Marble Blast Ultra
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAR : Marble Blast Ultra
Marble Blast Ultra is a 3D puzzle game involving a marble, available for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. Marble Blast Ultra is the sequel to Marble Blast for the PC. It features 60 brand new levels, enhanced graphics, 2 new powerups and a multiplayer mode. It is commonly referred to as MBU.
Contents
Gameplay
The basic gameplay involves rolling a marble around a 3D obstacle course from start to finish, avoiding the many hazards littered about. The obstacles are normally intended to throw the marble off the edge of the level, thus causing the player to "lose" and be forced to restart the level. Some levels also involve collecting gems, which must be collected before the level can be completed. Other levels may have a time limit which must be beaten. Power-ups are available on some levels which provide help to the player. Along with the power-ups, MBU features a blast meter which allows you to do a double jump. The meter fills continuously and the more its filled, the higher your double jump will be. The levels are completed once the player reaches the finish line. There are 60 levels, which are divided into three different difficulty levels. Levels can be played in any order and each level features par times for you to beat.Power-ups
There are many power-ups in the various levels. They are:- Super Speed: Gives the marble a single burst of extra horizontal speed.
- Super Jump: Gives the marble a single higher vertical jump.
- Ultra blast: This refills your blast meter + gives you a little extra
- Mega Marble: Makes the marble grow bigger, allowing you to avoid small hole and knock other players out of the way
- Time Travel: Pauses time for five seconds, and helps the player qualify to "win" the level or surpass the "par" time..
- Gyrocopter: Allows the marble to glide for a short period of time.
- Gravity Modifier: Changes gravity direction.
Controls
There are three main controls to learn in the game, the ball's control, the camera control, and the jump button. To control the ball, use the left thumbstick while the camera is controlled by the right thumbstick. There are two ways to jump, either by hitting A, or by using the left trigger-which is often overlooked. Pressing the right Trigger activates all power ups except ultra blast and obviously, gravity modifiers. To use regular blast either hit X, B, RB, or LB.Obstacles
There are many obstacles in the game. They are:- Level's edge: If the marble falls off a platform and nothing is there to catch it, it will go out-of-bounds and the level will automatically be restarted or your marble will be returned to the last checkpoint.
- Moving objects: The marble can get bumped off its course and sometimes the level itself by any moving object.
- Trapdoors: These open up after a few seconds, dropping the marble to a undesirable place, often out of the level.
- Mines: These blow up on contact, throwing the marble in random directions.
- Fans: These blow the marble in the direction of the fan, often off the edge.
- Bumpers: These repel the marble on contact, again, usually off the edge.
- Surfaces: Along with normal terrain and regular traction, there is also grey tracking with high traction (often an advantage), slippery ice, There are also terrains made for aesthetic purposes, like asphalt.
Par times
A "Par time" is basically your objective in single player. Each level has a par time and the harder the levels become, the harder the par times become. Sometimes, knowing how to properly use power-ups and when and where to jump is the key to success. The only reason to really do par time is to challenge yourself and to get the achievements.Easter Eggs
Within MBU, there are 20 eggs hidden inside specific levels. No level can contain 2 eggs and most levels have 0 eggs.Leaderboard times
This game relies heavily around the online leaderboards. Each level features leaderboard support for the fastest times recorded into 10ths of a millisecond. You can also compare your score to people on your friends list. Currently there is a glitch in the leaderboards which does not allow most people to view their friends times. Garage Games has stated they are aware of the problem and currently working on a patch for it. It has however been over 3 months since this announcment, and most players have become doubtfull of a patch ever being released. This has caused some turmoil amongst the fans and even caused several people interested in purchasing the game, to look elsewhere.Best Time Completion Videos
Several Marble Blast players have created videos showing the fastest times possible to beat each level. The following chart contains the level, time taken, and player who made the video. Each video displayed is the fastest known time documented on video, but not necessarily the fastest completion time. You can request a video by visiting [this] thread on the official Marble Blast Ultra Forums
| Beginner Levels | Time Taken | Author |
|---|---|---|
| [Level 1] | 00:07.51 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 4] | 00:08:13 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 26] | 00:05.05 | CardCaddy |
| [Level 28] | 00:20.12 | MinusTheMarble |
| [Level 31] | 00:15:16 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 34] | 00:59:81 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 37] | 00:41:?? | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 43] | 00:27.19 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 45] | 00:47.65 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 48] | 00:03.41 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 49] | 1:14.79 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 52] | 00:43.83 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 53] | 0:12:8? | Ix blind xI |
| [Levels 55, 56, 58, 59] | 00:15:44, 00:24.48, 00:31.59, 01:03:33 | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 57] | 01:47:?? | Ix blind xI |
| [Level 60] | 02:21:11 | Ix blind xI |
Achievements
There are 12 achievements with a possible 200 gamerscore points to be earned. Below is a list of the achievements, the amount of gamerscore points gained and how to earn them.
| Achievement | How to Unlock | Gamerscore points | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adept's Badge | Complete all Advanced Levels. |
Apprentice's Badge
| Complete all Beginner Levels.
|
Egg Basket
| Find all twenty easter eggs.
|
Egg Seeker
| Find any hidden easter egg.
|
First Place
| Get first place in a multiplayer match.
|
Gem Collector
| Get 75 points in a multiplayer match.
|
Journeyman's Badge
| Complete all Intermediate Levels.
|
Marble-fu Initiate
| Finish all Beginner levels under par time.
|
Marble-fu Master
| Finish all Intermediate levels under par time.
|
Marble-fu Transcendent
| Finish all Advanced levels under par time.
|
Timely Marble
| Finish any level under par time.
|
Veteran Battler
| Collect 2,000 total points in multiplayer.
|
|
Multiplayer
Multiplayer contains 10 levels and supports up to 8 simultaneous players. There is only 1 mode which consists of collecting gems within a certain time limit, which depends on the level. After a group of 2-6 gems are collected, another set of gems appear elsewhere on the board. Players race to these gems and use power-ups to navigate across the level quicker and interfere with other players. There are three types of gems: Pink, yellow, and blue. Pink gems are worth one point, while yellows are worth two and blues are worth five. Most likely, blue and yellow gems will be much harder to get than pink gems. The player at the end of the time limit with the most gems wins.Ranked matches and player matches are supported along with an overall multiplayer leaderboard for ranked and player matches. You can create a game or join one and filter parameters such as level, players, and gamer zone. Private games are also supported.
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.