With the use of the Torque Shader Engine, Ultra delivers visuals that are among the best in the Xbox Live Arcade. You will see light reflections in many of the surfaces and even on your own marble. Light pulses radiate from checkpoints and obstacles, and at any time during the game, you will be able to see clearly from one side of the map to the other. One thing that will heighten your interest is the game location, which places you inside of a giant astrolabe, which is in a state of constant revolution and rotation. Once you fully understand that all this content and more that make up the game is less than 50 megabytes (many Xbox 360 game demos are at least 500 megabytes), this is when you’ll be truly impressed in what the developers did with this title.
The multiplayer side of MBU will consume you in the end. There are no finish lines, mazes, or bumpers (thank goodness), only seven other players that you are up against, and a series of reappearing gems to race after; who ever has the most in the end wins. There are three types of gems in multiplayer: a red gem, which is worth one point and is the most common gem you will find; a yellow gem, which is worth two points and is a little more scarce than the red gems; and the almighty blue gem, worth five points and comes around only about 4-5 times in a match. Though this is the only multiplayer mode, the game’s online value and popularity hasn’t decreased, and you can find a match at any moment of the day (or night).
At 800 Microsoft points (about $10 USD), Marble Blast Ultra is a solid game with some refreshing gameplay ideas for those who have grown weary from this years recycled arcade titles. This title will provide hours of entertainment, both on and offline, and should be something that leaves lasting impressions on the way you think about arcade titles.
