Originally posted November 8th 2014 on the Seafoam Gaming Forums

Title: PING 1.5+

System: Wii U (eShop)

Price: $4.99

Release date: 10/16/2014

The main game/story

Inspired by the very, very old games, such as Pong and Breakout, Ping 1.5+ Is a neat little puzzle game where you precisely aim the square “ball” to the goal in each stage within a bounce limit. It’s kinda similar to the DSiWare game Trajectile in that sense, except much more expansive, and difficult.

Graphics

Obviously for a game inspired by the most simple games ever made, they aren’t going to be advanced. But it still gets the job done, with bright colors, and a easy to navigate menu system. Each of the worlds has levels that pay homage to one of the retro classics of old, and it’s a really nice reminder of the past.

Music and sound effects:

Mostly generic beats and retro sound effects. Nothing really special here, but the world select theme is a nice, calming rest for the challenge up ahead. Nothing much to comment on in this department.

Gameplay

When you begin the game, it seems pretty simple. Carefully aim and shoot the ball to the goal within a certain amount of bounces. Do it in a very short time, and you get a gold star! Pretty basic mobile game stuff (Which should be expected as this is an enhanced port of an Android game). However, what this game has that sets it apart from the others are the neat little designs of every level. What you think may be just a neat little pixel art might be the cause of frustration in a level. Every single move counts, so in just a few worlds you may be wondering whether you should shoot the ball through a moving gap at just the right height, only to mess up and fail the level.

This is where the game may cause one of two things to happen. You’ll either get mad and give up, or try and try again. Since there doesn’t seem to be any major level select that I could find, this may lead to more frustration than needed by unexperienced players. The good news however is that you can simply ask on Miiverse for advice if you really get stuck, so it’s not all that bad!

To end this, we’ll talk about the boss battles… These aren’t “fights” so to say, but more or less endurance rounds inspired by old arcade games, such as Missile Command and many, many others. These are usually mini high score levels where you must avoid losing the level until you reach the minimum amount of points required for the bronze star, or else you will lose. These are great ways to change the pace from the earlier levels, despite the high difficulty the boss levels share compared to the already tough normal levels.

Conclusion

Overall, Ping 1.5+ is not for everyone. It’s a very difficult game, meaning that after a while you will eventually get frustrated. Luckily thanks to the miiverse community, that isn’t quite a bad thing, as when you get used to how the game plays, it’s a lot of fun, and kinda addicting at times. With crossover levels, along with miiverse stamps coming soon, this is a great value for $5. Just be sure you are up for the challenge, and you’ll love this game! I give PING 1.5+ an 8 out of 10, and recommend it to any fan of the dawn of video games, and people who like challenges in general.

Thanks to NAMI TENTOU MUSHI for the review code.