|
KLONOA BEACH VOLLEYBALL (PSOne)
How about wally-ball?
By TOM FAHEY
 Well,
I guess after Namco brought Tekken 4 to us on the PS2, they thought they
were entitled to have a rest from quality games.
I guess that would
explain quite a lot when looking at the quality (or lack thereof) in Klonoa
Beach Volleyball...
This unique style of game consists
of Pokemon-esque creatures playing beach volleyball (and not necessarily
on the beach!) in a tournament-like fashion with weak ending sequences
like those seen in the early days Street Fighter or even Mega-Man.
What on earth were Namco thinking!?!
It's beach volleyball, okay:
A perfect opportunity to design some well toned women with their CAD programs
(see DOA:BV). Instead we get weird little deformed and malnourished freaks.
The character models have no arms, legs, or necks - just floaty hands
and feet. Sigh...
The game play is quite simple
- on each side of the net, the court is split into nine sections. The
ball can only land in one of these sections, and when it does, a little
grid at the top of your screen, which represents the court's sections,
will highlight the appropriate section of the court.
If you get three sections in
a row then you can perform a super shot and earn extra points. But you
can win without the super shot - it's just an added bonus.
You can block shots, counter
them, or follow the basic protocol that would consist of volleying the
ball and setting it up in a prime position so you can then unleash the
fury of the try-hard Pokemon characters.
 As far as game
modes go, you have the Training mode that speaks for itself, the Exhibition
mode where you can challenge the computer or a second, third or fourth
player.
Then there's Championship mode
where you take on a ladder-full of opponents. The greatest flaw in the
game is that the towering ladder of opponents that stand between you and
your impending ultimate glory is the grand total of five rounds. Boring!!!
The graphics are slightly less
than impressive, which comes as no great susprise. As said above, the
character models are incredibly basic. The only body parts included in
the models are the head, torso, hands and feet.
And one would expect that if
the models were going to be so simple, then the detail would be rather
substantial. However, this is not the case.
The sound is just sound. A
bunch of little weird things making silly little noises and making bizarre
gestures like: "I'm going to win!!" "Go team, GO!"
Oh, and there is really annoying music that takes after the sonics found
in Crash Team Racing.
There really isn't much to
Namco's new production, Klonoa Beach Volleyball. If you are a child, or
you like very limited, childish games, then this is for you (Ed - speak
your mind Tom!).
However, I doubt too many of
you fit under that category, so take my advice and steer clear of this
game. Namco... you obviously have too much spare time.
Do us all a favour and utilise
it in the production of another Tekken.
ORIGINALITY 70%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 65%
PLAYABILITY 85%
ADDICTION 30%
ENJOYMENT 50%
| 
