King Oddball is a odd little game for our Windows Phone. A little creepy as well.
You play the role of King Oddball, a disembodied head that hurls boulders from his tongue in an effort to conquer the world. You face various enemies ranging from tanks to helicopters that are scattered about various structures. The game has a bit of an Angry Birds feel to it but not enough to make it feel as a knock off.
Once you get past King Oddball's rather long tongue, the game grows on you. It has an addictive quality that makes it a nice addition to our Windows Phone gaming library.
Game play with King Oddball is simple. You have three boulders that can be used to destroy the enemy vehicles. King Oddball grabs one of the boulders with the tip of his tongue and swings it about. To release the boulder, just tap the screen to send it smashing into the structures protecting the enemy or strike the vehicles directly.
You only have three boulders to wipe out all the enemy vehicles. However, if you take out multiple vehicles with one boulder toss, you can earn bonus boulders.
As you wipe out all the enemy vehicles, you are sent to a world map where you move around each sector defeating all that occupy it. All totalled there are more than 120 levels of play on the map with each level getting a little more challenging than the last.
Along the way to conquering the world, King Oddball has fifteen achievements to earn and a handful of side games available such as a diamond that you can land on to replay previous levels or a grenade icon to let you play a collection of levels tossing grenades instead of boulders.
Pausing the game pulls up a menu to give you access to the game's options (sound/music) and the ability to change players. This is a nice feature in that King Oddball saves your progress and if a friend wants to jump in and play, just add another player so your progress isn't screwed up.
The only minor nit with King Oddball is the lack of a help section. However, there are plenty of pop-up windows to guide you through the game. Personally, I like reference sections but pop-up windows will work.
All totaled, King Oddball is a fun, addictive game that's easy to get hooked on. A little creepy hurling boulders from a tongue but once you start smashing things you get over it. King Oddball is challenging enough to keep the game from becoming boring and it's a nice gaming choice.
There is a free trial that has some limited functionality and a pop-up ad that appears from time to time asking you to buy the full version. The full version of King Oddball is currently running $2.49 and you can find it all here in the Windows Phone Store.
Thanks, mr_808, for the tip!
