Hamster Ball is a game that I saw as some other people were testing out the Beta.  In my case, instead of hitting the panic button when someone says "beta version," I typically sit down and take a gander to see what the newest and coolest may be...even if it isn't yet the newest and coolest.

Hamster Ball is a game that I immediately latched onto and enjoyed.  The premise is very similar to an older and far inferior game, Marble Madness.  I remember well the day that Marble Madness hit the arcades, and I still play that game in the local NickleCades.  Why you might ask?  Well for one the concept is wonderful.  The graphics have held up pretty well over time too.  However, after playing Hamster Ball, there is no reason to play Marble Madness or similar Garage Games Game Marble Blast, ever again.

Hamster Ball puts you in charge of a small ball that has a hamster inside of it.  The goal is to carefully navigate around the different obstacles and across narrow ledges until you finally meet your goal.  Much like last year's Overball, this game has gone a long ways to make the game look spectacular.  The graphics are bright and well-done, presenting a low-poly setting that should run on most computers, but one that looks fantastic on all machines.  This is one of those games where the screenshots don't do justice to just how good the game looks.

However if the looks were the end of what is fun about the game, there might not be a good reason to get it.  Instead, the developer has created some very ingenious boards that are simply a delight to play.  In each mode, Time Trials, and Tournament, you have to progress past your current board in order to be able to play the next board.  However, each time you pass a board you are given a little picture of what the next board looks like.  These little glimpses kept me playing as each board looked cooler than the last.  In addition to the great board layout, the levels themselves each have their own theme and have a very different feel to them. My favorite was a level based on castles that had a cool trap-door and catapult.  None of the other levels had these features, but each level had its own that makes each level an adventure to itself.

I found the controls easy to pick up and play, though not everyone will feel that way.  The sound also sounds quite polished, and the entire product feels a lot more finished than most Independent games ever do, and I was playing a beta!

Hamster Ball is definitely a game you'll want to check out when it comes out early this year through Real Games.   Even if you don't have the nostalgia of playing a much-updated, much-improved marble game, I'm sure you'll find it a treat.