Bargain Bin Gaming- Episode 24: Totemball

bnttotemBallWhile several games in the 360 library have options that support the use of the Live camera, only one is designed specifically for it. The game, “Totemball,” developed by Freeverse software and Strange Flavor, is supposed to be Microsoft’s answer to the numerous “Eye Toy” games made by Sony over the past few years. Even better, it’s a free download on the system’s marketplace, making it easy for everyone with the peripheral to download and try out. However, despite the distinction of being the first game of its kind on the 360, “Totemball” is an absolute disaster that can’t even live up to the expectations that a free game entails.

For one, the game’s graphics are extremely dated and lack the polish and luster that even a decent X-Box Live Arcade game should have. As a matter of fact, the backgrounds and main character look like something you would have seen on the Playstation in 1996, a-la “Poy Poy”. Aside from a few cool water affects here and there, the game is as far from aesthetically pleasing as a game can get. However, being that the game’s control scheme involves the Live camera, the graphics aren’t a real focal point in the overall package and can be forgiven for being less than mediocre.

As far as the title’s audio is concerned, it may seem average at first, but it actually becomes slightly enthralling and entertaining as you advance in the game. Collecting “totems” or musical stones to carry through each level, the game’s audio becomes perhaps the strongest overall facet of the title and make finishing it not nearly as tedious as it would have been otherwise. Nevertheless, there is one huge problem that keep this game from being playable.

Using the motions of your arms to move your character around in the game gets old extremely quickly, as most players will have had their fill after about 15 minutes of not being able to go where they have to in order to move on in the game. The game’s camera is also shoddy, making it even more difficult to complete the game. Simply put, anyone that can manage to play this game for more than 20 minutes and still retain any shred of their patience and sanity should consider a career in the clergy. The game’s control is that bad.

In the end, despite being free, “Totemball” feels rushed and is an absolute abomination of a game. If you a Live camera, you might as well download it, but expect more frustration than pleasure from this one.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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