I Ball

You generally got exactly what you paid for: crap, derivative pap with cheap cover art, an inlay with barely any instructions, and a game on cassette knocked out by novice coders trying to make a name for themselves. But now and then, Firebird or Mastertronic would unearth a real gem that was easily the rival of games retailing at four times the price. I Ball was definitely one of the best examples.

With the prolific Rob Hubbard twiddling the audio knobs, it grabbed everyone's attention by announcing itself upon loading, screaming "I Ball! I-I-I-I I-Ball! I Ball!", before one of Hubbard's trademark stomping tunes goaded you to play this wickedly addictive vertically scrolling shooter.

But unlike so many of the boring me-too shooters in this crowded genre, I Ball had a quirky visual style on its side, and some rather curious gameplay mechanics to help differentiate it from the sludge.

The general idea was to guide I Ball (literally a ball, with, um, an eye) through a scrolling enemy infested and trap-laden environment, from the bottom right to the top. Armed with a sort of bubble gun that fired front and rear simultaneously, you could slip past enemies while they were shimmering the colours of the rainbow - but you become vulnerable as soon as they become solid. So the game felt slightly unnatural because you were constantly brushing past enemies and giving them the slip - something you'd never normally do.