Unbelievably Great, Hindered Only By It's Current Length, Which Is Soon To Be Expanded Upon.
There is word of a content patch with new maps, balls, abilities and achievements. This includes a Level Editor.
This was announced mid-November, and scheduled for release late-December. However, as of yet it has not been released, and due to engine upgrades and other things, but was announced it is still in design on the 4th of March.
It is currently a two-man indie developer, so if you are looking for a big name, you should look elsewhere.
So, onto the game. The basic idea is you need to guide a ball through a 3D world to a portal within a specific amount of time, determined by difficulty. During each of the 15 levels (Excluding Tutorials) you have the option to collect 'Glorbs' which are Glowing orbs. Just roll near, and collect them. If you collect all of them in a level you get a point bonus, which contributes to the game's currency system. Please note, the game currency has no relation to real currency, so when I talk about purchasing/buying things I mean using the in-game credits.
The graphics are unbelievable in Spectraball. I run everything at max, at a 1280x1024 resolution, with the game running smooth, only getting minor frame rate issues on the largest level of the game. Even that doesn't slow my game down. My rig cannot run Crysis smoothly on medium, only smooth on minimum 1024x768, which even lags at many of the gunfights. Unless my rig has had a magical update I didn't know about, Spectraball has truly good graphics.
At the end of each level, your time will be recorded and posted to global leader boards, but on some computers (Including My Own) the leader boards may take a short amount of time to load up. There are high-scores and leader boards for all aspects of the game, apart from the tutorials.
In total, there are 5 zones (Excluding Tutorial) with 3 levels each. You can only access the zones, and not the levels. This mean, if you wanted to access the last level of the tropical zone, you would need to do the two previous levels in order to play it.
Each level takes a few minutes to complete on your first try. Also, the earlier levels are much shorter, and somewhat easier, so time taken may vary. However, some of the later levels may take 10-30 minutes, and the last level may take significantly more. Someone who has played the game through many times and knows how to tackle each obstacle can complete the game in a rough guess of 30 minutes to an hour, making for a very short game. However, there are a few other things to unlock in the store.
The store is an in-game shop where you can sell your points for new balls, abilities and mini-games. Each new ball is fairly cheap, and has it's own special feature, but there is only a small selection. You can also purchase new abilities, as well as 2 mini games.
There are 5 balls in total. The default ball has no advantages, Lava ball moves quicker, Ancient ball jumps higher, Nature ball reduces ability cool-downs by 3 seconds and Ice ball doubles the duration of Slow-Mo. Each ball is noticeably improved in terms of its speciality, and often picking on to suit your zone is best.
Currently there are only 3 abilities, Default Power-Brake, Teleport and Slow-Mo.
Power-Brake is the only one you start with, and this will stop you dead in your tracks, no matter what. Teleport gives you the ability to drop a teleport node, and be able to teleport there when needed. Useful when you need to go back the way you came.
Slow-Mo is the slow motion ability, but it slows you down too. Only useful when you need precision over speed.
The final items are the mini-games. There are only two, but cost a fair amount each. The first is the arena. It is the most interesting, as you sit on a platform connected to a chain in the centre. You come under attack by other balls that try to knock you off the said platform. 2-4 balls will bombard you at once during the start, but over time more attack, resulting in 10-15 at a time.
The second mini-game is called Rockslide, and it is a gauntlet event. As you progress in events more rocks come down the hill. You just have to keep on the platform and make it to the other side, and make sure you don't fall.
The game uses Steamworks, which allows Achievement and Stat-Tracking. The achievements are pretty simple, requiring you to complete different zone on different difficulties. There are a few miscellaneous achievements, from ascending to a certain height, reach a certain speed, collect a number of Glorbs, survive long in the mini-games and even complete every level in the game without falling off of the game platform.
There are 3 difficulties in Spectraball, Easy, Medium and Hard. Easy is your first time run mode, as it gives plenty of time to explore, acquire orbs and get used to the game.
Medium is a more serious speed run, getting from A to B with speed. If you follow the levels route you can complete each level with a few seconds to spare.
Hard is the skill run. You need to think outside of the box for this, as following the normal route will be far too slow. For example, why activate a switch when you can clear the gate in one, well-timed, well-calculated jump?
There is also a free-play mode too, which allows you to play certain levels without a time limit. However, you will not get any points to use in the store, making this a great practice mode for those trickier zones.
I believe I have covered the whole game. As you may or may not have read, it is a fairly short game that is very powerful on fun, graphics, and an experience you aren't soon to forget.
Pair that up with new content being released in due time by Flashcube Studios, and you have a great game with infinite possibilities.
To conclude the whole game in a nut shell:
Spectraball is an incredibly fun, physics based platformer that boasts great graphics, great audio, and an unforgettable experience. However, it is very short, which is soon to be fixed with promise of a Content patch and level editor.
Spectraball is developed by Flashcube Studios and available for purchase on steam currently for £5.99.