While the graphics are decent for an XBLA title, the arenas grow tiresome very quickly. Each squad has its home venue (the pirates play on a Caribbean beach, the robots apparently volley in TRON), but there’s not much difference in the backdrops aside from the placement and types of obstacles. It would be nice if each world granted the native squad a home-court advantage of some sort, as this would at least add some semblance of strategy or gameplay variety to the title.

While the visuals are nice, the game is hampered by a horrendous slowdown. A few of the levels feature weather effects that can grind things to a halt. In a game where split-second dodges are essential, playing through a stuttering slide show is killer. PvND also does a poor job of tracking your player; if a ball travels off screen, you are often left fumbling around outside the boundaries, hoping that you’ll magically attract the orb and get back onscreen before one of the enemy’s homing shots nails you.

Aside from the different factions (and their boring back stories), the only real variety found in PvND is in the slightly different rule sets that govern the contests. Normal Dodgeball restricts players to traveling only on their side of the field. Enhanced Dodgeball allows a player to cross the dividing line for three seconds to recover a loose ball or launch an up-close attack. And finally, Combat Dodgeball removes all restrictions and allows players to travel anywhere on the field. It’s designed to coax a more action-packed approach (think Dodgeball Deathmatch), but it usually just ends up being more chaotic. With the character models sometimes indistinguishable because of their low polygon count and small stature, it becomes very easy to lose site of your character when immersed in the fray.

Microsoft has capped its successful “Summer of Arcade” with four weeks of stellar, innovative titles, including Castle Crashers and Braid. These are games that have proved there is a market for digitally distributed, independently developed games, and they’re a godsend for gamers who have felt electronically malnourished for far too long. At 800 to 1200 MS points a pop for some genuinely great gaming experiences, players dropped small coin for some very rewarding purchases, but Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball broadcasts loud and clear that the “Summer of Arcade” is officially over. Hang onto your loot.