StarDunk - Online Basketball in Space Review
PROS
- Simple competitive free-throw gameplay.
- Variety of power-ups and balls to collect.
- Watch the globe to see where your opponents are from.
CONS
- More modes or a unique offline mode needed to reduce repetitiveness.
VERDICT
Like so many minigames there's a chance you'll get bored of the repetitive gameplay, but the online gameplay of StarDunk will keep you occupied for a long time and it's great to throw down a quick match on the go.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
If basketball, online gaming and the 'flick' genre of minigames were put in a blender, you'd still only just start to approach the kind of game StarDunk by Godzilab is like.
Players can choose between left or right handed orientation, placing the ball and hoop at opposite sides of the screen depending on your choice. To aim, all you have to do is place your finger down and drag around the screen to set your throw strength and angle. An indicator helps to align your shot and while this could make the game too easy for some, having the ball move around constantly provides enough a challenge so it's definitely a welcome visual aid. Four pinball style bumpers on the backboard can also be lit to engage one of several bonus modes.
StarDunk keeps things simple on the visual front with minimalistic neon designs highlighted with sparkly effects. However the real standout has to be the virtual planet Earth that continually rotates around to show the exact location of those you're playing against. Something as small as this feels incredibly engaging as it drives home that you're playing against real people and not some ethereal virtual entity. Players are encouraged to stick to online matches as they're the only way to unlock the variety of balls that have unique special effects.
On its own, StarDunk is a great time-waster, however it's the addition of online play and rewards that bumps this beyond a toy and straight in to the leagues of the insanely addictive; definitely worth checking out.
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