NBA Ball Stars, a new mobile game, published by Netmarble US, Inc. and Kung Fu Factory, takes the concept of puzzle games that have become popular in the mobile space and puts its spin on it. It takes a basketball experience on the court and intertwines that with the strategy of matching and solving the puzzles on the screen. While it does not seem this would work with the presence of a basketball game, it shines in being a simulator on the court and challenging your puzzle skills.
The game is based on building up your roster of NBA players that have different skill sets. They will come with specials skills that can help you when you jump into a game with your lineup. There are different classes with the players as well that match with the color of the balls that will be most effective with the player. With yellow being a strategic position, red being a bruiser with the ball, green being a shooter, and purple representing a defender. As you will want to focus on those colors when using these players when you have the ball or defending.
Before you jump into a game in NBA Ball Stars, you set up your lineup that you feel would be best for the matchup, making sure to have a good mix of the different classes and power levels. Now, when you jump into the game you are thrown in at the end of the game trying to win against your opponent. This is where the puzzle aspect comes into play. You match the colors to try to get as many bonuses as possible and this can be used with the skills of certain players.
It is best when you match the color of the class of the player that you are using to defend or score with. You have 4 chances to try and get either a 100% shooting percentage, where you would make the shot no matter what, or when defending push down the shooting percentage to 0% so they will miss the shot. You get these percentages up and down by using the bonuses from the players, strategically setting up the powerups that are a part of the puzzle, and focusing on the colors of the class of the player. You can see there are a lot of strategies that go into NBA Ball Stars that separates it from other puzzle games.
The addition of the NBA players who can be upgraded and given equipment to improve their abilities can be addicting. Trying to obtain the next big player to make your lineup even better can bring much joy. You upgrade and add players either through the currency in the game which you can earn or by completing challenges to receive them as rewards.
While the animations are simple, they are effective in keeping you into the game and the players do look like their real selves. It is easy to see your favorite NBA player on the court while playing which NBA fans will love. Although I wish the animations would be more robust at times as they can be a bit repetitive at times. It would be nice to add more dunks and exciting plays that you see in the NBA games such as breakaways and steals more often. Most of the time, it is the same offense play with throwing it down to the big man or out to the arc.
Overall, NBA Ball Stars adds a fresh new take into the puzzle mobile game scene. The addition of NBA players being supported in the game will bring in NBA fans. While having the strategy of putting together the best lineups and creating the best players you can. Though you can put money into the game to obtain players and gear, you can get through with playing for free and having a great time without spending any money. NBA Ball Stars is not a perfect mobile game, but it gets the job done by creating an entertaining experience on the go that you can come back to now and then.
Score: 7/10
Check Out the NBA Ball Stars Trailer:
NBA Ball Stars is available as a free download (with in-app purchases) via the App Store and Google Play. For more information on future updates, including new seasons, players and other content, please visit the official website https://nbaballstars.netmarble.com/, and follow NBA Ball Stars on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
iPhone Review
Gaming has always been an outlet for me to interact with different people and explore all kinds of possibilities. I play a wide variety of games always willing to try different mechanics and storylines that developers are trying to create for their games. I grew up delving into MW2 and World of Warcraft, I miss the Wrath of The Lich King days, and as I have gotten older I have found a love for RPGs and strategy games, my favorites being The Witcher 3 and Total War. Always looking forward to the next great game.
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