looked at this game for the first time, I just felt as though I saw it coming, as the visuals just don't seem to hold up in this version of the game. First off the character models all seem so generic and really lack any personal touches. The environments are in the same boat with really just a very bland and awkward look that just kind of sits there and does nothing for the game. The graphics aren't awful but it just would have helped this game so much had the visual quality been on par with the gameplay.
Fun Factor
Like I said at the top of this review I am not a huge paintball fan, but at the same token I did have a lot of fun with this game. The single player was not as exciting as I would have hoped, but there are times where you just want to sit back and work on your skills, and the career mode does a good job of at least doing that. However like I said, Paintball Max'd is best on Xbox Live, and during these experiences I have to say I just really enjoyed myself with this game. Sure it isn't perfect but even for a person who doesn't love paintballing, I still enjoyed this game.
Overall
In the end I have to say that I was still very impressed with Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball Max'd. It may not have been the most comprehensive game of the year, but it got the job done. If you like the sport, and want to take it online, then do yourself a favor and check this game out. It is really worth a try, as it has a very nice easy gameplay system that I feel many will find extremely enjoyable.
- Gameplay
7.0 - Graphics
6.0 - Fun Factor
7.0 - Overall
7.0
