Rating

C

Specific Ratings

GameplayC
GraphicsC
Learning CurveA+
Replay ValueD+
SoundB-

Pros and Cons

Pros
  • Decent Sound
  • Weapon enhancements keep you somewhat...involved.
  • Decent multiplayer if your friends have the game.
Cons
  • Repetitious shooting sound.
  • Puzzle elements are lacking.
  • No download play.

Bionicle: Heroes (Nintendo DS)

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Summary

Bionicle: Heroes......I rather play with Legos

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Description

Usually, I start the review out with a introduction to the story and backstory (if its known) to the particular game I am reviewing. However, with Bionicle Heroes I cant really do that because I don't know the story OR backstory. The game simply throws you headfirst into the action with only a few screens of "story" in between the levels. The screens hardly provide you with enough information to catch your interest, and you soon find yourself simply playing through each level not really knowing why.

As you start Bionicle, one thing really hits you in the face and that is repetition! All the enemies turn out to be the same aside from two or three special characters in each stage. There are about six stages and within six those six stages you have about five levels. The enemies in every stage are almost the exact same, except they may be different colors to denote difficulty. Even though they are different colors, you will find yourself bored with them by the second stage because all the colors have been exhausted. Not only are you bored with the characters, but you become increasingly tired of your arsenal. You receive about one new weapon PER stage meaning that on stage one (through all six levels) you have one weapon until you unlock the particular weapon for that level. The same is repeated throughout the game. Your only hope for a break in the repetition is collecting the icons to unlock hidden areas.

The level design is nothing spectacular and you wouldn't expect it to be so. You get some decent variety in level design but nothing extremely in-depth. The graphics, however, are actually decent. You will find that the frame rate keeps pretty stable, and the game has a decent presentation in the graphics department, aside from a few problems with textures. The blaster shots can actually travel quite far and still remain in sight (they can also be seen hitting things FAR in the distance). The doors, level endings, and interaction (like bridge building, step building, etc.), is all the same from the first level on so nothing new is thrown your way. There is one element that you may find enticing, and that is the ability to unlock hidden areas as you collect Bionicle Masks. This does add a certain replayability and originality to the levels. Another thing you will realize fairly quickly is the control scheme. It took me about fifteen minutes to figure out a good way to play the game and my conclusion was laying the DS Lite on a table, using my right hand to control the angle/direction of fire, using my thumb to control the directional pad, and then using my middle-finger to fire. This process was created after I saw how hard it was to hold the DS Lite in my left hand while using my right to control the firing direction. It was actually a very painful game (physically) about thirty minutes in. I found it cramped my hand pretty bad. Even though it was a little uncomfortable it was actually a pretty interesting to use the touch screen to control the direction of the gun. It was also very responsive and reacted well with quick movements.

As you play, you will either enjoy the shooting and slight (very slight) puzzle elements, or become really tired with the control scheme and repetition. The sound is fairly enjoyable on the DS with each screen and level having its own original music. The shooting sounds can be a little annoying, especially when you have a room full of enemies and you have to hold the trigger down to eliminate them all.

After about forty-five minutes of play I found it fairly enjoyable to conquer the levels. I was looking forward to receiving my next weapon from each stage but that could be because that was the most excitement I encountered. Dying was a non-issue through much of the game because life as well as ammo regenerates. If you are shot you can simply exit the current space (through a door or something) and regenerate your life. Enemies do not follow you and usually aren't activated when you are really far away. In areas with a lot of space they may spawn and simply sit there while you shoot them to death. Some enemies WILL roll or move towards you but they hardly, if ever, follow you through doors.

If you get bored with the single-player mode, the DS version does offer a multiplayer mode. You and up to four friends can play with each other, but they require their own cartridges to play (no download play!). The multiplayer seems pretty good at a first glance and can be quite fun, however, you aren't given a wide array of levels to play on, so it can get old pretty quick. It is also hard to find three others with the Bionicle Heroes game because the complete Bionicle idea is geared towards children. This will probably not reach the hands of many older gamers that are completely unfamiliar with the Bionicle backstory or toys.

Lacking in story and originality (within the game itself) Bionicle Heroes is a title that many may find fun for a while but not forever. I found myself enjoying it somewhat after about 45 minutes of play especially while trying to unlock the hidden areas but soon fell out of that lull when I realized the levels, enemies, and difficulty remained the same throughout the entire game. Not only that, but if I hadn't been asked to review this title I don't think I would have ever picked it up because I don't know what a Bionicle is, besides what little I have seen on the Walmart shelves in the toy section. I would love to have a little more story so I could actually have a purpose when playing the game (besides collecting masks). I wouldn't count it out completely but I wouldn't necessarily buy it solely for the gameplay or multiplayer play. This is a title I would wait to get a discount to beat on a short road trip because it is extremely easy! It takes only a few hours to plow through this title, and that includes getting most of the secrets (around 93%).

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