Snake of Balls is Windows Phone game that is designed in the tradition of the classic Snake game. Snake of Balls calls for you to guide and grow your snake through a multiple level, 3D maze. You grow your snake by gobbling up colored balls that are scattered about the maze. As you collect the balls, the length of your snake increases making maneuvering a lot more challenging.
Snake of Balls has potential and once you get the hang of controlling movement, it can be a rather challenging and entertaining game.
Snake of Balls main menu has options to play the game, access the game's options and the about screen. Options cover sound, music, camera pitch and roll, and a few display options (under the advanced menu). The one glaring omission with Snake of Balls is a Help/How to menu. The game isn't difficult to figure out but it would have been nice to have the simplest Help Section to outline what everything on the game screen represents. There are pop-up tips that appear from time to time but the information is rather limited.
The screen layout has the game played from a first person point of view. You move your snake around by tilting your Windows Phone left, right, up and down. Along the top of screen you'll find your snake's length and lives. In the bottom right corner of the screen you have an overhead map of the level of the maze you are currently on.
You also have the options for a heads up display that will show a compass, altimeter and target on the screen. These options, as well as the map (radar) can be turned off in the Options Menu.
The physics engine driving Snake of Balls is nice and you need to be careful that your tail doesn't swing out in front of you. Each time you hit your tail, you lose a life. You know the story from there, lose all your lives and the games over.
You can use corners and pillars to straighten your tail out and to help avoid hitting your backside. The last three sections of your snake body will be highlighted in red on the map/radar to alert you when it's coming around.
As you work your way up the maze levels, navigation becomes more challenging. Asides from walls and pillars to navigate around you face holes in the floor to avoid.
All in all, Snake of Balls is a decent game for your Windows Phone. Controlling your snake body does take a little practice and can be frustrating at times. The only downside is the lack of a Help/How To section to help you start the game on the right foot.
There is a trial version of Snake of Balls available that will let you play the first level. The full version of Snake of Balls will run you $1.99 and you can find both here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.
