Moon is the follow up game from developers Renegade Kid for their first Nintendo DS FPS Dementium: The Ward. Once again the team has pushed the DS to its very limits and provided us with another great game.We are presented with the unique style of FPS that only Renegade Kid has been able to deliver and it makes for an enjoyable and challenging game. Is Moon one small step for man and one giant leap for the DS? Read on to find out.So the story of Moon ,what’s it all about? Basically you (as Major Kane) find yourself on the Moon (surprise, surprise) inside a military base. And as all games go things are quite pleasant at the start and then it all goes pear-shaped. Major Kane finds himself alone with the help of only a few comrades after the investigating team on the Moon opens up a mysterious hatch they’ve discovered, which is never a good idea. So yes the game does remind me a lot of Metroid but there is something unique about Moon. The way in which adventure is simultaneously linked in with FPS style shootouts is wonderful and with a range of destructive and badass guns it will whet any FPS fans appetites .
The game itself is wonderfully designed. Game play flows seamlessly without skips in frame rate, which is a great feat considering how much this game pushes the DS limits. The level design is great and textures and architecture are brought to life by a wonderful spectrum of colour and appropriate light shading. The character models are beautiful and enemies do look great. I do have one complaint though. The enemies don’t really seem to be aliens. I was hoping for something like big green monsters but instead I got what seems to be floating balls. I was a bit confused at first but it really didn’t take anything from the game which I really enjoyed. To say that though you do fight a multitude of enemies from wall turrets, spider like creatures, and mini bosses etc. However primarily we must recognise that this game is not a through and through FPS it is first and outmost an adventure game and a very good one at that. The various missions and objectives keep the player engaged and interested and there never seems to be a dull moment in Moon. The game is full of puzzles as well and the player must use their remote accessed droid (RAD) to solve these and they all provide a good challenge for the gamers mind.
What’s great about this game is the fact that the enemy drops items and health when its relevant. Whenever you get a new weapon it provides you with the ammo whenever you’re about to need it. You will also find health when your drained and the game feels like it’s in support of the gamer. The development team was also good enough to include save points, chapter breaks and the aforementioned ammo kits right before boss fights. A great inclusion and in my idea a great design choice was getting rid of the respawns and all dropped items remain on the ground. So you can always backtrack to health and ammo if your find yourself on the wrong side of an ass-woopin.
The RAD is a very useful piece of kit throughout the game and not only in solving puzzles . You can stun enemies that are lurking around corners and then charge around with Kane and give them a face full of laser. Which, to be honest, does make you feel like the terminator when your fighting stunned enemies. The balance between Kane and the RAD is great. The RAD’s vulnerability is complemented by Kane’s natural bad ass….ness. You get to ride LOLA too – a 4×4 equipped with a top mounted laser turret that Kane uses to drive himself around the base. You first encounter LOLA after pushing through a few interior levels and driving it is a lot of fun. Using the d-pad to drive LOLA you can do awesome looking handbrake turns and really spend a good 5 to 10 minutes of driving outside, just because its fun.
So Overall Moon is a must have for any DS gamer. This is a brilliant adventure/FPS considering the console capabilities and the technical offering, story, design, style and control are all amazingly well done. Ok so the enemies can get repetitive at times but this really takes nothing away from the game. But for an adventure game it certainly does provide a great package of cinematic moments, storyline and voice acting. The guns are well balanced and fun to use and the combat keeps the adventuring fresh and fun. Some areas are repetitive and you will see the same alien machines quite a few times but they are still beautifully crafted. Ok so you won’t be able to play this game for days on end but you will always find yourself coming back to it. To be honest this game is one of the best in its class and is one hell of an impressive game. Overall I gave this game 8.5/10
