Review: The Marbians

Can helping aliens roll back into their space craft be a good way to spend a few hours? I’ll tell you my verdict after the break.

When I first got my hands on ‘The Marbians’, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had never heard of the game before and being a PlayStation Mini title, I knew it was going to have to pack a good punch in a very small amount of time to be hold my interest. It did just that.

The game contains a very quick introduction giving you the understanding that The Marbians crash-landed in a few boxes in a bedroom in Roswell, New Mexico, an obvious choice. The concept of ‘The Marbians’ is a very simple one; get your alien back to his/her space craft via a marble. This task proves to be more difficult than it seems, but that’s half the fun. Each level has 3 different moon rocks scattered throughout the level and the actual space craft. Collecting each moon rock isn’t mandatory, however you’ll quickly find yourself trying to capture them all.  If collecting moon rocks for fun isn’t your thing, the game also has its own set of unique trophies to attain to make the game that much more enjoyable.

The setting of this game while very well detailed with some vintage looking artwork lacked variety. I had a hard time distinguishing one level from another for most of the game regardless of what box I chose. There were different colors and certain aspects changed, but for the most part it was very similar. The music unlike the setting was perfect for game giving a nice 50’s feel which really brought the game together.

The biggest problem I had with this game was the controls; I couldn’t help but feel with every level I played that the game would be so much easier on a touch device like an iPod. I couldn’t go one level without accidentally releasing my Marbian way too early in the later levels and that can really hinder the experience. The controls just didn’t feel natural with the analog stick at all, and it became very frustrating. This could be easily fixed by simply making it a simple pull back in the opposite direction that you want to go and release rather than the clunky, inaccurate control that I experienced.

By no means is ‘The Marbians’ a bad game, I loved it actually. As a primarily mobile game, this was one of the better ones I’ve had the pleasure of playing. My only problem with this game stems from control issues that did hinder my experience a bit, however if you play through it; it becomes just an annoyance in the overall game. Other than that, the game is well worth your time. It features a vast array of levels that will challenge even the best puzzle gamer and it is recommended if you want a bite-sized game to have fun for a few hours.

For more information on how we review games check out our criteria here. A copy of this game was provided to The Paranoid Gamer by the publisher for review purposes.