As a paintball enthusiast myself, it’s easy to see how a game like NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 can seem like an enticing title to sink your teeth into seeing as past offerings weren’t great but weren’t entirely bad either. Activision does set out to bring us an accurate portrayal of what paintball tournaments are like but in the end, just isn’t able to make this Xbox 360 title really shine.

One good thing that can be said about NPPL Championship Paintball 2009, though, is that it does capture the feel of the equipment even with the different brand attachments and extras. The various field setups are also well represented with a number of portable bunkers and cover to use during tournaments. On top of that, the different maps add some diversity in terms of how you will approach an event. You can even rush and dive or slide to cover as the pros do during an intense match. Thankfully, the controls are basic enough that you’ll be able to crouch, reload and sprint.

There are three different game modes in the game that include a quick exhibition match that allows you to set up a one-on-one, three-on-three, five-on-five or a seven-on-seven match. For those that like online matches, there’s even online multiplayer mode via Xbox Live. The single-player mode is Career mode and it’s quite a lengthy affair featuring a number of official NPPL paintball champs that have made a mark in this sport. You start by picking your spot in one of five teams such as the Psycho Rivals, Last Silence, Search & Destroy, Dark Illusion or The Coalition. Then you move on to selecting the members of your team and work your way up the ladder by participating in a numerous challenges throughout the United States and even internationally.

Unfortunately, NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 doesn’t really give you the impression that you’re part of a team nor does it capture the feel of participating in an official and ranked tournament filled with enough rival teams. There’s no story or updates via a manager telling you what teams to watch out for during a long tournament and there’s no endorsement deals that will offer better equipment to use for your next match. Instead, we go through an almost nonstop cycle of matches with very little fanfare when you do manage to make it to the top.

As I mentioned above, the tournaments in Career mode are rather lengthy and in order to move on to the next city or country you will have to successfully complete each challenge a tournament has to offer. Some matches require you to make adjustments to your team by benching a few teammates to accommodate matches that require a certain number of team members on the field. The match types can range from the standard elimination matches to the capture-the-flag match that has you fighting your way to your rival’s flag to bring it back to your home base. You can even earn points that you use as currency to purchase better equipment as well as raise your teammates’ skills.

Unfortunately, Career mode is also considerably boring and monotonous. With no rivalries or interesting new challenges, you’ll feel like you’re simply going through the motions while feeling like you actually accomplished nothing. Even defying the official tournament rules (such as successfully wiping away paint) isn’t satisfying. Part of this has to do with the fact that you - if you like - simply sprint to your rival’s flag and sprint back to your home base for the win. Sure, the AI opponents aren’t dumb since they know how to take cover but you would think they would notice a fool running for their flag. You can issue some orders to your computer-controlled teammates but they seldom follow said orders.

NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 isn’t a very pretty game either. The character models, especially their faces, look very unnatural and the character movements not as realistic as it should look. At least the backgrounds and the field maps look decent enough and getting paint splattered on your visor makes for a wonderful effect.

There’s also a rocking soundtrack that’s filled with hard rock tunes by a number of different artists. While the musical choice isn’t a personal favorite, it certainly is appreciated seeing as the tournaments are not big on sound effects. You’ll hear paint pellets hit you and you’ll know you got an opponent when he yells out that he’s been hit. There’s also a narrator that gives you a quick and repetitive glance at what you can expect from the field.

NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 is limited fun for those who truly love this fun shooting event but for casual gamers it just isn’t good enough to be an inviting game shooting fans will enjoy. This is too bad since the game controls are done right and there are enough maps available but thanks to numerous issues, including a boring Career mode, this is a paintball challenge that really could have been better than this.

Gameplay: 4.5
The controls are rather basic but it’s accurate considering the fact that the equipment works the way it does in real life. Career mode is quite boring and does add very much variety so gamers will quickly get bored with this game.

Graphics: 5.0
Visually unimpressive, especially when it comes to the character models, NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 looks like it would have been a great-looking original Xbox game. The environments look decent enough as well but this game could have looked a lot better.

Sound: 5.5
The soundtrack is filled with heavy rock tunes that might not be everyone’s cup of tea and the sound effects are minimal but effective enough to give the impression that you’re out in the playing field.

Difficulty: Easy
Although you can’t run and gun in this game, you can certainly rush towards your opponent’s flag and bring it back to your home base without so much as firing a paint pellet. The opponent AI knows good cover when they see it but still make some rather boneheaded mistakes.

Concept: 4.5
The rules and setting for an official paintball tournament is present but the feel isn’t so you’re stuck with a main mode that just isn’t very exciting or true to the tournament atmosphere. There are plenty of equipment choices, though, and a nice variety of maps. Online multiplayer is a better alternative to playing solo.

Multiplayer: 5.0
Online multiplayer is the way to go when you want better communication with your team and thus makes this game a lot better than the single-player events. I just wish there were more people online to offer a challenge.

Overall: 4.5
It’s hard to recommend a game like NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 even to actual paintball enthusiasts. Sadly, this is a game that certainly does have the potential of being a worthwhile paintball title but falls short in so many ways that even shooter fans will be greatly disappointed.