"Deep on the bottom of the ocean, this undersea arena features a tropical theme and waterfalls."
~Excerpt from the Nerf ArenaBlast manual~
It would seem the architects of the Nerf ArenaBlast universe chose the impossible and implemented it better too! With nary a leak nor rusty bulkhead to be seen, Barracuda Park is the recreational area of the utopian version of an underwater city. With a name like Barracuda Park one might wonder what people get up to when this place isn't filled with competitors. Is there a scuba-diving class? Are there animals that come out of hiding? What is the best location for a picnic?
A pair of waterfalls near one of the many flooded tunnels that make up this arena.
Many of the vanilla maps have a central gimmick that changes from theme to theme.The Barracuda theme makes frequent use of water, not just visually but also as a mode of transport. Several pools and flooded passageways make this arena one of the wettest of the default maps. But the problem with water is that it tends to slow you down and sometimes this can get you knocked out at an inopportune time. While this doesn't sound like a huge problem in isolation, the effect starts to accumulate as you play. There are simply not enough dry routes in this map to avoid a swim when you're being pursued. This problem definitely becomes more annoying when trying to play BallBlast here.
The tropical tiki theme of Barracuda maps is neat if not a little bizarre. Although this is the map analogue of a park, this is still located in an underwater city and as such, it seems a little sparse. There are certainly areas that have a nice vibe to them and feel like they could have been carved out of the ocean floor. But it seems like the author could have made better use of some of the larger open areas. There are a lot of uninterrupted sight-lines to the skybox that don't transition very seamlessly, and I wish the development team would have taken the time to add some foliage for all those birds we can hear to hide in.
A rickety looking but intriguing bridge over water and stalagmites.
Barracuda Park is decently fun but falls just short of being great. Though it adds some interest, the use of water-filled passages does slow down some of the action and make navigating some areas a little tedious. Visually, compared to other maps made with this theming Barracuda Park is a bit plain and lacking in detail. More cave-like passages and natural details could have gone a long way to improving the feel of this place. Overall a good map, but one that isn't a consistent standby.
