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> Results: Flipper Critters
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The ESRB Says
Mild Cartoon Violence: GamerDad saw explosions and things toppling over the characters. The Nintendo DS feels like an absolute natural fit for a pinball game: the dual screen configuration allows for an aspect ratio similar to an actual pinball table, and the large L and R buttons make perfect flipper triggers. My two sons and I have had plenty of fun with the excellent Metroid Prime Pinball, and were all enthusiastic about this game. Too bad it was so lousy ... Or as my older son said, "I wouldn't want to play this again even if it DIDN'T count against my game time"! The game weaves a story about a couple of talking animals - a tiger and monkey - who have to help their friend Bull who has come down with a cold. Of course, they end up with a much greater adventure than they could ever have imagined, involving magic, evil and saving the world. The details are wrapped up in a platform-game style pinball game - you need to get to a house, but of course getting there involves making the shots on the table required to get to a certain place. Once you reach that place there is another little scene and then you move to your next goal / pinball challenge. The opening is actually pretty impressive - the graphics look very nice and the two-screen tall areas are detailed and nicely laid out. As is typical in many platform games aimed at kids, the colors are over-saturated and feature characters that look much like those from Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon and areas that look like something from the 'minish' area of Legend of Zelda Minish Cap. After the opening scene, however, things get ordinary pretty quickly - the game looks more like two average GBA games stacked top to bottom most of the time. Also, having a dual-screen game that needs you to look at action on both screens at once is asking for trouble, and that happens more often than it should in this game. It is not a matter of difficulty, as the game isn't that tough - it is more about choices made in planning and laying out the environments not working as well as hoped. The core game of pinball flows fairly well but is pretty average overall. After years of faithfully emulated pinball games on the PC and most recently Metroid Prime Pinball on the DS, we know what a solid pinball game should feel like in the virtual world - and this game falls short. The physics feel 'off' in many areas and the ball appears to have no weight ... perhaps that is because it is actually a furry little critter rolled up in a ball. The controls work generally as expected - you have the L and R buttons assigned to the flippers and the other buttons used for special flipper moves, advancing dialogue and other things. One thing I like is that the game doesn't feel like it is wasting my time - you can move quickly through dialogue and animations and get back to the pinball. The problem is that this arrangement works perfectly with both hands on your DS, but the game also requires occasional touch-screen manipulation. For example, when your ball gets stuck in the tree leaves you need to rub the screen with the stylus to free it; also, occasionally you need to launch the ball from a flipper then tap the screen, which is every bit as awkward as it sounds. One of the coolest things about Metroid Prime Pinball is download play which featured several game modes - unfortunately there is none in this game. Instead, the only game sharing is done by playing mini-games you've already unlocked in multi-card play over local wireless. While I understand that budget titles face tighter constraints than full-price games, developers need to understand that download play is one of the best and cheapest forms of advertising they can use! Ultimately the problem with the game is that it is inferior to Metroid Prime Pinball in every way. It tries to be both a pinball game and a story-based platform game and ends up being mediocre on both counts. I have always loved well executed kids games, and hated games that pander to kids to make a quick buck. This is neither it is a very mediocre and forgettable little budget game that is not something I would recommend for any child or adult. Instead, make sure everyone with a DS in your house has a copy of Metroid Prime Pinball and share some fun wireless battles.  
There are very few objectionable items here, but some very odd things that will make kids laugh and raise adult eyebrows. There is a lot of humor in the game, starting with an obvious poke at Mario with a comment about a "plumber that jumps around a lot", but some of it comes across odd and not particularly appropriate for younger kids. For example, the manual states that Bull - the character with a cold who starts you on your quest - likes the feel of lace pantaloons and wears them every day under his pants. The tiger character also spent 45 minutes jumping on an elephant's belly 'helpfully' trying to induce labor. The audience for this game is younger fans of Nintendo-centric platform games, compounded with the limited game time in that audience and the limited appeal of a pinball game and you have a recipe for a tough market to crack. A great game could do it but this isn't a great game.
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