Match Point Review

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After diving into just a couple hours into Jolly Crouton Media Ltd.’s first title, I found myself to be widely addicted to the game’s core mechanic and competitive nature. Match Point is an action arcade installment that pins two to four players against each other in a small arena where they must take down their opponent’s shield goals whilst also protecting their own. Though that may be all that the game presents, there’s plenty of features and modifications that’s sure to keep many couch gamers satisfied.

At the start of the experience, you’re more than likely inclined to try out the swift tutorial which will show you the ropes on how to expertly tether, kick, and dominate the playground. The main goal of the game relies solely on utilizing the ball to either kick or protect toward or from your opponent as he/she goes after your post as you attempt to go after theirs, as aforesaid. It is there where you learn your angles and time coordination as the camerawork goes into overdrive, zooming in and out of intense sequences as the ball goes back and forth.

Match Point’s selling feature, though, happens to be Custom Mode, amongst the other seven available modes that bring a sense of variety for the entertainment. Standard houses normal controls without any wacky factors; Simple abandons the super kick that usually comes with your block (you, the player); Mayhem introduces more balls; Twitchy adds a shot of adrenaline by kicking things up to speed; Magnet replaces the ball with a magnet that slowly follows you once you come into contact with it; Tennis splits the map in half and ditches the shields and tethers for a more grounded game; and Moonball, evidently, brings low gravity into the mix, allowing your player to hover ever more slowly, and the kicking and tethering is also exempt. But with Custom Mode, you’re allowed to modify the competition in any way you see fit. Add more balls, increase your player size, split the map in half, remain anonymous, go faster or slower, etc. And with the eight distinctive maps to offer different kinds of challenges, it’s hard to get weary of such a rather simple game with a lot of promise.

Its graphics ring inspiration from the classic PONG, but with a more retro and updated look and feel that makes the game its own. For an arcade title such as this, the quality is often pleasing to look at, though they’re nothing too special since you’re playing a block that can kick a ball around. Nonetheless, they’re quite sufficient for a price tag that’s going for merely $10. And the sound design behind the ball encounters is quite thrilling when you’re racing to get to match point. A catchy score, too, to accommodate the chaotic atmosphere that the game breathes in and out.

You’ll constantly find yourself fighting off with your opponent for the overtime match point if the two or three or four of you are tied and only one more goal will decide the victor. The backdrop rules of the game are similar those of soccer, hockey, and tennis, where the main objective is to protect your goal while attacking the opposing side’s own. It’s pretty much straightforward until you start getting crazy with all the controls and configurations for the game. Match Point is an absorbing versus-based indie goodie where you’ll either be taunting or cheering at the screen, hoping to get the ball to be in your favor to prove you’re the master of coach gaming. It’s an amusing experience that deserves to be on the shelf of almost any gamer’s library, especially one where it doesn’t require an internet connection to play, something that is undisputedly prominent in today’s video gaming world.