Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball: Finally I won't get yelled for playing paintball inside the house!
Written: Jan 18 '05 (Updated Oct 16 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Actual licensed paintball equipment, easy controls, no need to wash clothes after game
Cons: Lack of extended game play, slow AI opponents, no custom fields
The Bottom Line: Greg Hastings'; Tournament Paintball deserves a lot of praise for being first but I am really hoping a second, improved edition.
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| christian921's Full Review: Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball for Xbox |
It's four below zero outside, that's why.
If you have never played paintball you are probably wondering why is there a paintball game for Xbox. If you have marked someone playing paintball then you are probably saying it is about time! I know that is what I was thinking when I came across Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball.
I live in Nebraska and it is four below zero outside right now and that doesn't make for ideal paintball conditions. This game seemed like a fun alterative to firing frozen paintballs at a snowman.
The Low Down
As I write this review I will assume that you know something about paintball considering that 9.8 million Americans are playing speedball, woodsball, or any number of variations on the sport of paintball. If you do have any questions of the sport, please email me or read this. This is a great sport and a lot of fun to play, which is why I bought this XBox game.
The game is designed by and named after Greg Hastings, a professional paintball player (yes, there are pro players and teams!) and published by Activision. Because you have a true player making the calls in the design and layout of the game it makes the game play more of an experience rather than just a dry first person shooter firing paintballs rather than bullets.
The game allows you to play in two solo modes and one online. You can play arcade mode on any of the fields or create a player and start a career mode that allows you to start of playing woodsball as a novice to work your way up to becoming a professional. Along the way of making it big in the pros you will be awarded credits with wins at tournaments that allow you to purchase new markers, barrels, and other accentual upgrades to make your game more imposing. You will also gain new teammates as you advance.
In arcade mode, you may select one of any of the fields to play from a map of the world. There are 20 locations to choose from with a total of 179 field layouts. While in arcade mode you will not be able to earn credits towards the store or experience points that improve your player's skills. Aside from that, there isn't any noticeable change in game play versus the career mode.
Playing Tournament Paintball in career mode is the only way to improve your player's skills and earn credits towards better gear. When you start the game in either mode you will only have a generic marker and equipment. You will not be very accurate and your air tank will run out after about four pods of paint. You will be quickly inspired to do well so that you can get the skills and some of the 145 different licensed gear to take your game to a more competitive level. The gear and skills you earn will carry over to your online play as well when you fire up Xbox live and compete against players from around the world.
Online play is where this game stands out. The AI opponents are not very challenging even though you can set their ability level (easy, normal, and hard) so to get out and show your skills against players from all over the globe makes this game much more enjoyable. The game play is just as it is in the offline version but with 2 added fields (a more expanded woodsball set up and a large rooftop field).
Another detail is the ability to cheat. When you are marked a wheel pops up that gives you the chance to wipe paint. I know it happens in during a real game but this is almost too much. It doesn't so much as give you the ability as it encourages you to cheat. In a real game you could be heckled off the fields for the day for wiping a mark off so this is an aspect of the game I would have rather been left out. It tends to send the message to new comers that cheating is part of the game. It is not and takes something away from the game.
The Environment
The game is played from the view of a first person shooter. You screen edges will show the edges of your mask and if you get a facial shot the paint will cover your mask. Being able to move your player in the first person adds a lot of realism to the game. It also makes snap shots from behind bunkers more challenging.
The graphics are smooth and players move very naturally. The fields and backdrops are well rendered. The graphics are nice enough that you can see the trace of the paint as it flies by. Balls splatter when they impact bunkers and you can follow the drop of your paintballs well when you are laying down suppressing fire from the backfield. Following your drop will make it easier to aim at you opposing back player as they snap out to fire at you.
The audio part of the game is very simple. You can hear the balls hitting the bunkers and they sound very true. You will also pick up on the sound of the paintballs flying overhead and barely missing you. Other than the sound of balls pouring out of your pod into the hopper and the sound of heavy breathing when you run there isn't much else. There doesn't need to be either. The simple audio allows you to constraint on the visual aspects of the game.
Extreme player makeover
When you begin the game you will be able to create your player. There are not that many choices in the look of your player but there are male and female characters. You will then be able to assign some experience points towards the improvement of your player. There are four categories of improvement (speed, accuracy, marker skill, and reloading). As you gain more experience points you will be able to improve your ability level by assigning points. This will increase how quickly your player moves, how fast they can run, how accurate your shots are, how quickly you change hands, and how much you spill as you reload.
The ability to earn pretend money to buy the computer version of equipment that most players really drool over is the underlying drive to continue to play. You can buy jerseys, pants, masks, shoes, hoppers, harnesses, barrels, markers, and air supplies. All of the equipment is interchangeable and you can chart how the new piece will affect your skills in comparison to what you are replacing.
You will be able to buy high-end markers like the DM5 from Dye and the Karnivore from WGP as well as mid range markers from JT, Tippman, and Kingman. A lot of the other equipment is made by R7 (Greg Hastings' company), Dye, Draxxus, Extreme Rage, Evil, and Odyssey.
With each change in the marker you will notice the difference in the performance. The trigger pulls will be lighter and quicker. Your shots will travel longer and truer as you improve barrels. These improvements increase your effectiveness both in regular and online play. And to be honest, it is very cool to get to fire the DM5 and the Karinore.
Personal Impressions
Paintball is a blast to play in person; if you haven't already I highly recommend playing sometime. When it gets cold outside markers tend to act up because of the air delivery system and nobody likes cold feet. Finding a place to play indoors isn't always the easiest and large outdoor speedball fields are better than indoors anyways! This is a great video game for when you cannot get out there.
The game play itself gets a bit repetitive after awhile because the AI is too predictable. There isn't much verity in the computers game play. The fields are very well done and laid out nicely. The times where you are playing in the woods can be a bit tough as the opponents are hard to pick out from the bunkers.
You are able to listen to your own XBox soundtrack as you play or choose to listen to the stock game version. That makes it nice to play listening to your own tunes. The game also has a very repetitive loop of thrash talk and complaining as the computer players are eliminated. This gets on my nerves after awhile. I really do not like playing with negative players in real life and loath them even more as computer generated poor-sports.
The tournament style of play is outstanding though. It is a blast to play against true professional teams on real fields. The only improvement I would have made is the ability to build custom fields on which to play. It would have added more longevity to the game. Once you win the tournaments and get your gear, there really isn't anywhere for the game to go. It is easy to win once you learn the AI tendencies and how to counteract their plan. It would have been nice to have the ability to plan your team's moves prior to starting the rounds and give directions to teammates during the game. It is what they do in the pros. It would add a lot to the game. The best game play is only available online where your teammates and you can plan out moves and communicate changes during game play.
I do like the ability to upgrade to some of the nicest equipment available but it would be even nicer to have more. WGP and Dye make some of the nicest markers in use today but to have more than just a handful of high-end markers would be even better.
This game is good but not great. Greg Hastings deserves a big pat on the back though, for bringing this game out for new comers and for the ballers. I am sure this game will bring a few new people out to the fields. I am really holding out hope that there is a second version with some improvements to make the game more of an addiction than a fall back.
For a great place to buy paintball gear:
Paintball Mountain.com
Thanks for shooting by...
Christian921
*This review has been republished on another site. The work is 100% my own.
Recommended:
Yes
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christian921
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Member: Christian Stanley
Location: A country mile north of Omaha, NE USA
Reviews written: 117
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