I like to think of the Kirby series as Nintendo’s experimental franchise. The company frequently treads new water with Kirby, often trying out different concepts that turn out to be delightfully impressive. Last year, Kirby’s Epic Yarn was Nintendo and HAL Laboratory’s progressive new endeavor, and it provided gamers with a beautiful gameplay experience that just dripped of aesthetic charm and colorful bliss. Here we are not even a full year later, and Nintendo’s pink hero is once again trying something new, this time on the Nintendo DS.
Kirby Mass Attack begins with the titular character fallen victim to a wicked spell at the hands of Necrodius, an evil wizard and the latest villain in the series. The spell splits the rotund hero into 10 separate Kirbys, and the antagonist has no problem defeating all but one of the Kirbys, who retreats to safe ground. It is up to this sole Kirby to seek out the other nine fragments of himself so that they can all combine their strength, band together, and defeat the maniacal Necrodius and his goons.
The first thing you should know about Kirby Mass Attack is that it’s completely touch-based. See that D-Pad on your DS? What about all those face buttons? Oh, and I’m certain you noticed the two shoulder buttons. Yeah, you’re not using any of those here. Kirby Mass Attack centers all of its control (with a few very rare exceptions for mini-games) on the touch screen and stylus. You move your gang of Kirbys by dragging the stylus across the screen. Double-tapping makes the Kirbys run toward the desired direction. And holding the tip of the stylus to your Kirbys bunches them up and allows you to carry them through the air, albeit for a limited distance. This method of control is implemented flawlessly and works exceptionally well, and it shows off the capabilities of the DS touch screen that plenty of other recent games have forgotten in favor of traditional button controls.
Of course, all of these enjoyable controls wouldn’t mean anything without some awesome level design and gameplay mechanics, and you can rest assured that Kirby Mass Attack delivers on both fronts. Everything you do in each of the game’s levels is incredibly engaging. Though the game can technically be classified as a platformer, it hardly follows any of the genre’s idiosyncrasies and instead delivers a heavily touch-based experience that has your full attention the whole time.
You must guide the Kirbys through large levels, eating tasty fruit and taking out baddies. Eating fruit grants you varying point values, and once you score 100 points, another Kirby joins your party. As previously established, up 10 of the little guys can be in your crew, and depending on how many you have, the flow of the game can vary. Larger enemies are more resilient and thus require more damage, so approaching these with a smaller number of Kirbys may result in lengthier brawls, which entail tapping on enemies and watching your little pink buddies go to work on them.
Swiping the stylus across the screen proves useful for multiple actions. It can be used as an offensive move to attack strong enemies. It can be utilized to make the Kirbys jump to higher platforms. It can even be used to send them flying into a switch, cracked wall, or explosive block, all of which can help you access new areas within a stage. It’s this constant shift in actions that keeps things fresh throughout. And if that isn’t enough, Kirby Mass Attack throws you enough curve balls and surprises to provide an even more impressive game. You’re likely to be surprised the first time you come across a pinball area or a shoot ‘em up stage. But to continue explaining the wonderful level variety would only spoil the surprise in discovering everything for yourself, so all I’ll tell you is that there’s a lot of content in Kirby Mass Attack, and all of it is good.
The level design in Kirby’s latest adventure is totally mind-blowing. Aside from their expansive sizes, all of the stages in Kirby Mass Attack feature their own secrets and items. There are collectible coins hidden within each, and oftentimes you’ll need to find an alternate path to collect all of these. There are a total of five worlds in Kirby Mass Attack, and though that number may not seem very daunting, each of these worlds has a nice selection of levels. If your main goal is to reach the end of the game, you can do so in a handful of hours. However, if you’re seeking out everything Kirby Mass Attack has to offer, you’re going to have to invest some lengthy hours into this magnificent little DS card.
The addition of unlockable mini-games only adds to the sum total of things this game has to offer. Though most of these are fun distractions, a jolly pinball game and a turn-based RPG variant are really two of the standout extras that make for excellent time-stealers. Add to that the lengthy list of in-game achievements Kirby Mass Attack challenges you to conquer, and you’ve got a full game loaded with countless reasons to play for hours on end. Oh, and if you dare seek out a truly massive challenge, try to earn a gold medal in each stage, which can only be done by reaching the goal without taking a single hit of damage.
I’ve noticed that as the DS draws its last breaths, software has really upped the quality of the visual presentation this device can turn out. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story was one of the first games I noticed that had truly awesome character animations, and Kirby Mass Attack doesn’t fall behind. The way the game’s many creatures move is impressive, and seeing how the Kirbys animate as they attack, swim, or run all over each other is a sheer joy to behold. Throw in some beautifully designed backgrounds and tons of color all over the place, and you’ve got an aesthetically pleasing DS title.
Kirby Mass Attack isn’t just pretty-looking, though; it also sounds awesome. The game’s music is quirky and catchy, and the same bubbly charm that’s seen in the visuals is heard in all of the game’s themes. For me, this game’s soundtrack won’t top those of Kirby’s Adventure or Kirby’s Epic Yarn, but that’s only due to personal preference. I still won’t deny that Kirby Mass Attack has a plethora of excellent audio tracks. Oh, and the Kirbys? They sound freaking adorable!
It’s a bit strange that Nintendo opted to release Kirby Mass Attack for the DS instead of the 3DS, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because it gives gamers who don’t currently own the Big N’s latest handheld the opportunity to enjoy this deliciously awesome title. If you own a DS, I can’t recommend Kirby Mass Attack enough. It bleeds unadulterated charm, it offers a fun-filled adventure, and there’s enough here to keep any gamer busy for a decent amount of time. Kirby Mass Attack is an amazing bundle of joy, and anyone with a DS should check it out without hesitation.
From gamezone.com
Namco has been producing arcade compilations for years. Just look at any of the company’s Namco Museum collections, and you’ll see that they’re quite proud of their arcade heritage. (With that, hey, Namco, how about some downloadable versions of Ordyne and Assault?) So it kind of frustrates us when we see a collection for a new game system that’s even more limited than the ones they’ve been pumping out. Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions is such a collection.
Rather than packing the cartridge chock full of variations of Pac-Man and Galaga (including their respective sequels, like Pac-Mania and Galaga ‘88 – always good for a quick play), we end up getting six games in all, and only 2/3 of that package is worth anything. Oddly enough, the losers of the bunch end up being the newest variations of these long-lasting legacies. Guess that’s what you get when you mess with a proven formula.
Case in point. First up, we have Pac-Man Tilt, a platformer where you guide Pac-Man through a Sonic-like world, bouncing around levels and avoiding dangers. Hey, we have no problem with ol’ Pac taking on a platformer. His Pac-Man World games weren’t too bad for their time. The problem is that the game requires you to use the 3DS’ gyroscopic sensors in order to get the most out of play. Also, if you’ve got the 3D slider turned on all the way full, this makes it literally impossible to play, due to the ever-shifting 3D screen. Even if you do manage to turn the slider off, you’re stuck with a watered-down platformer that never lives up to its potential.
Then there’s Galaga 3D Impact, and honestly, this is possibly the worst one in the series that we’ve played since the screwed up PS One revamp. You fly across 3D stages, shooting at Galagas while occasionally collecting power-ups using the help of a tractor beam. The visuals aren’t half bad, but the gameplay gets stale very quickly. Within about half an hour, you’re likely to get bored. No, scratch that. You WILL get bored. Namco would’ve been better off trying to include the 3D shooter style stages from the Namco Museum games on Wii.
As for the four other games, they fare much better. The first two are authentic arcade ports of the original Pac-Man and Galaga, complete with respective arcade cabinet design. They’re a little confusing at first due to the way the cabinets are set up (for the long-form view), but after adjusting a little bit, you’ll find these classics are just as much fun as they were in the 80’s.
The other two games fare much better. Pac-Man Championship Edition, which originally came out for Xbox Live Arcade so long ago, is still terrific. You’ll race around with Pac-Man through timed stages, eating as much dots and ghosts as possible while adjusting to various challenges. Galaga Legions also makes its portable debut, with numerous variations of bugs to blast while trying to keep in one piece. The 3D touches added to these games are pretty cool, providing a fresh perspective from when you played them previously for download. Too bad they’re not the DX editions, though.
Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions isn’t without its worth, thanks to the four great games included here, but there are two things to consider. Number one, the asking price is way too high. For $19.99, this would’ve been a reasonable deal, but for double that, only the hardcore arcade enthusiasts will probably consider adding it to their library. Sorry to say, but this would’ve been the time for Namco to introduce a budget price – or at least more games to balance the cost.
Number two, the other technical features are lackluster. The game does feature leaderboard support on the Wi-Fi Connection, but it only saves your single top score for each game, and comparing it to other friends has you jumping through more hoops than what was needed. Also, the game’s save system is tricky. You can’t delete default saves, but you can do a button combination (holding A, B, X, Y, L and R while the game loads). Again, a hurdle that wasn’t really necessary to jump over.
Had more games and a lesser price point been considered, Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions would’ve been a great part of the Nintendo 3DS line-up. Unfortunately, despite the presence of four classic games, it just never meshes – and the two cruddy, new games don’t help enough. Go find a copy of Namco Museum on the original Nintendo DS instead. It’s a far better value.
From gamezone.com
Viking warriors used to believe that upon death, Odin would hand-pick the best of them to join the ranks of his army in Valhalla. These warriors were to be trained rigorously in preparation for Ragnarok and engaged daily in glorious combat so as to best defend the realm once the final battle came. Knowing that these Vikings saw the promise of mindless repetitive combat as their reward in the afterlife, I can only imagine how pleased they would be with Sega’s Thor: God of Thunder for the Nintendo DS, which despite some promising elements devolves into the realm of plodding button-mashers.
Movie tie-in games have earned a reputation for sucking ever since E.T. first saw release on the Atari 2600. Corners are cut to finish a game in time for the film’s launch, and since developers know the game will sell on the strength of its license alone, publishers don’t always push for a high quality title. Thor: GoT comes off as a surprisingly well-polished game thanks to the help of seasoned DS developers WayForward. This is the team responsible for the beautiful DS platformer Contra 4, and Thor definitely benefits from their graphical expertise. As a fan of traditional 2D sprites, I was blown away by Thor’s attention to detail. Even minor enemies were impressive in their design and animation.
You can’t build a game on good graphics alone, and while Thor tries a few creative tricks, the bulk of the game is a simple beat-em-up with few thrills. The main problem is how linear the game is, each stage presenting a simple quest from the left end of the stage to the right with a shoddy variety of battles in between. It’s unfortunate how mundane the game is because the combat system in Thor is one of the most impressive ever seen in a 2D brawler. Bad guys fly about the multi-level battlefields with each hit of Thor’s hammer, the warrior jumping from screen to screen in pursuit of his foes. With the incredible range of moves Thor offers, players have no shortage of ways to savagely destroy their opponents. Juggling as many as eight bad guys at a time, I started to crave a combo counter to keep track of the carnage and wondered if perhaps the developers were at all influenced by the famous Japanese developer Treasure.
As thrilling as combat is the first time, it never changes. Thor never learns any new moves and is rarely confronted with an enemy that he can’t defeat with the same standard tactics. The real excitement of the game comes from the boss battles—epic struggles against massive foes that often extend onto both screens. These boss battles were the only real payoff for playing the game, and with each stage lasting maybe twenty minutes, the short moments of glee that came from punching out the heart of a giant ice golem weren’t enough to justify the experience.
Despite the monotony, Thor does offer a few solutions to try and spice up the experience. As players progress through the game, they discover a variety of mystical runes, all of which boost Thor’s stats. These buffs range from typical “+25% strength” bonuses to more interesting effects such as an additional 50% damage to downed enemies and even special abilities such as a concussive shockwave that stuns surrounding enemies every time Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer) is thrown. These add some interesting variety to the gameplay, allowing players to tailor Thor’s abilities to their own play style. A number of extras are also packed within the little cartridge, including a survival mode, a picture gallery for all the game’s incredible art, and several of Thor’s allies, who are offered as unlockable characters. Though none of these make the main game much more enjoyable, they’re at least nice to have. Besides, few gamers have had the chance to play as Thor’s obese buddy Volstagg, so the extras are a definite plus.
While it’s not a perfect game, there’s a lot to like about Thor, and it definitely isn’t worthy of the bargain bin treatment that less ambitious licensed titles receive. If you’re looking for a great gift for a young fan of the movie or you’re a diehard Thor fan yourself, then this game is sure to be a (thunder) blast. For the regular gaming crowd, there’s not enough meat here to justify the potatoes. Still, it’s definitely a great attempt from WayFoward, and I’ll be checking out their recent DSi release Mighty Milky Way in the near future.
From gamezone.com
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