Shoot stuff
| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Nintendo DS | 6.50 |
| Overall | 6.50 |
|
I never heard of this game until a friend got it for me as a birthday gift, apparently he got it for $5. Clearly not a popular game but an interesting one that got good review. Big Bang Mini is a shooter but not in the side scrolling Gradius kind of way, this is totally designed for the DS. You control a ball on the touch screen, things show up on the top screen and they shoot down on you. You shoot by making a line upward toward the top screen, every time you miss your shot erupts like fireworks and rains down on you. Because of this you need to be moving your ball away from enemy fire by touching it and dragging it around the screen. As the game goes on each major level (split up into 10 stages each) adds a new gameplay element. Some give you shields, some let you slow down time, one great level lets you absorb the enemies powers. You also get new weapons like a homing attack. Each level introduces new enemies with all new attacks and many times a trick involved in destroying them. Each level ends in a boss battle which is stripped of all gameplay mechanics except the very basic shoot and dodge core. The game is good, I am sure shooter fans will find plenty of enjoyment. The new elements keep things fresh even though ten stages per level can get a bit tiring, though no stage is longer than like 3 - 4 minutes. Each level has a different theme and background, it sort of takes you on a trip around the world, from China to New York and such. The New York level has a comic book feel to it, enemies are comic like characters. It's all very basic but it works. There is a bunch of content, after you complete the main game you unlock a challenge mode which adds certain criteria to the games stages, some are extremely tough to get. There is multiplayer but I never tried it. There is a score mode which plays more like a geometry wars like game and is all about endurance and getting a high score. It's a cool game that uses the DS well. It isn't really for me as I started to get bored of the shooting half way through. |
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Posted by Dvader Sat, 29 May 2010 21:43:36
It's actually a pretty hard to find game, rarely under $20 USD.
I've heard nothing but good things about it, so I'll give it a try next (I have it on the shelf).
I am now exactly a third of the way through the arcade mode and re-read your review. You sum it up quite nicely.
I would probably give it an 8.5 at this time in the experience, we will see where I end up with it.
It is a perfect evolution of a couple fo different strains fo shooter/puzle games. It's weird to see something like this done so well.
The one hit kills would not be tolerable if not for the short length of the levels.
I am hoping that one of the future power-ups in the later stages is a bomb, like in most shooters, that I can use when it gets really hectic.