It isn't that much of a secret that I really enjoy puzzle games, and this particular type of puzzle game is high on my list. There have been plenty of these games to come out over the years, and while they all but died out for a long time, there has been a resurgence of them recently. Everything from
Mercury to
Marble Blast Ultra to
Marble Mania have tried, and typically succeeded, in capturing the fun simplicity of trying to navigate a ball through a strange maze full of environmental hazards to the finish line, and
Switchball also does a really solid job of this.
What makes Switchball stand out a little from these other games is the ability to change between four different types of balls, and the puzzles that surround those types. You can morph your ball into the normal Marbleball, the Metalball, the Airball or the Powerball by rolling through specific morph points. Each ball has its own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the Metalball is heavier and while that means it can push larger crates around, it can also tear through items like sheets (which may or may not be the best thing). The Airball can be rolled up steep ramps a lot easier and can be filled with helium so it can float for a limited amount of time, but if you are near a fan, it can push you off of the level. As you can probably tell, there will be a lot of puzzles that will require you to change the state of your ball, move the environment around some and, more than likely, morph back into the previous state because the next leg of the level might be a bit too dangerous for that particular ball.
Not only does the game offer a fairly large single player game, but you can also take part in several levels that are specifically designed for co-op play, as well as races to see which of up to eight players can get through a level the fastest. While these multiplayer aspects have a semi-tacked on feel to them, it is nice that they are there, but the main focus of the game is the single player mode.
