Score
Gameplay:	8
Graphics:	8
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	7
PlasmaFactor:	8
Overall:	8

Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D Review
March 29, 2006 by Ron Williamson

by Ron Williamson - March 29, 2006

Who wants to be covered in bruises and welts? Well, if you have the opportunity to inflict the same amount of suffering on another person it might just be worth it. You get all this and more in the wonderful world of Paintball. It’s a growing sport where you and your teammates are pitted against another team with one main goal: Shooting other people. Of course you use paintballs, not bullets. Either way it’s a past time that has become a career for many. It only seems logical that fans of the sport would want a way to play when they couldn’t actually get out to a legitimate paintball arena. Well, your prayers have been answered in Greg Hasting’s Tournament Paintball Max’d for the Xbox

Get Your Air Rifles Ready

The basics of Paintball aren’t hard to understand: One team against another, both teams trying to eliminate the other by shooting them with small paint-filled balls from a high powered air rifle. This stated we can get into the meat of the game. On the playing field the teams start at opposing sides, and when the whistle is blown they are free to move about and hide behind any one of the many barriers set up throughout the level. Here they crawl around trying to go undetected so they can sneak up on the other team. Aside from just the elimination mode there are also two capture the flag modes. As you progress you also get to change the size of your team. Some matches you will have as few as two team mates, where in others you might have up to 6. You can also control where each player is going to go before the match even begins. What about once the match has started? Don’t despair because you can actually give commands to your team mate during game play. Simply highlight them with the reticule and you can tell them to move up, or if you spot someone you can yell where they are and your team will give you cover. One of the most intriguing and impressive aspect of the game is that they actually put in voice recognition so you can use the Xbox Live headset to actually tell people what to do. All of this tends to make the larger matches much more intense and are generally more enjoyable.

The game starts off with a very comprehensive tutorial that will teach you all of the moves and button presses you will need to know. This is awesome since not everyone has played paintball before you get to learn not only how to play but also some of the terminology of the sport as well. The game plays almost exactly as you would expect it. There aren’t any super complicated things you have to get used to or special moves you have to master. Everything operates within the realm of reality and that makes it much easier to understand. The only thing you might have a problem with at first is you might find you character to be a little sluggish or uncoordinated, but luckily for you that all changes. As you progress through each tournament you will get points to upgrade you character. Depending on how well you fare you will get more or less, but these can be attributed to increasing your speed or even accuracy, just to name a few. You’ll character will be an elite paintballin’ machine in no time. To improve yourself even more you can use the money you win to upgrade your gear. You can get new guns and barrels, new clothes that are lighter, and various other items to help you along the way. This adds an almost RPG like element to the game which has proven beneficial to other genres as well. Racing games fro example almost always let you upgrade and pimp out your car, well now you can do that with yourself on the paintball field. Every upgrade will give you a noticeable increase in your speed and accuracy.

The only thing that might be a little dull about the game is it is a little repetitive. Once you’ve played all three modes you’re pretty much done with anything new. You just keep doing the same three modes the whole game while switching out different teammates. There isn’t really anything wrong with that though. The game play is good enough that you’ll probably be a good way through the game before you even realize it. Though it might be repetitive I wouldn’t necessarily say it is boring. The level design is probably a big reason for that. Each match has a different field layout. You will sometimes get the same map twice, but the vast number of different set-ups available really makes it more interesting. It is also impressive how the layout of a level can so dramatically alter not only the way you play, but how difficult it is to win. The game is also, of course from the first person perspective. This might intrigue some of the hard-core FPS players but be forewarned; this is not one of your typical everyday first person shooters. If you are looking for something to keep you occupied until the next Halo title you might want to pass this by. The action in this game is much slower paced and realistic than what you would find in a fantasy FPS. This game was designed for people who love paintball and want to play paintball. Don’t be fooled by the perspective. If you are an FPS nut, this might disappoint you. If you really love paintball or have never played paintball, but it seems fun and interesting, pick the game up. It’s a great way to get a feel for the game with out the pain and fatigue.

Accurate in Almost Every Way

Graphically there really isn’t anything wrong with this title. It’s got very solid graphics and everything runs well with very little slow-down. This game of course doesn’t have the same stunning visuals you might find in a game like Forza, but for what it is they are quite adequate. There are a lot of things that are missing, like shadows and real lighting, but you don’t really notice that much. You don’t pick up this title for its graphics; you play it for the game play, which, thankfully, is strong. There are few aliasing issues, the geometry is solid, and the people look and move like you would expect people to. There really isn’t anything you could ask for with this title, and unless you are super-picky and have to have everything the best, I doubt you will find much to fault in this game.

Is That Really What a Paintball Sounds Like?

Once again this title delivers what you would expect, so you’re not disappointed. The sound is great. Not everything sounds exactly correct, but it’s close enough that you probably won’t notice. The guns sound like you’d expect and the voice acting (for commands and such) is actually quite good. The music provided in game isn’t the best musical selection in the world, but it’s not bad. Should you chose not to listen to it you can always turn it off, or even better, use custom soundtracks. That’s right, it’s like playing paint ball with an I-Pod. You can listen to anything saved on your hard drive without interruption…well sort of. If you are listening to a song and the match ends you are taken to the menus, once you start you next match the song you were listening to picks up right where it left off. This is a great time saver and is quite convenient.

Paintball IS Fun

Like I said before, if you are looking for a hard-core FPS with stunning visuals and a deep story line you are barking up the wrong tree, but if you are looking for something new and different to play, or if you like paintball in real life, this title should certainly be considered. Once you get the hang of how the game is played, it can be a lot of fun sending your "troops" in for the kill. It is a great simulator and will provide you with enough hours of entertainment that you probably won’t regret its purchase.

Capture the Plasma!

Bad analogy time! Ok, if this game were a hotel I’d rate it as a Holiday Inn Express. I’ll tell you why. It’s got everything you need. Anything you can think of that you might want, it’s there. Sure there are a few luxuries that might be missing and it might not look glamorous, but it’s not that expensive and it’s good for awhile. It might not take the coveted place of "best hotel" in your mind, but you probably won’t be disappointed. At the very least, you can give it a try.

 

MAX’D!!

Overall Greg Hasting’s Tournament Paintball Max’d for the Xbox is a solid title. The graphics are certainly passable, there are a lot of really nice features and options to the game, the sound is good, and the game play is solid and pure. There isn’t too much more you could ask of a game. Anyone who has ever been curious about paintball now has a cheap and easy way to get introduced to the sport. With all the knowledge you acquire about the sport you could probably even convince people that you meet that you’re a pro. Anyway you look at it, you're at least getting your money's worth.