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Jogavel
You already know, it's a masterpiece
Mosters vs. Aliens, brought to you by the same devs as Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DS, retains some of the same qualities, mainly, how decent the game actually is.
You play as the game’s titular monsters against titular Aliens (in a titular vs. ofc). First, you have Ginormica. Her main gimmick is that she can dash forward for enemy avoidance or platforming utility. There are also sections where you need to use touch screen to push some heavy stuff like closing doors to get past. Next, there’s B.O.B.. His main gimmick is that he can attach to any surface, which leads to a decent platforming potential. He’s not as combat-focused – all he can do is eat enemies and spit them back out. There are also tracing mini-games where you use touch screen to trace a shape to take that shape to hide from enemies, which doesn’t make much sense, since these enemies are pretty small – the same size all other enemies that B.O.B. can eat. If these enemies were large, then I’d understand the urgency to hide. Next, there’s Missing Link. Just like B.O.B., he can climb onto any surface, but he’s also more capable at combat, with groundpound and spit projectile attack in addition to standard attacks. The combat in general in this game, while simple, isn’t bad, similar to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DS. The platforming is in the same vein – quite decent.
But there are more characters to play as. Next is Insectosaurus, in a tilted top-down view. Your goal is simply to get to the end, while smashing buildings along the way, which feels counter-productive, especially since doing so gives score. It feels a little sluggish to play – Insectosaurus is pretty slow, the normal attack is also slow, leaving some frames after the attack, which leaves you vulnerable. The projectile attack is the only reliable way to dispatch enemies without much hassle. Lastly, there’s Dr. Cockroach’s puzzles. They’re typical laser puzzles – move pieces that reflect projectiles to activate all green switches. None of the puzzles are particularly challenging, but they do serve a nice change of pace, and I did quite like them. Okay, there is one last play style on display, involving Ginormica on “roller scates”. Use the touch screen to move left and right, and a button to jump over obstacles. I don’t think these levels control all that well – it’s difficult to position yourself just right, as you have to slide left or right on the touch screen to make left and right movements, especially if you’re aiming for 100% completion. For the most part, the touchscreen controls and mic gimmicks are optional, like using microphone for Missing Link’s spitting ability, but it can also be done with a button. I don’t know why these sections couldn’t have been the same way – offer touch screen as an alternative, rather than requirement.
Speaking of 100%, each level (except for puzzle ones) have 5 fish bones scattered about, which can be used to unlock extras. These include a sound test, as you’d expect, it allows you to listen to the game’s music and sound effects. Next, there are alternate costumes, which alter the appearance of all characters, except for Insectosaurus, which is neat. Then there are standard upgrades to the playable characters, like health, attack power and so on, and lastly, extra Dr. Cockroach’s puzzle levels. I did unlock all of the puzzles. Unfortunately, they weren’t much of a challenge either, but still decently enjoyable. I did notice a few puzzles were still locked, perhaps a 100% completion bonus or something.
Graphically, the game is decent. The cutscenes are once again fully voice-acted and are animated in real-time, though I did notice more 2D stills. In general, I think the cutscenes in this game are more static – it’s easy to notice repeating animations, and characters usually just stand around and talk. The only noticeable difference I noticed to the animation is that it doesn’t have uncanny stretch-ness to it compared to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DS, but I think the cutscenes in that game looked a little more interesting overall. The music is an upgrade compared to the aforementioned game, some of the music tracks are actually quite catchy and memorable and overall isn’t quite as generic.
Overall, though still flawed, Monsters vs. Aliens DS is still a surprisingly decent time, offering a good variety of playstyles to keep you engaged, and simple yet effective mechanics. Not a heavy hitter for sure, but you can always do worse.
You play as the game’s titular monsters against titular Aliens (in a titular vs. ofc). First, you have Ginormica. Her main gimmick is that she can dash forward for enemy avoidance or platforming utility. There are also sections where you need to use touch screen to push some heavy stuff like closing doors to get past. Next, there’s B.O.B.. His main gimmick is that he can attach to any surface, which leads to a decent platforming potential. He’s not as combat-focused – all he can do is eat enemies and spit them back out. There are also tracing mini-games where you use touch screen to trace a shape to take that shape to hide from enemies, which doesn’t make much sense, since these enemies are pretty small – the same size all other enemies that B.O.B. can eat. If these enemies were large, then I’d understand the urgency to hide. Next, there’s Missing Link. Just like B.O.B., he can climb onto any surface, but he’s also more capable at combat, with groundpound and spit projectile attack in addition to standard attacks. The combat in general in this game, while simple, isn’t bad, similar to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DS. The platforming is in the same vein – quite decent.
But there are more characters to play as. Next is Insectosaurus, in a tilted top-down view. Your goal is simply to get to the end, while smashing buildings along the way, which feels counter-productive, especially since doing so gives score. It feels a little sluggish to play – Insectosaurus is pretty slow, the normal attack is also slow, leaving some frames after the attack, which leaves you vulnerable. The projectile attack is the only reliable way to dispatch enemies without much hassle. Lastly, there’s Dr. Cockroach’s puzzles. They’re typical laser puzzles – move pieces that reflect projectiles to activate all green switches. None of the puzzles are particularly challenging, but they do serve a nice change of pace, and I did quite like them. Okay, there is one last play style on display, involving Ginormica on “roller scates”. Use the touch screen to move left and right, and a button to jump over obstacles. I don’t think these levels control all that well – it’s difficult to position yourself just right, as you have to slide left or right on the touch screen to make left and right movements, especially if you’re aiming for 100% completion. For the most part, the touchscreen controls and mic gimmicks are optional, like using microphone for Missing Link’s spitting ability, but it can also be done with a button. I don’t know why these sections couldn’t have been the same way – offer touch screen as an alternative, rather than requirement.
Speaking of 100%, each level (except for puzzle ones) have 5 fish bones scattered about, which can be used to unlock extras. These include a sound test, as you’d expect, it allows you to listen to the game’s music and sound effects. Next, there are alternate costumes, which alter the appearance of all characters, except for Insectosaurus, which is neat. Then there are standard upgrades to the playable characters, like health, attack power and so on, and lastly, extra Dr. Cockroach’s puzzle levels. I did unlock all of the puzzles. Unfortunately, they weren’t much of a challenge either, but still decently enjoyable. I did notice a few puzzles were still locked, perhaps a 100% completion bonus or something.
Graphically, the game is decent. The cutscenes are once again fully voice-acted and are animated in real-time, though I did notice more 2D stills. In general, I think the cutscenes in this game are more static – it’s easy to notice repeating animations, and characters usually just stand around and talk. The only noticeable difference I noticed to the animation is that it doesn’t have uncanny stretch-ness to it compared to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DS, but I think the cutscenes in that game looked a little more interesting overall. The music is an upgrade compared to the aforementioned game, some of the music tracks are actually quite catchy and memorable and overall isn’t quite as generic.
Overall, though still flawed, Monsters vs. Aliens DS is still a surprisingly decent time, offering a good variety of playstyles to keep you engaged, and simple yet effective mechanics. Not a heavy hitter for sure, but you can always do worse.