Ballistic is good fun and gets the job done as a puzzler, but fails to excite on any real level.
Graphics: Let me be frank, graphically, there is absolutely nothing about Ballistic that would in any way convince you that you're playing a NUON game. This is a straight port from the Playstation, and to be honest, it's obvious this could be done on a system much less powerful that even it. Polygons, voxels, raytracing? Forget any of that, Ballistic is a straight forward sprite-based puzzler, which wouldn't be a problem if they looked nice and smooth, but in this case, everything, from the rotating turret to the balls themselves have a rather jagged look to them, which is surprising all things considered. Explosions are also composed of rather unimpressive sprites. All-in-all, Ballistic does nothing to show the player anything that hasn't been done before, and done better.
Sound: The sound, from the explosions, chimes and music, are all rather run-of-the-mill. While never truly annoying, the music has a very happy tone to it which can become a bit grating with a game that can be quite frustrating in later levels. Explosions are rather weak-sounding as well, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Ballistic is a game that fails to take advantage of the inherent advantages of the DVD format, both visually and aurally.
Gameplay: While Ballistic may not look or sound particularly good, it does play fairly well, which is the primary factor. The basic premise is to match balls of the same color in chains of three or more as they come down a circling pipe that leads to your ball-launcher/turret. Doing so makes the balls disappear from the playfield, resulting in points for you, the player. As soon as they disappear, the balls behind the chain quickly spring forward in their place. This can result in more chains if the balls before the chain are the same color, and it is indeed this aspect that creates the strategic aspect of the game. By setting up your chains carefully, you can set up chain combos that result in larger point totals. The premise is simple, and easy to get the feel of, but don't let that fool you, as the levels quickly become more difficult. There are three modes, Panic, where you must deal with a never-ending supply of balls, Level, which is very much the same, only with short interludes and extra features, and the VS. mode. While the 2 player VS. mode is good, until someone releases more controllers, the 2nd player is at a distinct disadvantage they're forced to play with the remote, which is not ideal for this kind of game.
Theme: Puzzlers are a popular genre that has a wide range of appeal, from casual to hardcore, young and old. While there is a timeless quality to these games (just look at how many systems games like Tetris and Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move have been ported to), they also can get quite old for most people in a rather short period of time. Still, it's good, clean fun that is aimed squarely at VM Labs' primary demographic, which is, in the long run, a good thing for NUON owners.
Overall: Ballistic is a good game, but definitely not a great one, and while it's arguable whether or not its at a level of quality needed for NUON games, it is an enjoyable diversion, if only for a short while. It is a shame that the developers failed to implement any kind of NUON-specific effects, but when taken for what it is, a direct port of a good game, it's not that disappointing. VM Labs went to great strides to make existing Playstation games easily portable to NUON, and this is a product of that. Ballistic won't win any awards, but it should provide early adopters of the Samsung Extiva with just enough to sink their teeth into before the real games, namely Tempest 3000, Merlin Racing & Freefall (November 14th), hit store shelves. - mwcarter
Final Grade: 67%