Marble Blast Ultra (Live Arcade)

[jcee]

Out today folks - 800 of your microsoft points !

Think marble madness style gameplay crossed with Super Monkey Ball. This is a very addictive little Live arcade game where you have to roll a marble (of a variety of colours) to a goal across precarious platforms and traps. Single player is split into 60 levels and 3 difficulties although there are a few too many beginner levels for my liking. The challenge comes from getting a high time, this is made quite interesting by the cool momentum engine in-game which see's your marble realistically speed up as you fling it around the courses.
The Live-only multiplayer mode seems quite fun, but I've only had a quick blast. It's more of a battle type game which lends well to the various power-ups scattered around the arenas.

[Yoshimax]

It's great :D

Not so sure about multiplayer - Only seems to be a collect em up style I was hoping for races to the finish !

Single Player is great as jcee says - repeating levels to shave seconds off your times is quite addictive.

[Myth]

This is the first game (other than Geometery Wars) which has actually made me want to get some gamer points before Street Fighter's out.

The single player trial was great and multiplay was quite fun, people seem to have got good quick.

[JamesS]

Yeah, I bought it last night, and it seems pretty good. Done the first 20 levels in under par time, and played multiplayer for nearly an hour. I really like the multiplayer mode. It's a bit manic and random, but it's good fun and there seemed to be plenty of players.

I'm not sure how long the game will last single player. I'm hoping it gets a fair bit harder. I got under par on all the levels but one on my first go in the first world.

IGN complained about the game lacking personality, but I'm quite keen on the fairly clean style of the thing. Reminds me vaguely of Kula World or Spindizzy or something.

[analog dog]

yes I got this today,I really like the styling and it looks mint in hi-def.
I really like the backgrounds as well,minimalist but stylish.
The multiplayer is very,very addictive.Getting the Big Blast powerup and blowing 3 players off the map at the same time is well funny,could be a serious drain on my time this one.(how much is 800 points in the real world)

[Extra Terrestrial]

The graphical reflections on the marble itself is absolutely outstanding!

I am enjoying it very much, but I am unsure about the multiplayer aspect as I thought it would be a race mode instead of finding the red-gems plus a lot of people have gotten too good already: can I host or invite others in a game of my own (no strangers, etc)?

I am pleased with my purchase.

[Paulando]

It's a brilliant game, well worth 6 quid!

It's kind of like Super Monkey Ball, with elements of Kula World chucked in for good measure. It's very enjoyable, especially finding the shortcuts in the levels and the different ways to make the marble move faster. I'm enjoying just playing through the levels over and over to get higher in the leaderboards.

Add my Gamertag so we can compare scores :D

[PeteJ]

PeteJ, getting this now :)

[PeteJ]

Just unlocked it, multiplayer rocks.

[TonyDA]

Add my gamertag too - comparing scores, and trying to beat your friends, is incredibly addictive. tonydalmond

[Tobal]

Anyone found easter eggs yet?

I found one when i fell of the first intermediate stage jumpin gup the steps and saw a round spinning thing, tucked away. after number of goes jumping to it through the gap you can see it, i instead rolled of the edge of the platform it was underneath and hit a very small ledge underneath that which i used to line myself up for the next fall to the the object, got it and unlocked an achievement

[Paulando]

Anyone found easter eggs yet?
I haven't had the chance to look for any yet, but I did get one on the very first stage :D

[PeteJ]

Sweet, sounds like quite a fun hunt.

Managed to get the beginner 'on par' achievement earlier. I really like this, the feeling of the marble is exactly like Metroid Prime. Ie, it is exactly right.

[Mephistopheles]

Got this a few hours ago. The full game is actually much better than the demo with some really crazy levels. Very good physics. Apart from the obvious Monkeyball comparisons, I could see how a Sonic game would work well with this type of implementation and track design (when he's a ball).

Multiplayer is ace too and is worth the 800 points alone. Played it for nearly two hours straight. I don't manage that on multiplayer of many full-priced games, let alone Live Arcade ones!

It'd be nice if there were more music tracks though. What's there is quite soothing and I wouldn't mind more of these mellow tunes to relax to while playing.

[Rushy]

Bought this last night and played through both the beginner and intermediate settings. It's great fun; the marble handles superbly, the level design is tight, and multiplayer is a good laugh. Another winner for Xbox Live Arcade.

[Yoshimax]

I'm 11th in the world on Jump, Jump, Jump.

Beat that :D

(I'm sure you will - I'm not finished yet !)

[Gareth C]

I'm 11th in the world on Jump, Jump, Jump.

Beat that :D

(I'm sure you will - I'm not finished yet !)
Bloody 'eck...thats my worst course by far....well played old chap!

[Yoshimax]

Something like 3.9 seconds.

I'd forgotten about the jump button and was using the blast function - when I finally rememberd about jump it didn't take long :D

Gonna go back and refine it tonight - I LOVE this singleplayer I just wish they'd put multiplayer racing in with everybody appearing as ghosts (a-la Monkey Ball 1 but not 2) rather than a gem collecting game. :(

[in5ane]

I only played this for a few minutes online before getting bored.

Single player seemed ok I guess, but that gravity level just brought back memories of Mercury on the PSP and the level that annoyed me so much I stopped playing it.

Bring on Street Fighter tho, my credits are waiting!

[Nijo]

I'm 11th in the world on Jump, Jump, Jump.

Beat that :D

(I'm sure you will - I'm not finished yet !)

Almost managed to get 4.2 seconds but I overshot the last corner (d'oh!). I may come back to this... :)

[Dazzla]

3.93 seconds on jump, jump, jump but that's only good enough for 55 in the world. My higest ranked score is rank 9 on Frictional Concerns with 9.85 seconds.

I've got a problem though, my friends aren't showing up on the leaderboard now, I'm all on my own :/

[Nijo]

Phew, 38 was a pain. Finally got all beginner and intermediate under par.

Now the advanced. :)

[PeteJ]

The friends thing is almost working for me now, half of them are showing.

Managed to get intermediate under par just now, the sliding one (15 I think, where it helps you by saying "jump to help turn on ice) was a complete pain. Thanks for nijo for the obvious-yet-i-didn't-see-it tip.

Have got most of the achievments now, and working towards the mega-multiplayer one. I have about...300 points :p

[Yoshimax]

I've actually changed my mind about multiplayer - quite enjoy it now - when I tried it I only played on the daft wee level in the sky - was playing on the bigger, more complex ones yesterday and it was a top laugh racing for the gems.

Got 2 stages to do to finish intermediate under par - That one Pete is referring to being one of them (frigging 1 second off!)

My favourite xbox live arcade game so far I think - Roll on a sequel (pun intended)

[Nijo]

#2 on level 9 (first flight)

:ph34r:

[Yoshimax]

^^ Fakkin Hell - I'll be gunning for that one !!

[Nijo]

Yoshi - there's a shortcut for Whirl (38.) which I think is the level you're missing. When you get the first super jump turn around and X-jump up to the U-bend sections. After a few tries you should be able to land it, then rocket your way to the top.
I reckon sub- 1 minute is possible using that method. I have #87 at 1:05 but I screwed up part of it. #1 is only 16 seconds so I'm still missing something... I only once managed to bounce off those bouncers to the next level up - not a reliable method.

And for Sledding (28.), I assume you're turning around at the start and dropping off the cliff?

The advanced ones are getting more tricky to keep under par...

[Yoshimax]

You are correct sir - Nice tip I'll give that a go ;)

Does anybody know how people have managed 4 seconds on the very first level of beginner ???

[Nijo]

I managed to get a lowish time by bouncing off the small wall at the top of the first ramp. Here's the sequence of events:

- Head up the ramp and towards the back wall
- Pull a clockwise 180 so you're facing the ramp down with a big wall to your left
- Head towards the small wall that sticks out, aiming to hit the the right side of the edge facing you
- Now you need to hit it, *then* press jump and X... only a split second apart but I think you need some vertical momentum from the bounce before you jump and boost.

I've managed this twice so far... something like 10 seconds. There must be a faster way, such as hitting that same wall from the other side on the way up the ramp (assuming your boost is ready).



Edit: Or maybe you jump just before you hit the wall... gah, I can't remember.

[PeteJ]

How the hell did you get #2 on First Flight? I can only get 8 seconds...

edit...ok I'm top 100 now. Comin for ya!

[Nijo]

How do I get you back on my score table? Can't see you anymore...

I only see YoshiMax and Paulando (who has some sick times as well).

[El Leone]

I was playing online, and these guys were just taking the piss out of xbox live "Oh you're being overrly aggressive and I'm in the family Zone" and they kicked mehttp://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/wtf.gif

[PeteJ]

How do I get you back on my score table? Can't see you anymore...

I only see YoshiMax and Paulando (who has some sick times as well).The scoreboard for friends is bugged, they should be fixing it.

My best is currently 7:63, not sure how to shave off that little bit..Are you bouncing off the back wall or straight onto the point? I seem to go faster by bouncing from fairly high up the wall.

[Nijo]

I've done it both ways. First time I got that time was a bounce about half way up the wall, second time I pulled back earlier and landed on the target. Second way seems easier as I got lots of results in the top 10 (but couldn't beat my top time again).

[Family Fry]

Ive really been enjoying this game, its quality. Have managed to get under par times upto advanced levels, oh man are they getting tough.
Now on the last 10 levels now just got to under par them last 10 and thats it.
Havent dived into multiplayer yet, will have too seek out a few games.

[Paulando]

How do I get you back on my score table? Can't see you anymore...

I only see YoshiMax and Paulando (who has some sick times as well).
Aye, it's a bit tempermental the friends page on the high score table. The Beginner ones seem okay though, but they don't seem to be listed in any particular order.

I've just been going back through the Beginner levels now, beating my previous times. I was able to shave a huge amount of time off many of them! Such a fantastic game, the time trials are incredibly addictive :)

[Nijo]

I've just been going back through the Beginner levels now, beating my previous times. I was able to shave a huge amount of time off many of them! Such a fantastic game, the time trials are incredibly addictive :)

I need to do that on the intermediate stages - after doing some of the advanced ones they should be relatively easy. :)

3 left: two gem collections that I skipped and then level 60... :ph34r:

[Paulando]

Oooh, I'm number 10 on Level 12 :D

Haven't really played the advanced stages yet to be honest, I'll have to get them done. I'm happy going through each stage again, one-by-one, to get a better time for now :)

[Nijo]

LoL, just finished Schadenfreude (60) in 9:06 but it's still rank 383. Par is 3:30...

Darksteve: you've got some nice times there. We should all work together and crack the top 10 overall. :)


Edit: Heh, 2:20. That'll do for now. :ph34r:

[JamesS]

Has something happened to the listing for Marble Blast on the Xbox web site? It no longer shows up in my list of games (or the lists of my friends who also have the game) when I list my achievements. The points from Marble Blast are missing on my total on the "My Achievements" page too (though they're still there on on the gamer card).

I cleared the par times on the intermediate stages last night, but I'm nowhere near most of the advanced times. Still got three levels that I haven't managed to finish yet on advanced. Really enjoying this game a lot. Easily my favourite Live Arcade game so far.

[TonyDA]

OK, thicko alert:

I cannot see how to do level 24 (intermediate) - Around the World. I'm guessing it's easy, and quick, because you only have 30secs to do it.

Any tips? Like, the answer...:)
Cheers

[Nijo]

Forwards twice, turn right and forwards once, turn left and forwards twice, right and forwards to the exit. Don't go too fast or you'll miss the gravity modifiers - but don't go to slow or you'll crawl up the hills... :)

[Yoshimax]

^^ You need a break from that Joni5 :D

I need to play it more - where does the time go ?

[Nijo]

Hehe, somehow it's more appealing than continuing with King Kong. :)

[Yoshimax]

I'm sure that's true - still to get round to King Kong but I have a SDTV so it'll be too dark according to Ubisoft :(

Have they not patched it yet to turn up the brightness ? :D

[Nijo]

It's not dark - it's pitchblack!

[Family Fry]

LoL, just finished Schadenfreude (60) in 9:06 but it's still rank 383. Par is 3:30...

Darksteve: you've got some nice times there. We should all work together and crack the top 10 overall. :)


Edit: Heh, 2:20. That'll do for now. :ph34r:

Why thank you Nijo, wouldnt mind being able to see my friends list times BUT no one is on there at all, thought they would at least fix it.
Some times online are just MADNESS cant see how they can get some and it bloody annoys me.

[Shakey_Jake33]

Brilliant stuff this!

This is a good example of why the Live Marketplace is so good. I really don't mind paying for games in this manner, when they're this much fun. Shows a game doesn't have to be massively deep to be worthy of play.

[Edame]

Does anyone else find their multiplayer games lagging all the time? I'm on a 2mb connection but even on 'green' games it just gets really frustrating given the level of finesse needed for some moves. I've lost count of the number of times I've suddenly missed a gem or fallen off the edge because the lag jerked the ball a few feet away from where I was. Multiplayer is good fun but now that I have all of the multiplayer achievements I doubt I'll go back to it that much.

[Dezm0nd]

Just done the intermediate levels under par and it got quite tricky near the end, expert looks insane though. This to me is what Monkey Ball 2 should've been.

[JamesS]

Finally finished the advanced levels tonight. Those last two are horrible, especially 59, which seems to be designed to highlight the slight dodginess of the camera. I can't imagine how you'd do them in under par time. My time on level 60 is about half an hour.

[Nijo]

59 is certainly an arse, although I'd have thought par is easy if you can stay the course - you don't have much choice but to follow the platform. Are you super-jumping at the end? I thought I was done with the level but it's now one of the few easter eggs I have left to collect. :(

For 60 you need to know some tricks to make it under par. I admit that I had to check around for some suggestions. Here are two tricks:
- On the H shaped section there are two gems. You can collect both by falling off the level and super-jumping back up again from mid-air.
- The gem in the middle of the pinball bumpers should be jumped to and super-jumped away from. Slow and steady is the wrong way. :) You can actually collect both gems in that section at the same time, but I never managed to pull that off.

[thorns]

bought this yesterday and it's great so far.. great physics, graphics are simple and very clean, looks really crips on high def. solid framerate as well. My only gripe is that I wish there were more multiplayer modes..:(
Btw I was ranked around 32,000 at one level, so the game seems to be doing pretty good already!

[Family Fry]

Finally Achieved all achievements on this wee gem of a game, still go through the levels and try and harden my times but im starting to hit brick walls, some people in top tens must have used black magic.

[Nijo]

Nice one. I found some of those last gems a bit painful (I think 59 and 53/55 - the maze one), but they all fall with time. :)
It would be nice if we could unlock some uber hard levels a la Monkey Ball...

[Mr Pump]

Anyone having trouble with the friends scoreboard?

I can compare myself to players around the world, which is kind of disheartening, but I can't check against you lot :(

Otherwise great fun.

[Yoshimax]

Yeah it's knackered - the friends filter doesn't work which kinda sucks as I'd rather compare to you guys than the world !!!

[Family Fry]

Nice one. I found some of those last gems a bit painful (I think 59 and 53/55 - the maze one), but they all fall with time. :)
It would be nice if we could unlock some uber hard levels a la Monkey Ball...

Man dont bring back memories of that maze advanced level!! JESUS!
Took me around 3 n half hours to find that bloody egg, did so by PURE CHANCE as i started to fling myself off each edge convinced it was hiding and it bloody was as well.
Trying to improve my times generally, man im starting to hit the wall though :(.
Bring on the new downloadable content/levels i say. Also a replay upload mode would be nice.

[Nijo]

Go here for NTSC-UK friends scores:
http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=54599

I noted down the top friends scores for each level - based on what I could see at the time. Some of you I can't see so post a reply in that thread if you're faster!

[Extra Terrestrial]

Can I ask some experts for Marble Blast to answer a simple query from your point of perspective please: - what achievement is harder to gain, the 'Egg Basket' (Find all twenty easter eggs) or 'Marble-fu Transcendent' (Finish all Advanced levels under par time) as I want to get the hardest out of the way first before moving onto the other choice.

Thanks to whoever helps!

[Family Fry]

Definitely the egg challange! You will find youwill just par time with more play BUT finiding some of the well hidden eggs' (without an FAQ ) is pretty challenging.
Some of them are complete bastards to find or even get to once you find them, took me a combined time of about 12-14 hours to get them all.
One level took me 3 n bit hours to find the egg!
Bit of advice though that helped me a lot write down what level you found an egg in, when you find them the still appear on the level just once you collect them it say YOU HAVE ALREADY FOUND THIS EGG. That can be annyoing if you are playing through on a few days, so keep notes.
Good luck with the hunting.

[Myth]

Finally done every level under par. :D

Oh and if you get an egg on a level it'll show it in the corner of the level before you select it. :)

[Family Fry]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
I never even spotted that in my egg hunting madness...:(

[wush]

Late to the party with this one. :)

Bought it yesterday and I've been playing like crazy. Got the Marble-Fu Transcendent achievement for completing all levels in under par time tonight! Working out and honing a (most likely convoluted) strategy to get a quick time on the last level must be the hardest thing I've played recently.

Surely the finest quality title on XBLA. :happy:

[Rossco]

I love this game, my mate and I used to spend hours playing it, so addictive! :D

[mr_sockochris]

What's up with the Leaderboards on this? I was playing it round my mates yesterday trying to beat some of his times only to find that the leaderboards have some simply impossible scores on them. Has this been hacked or something so people can fly through the levels?

[stainboy]

I just bought this last week myself, can't believe I waited so long - it's awsome and there's still plenty of people playing online! I don't even care when I lose, it's fun just bouncing around.

[Nijo]

What's up with the Leaderboards on this? I was playing it round my mates yesterday trying to beat some of his times only to find that the leaderboards have some simply impossible scores on them. Has this been hacked or something so people can fly through the levels?

It may have been hacked since I last played, but there were certainly ways of getting times faster than seem possible.
First level: you can make it from the start to end by going straight up rather than going all the way around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27y2lyF3f0

Is that what you mean?

[Nijo]

Ok I just had a look at the best times - some of them are extremely dubious. Level 60 in 23 seconds? Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Maybe it's doable. I've seen 45 seconds done.

[mr_sockochris]

It may have been hacked since I last played, but there were certainly ways of getting times faster than seem possible.
First level: you can make it from the start to end by going straight up rather than going all the way around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27y2lyF3f0

Is that what you mean?

No, i'm talking about things like 3 second times on levels that would take AT LEAST 30 seconds just to travel across, let alone navigating all the obsticles. I can fully appreciate there are better players out there than me but most of the times I looked at were just physically IMPOSSIBLE. There was one level me and my mate were taking it in turns to beat each others times, I can't remember the name but it was one of the advanced levels, it had ice and pinball bumpers and you had to get 4 gems before you could finish it. The best I managed was 29 seconds, I reckon I could do it in 27 and I would say that 25 secs could maybe be possible at a push but the record was infact 11 seconds! It takes 9 seconds for me to get to the first gem and there certainly aren't any shortcuts you could take, it's a straight route and no egg timers at all either. My only guess is this has been hacked somehow and people are able to fly around the maps, because there is no way more of these top times are anywhere near possible.

[Nijo]

You're talking about Sledding? Level 28?
This one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljw2DodEaNo

Edit: I agree that some of the scores up there now do look impossible. That IBSOLOADED character in particular looks dubious.

[JohnMcL7]

Argh - still can't play this game because HMV won't deliver my 2100 points card...:(

John

[ChrisField]

It may have been hacked since I last played, but there were certainly ways of getting times faster than seem possible.
First level: you can make it from the start to end by going straight up rather than going all the way around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27y2lyF3f0

Is that what you mean?I think the comment on that youtube video - " i finished it like with 2 seconds used a cheat hee hee" says it all! http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/images/smilie/mad.gif

[mr_sockochris]

You're talking about Sledding? Level 28?
This one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljw2DodEaNo

Edit: I agree that some of the scores up there now do look impossible. That IBSOLOADED character in particular looks dubious.

That's the level. Not the route I took so I'll concede it's doable quicker than I estimated but the top record is still 11 secs and I don't know where anyone could find 5 seconds on that video :dry:

[Rossco]

Put this on again, up to level 59 now, it is so difficult to get under par times for alot of the advanced levels! Only the last two levels to go but I was spending way too much time on it and had to give up for a while. Will try again now I think.

No-one on my friends list has got anywhere near as far as me, anyone here at all finished them all under par time?

[Myth]

Me :)

[Extra Terrestrial]

No-one on my friends list has got anywhere near as far as me, anyone here at all finished them all under par time?

200/200

It is actually one of the easier Arcade games if you ask me and the best released so far too.

[Rossco]

Nice one! Thought you were on my list but alas you are not! :lol:

Hardly tried the multiplayer and I dont plan to so I wont get all 200 points but I do want to finish the damn game! And what the hell are the easter eggs? Not found one? Dont even know what I'm looking for! :lol:

[Myth]

They're literally easter eggs placed in certain stages.

[Rossco]

Oh my god level 60 is KILLING ME!!! :mad:

[arcnas]

The last level is rock hard, my first go i did it it 38 minutes, but i can now get the first 3 gems in under a minute, my 5 year old boy had done it in under 9 minutes, which i find astounding. Ive played this game far to much because my boys addicted to it.

[Yoshimax]

The game that keeps on giving - I wish more of us had gotten into the online multiplayer because it's actually really great fun - I've still got about half of intermediate and all of hard to do in the SP.

Biggest problem with arcade games - I never seem to get round to finishing them - Contra has been played like once !!! ><

[peeveen]

I wish more of us had gotten into the online multiplayer because it's actually really great fun

I'm up for this, cos I have 170/200 achievement points, and just need to get two of the multiplayer achievements for 100%. I totally suck at multiplayer tho.

Probably the best XBLA game out there, and worth every penny of the asking price. Shame they can't all be this good.

[Nijo]

A few of us have 200/200... me and also EvilBoris DX that I recall.

I think I did the last level in 2:30? You have to learn a route and a couple of tricks (like: fall off the level then superjump on the way down...).

[arcnas]

leaderboards say someone has done the last level in 27 seconds, how the hell you can do it that quick i will never know.

[Nijo]

It's possible to do the levels way faster than you'd expect... but yeah, some of the times are just taking the piss.

For level 1, this is doable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27y2lyF3f0

[Family Fry]

:o
NEW ACHIEVEMENTS! That takes the total upto 250G.
And they mention a Marble Fu Pack and Agoraphobia Pack, they will SO be bought day 1.
I'm so glad to hear about these new packs, loved marble blast.

Blue Gem Hunt 10G
Collect a blue gem in a Marble It Up! multiplayer match.

Map Pack Dominator 20G
Get 40 gems in any 3 of Playground, Bowl, Concentric, Vortex Effect, Blast Club
(Marble Fu pack)

Master of the Spires 20G
Collect 50 gems in Spires (Agoraphobia pack.)

Talk about reviving old thread.

[toythatkills]

Oh my, excellent news. I hope these are some new singleplayer levels rather than just new multiplayer levels though, which they sound like

[Myth]

SO glad I just saw this, loved Marble Blast so much when it first came to Live Arcade.

[Charlie]

The Marble Fu Pack is up now @ 200 points. Unfortunately (in my eyes at least) it's a pack of 5 new multiplayer maps - not single player levels as I was hoping.