Point Blank Adventures (iPad)

POINT_BOXLight gun games have always been a staple in arcades. However, in most of them you’re either shooting terrorists or zombies, so I haven’t had much interest in them because of that. But back in the 90’s, Namco made a light gun game called Point Blank, and it was like a silly shooting gallery game. I loved it, and was more than happy when they released three Point Blank home console games on the original PlayStation. My brother and I played those all the time, and it’s too bad the old GunCon controllers won’t work on today’s HDTVs. Namco even made a Point Blank game on the DS, and you used the stylus to tap on the screen instead of aiming at targets with a gun. It lost a little bit in the translation, but it still had that wacky madcap humor the series is known for. So when I found a similar Point Blank game on my iPad, and it was free-to-play, I just had to try it since I’ve had such a big history with the Point Blank series.

Like the DS version, you tap on the screen to shoot targets. In each stage you must pass a certain number of challenges. Sometimes you must shoot a specific number of targets, or shoot particular objects while avoiding bombs, and sometimes you must shoot at targets while protecting Dr. Don, the game’s main character. If you pass, you can move onto the next stage. You can also earn diamonds that you can use to buy power-ups that can help you out in the stages, such as one that slows everything down for a short while so you have more time to react. Only problem is that as a free-to-play game, you’re never going to have enough diamonds to buy all the power-ups you need. You’ll have to buy more diamonds in the in-game shop with real money to keep playing. That wouldn’t be so bad except things get way too hard very quickly. As soon as I hit stage 10, which isn’t very far, I hit a wall and couldn’t progress any further. Maybe I just stink at the game, but usually they’ll let you play a little bit further in these freebies before pulling that stunt. But it’s just as well. Point Blank Adventures lacks the charm of the originals. The music is too calming and generic, there are no wacky sound effects, even the updated HD visuals lacks a certain something. I really wish Namco would’ve made a Point Blank game on the Wii or Wii U instead.

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Kid Factor:

You shoot targets by tapping on them, and while there are no guns to be seen, there are gun sound effects. But the targets just make glass breaking sounds when you shoot them, so it’s more like a carnival shooting gallery game instead of killing people. I’d be OK with any kids playing the Point Blank games. Reading skill is helpful for the text, but not necessary as the game is pretty easy to figure out. Younger players may get frustrated at the high difficulty, and parental supervision is recommended for the in-game purchases, though.

One Response to “Point Blank Adventures (iPad)”

  1. Oh, man, I LOVED the Point Blank games. I still have all three of them on the original Playstation and have kept my ps2 hooked up to an old tube TV just to play these old light gun games. In fact, I sold all my other light gun games but kept the Point Blanks because they were so good. I can’t believe they missed the opportunity to release them on the PS3 for the Move controller.

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