Here's a quickie for you on a simple yet delightful game: Amber and I had the chance to sit down near the end of the show and try out XSEED's Ivy the Kiwi?, a game oft-noted for its association with Sonic creator Yuki Naja's new studio, Prope. And while it's a very simple game, it's rather fun, though I—much like our presenter—prefer the DS version of the two, simply due to its tactile feedback.
The gist is as follows: Ivy, the little kiwi (?), just hatched and in search of her mother, runs on her own across the lovely storybook-illustrated floor while you stretch vines across the playfield to guide her to the exit; three are allowed on the screen at a time, and the last disappears as you draw a fourth. It's a little more than a simplified Canvas Curse, though; you can not only just give her paths to walk on but also sweep her into the air by sweeping a vine, or grab the vine and snap her into the air to make her perform a screw attack, enabling her to defeat enemies or break blocks. Sweeping also works on enemies, like rats. Don't pull too hard on that vine, though, or it'll snap.
The game has 100 stages in all. There are little feathers scattered throughout the level; collecting them all records your time in beating the level. There's also multiplayer modes to play; competitive mode available on both platforms, with split-screen on Wii, and co-op mode—everyone drawing their own vines on the same screen to get Ivy to the end—is available only on Wii. The game can get a little tricky to play at first, but it wasn't too long before I was sweeping the little kiwi (?) around like a champ—particularly with the feel of the DS screen beneath my stylus.
Ivy the Kiwi? is on track for release on DS and Wii this summer.
The gist is as follows: Ivy, the little kiwi (?), just hatched and in search of her mother, runs on her own across the lovely storybook-illustrated floor while you stretch vines across the playfield to guide her to the exit; three are allowed on the screen at a time, and the last disappears as you draw a fourth. It's a little more than a simplified Canvas Curse, though; you can not only just give her paths to walk on but also sweep her into the air by sweeping a vine, or grab the vine and snap her into the air to make her perform a screw attack, enabling her to defeat enemies or break blocks. Sweeping also works on enemies, like rats. Don't pull too hard on that vine, though, or it'll snap.
The game has 100 stages in all. There are little feathers scattered throughout the level; collecting them all records your time in beating the level. There's also multiplayer modes to play; competitive mode available on both platforms, with split-screen on Wii, and co-op mode—everyone drawing their own vines on the same screen to get Ivy to the end—is available only on Wii. The game can get a little tricky to play at first, but it wasn't too long before I was sweeping the little kiwi (?) around like a champ—particularly with the feel of the DS screen beneath my stylus.
Ivy the Kiwi? is on track for release on DS and Wii this summer.