I've been shot! I've been shot with a stylus! (Point Blank (DS))

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Point Blank (DS)
Date:	06/11/08 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original cartoony graphics retained - one of the best features

Disadvantages: Too easy, not a challenge, won't be long until boredom sets in

Point Blank for the Nintendo DS is centred around the original arcade game without a light gun, which begs the question "How can you have a first person shooting game without a light gun?"

For those of you who have played Brothers in Arms on the Nintendo DS this is solved by having a sight on screen that can be moved around via the D pad. Why this has not been incorporated in to Point Blank on the DS I'll never know. You can't "shoot" a target by tapping at it! It's just ludicrous.

****The mini games****

Point Blank is based around a series of mini-games. There is no story line and no real objectives other than to score as many points as you can.

I feel it was this simplicity that made the original such a great hit in the arcade and like the arcade, the DS version contains many of the original mini-games, including the Ninjas, Ducks, Criminals, Bees.

If you've ever played a Point Blank game before, you'll instantly recognise these mini-games.

Each mini-game is explained before it starts, detailing what targets to hit, or not to hit as the case may be, how much time or bullets you have, and how many targets you need to hit to reach your quota for that mini-game. There is nothing complicated it should just be simple and fun game play.

****The graphics****

The graphics are nostalgic and remain unchanged from the arcade version, which is the only decent thing about this game. Thankfully, the creators have not tried to be too clever and changed it in to a 3D format, it just would not have worked.
Everything is clear, and the games cartoon style graphics really do suit the DS.

****The sound****

The sound effects are weak, repetitive and do the game no justice whatsoever. I find the best thing to do with this game is to mute the sound by turning it off.

****Difficulty and playability****

Point Blank is no longer the challenging game that it was designed to be. I can remember spending hours (and a lot of my parents' money) in the arcade perfecting how to hold, aim and shoot a light gun. There was always a great sense of achievement when you actually hit what you were aiming for.

I also used to play the game with my father who was totally against computer games and had no interest other than the shooting games (like House of the Dead, Point Blank, Time Crisis and the clay pigeon shooting game where the player had to deal with a shot gun sized light gun). It was his passion for target shooting which led him to the virtual shooting games in the arcade leading to many hours of father-son bonding time.

As already mentioned, in the absence of a light gun targets are now hit by touching them with the stylus on the bottom screen. Where's the difficulty in that? Where's the satisfaction in hitting targets? Correct. There is none.

As things speed up and get a bit more frantic the difficulty does increase but not the same extent as the arcade version. I find that I tend to hit the screen harder, probably through my heavy handedness, and am in danger of destroying the touch screen.

****Modes****

The game has many modes, including:

1) Arcade. This can be set to different difficulty levels (Practice, Beginner, Advanced and Insane) so it's accessible to all players.

2) Game Museum. This is just a place where 4 replicas of classic arcade machine games are stored. These can be accessed via the Free play option, so it's pointless function.

3) Free play. This is used primarily to beat high scores, or to play a specific game.

4) Brain Massage. This Mode is just bizarre. You choose a group of 4 games, and after completion, you are given a score and rank for the day depending on how you did. The titles on offer are ''different'' to say the least, some examples are Pro Hide-n-Seeker and Wrestling Beautician. I find this mode gets boring very quickly, and there's no real incentive to receive all the titles, because it feels like the tiles are generated randomly.

5) Versus mode. This supports single card play and can be quite good fun with a friend.

****Conclusion****

In my opinion Point Blank should have remained in the arcade, or only released on consoles that can support a light gun such as the Xbox, Wii, PS etc. It was not designed for, nor is it suited to handheld games consoles such as the Nintendo DS.

The arcade version was a challenge, whereas this is not. Whilst it does not suit seasoned gamers it is good for younger players. My 5 year old nephew loves it and it is assisting him with his hand eye co-ordination.

Whilst this game does provide some entertainment, I think it will be short lived for seasoned gamers as the simplicity of this game will become a bore very quickly.

The graphics are the replica of the arcade machine which is the best feature of this game. It has not been 'modernised' or changed to be 3D or anything like that. It remains unspoiled and as it should be.

I would not recommend this game unless you can get it for a heavily discounted price in a bargain bucket somewhere.

Summary: It should have stayed in the arcade or left on acpable consoles