Meriball

Written by: Matt

Aim of the Game

After the war in Meridell was over, everybody decided that the best way to relax (and in the process stop more bad guys from invading) was to enjoy a medieval version of squash. Where, with a plank of wood, the object of the game would be to make your opponent miss hitting the ball. As the denizens of Meridell enjoyed their various backyard games, official tournaments and other such friendly games, Lord Kass was able to swoop in on their unguarded games and conquer Meridell for himself. But, if you’re here to hear about the infamous Battle for Meridell…your at the wrong article…I’m sure you’d much rather learn how to go about defeating Lisha with her might magic wand anyway…right? Of course I’m right!

The instructions for the game are simple. Upon choosing a character, you get placed in a square arena and you get to serve the ball first (please make sure it bounces against the wall or you will be pelted with old banana peels). When it ricochets off the wall, it’s your opponent turn to hit it, and thus making contact with the wall again. Play continues in this manner until one player can't manage to hit the ball in time…or refuses to hit the ball (which ever comes first). This sounds easy enough I hear you say while sitting there reading this…but like any Neopets games, there are bonuses galore!! As well as these oh so wonderful random obstacles…such as this cute little Symol…who’s just waiting for you to trip over him.

The Characters

The first decision of the game comes straight away, pick a character…any character. Will you choose Kayla, the speedy Zafara, or opt for the slower, but more powerful Jeran? Choices, choices, choices. As you scroll over your character, three stats are displayed along the bottom of the screen. The first bar tells you that players speed (how fast a character can move). The second bar indicates that character’s power, (the speed at which the ball travels after it leaves the bat). The finally and third bar tells you the characters recovery rate or how long a character takes to recover (from the afore mentions obstacles). Having a smaller recovery time is better, but between Morris and Jeran (the two extremes) it is hardly noticeable, so if I were you, I'd ignore this stat.

Lisha is the “all-a-rounder�, so if you are a beginner I highly recommend you decide to use her as your character. Utilizing her fast speed and power, you can start developing your personal game plan. Once you get good at your chosen tactic…then go with someone else who is more of a specialist and better suited to your tactic(s). If you like powerful shots, Jeran may seem like the perfect character to use, but in reality, he's just too slow. Instead, if you desire power, and let's face it, who doesn't? Then Morris is the character for you my friend. He's very fast, and throughout the game, any opponent will have trouble keeping up with the pace he sets with hitting that ball.

Kayla, the magical Zafara, is rules supreme in the speed department, she manages to traverse the field in only 2 seconds! Boris, on the other hand, kinda gets the short end of the stick (no pun intended…ok…it was intended >_>). Even though he is an “all-a-rounder� like Lisha, he’s stats just don’t run as high.

Gameplay

The game begins with you facing an opponent, usually Boris; however if you play as Boris you'll have a different opponent. How freaky would it be to play against your self!! Anyway, the game begins with you serving (as previously mentioned), and play continues as players hit the ball alternately, until one player fails to do so. The scoring is quite simple, whenever one player cannot hit the ball, the other player gains a point. When a player has 5 points they win the round and go off to play the next opponent; simple is it not?!

Complications

What good would a Neopets game be without needless complications I ask you?

The bonuses are often very vital for you to win, though some are just comical. Is there really any need for you to become a giant? Well, not really, but watching a giant frog with a sword has touched my heart a few times. Unlike other games where you struggle to work out what on earth they mean, in Meriball they are simple to distinguish, with a tasteful shield painted with a clear annotation on the top. There are 8 power ups, mostly in pairs, as well as an animated shield which will choose a bonus at random.

The first pair of power ups speed up and slow down the [b]ball[/b]. This can be very useful, but generally if you need the slow down, then you should've gotten a faster character, and if you get the speed up, then you'll probably miss the ball aiming for the bonus. The second pair of power ups speed up and slow down the [b]character[/b]. The speed up power up is useful, but as before, it's generally only needed if your character is too slow. However, the slow down bonus will slow down your [b]opponent[/b], and is [u]highly[/u] useful to break a stalemate.

The third, and final, pair of power ups are ones that will make you grow, or your opponent shrink. These really are a bit worthless, but its fun to watch and try to decipher what on earth's going on. The last two bonuses are not paired bonuses. One makes the ball bounce in a random direction; again this doesn't work very well, but is funny to watch. The bomb bonus drops a bomb, which acts somewhat like the Symol attach…but more on this later.

Since I mentioned Symbols, I may as well go into details. Symols (the little Petpets that we all like to love) are surprisingly violent little critters that like to pop up out of the ground and try to kill people…or at least trip them up. When you hit a Symol as it pops up underneath you, you will automatically fall over, and depending on your recovery time, this can last about 2-3 seconds. Not an awful lot, but it can mean the difference between winning and losing...

Similar to the Symol attack is the bomb attack. If you get the bomb bonus, a bomb will fall from the heavens. After a random amount of time, it will explode, and anyone in the proximity will fall down, just like after a Symol attack, again recovery time varies depending on your character of choice.

Tactics

I'm not the best person to give you tactics, but my advice is simple. At the start of each shot, if you the ball is in your control, go to the far corner of the wall furthest away from your opponent. It's not that they smell…it's just that going further away means you are more likely to get them to miss the ball! Hit the ball, and hope for the best! Best case scenario, the ball will sail straight past the opponent, but if not then I'm afraid I can't help you. You'll just have to make your own way to winning by collecting bonuses and avoiding the Symols.

Hey, who ever said I was good at games around here!