TheChimp
09-11-2008, 10:35 PM
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds_boxart091108.jpg
System: DS
Developer: WayForward
Publisher: Brash Entertainment
Genre: Platformer
Players: 1-2
Space. Where a certain amount of simians have gone before. *dramatic pose*
Now more names are added to that illustrious list of brave primates with the release of Space Chimps on the DS, but this expedition isn't one to get excited about - the amount of chimpanzee involvement doesn't offset the fact that it's a movie tie-in.
Space Chimps follows the story of Ham III, a young circus chimp whose grandfather was the first space-simian (http://history.nasa.gov/animals.html) (technically first space-chimp); for this reason he's sent to the NASA Space Program before heading off to investigate a worm-hole in space through which one of Earth's probes has disappeared. Once there, inevitably things go wrong; Ham and his colleague Luna end up having to save the planet Malgor from an evil tyrant named Zartog.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds01_091108.jpg
You'll notice the lack of actual screenshots in this review – for reasons unknown there are very few available, so amusement will be provided by somewhat-related images. Like this one.
The main menu when starting the game is very basic. The top screen shows only a scrolling star field with the logo (even an occasional chimp appearing on screen would have livened it up considerably) and the bottom screen is a plain background with a static design and 'Press Start' in large red letters. Once opened up, the bottom screen gives players the choice to start or continue a game, as well as play a multiplayer game or view the options. There's also a Back button – why this is here will remain one of life's great mysteries, as there's no other options or menu choices to go back to.
The Options screen gives two new choices – Extras and Credits. As you'd expect, the Credits button shows everyone involved in creating the game – there's no way to get back to the menu until this has finished though. Extras allows you to view and choose a different costume for your chimp, if you've managed to unlock any during your sojourn on Malgor. It seems somewhat strange (and unnecessary) to go back to the main menu to change costume partway through the game, but there's no other method to do so.
The single-player game begins with a 3D flying level, in which you're piloting the NASA shuttle through an asteroid field. This level, while not particularly difficult is somewhat tedious – avoiding the asteroids is made harder due to the fact that the larger asteroids fill the screen and block the view, and depth perception can be difficult. Once levels have been completed, they can be re-accessed through the shop that appears in between the levels, however once you choose one you're stuck there until you finish it – there's no way to access the level choice screen apart from finishing a level or starting a new game. The shop also allows you to buy new costumes and unlockables, as well as refill hearts and other items you may need.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds02_091108.jpg
This is basically the only suitable screenshot I could find for the game.
Almost all of the in-game action is controlled with the D-pad and buttons. The Touch Screen is used on occasion though – activating a feature known as the 'call-in move' shows a radar on the bottom screen. As the radar scanner rotates, small blips (nearby enemies) will appear – circling these blips with the stylus will cause that enemy to be defeated once the radar finishes. The blips disappear so quickly that circling them is fairly difficult, and this feels to be a tacked-on feature to make use of the Touch Screen in the single-player, although it's also the basis for the gameplay in the multiplayer section. (Despite the manual claiming it works with DS Download Play, I was unable to access this feature, as it appears to require a second game card.) So far as I can tell it's not necessary to use in order to complete the single player game, particularly since the feature is disabled during boss fights. Collecting creatures called Globhoppers refills the call-in gauge, with large Globhoppers increasing the maximum – early on in the game these can also be accessed with the call-in move with Luna doing the job until that time.
Being a chimp, Ham is reasonably acrobatic. He can wall jump, swing on vines and climb on ceilings in certain areas. He can also double-jump and fire projectiles with the 'Wrist Shot', but both of these abilities must be purchased from the shop before they're used. Swinging on vines can get tedious as the vine barely swings no matter how fast you were moving when you latch on, forcing you to alternate between left and right on the D-pad; while this makes some sense, it breaks the smoothness of play.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds03_091108.jpg
Ham: first chimpanzee into space, grandfather of the game's main protagonist, and professional poser for NASA promotional photographs.
The environments are set out in a 2.5D fashion. The graphics aren't particularly breathtaking, with low-quality textures used for the foreground models and platforms, although the background images are reasonably good. I did encounter one glitch in a jungle level, which resulted in Ham being trapped inside a wall, requiring a reset. Collision detection seems to work OK when it comes to the regular enemies (at least most of the time), however during boss battles it's a different issue. The camera can be a problem at times – the level sometimes seems to rotate around the camera itself (as if the camera was inside a cylinder) which can be disorienting and gives little advance warning of upcoming enemies. The R button can be used to move the camera around a little, although this forces you to stand still while the camera is moving.
The music for Space Chimps is OK. Like the graphics, there's nothing spectacular – at times it feels more suited to use on a GBA cartridge than for the DS. The sound effects are better quality though – pressing Y or leaving the controls alone results in various chimp noises, which is a nice touch. Getting hit by enemies or landing on spiked ground (anything that causes you to lose a heart) elicits a human cry of pain, which feels out of place considering that all other noises are what you'd expect from a chimp. Some of the enemy sound effects sound strange as well – flying enemies make a sound somewhat like a shoe dragging on gravel, which at times drowns out most of the other noise.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds04_091108.jpg
The rumoured method for choosing review scores on Aussie-Nintendo.
For the audience this title is directed at (younger players who liked the movie for example) the difficulty is likely to be harder than necessary. Playing through the levels is reasonably easy – very few of the enemies will provide a challenge. The environments may cause some frustration however; spiked floors litter the jungle levels and jumping from platform to platform in the earliest levels can be hit-and-miss at times. The controls for the flying levels are somewhat loose and unresponsive, and as mentioned earlier, it's hard to discern where you are in relation to objects approaching from ahead and enemies sneaking up from behind. The main difficulty point is the bosses: to defeat them you must deplete not 1, not 2, but 3 health bars, with 3 hearts of health to rely on and perhaps 2 refill hearts to help out – which is woefully inadequate a lot of the time.
While I applaud WayForward and Brash Entertainment for their efforts in Space Chimps, the end result simply feels lacklustre. The graphics and sound don't seem to make full use of the capabilities of the DS (although each do have one or two redeeming moments), and the use of the Touch Screen feels tacked on and difficult to control properly. There's not a great replay factor here – most of it involves unlocking costumes (Luna can also be unlocked as a playable character), and the difficulty at various points can be off-putting.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/review_bar.png
Score: 4.0 “Avoid”
While it's a reasonable attempt at a platform game (imaginary bonus points for involving chimps – this hasn't affected the actual score), there just doesn't seem to be a lot of effort put into the title to make it enjoyable – it feels more like a GBA game than one meant for the DS. Probably only worth it if you really enjoyed the movie.
Review by TheChimp
System: DS
Developer: WayForward
Publisher: Brash Entertainment
Genre: Platformer
Players: 1-2
Space. Where a certain amount of simians have gone before. *dramatic pose*
Now more names are added to that illustrious list of brave primates with the release of Space Chimps on the DS, but this expedition isn't one to get excited about - the amount of chimpanzee involvement doesn't offset the fact that it's a movie tie-in.
Space Chimps follows the story of Ham III, a young circus chimp whose grandfather was the first space-simian (http://history.nasa.gov/animals.html) (technically first space-chimp); for this reason he's sent to the NASA Space Program before heading off to investigate a worm-hole in space through which one of Earth's probes has disappeared. Once there, inevitably things go wrong; Ham and his colleague Luna end up having to save the planet Malgor from an evil tyrant named Zartog.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds01_091108.jpg
You'll notice the lack of actual screenshots in this review – for reasons unknown there are very few available, so amusement will be provided by somewhat-related images. Like this one.
The main menu when starting the game is very basic. The top screen shows only a scrolling star field with the logo (even an occasional chimp appearing on screen would have livened it up considerably) and the bottom screen is a plain background with a static design and 'Press Start' in large red letters. Once opened up, the bottom screen gives players the choice to start or continue a game, as well as play a multiplayer game or view the options. There's also a Back button – why this is here will remain one of life's great mysteries, as there's no other options or menu choices to go back to.
The Options screen gives two new choices – Extras and Credits. As you'd expect, the Credits button shows everyone involved in creating the game – there's no way to get back to the menu until this has finished though. Extras allows you to view and choose a different costume for your chimp, if you've managed to unlock any during your sojourn on Malgor. It seems somewhat strange (and unnecessary) to go back to the main menu to change costume partway through the game, but there's no other method to do so.
The single-player game begins with a 3D flying level, in which you're piloting the NASA shuttle through an asteroid field. This level, while not particularly difficult is somewhat tedious – avoiding the asteroids is made harder due to the fact that the larger asteroids fill the screen and block the view, and depth perception can be difficult. Once levels have been completed, they can be re-accessed through the shop that appears in between the levels, however once you choose one you're stuck there until you finish it – there's no way to access the level choice screen apart from finishing a level or starting a new game. The shop also allows you to buy new costumes and unlockables, as well as refill hearts and other items you may need.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds02_091108.jpg
This is basically the only suitable screenshot I could find for the game.
Almost all of the in-game action is controlled with the D-pad and buttons. The Touch Screen is used on occasion though – activating a feature known as the 'call-in move' shows a radar on the bottom screen. As the radar scanner rotates, small blips (nearby enemies) will appear – circling these blips with the stylus will cause that enemy to be defeated once the radar finishes. The blips disappear so quickly that circling them is fairly difficult, and this feels to be a tacked-on feature to make use of the Touch Screen in the single-player, although it's also the basis for the gameplay in the multiplayer section. (Despite the manual claiming it works with DS Download Play, I was unable to access this feature, as it appears to require a second game card.) So far as I can tell it's not necessary to use in order to complete the single player game, particularly since the feature is disabled during boss fights. Collecting creatures called Globhoppers refills the call-in gauge, with large Globhoppers increasing the maximum – early on in the game these can also be accessed with the call-in move with Luna doing the job until that time.
Being a chimp, Ham is reasonably acrobatic. He can wall jump, swing on vines and climb on ceilings in certain areas. He can also double-jump and fire projectiles with the 'Wrist Shot', but both of these abilities must be purchased from the shop before they're used. Swinging on vines can get tedious as the vine barely swings no matter how fast you were moving when you latch on, forcing you to alternate between left and right on the D-pad; while this makes some sense, it breaks the smoothness of play.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds03_091108.jpg
Ham: first chimpanzee into space, grandfather of the game's main protagonist, and professional poser for NASA promotional photographs.
The environments are set out in a 2.5D fashion. The graphics aren't particularly breathtaking, with low-quality textures used for the foreground models and platforms, although the background images are reasonably good. I did encounter one glitch in a jungle level, which resulted in Ham being trapped inside a wall, requiring a reset. Collision detection seems to work OK when it comes to the regular enemies (at least most of the time), however during boss battles it's a different issue. The camera can be a problem at times – the level sometimes seems to rotate around the camera itself (as if the camera was inside a cylinder) which can be disorienting and gives little advance warning of upcoming enemies. The R button can be used to move the camera around a little, although this forces you to stand still while the camera is moving.
The music for Space Chimps is OK. Like the graphics, there's nothing spectacular – at times it feels more suited to use on a GBA cartridge than for the DS. The sound effects are better quality though – pressing Y or leaving the controls alone results in various chimp noises, which is a nice touch. Getting hit by enemies or landing on spiked ground (anything that causes you to lose a heart) elicits a human cry of pain, which feels out of place considering that all other noises are what you'd expect from a chimp. Some of the enemy sound effects sound strange as well – flying enemies make a sound somewhat like a shoe dragging on gravel, which at times drowns out most of the other noise.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/NEWS2/spacechimpsds04_091108.jpg
The rumoured method for choosing review scores on Aussie-Nintendo.
For the audience this title is directed at (younger players who liked the movie for example) the difficulty is likely to be harder than necessary. Playing through the levels is reasonably easy – very few of the enemies will provide a challenge. The environments may cause some frustration however; spiked floors litter the jungle levels and jumping from platform to platform in the earliest levels can be hit-and-miss at times. The controls for the flying levels are somewhat loose and unresponsive, and as mentioned earlier, it's hard to discern where you are in relation to objects approaching from ahead and enemies sneaking up from behind. The main difficulty point is the bosses: to defeat them you must deplete not 1, not 2, but 3 health bars, with 3 hearts of health to rely on and perhaps 2 refill hearts to help out – which is woefully inadequate a lot of the time.
While I applaud WayForward and Brash Entertainment for their efforts in Space Chimps, the end result simply feels lacklustre. The graphics and sound don't seem to make full use of the capabilities of the DS (although each do have one or two redeeming moments), and the use of the Touch Screen feels tacked on and difficult to control properly. There's not a great replay factor here – most of it involves unlocking costumes (Luna can also be unlocked as a playable character), and the difficulty at various points can be off-putting.
http://www.aussie-nintendo.com/images/review_bar.png
Score: 4.0 “Avoid”
While it's a reasonable attempt at a platform game (imaginary bonus points for involving chimps – this hasn't affected the actual score), there just doesn't seem to be a lot of effort put into the title to make it enjoyable – it feels more like a GBA game than one meant for the DS. Probably only worth it if you really enjoyed the movie.
Review by TheChimp