Paintball eXtreme

Paintball is quite the popular hobby among the young people, although it is still a rather inaccessible activity for most people, due to the small number of venues that allow you to practice it. On the other hand, there are plenty of computer simulations out there, each one of which provide you with a pretty close depiction of what the sport feels like in real life.

Paintball eXtreme is a 2D sidescroller that presents you with a more arcade approach, since the goal is not exactly to accurately simulate the game, but to make it enjoyable and easy to play on a computer. Hence, the two-dimensional characters and environments may not impress through realism, but you'll barely have the time to question what happens around you, since every second is filled with action and the screen is constantly bathed in buckets of paint.

In case you are not aware, there are many tournaments around the world that pit the best paintball teams against each other, featuring substantial prizes in money and prestige. The game at hand gives you the possibility to compete in such tournaments, as well as create a name for yourself as you keep on winning them. Naturally, everything is coated in a layer of humor, since the 2D perspective does not allow for complicated environments or a believable atmosphere.

As far as the actual gameplay goes, the mechanics are about as simple as they can be for a sidescroller, although you do make use of your mouse in order to aim and shoot. Hence, the directional keys are used to move the character from one side to the other, while the cursor is actually the crosshair and you can point it at anything on the screen in order to shoot at it. Naturally, you can also jump and crouch, which can come in handy when you need to dodge enemy bullets or stay in cover.

However, the actual levels can be a tad more difficult than you might expect, especially since the enemies can appear from both sides and they are quite the accurate sharpshooters, regardless of the distance between you. Hence, it can prove to be rather challenging at times, although it is by no means impossible to get through the stages and pocket every available tournament trophy.

In the end, even if Paintball eXtreme can be a bit too casual for most players and it may lack a sturdy set of underlying mechanics, you can still have fun with it and certainly lose a bit of time. However, nothing is memorable or exquisite about the game, which means that you don't lose too much by not playing it.