Screenshots :.
Kirby: Mouse Attack
DS
Matt
10-07-2007
"There can only be one!"
"Jungle fun with the little pink wonder"
"Life's tough eh little guy"
Morning folks. Now, please excuse me asking you all a random question first thing on a Monday (especially if the coffee and/or Red Bull hasn’t kicked in yet), but I want you to name me a Nintendo mascot. Mario, was that? Good choice. Link? Again, a fine selection my friend. Pikachu? Well, I suppose he’ll (it’ll?) do. Do I hear Kirby? Anyone? You at the back there, did you say Kirby? Oh right, you were sneezing.
It’s pretty safe to say that Nintendo’s little pink inflatable cushion of a character tends to get a little overlooked when it comes to Nintendo’s most celebrated creations, which is a genuine shame. Anyone who’s sat down with one of the Dreamland games on the original Gameboy, Kirby’s Adventure on the NES (or the Gameboy Advance remake) or even his previous DS effort ‘Canvas Curse’ knows just how good a proper Kirby platforming adventure can get, hence it was with a keen sense of anticipation that I slotted Mouse Attack into my DS Lite and flicked the power switch.
Starting with the distinctly Kirby-ish storyline of a group of dastardly mice running off with his tasty slice of shortcake, your task is to guide Kirby through a number of levels divided amongst seven worlds (eight if you’re sly and unlock a secret one). Each level breaks itself down into a collection of approximately 4 our 5 different rooms that are each rather easy to complete; the main focus of the game, as with some previous Kirby titles, is focused on collection rather than navigation. In fact, navigating Kirby is now simply a matter of using the d-Pad and face buttons, with only the smallest part to be played by the touch screen.
Dotted around each level are a number of treasure chests, each containing an unlockable piece of bonus content for Kirby to collect. These include cans of spray paint to give the otherwise pink oaf a new colour scheme, keys to gain access to secret levels, game music and sound effects to listen to and pieces of a shattered medal. In total there are 120 chests to hunt down and collect throughout the game, and the gathering of them actually becomes bizarrely compulsive.
The way the chests are collected works well too, with Kirby once more having the ability to hoover up enemies and swallow them to gain their abilities. Each level usually finds Kirby having to use one or two of these abilities to grab a chest from a tricky hiding position, so having the right ability bubbles in his belly at the right time becomes somewhat necessary. Thus, what would otherwise be hugely simple rooms and puzzles become slightly trickier than they initially seem. Some levels even offer multiple routes and actively encourage repeat plays to get the most out of them.
Hence, a few hours into Mouse Attack and things are going great. There’s the classic Kirby charm, the treasure hunting and the myriad of extras it gains you, and there’s the occasional frantic battle against one of the ragtag bunch of mice that stole your cake. Everything seems to be settling down nicely and you begin to expect an upward curve in the difficulty level could be around the very next corner.
Except, it isn’t. The main issue that Kirby: Mouse Attack has, and it’s one that really does detract from the experience, is that pretty much from the start of the first level to the last boss there is no noticeable change in the difficulty of what you’re being tasked with. Boss battles can be easily conquered by simply mashing an attack button so you opponent has no chance to escape, whilst normal encounters with enemies don’t usually last more than a few seconds before you inhale them.
It’s this reason that, for all the charm it has and for all the fun it still packs in, Mouse Attack becomes rather a slog toward the end of things. It’s rather painful in a way to compare it to Canvas Curse as it seems to uninspired by comparison, with any innovation that Kirby’s first DS outing showcased chucked in the bin in favour of what you can’t help but describe as by-the-numbers platforming. It’s not as if it’s particularly long either, and most gamers of even modest capability should be able to whiz through for a 100% completion rate within a couple of days at the very most.
So, it’s with bittersweet feelings that you have to look upon Kirby: Mouse Attack. Sure it packs in a chunk of classic Kirby gaming and yes, it has a few mini games also on offer for multiplayer larks (none being particularly inspired) and a selection of the aforementioned bonus items that you pick up during play, but the overriding feeling as the game draws to an end is one of having just played a game stuck on autopilot throughout. An enjoyable experience it certainly may be, but you can’t help but think that the ‘return to basics’ route following the excellent Canvas Curse was the wrong direction to take.
It’s pretty safe to say that Nintendo’s little pink inflatable cushion of a character tends to get a little overlooked when it comes to Nintendo’s most celebrated creations, which is a genuine shame. Anyone who’s sat down with one of the Dreamland games on the original Gameboy, Kirby’s Adventure on the NES (or the Gameboy Advance remake) or even his previous DS effort ‘Canvas Curse’ knows just how good a proper Kirby platforming adventure can get, hence it was with a keen sense of anticipation that I slotted Mouse Attack into my DS Lite and flicked the power switch.
Starting with the distinctly Kirby-ish storyline of a group of dastardly mice running off with his tasty slice of shortcake, your task is to guide Kirby through a number of levels divided amongst seven worlds (eight if you’re sly and unlock a secret one). Each level breaks itself down into a collection of approximately 4 our 5 different rooms that are each rather easy to complete; the main focus of the game, as with some previous Kirby titles, is focused on collection rather than navigation. In fact, navigating Kirby is now simply a matter of using the d-Pad and face buttons, with only the smallest part to be played by the touch screen.
Dotted around each level are a number of treasure chests, each containing an unlockable piece of bonus content for Kirby to collect. These include cans of spray paint to give the otherwise pink oaf a new colour scheme, keys to gain access to secret levels, game music and sound effects to listen to and pieces of a shattered medal. In total there are 120 chests to hunt down and collect throughout the game, and the gathering of them actually becomes bizarrely compulsive.
The way the chests are collected works well too, with Kirby once more having the ability to hoover up enemies and swallow them to gain their abilities. Each level usually finds Kirby having to use one or two of these abilities to grab a chest from a tricky hiding position, so having the right ability bubbles in his belly at the right time becomes somewhat necessary. Thus, what would otherwise be hugely simple rooms and puzzles become slightly trickier than they initially seem. Some levels even offer multiple routes and actively encourage repeat plays to get the most out of them.
Hence, a few hours into Mouse Attack and things are going great. There’s the classic Kirby charm, the treasure hunting and the myriad of extras it gains you, and there’s the occasional frantic battle against one of the ragtag bunch of mice that stole your cake. Everything seems to be settling down nicely and you begin to expect an upward curve in the difficulty level could be around the very next corner.
Except, it isn’t. The main issue that Kirby: Mouse Attack has, and it’s one that really does detract from the experience, is that pretty much from the start of the first level to the last boss there is no noticeable change in the difficulty of what you’re being tasked with. Boss battles can be easily conquered by simply mashing an attack button so you opponent has no chance to escape, whilst normal encounters with enemies don’t usually last more than a few seconds before you inhale them.
It’s this reason that, for all the charm it has and for all the fun it still packs in, Mouse Attack becomes rather a slog toward the end of things. It’s rather painful in a way to compare it to Canvas Curse as it seems to uninspired by comparison, with any innovation that Kirby’s first DS outing showcased chucked in the bin in favour of what you can’t help but describe as by-the-numbers platforming. It’s not as if it’s particularly long either, and most gamers of even modest capability should be able to whiz through for a 100% completion rate within a couple of days at the very most.
So, it’s with bittersweet feelings that you have to look upon Kirby: Mouse Attack. Sure it packs in a chunk of classic Kirby gaming and yes, it has a few mini games also on offer for multiplayer larks (none being particularly inspired) and a selection of the aforementioned bonus items that you pick up during play, but the overriding feeling as the game draws to an end is one of having just played a game stuck on autopilot throughout. An enjoyable experience it certainly may be, but you can’t help but think that the ‘return to basics’ route following the excellent Canvas Curse was the wrong direction to take.
6/10