This is one of my favorite children’s books … I remember the countless times reading it aloud to each of our kids, and occasionally to both of them together. It is a wonderful tale that combines consciousness of surroundings and simply saying goodnight to everything, something kids already want to do. Yet before we get too swept up in the whimsy, this is not about that great classic story – it is about me completing and sending away the recently released DS game Moon.

It is perhaps fitting that Moon was released in the year that sees the 10th anniversary of System Shock 2, as for the first hour of the game you get a similar feel to the games. Moon tells the story of scientists at Lunar Base Alpha, who are establishing a new Moon base in 2058, and come across a sealed alien hatch. But what is more intriguing is what happens once the hatch is opened …

Well, it is interesting at first. With cool techno music, an immersive environment, and deliberate pacing that allows you to contemplate the story as it unfolds. You play as Major Kane, sent on a mission to open the hatch and find out what is inside. It is a wonderful setup, as there is plenty of room for exposition through conversations and information scattered through the mission.

The problem is that within an hour you will feel like you are just repeating the same thing over and again. And that is pretty much the entire game – you enter area, use the remote droid to help solve puzzles, kill enemies, and move on. It is a solid game that is disappointing because of the promise of the first hour – at first it looks like a true classic, but in the end it is just a solid and fun game.

Kid Factor: The game is Rated T for Drug References and Violence. The ESRB description talks about the ‘drug reference as “involving human experimentation and hallucinogenic, psychotropic, and aphrodisiac drugs and their addictive properties.” The violence is inherent in the FPS nature of the game, as you need to shoot plenty of aliens and robots. There is also an emotional element due to the fact that the vast majority of the others who were part of the moonbase or who came with you are now dead and you find their bodies lying around. Also, there are terminals in each area that reveal a little more about the nature of the human experimentation, and given the environments and sounds it makes for a tense and disturbing situation. This game is not as graphic in the presentation as Renegade Kids’ first game “Dementium: The Ward”, but this is still clearly aimed at teens and adults.

For those who are wracking their brains for the words to the classic story, here it is:

Goodnight Moon

In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of –

The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs

And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens
And a little toyhouse
And a young mouse

And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady whispering hush

Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight light and the red balloon
Goodnight bears
Goodnight chairs

Goodnight kittens
And goodnight mittens
Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks
Goodnight little house and goodnight mouse
Goodnight comb and goodnight brush
Goodnight nobody, goodnight mush
And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush”

Goonight stars
Goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere …..

Copyright Margaret Wise Brown 1947

Tags: Game Reviews, Misc