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PaintBall
April 22, 2004
PaintBall is an arcade puzzle game with a very simple premise— line up three or more balls of paint in a row touching the edge of the playing field, and they’re sucked off of the screen and replaced with more paintballs falling from above. I know that description doesn’t sound like much, but you have to play it for yourself to realize just how fun and addictive it is. There are three modes of play: Easy, Hard, and Chroma. Easy is great for “relaxing” gameplay, since you’re not racing against the clock; Hard is great for frenetic fun since your paint supply is slowly dripping away. You’re racing against the clock to clear rows of paintballs to replenish that paint supply before it completely runs out, signaling the end of the game. Chroma is just devilishly hard; it’s based on the color wheel and you have to be really clever to mix the colors properly.
There’s some strategy involved as well, because lines of three or more that do touch an edge get sucked off of the playing field immediately. If you want to score really big points, you have to place the extra paint balls carefully to put together a line of five. You’ll also get bonus balls sometimes; you’ll see them “jiggle” slightly. If you can match them up with at least two other balls and get them off of the board before they stop, you can earn a sizeable bonus. Watch out for the black balls as well- they can be changed in color, but you’re less likely to get automatic lines as additional balls drop in from overhead if your playing field is full of them.
The game graphics are GREAT, and the sound effects are superb as well. The sound of the balls getting sucked into the pipes is quite realistic! Both low and hi res versions are available, and PaintBall works on any Palm oS 3.0 or higher device. Tapwave Zodiac owners will be glad to note that 320x480 graphics with full widescreen support is included, as well as vibration and joystick support. Preferences allow you to control the sound effect volume, the game speed, and more.
If you have plenty of time to waste, then PaintBall is the perfect choice. It’s almost the latest entrant into the PocketGoddess “Hall of Fame.” The game requires 300K of space on your Palm OS device and is quite a bargain at $12.95. For a free trial or online purchase, visit the CrazySoft web site.
PocketGoddess Rating for PaintBall: 
