Remember in grade school the great games of playground dodgeball or even the mandatory gym dodgeball games where it was OK to hit the girls? I still remember some of those moments vividly and the thrill of almost being clipped by a rubber ball whizzing past my head or “nether” region. Well Yukes Media Creations has brought gamers Double D Dodgeball to the Xbox Live Arcade to relive those fond and not so fond memories of the playground sport.

Gameplay:

Double D Dodgeball pits two, four man teams against each other to see who can win two of the three rounds. The characters look surprisingly similar to the arcade classic “Space Invaders” and battle it out in different arenas. There are five different options for the players, each with their own special abilities and weakness. The arenas have some customization options such as choosing the different lines, some of which shock the player, and playing surface. Each of the arenas have either East or West rules. The East rules are that players knocked out of the playing field are allowed to prowl along the sides of the opponents territories to catch and throw players either to their teammates or at the opponents. The West is your traditional set of rules where the only way you can get back in the action is if your teammates knock an opponents out. The rounds are fairly fast paced and an entire game can be completed in less than three minutes. The lack of great control for your character make it a chore to aim at the opposing team and to line up an incoming shot. The skill shots each character class have are interesting, but in order to use them you must catch a ball thrown at you from the other team. Sounds simple enough, but the frustrations come quickly when your character spins the opposite way from which you intended. The single player only consists of one game mode called exhibition were after 3 rounds the game is over and it sends you back to the title screen unless you want a rematch. The multiplayer sounded much more promising with the 6v6 xbox live matches, but the entire community of dodgeball enthusiasts seem to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs. I could envision where this game might be a little more fun to play along side your friends, but I doubt many will pick it up at its 800 Microsoft points price tag.

Graphics:

One of the few things I enjoyed about Double D Dodgeball where the retro style graphics of the characters and arenas. The colors are vibrant and with all the tracers coming off the dodgeball’s it felt like the illegitimate child of Geometry Wars: Evolved, but that is where the similarities between the two games end. It was easy to loose track of the balls and even your own player in the explosions of color when your team is clustered too close together and catching the incoming shots.

Sound:

The sound effects of Double D Dodgeball aren’t spectacular, but they do fit in well with the gameplay. The "arcadey" sound of the music lent itself well to the menu navigation and game giving it that “old school” sports game feel.

Longevity:

It is hard to see this game lasting any where near the amount of time that an average arcade game would because of the lack of community and wonky controls. Unless you are a true achievement whore I can’t see you having your way with this game longer than a few sessions.

Overall:

When I heard that XBLA was getting a dodgeball game I was excited because of the fun memories I had playing as a child and latter on Super Dodgeball for the NES. The retro styling and sounds of the game gave me false hope before I actually got to play through the entire match. The controls make it too hard to line up a shot on an opponents and challenge the AI who seems to catch anything that is thrown their way. With a nonexistent mulitplayer community the game will surely be left to die with the likes of Fusion Frenzy 2. With the hefty $10.00 price tag for Double D Dodgeball all gamers alike should “dodge” this title (no pun intended). Gameplay: 2 Graphics: 4 Sound: 4 Longevity: 2 Overall: 3