Skee-Ball Rolls Into The App Store

The new release of Skee-Ball was slightly overshadowed by the recent release of Iconfactory’s Ramp Champ. Be that as it may, I took the chance and plunged into Freeverse’s Skee-Ball as soon as I saw it in the App Store. So… Was it worth it?

Of course, being incredibly similar games, it’s hard not to compare Skee-Ball to Ramp Champ. In fact, it’s just about impossible… Gameplay is essentially the same. Flick your finger up the screen of your iDevice to roll a ball and hit targets. But, there are some differences that really make this game stand apart…

For one, you can put a spin on the ball. This adds a whole new gameplay dynamic that can help you fine-tune your roll and land in your cup of choice. And the method of doing so is simple; turn your iDevice to the side after rolling a ball. It feels natural, and it’s quite functional.

Another difference is that there’s a control variation. Not only can you slide your finger up the screen to roll a ball, you can also rest a finger on the screen and flick your iDevice upward, as if rolling the ball yourself. Personally, this isn’t my kind of thing, but it’s nice to have the option, and this control scheme seems to fit in well with rolling the ball.

Like in Ramp Champ, there is a ticket system in Skee-Ball. Of course, this isn’t blatant copying or anything of the like… This is an arcade game. It would feel empty otherwise. In Skee-Ball, you get a ticket for every fifty points; and with enough skill, those points stack up pretty quickly.

You can use the tickets to redeem “loot,” which sits on your iDevice for you to look at and think to yourself “I matter. I am important. I won this!” Well… Maybe we don’t all have that mindset, but the loot is there nonetheless. The cool thing is that the offerings seem to change up after every round… There’s always something different to get, and it’s nice.

There’s also a bonus system; some cups will illuminate, and when they do, if you land your ball in them, you get a multiplier. It’s a nice way to grab some points.

One thing that sets this game apart from Ramp Champ is the leaderboard… There is a global leaderboard, based on your lifetime tickets. (This counts for the ones you spend, too, so this score just keeps going up and never goes down.) This is definitely a nice feature, to see how you stack up against the world.

Now, of course, one downside that can’t be avoided is the lack of variation. With Ramp Champ, you’ve got different ramps, DLC, and more. Will Skee-Ball, you’ve got… Skee-Ball. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing — I freakin’ love Skee-Ball! It’s just that, in the form of a video game, it can get old after a while. Luckily, I haven’t reached that point yet, but I just got this game today, and… Well, it’s imminent. Sadly, I have almost no doubt in my mind that this game will eventually become one of the many games that just sits in my springboard and gets some attention once a week or so.

Other than that, though, this game is great. And at a buck cheaper than Ramp Champ, you can’t go wrong. Unfortunately, the lack of replayability takes a toll on my verdict for this game, but believe me, it’ll be fun while it lasts.