When I started writing reviews for N-Sider back a little over two years ago now, I never dreamed I would ever say—even with my somewhat curious taste in games—that the game I was reviewing had a positively evil version of connect-the-dots. Yet here I am.
Working through Big Bang Mini's nine worlds, I played connect-the-dots 81 times across nine different themes with different twists. The first set was simple enough, sure, but then I came to the ones where I had to memorize the order of the dots. Then I had to avoid rotating beams of death and zip through after the dots ceased being in flames. Another time, I had to cross dots as Taiko-like cues passed beneath them. In the very last set, I had to empty bells full of water to access the dots while being chased by a very persistent chomping glow-worm whose mere touch would render my dot-connecting progress for naught.
And those were just the bonus rounds.
Big Bang Mini oozes this sort of creativity from beginning to end. Played with the stylus, it all starts with the idea that you're shooting fireworks at the baddies above you when you make match-striking motions on the touch screen—and if you miss, your debris rains down on you, requiring you to move your little dude around to avoid the incoming death (one-hit kills are the rule, here.) It doesn't seem so bad in the first few worlds to those of us who have been doing this stylus action thing since 2004, but as new worlds lay on the new mechanics and new waves of enemies to defeat, each one being a delight to behold except for the core problem that they're out to kill you, the game gets more and more pleasingly challenging. It's not a totally smooth ride all the way—I found some later worlds a little easier than earlier worlds and sometimes individual levels within worlds seemed to be a bit out-of-sequence with regard to how many times it took me to clear them—but I was having so much fun going from one to the next to see what else the game had to throw at me I didn't care.
It's not just creativity in gameplay that accompanied me on my journey through the arcade mode; every level is a visual and aural treat, with neon colors showing prominently in many levels showing off the bright screens of my DS Lite, memorable designs for each new theme (in particular, for the very entertaining final boss) and backed with a really good soundtrack. Arkedo's design sensibilities that first attracted me to the studio with their debut DS release Nervous Brickdown are in full effect here, and even then I'd have to give them one better for this new effort.
Apart from the main mode, Big Bang Mini's other gem is a deceptively deep challenge mode, with online leaderboards for both friends and the entire community. I started out just trying to stay alive, but then discovered it's full of combo mechanics, specific ways to attack some enemies for maximum points, and other fun strategies to get yourself as high a score as possible. There's also an achievements-style mission mode that I'm not even close to finished with yet, containing such gems as "finish Savannah level 2 without missing a shot"—the one I'm currently stuck on. I expect to be picking at this mode for a long time to come.
Big Bang Mini has, in my mind, proven that Arkedo definitely has the chops when it comes to making compelling games for the DS on all fronts. For the bargain price of $20, it gives more of a wild ride than a lot you can pick up for nearly twice that much. You can bet that when it comes time for them to announce their next game for Wii, I'll be looking to see if they can make it three for three.
And those were just the bonus rounds.
Big Bang Mini oozes this sort of creativity from beginning to end. Played with the stylus, it all starts with the idea that you're shooting fireworks at the baddies above you when you make match-striking motions on the touch screen—and if you miss, your debris rains down on you, requiring you to move your little dude around to avoid the incoming death (one-hit kills are the rule, here.) It doesn't seem so bad in the first few worlds to those of us who have been doing this stylus action thing since 2004, but as new worlds lay on the new mechanics and new waves of enemies to defeat, each one being a delight to behold except for the core problem that they're out to kill you, the game gets more and more pleasingly challenging. It's not a totally smooth ride all the way—I found some later worlds a little easier than earlier worlds and sometimes individual levels within worlds seemed to be a bit out-of-sequence with regard to how many times it took me to clear them—but I was having so much fun going from one to the next to see what else the game had to throw at me I didn't care.
It's not just creativity in gameplay that accompanied me on my journey through the arcade mode; every level is a visual and aural treat, with neon colors showing prominently in many levels showing off the bright screens of my DS Lite, memorable designs for each new theme (in particular, for the very entertaining final boss) and backed with a really good soundtrack. Arkedo's design sensibilities that first attracted me to the studio with their debut DS release Nervous Brickdown are in full effect here, and even then I'd have to give them one better for this new effort.
Big Bang Mini has, in my mind, proven that Arkedo definitely has the chops when it comes to making compelling games for the DS on all fronts. For the bargain price of $20, it gives more of a wild ride than a lot you can pick up for nearly twice that much. You can bet that when it comes time for them to announce their next game for Wii, I'll be looking to see if they can make it three for three.