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From the team that brought us Dementium: The Ward, Moon is the DS' first big title of 2009.
January 29, 2009 | 10:32 PM PSTby: Jeff Rivera
Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
When the DS was first unveiled, one of the most impressive titles at E3 was Metroid Prime: Hunters. When we got a chance to play the game behind closed doors, we figured that the FPS genre would be very well represented on the DS, but years later it has had a fairly minor showing. It's not that the DS isn't fully capable of having great FPS games; it just seems that the genre became a bit of an afterthought for many developers. Well, after the success of Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid quickly got to work on Moon. Dementium proved that the FPS genre was still viable on the DS, and Moon is looking to take things to a new level. Moon fuses together solid FPS gameplay with a nice heaping of adventure gaming to create an early bright spot for the DS library in 2009.
What's Hot
From the opening moments in the game it's quite clear the Renegade Kid is pushing the DS hardware to its limits. The scope of the game is quite large, and the 3D engine is impressive.
The game takes place on the moon, where a mysterious hatch has been discovered and a team is sent to investigate. When the inevitable problems arise, you take control of Major Kane to investigate. While the setup is a little cliché, the game does a good job at pacing the action through a mix of action and puzzle solving elements. As you come across messages left in computer terminals, the story begins to unfold in a natural fashion which prompts you to keep playing until "just one more save point."
The controls are very tight and responsive. Using the touch screen to aim, the d-pad to walk, and the left shoulder button to fire allows for a smooth experience from start to finish. In addition to controlling Major Kane, you'll also drive around a remote controlled robot that will aid in puzzle solving sections. Thankfully, the robot is controlled exactly the same way as Major Kane. It's a simple touch, but this consistency helps to avoid frustrating or confusing gameplay moments.
The puzzle aspects in the game make the game lean more toward the adventure genre than FPS, but they also help to provide a very deliberate and even pacing to the game. Most puzzles focus around switching between controlling Major Kane and the remote control robot, and it's usually pretty clean when you need to do so. This is a big help as it keeps the player from getting lost or overly frustrated.
There is a pretty good variety to the weaponry found in the game, and one or two of the guns are particularly satisfying to play with. Despite such a small screen to work with, Moon does a good job making the weapons feel like certain weapons deliver a strong punch while others feel light and accurate. The game supports the Rumble Pack, so if you have one, make sure to plug it in for added effect.
What's Not
Inevitably Moon is going to be compared to Metroid Prime: Hunters. While it does compare favorably, there are clearly a lot of similarities that seem a little strong. We're not saying that Moon is a knockoff of Metroid, but rather that we would have liked to see a little bit more originality overall. Much of the story is told through analyzing computers or alien artifacts, something that has been a staple of the Prime series for nearly a decade. Also, it can be argued that the remote controlled robot is eerily similar to using the morph ball. While these comparisons are fair, they don't detract from the outright quality of the game. In fact, many things that Moon borrows from Metroid Prime: Hunters it actually does better.
There is also a minor issue with enemy variety. Many of the enemies you fight will be seen over and over and over again. You'll often turn a corner late in the game to see the same set of enemies that you saw when you first stepped into the hatch. It's not a deal-breaker, as many FPS games stick to a small set of enemies, but with Moon you always get the feeling that something truly unique is missing.
Final Word
Moon will come as a surprise to those that aren't familiar with the quality work that Renegade Kid did with Dementium: The Ward on the DS. It's becoming clear that this is a developer that has a solid grasp on the DS hardware and that they're very interested in pushing the DS to its limits while offering a good gameplay experience at the same time. Moon isn't without its minor faults, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better FPS experience on the DS any time soon. The game is a nice addition to an already well-rounded DS library and a great way for the handheld to start the year off.
What the Game's About
When the DS was first unveiled, one of the most impressive titles at E3 was Metroid Prime: Hunters. When we got a chance to play the game behind closed doors, we figured that the FPS genre would be very well represented on the DS, but years later it has had a fairly minor showing. It's not that the DS isn't fully capable of having great FPS games; it just seems that the genre became a bit of an afterthought for many developers. Well, after the success of Dementium: The Ward, Renegade Kid quickly got to work on Moon. Dementium proved that the FPS genre was still viable on the DS, and Moon is looking to take things to a new level. Moon fuses together solid FPS gameplay with a nice heaping of adventure gaming to create an early bright spot for the DS library in 2009.
What's Hot
From the opening moments in the game it's quite clear the Renegade Kid is pushing the DS hardware to its limits. The scope of the game is quite large, and the 3D engine is impressive.
The game takes place on the moon, where a mysterious hatch has been discovered and a team is sent to investigate. When the inevitable problems arise, you take control of Major Kane to investigate. While the setup is a little cliché, the game does a good job at pacing the action through a mix of action and puzzle solving elements. As you come across messages left in computer terminals, the story begins to unfold in a natural fashion which prompts you to keep playing until "just one more save point."
The controls are very tight and responsive. Using the touch screen to aim, the d-pad to walk, and the left shoulder button to fire allows for a smooth experience from start to finish. In addition to controlling Major Kane, you'll also drive around a remote controlled robot that will aid in puzzle solving sections. Thankfully, the robot is controlled exactly the same way as Major Kane. It's a simple touch, but this consistency helps to avoid frustrating or confusing gameplay moments.
The puzzle aspects in the game make the game lean more toward the adventure genre than FPS, but they also help to provide a very deliberate and even pacing to the game. Most puzzles focus around switching between controlling Major Kane and the remote control robot, and it's usually pretty clean when you need to do so. This is a big help as it keeps the player from getting lost or overly frustrated.
There is a pretty good variety to the weaponry found in the game, and one or two of the guns are particularly satisfying to play with. Despite such a small screen to work with, Moon does a good job making the weapons feel like certain weapons deliver a strong punch while others feel light and accurate. The game supports the Rumble Pack, so if you have one, make sure to plug it in for added effect.
What's Not
Inevitably Moon is going to be compared to Metroid Prime: Hunters. While it does compare favorably, there are clearly a lot of similarities that seem a little strong. We're not saying that Moon is a knockoff of Metroid, but rather that we would have liked to see a little bit more originality overall. Much of the story is told through analyzing computers or alien artifacts, something that has been a staple of the Prime series for nearly a decade. Also, it can be argued that the remote controlled robot is eerily similar to using the morph ball. While these comparisons are fair, they don't detract from the outright quality of the game. In fact, many things that Moon borrows from Metroid Prime: Hunters it actually does better.
There is also a minor issue with enemy variety. Many of the enemies you fight will be seen over and over and over again. You'll often turn a corner late in the game to see the same set of enemies that you saw when you first stepped into the hatch. It's not a deal-breaker, as many FPS games stick to a small set of enemies, but with Moon you always get the feeling that something truly unique is missing.
Final Word
Moon will come as a surprise to those that aren't familiar with the quality work that Renegade Kid did with Dementium: The Ward on the DS. It's becoming clear that this is a developer that has a solid grasp on the DS hardware and that they're very interested in pushing the DS to its limits while offering a good gameplay experience at the same time. Moon isn't without its minor faults, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better FPS experience on the DS any time soon. The game is a nice addition to an already well-rounded DS library and a great way for the handheld to start the year off.
November 20, 2009
