Moon
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Moon
One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap For Portable Shooting
The First-Person Shooter is a successful genre on all other platforms but has yet to truly make a dent on the portable gaming market. A few developers have tried with varying results but for the most part, the majority do not want to take the risk involved. Now Renegade Kid Studios has recently released Moon for the Nintendo DS, which ultimately proves that FPSs are not only possible but can actually run well.
Gameplay
The story behind Moon has you controlling Major Kane, a member of the Extra-Terrestrial Encounter Organization. He has been brought to the Moon to investigate recent strange activity and the discovery of subterranean structures that date back thousands of years. As you would expect, Major Kane’s mission is far from routine. Shortly after landing on the surface, things go south and most of the people end up missing or dead. Now it’s your goal to not only try to save whoever is still alive and escape safely, but to figure out what is really going on and who or what is behind it all.
Moon’s story is broken up into 17 episodes of varying size. Some are quite short, requiring you to trek from one location to another or simply fight a boss character. Others will have you traveling to various locations, finding and/or unlock paths that will lead to an eventual battle. The plot is revealed very slowly but a lot of information is given at key points. Often, you will be required to examine consoles, which help you understand the back-story.
Due to the fact that so few FPSs have been released on the Nintendo DS, most gamers will lack the ability to simply pick up and play Moon. For the most part, the controls are good but do require a bit of practice before you get fully accustomed. Depending on if you are left or right handed, either the arrow buttons or the face buttons will be used to lead Major Kane forwards, backwards or to strafe. Either the Left or Right buttons are used for shooting, while your aim is done with the use of the stylus on the touch screen. Those with small thumbs or have access to the older DS thumb strap will be able use those with some precision, but the majority of gamers will need the stylus to aim.
As with console First-Person Shooters, your arsenal is vast. You’ll begin the game with your standard issue rifle which contains unlimited ammo. As you progress, you will unlock a huge array of weapons built with Alien technology, each more powerful than the last. A good chunk of the game will also require you to use a Remote Access Droid to unlock certain paths or to find secret items; while nice, you will need it a lot and portions that include it tend to hurt the pacing of the game.
The Majority of Moon is played underground, but there are also parts in which you will need to control a buggy-type vehicle to travel to other areas. These sections are fun to play as controlling the unit is extremely simple. The driving portions even include time based sections that will have you racing against the clock at the same time as avoiding land mines and enemies.
One disappointing aspect of the game in terms of locations is that most locales are too similar looking and there is a lot of backtracking. Often after reaching a spot, you will have to trek all the way back before you can continue. Also, the various stations have very similar looks to them. If it wasn’t for the game’s in-game map, you could easily get lost. Another problem that you will encounter is the very limited amount of available save points. It’s often that most FPSs will offer you a save anywhere function or frequent checkpoints. Moon goes the route of save points and in the higher difficulties these can be problematic. Some parts will have save points prior to battles, but there are also some sections that don’t feature them when you might need one. Since save points also act as health stations, you will be craving these when you are at low health.
Graphics and Sound
Recycled character models are also a problem with too few variations with regular and Boss enemies. Some of the Boss designs are really nice and creative but unfortunately you encounter some models more than once. It seems that the developers purposely went the route of repetition as to not sacrifice the game’s strong frame-rate. Only in a few, rare moments do you encounter any slow down. It is both a blessing and a curse. Some will be happy that the game runs as smooth as it does, but you will also wish that more variety was given to you.
Moon manages to feature some pretty interesting cut scenes, typically occurring before and after key moments and boss battles. These are done really well and never separate you from the story as they are often only a few seconds long. Included are also cut-scenes featuring speech by the protagonist and a few other characters.
The majority of the game is done through text communications via a transmission system. What voice-work that you’ll hear still manages to be effective on the DS. The in-game music is incredible and really helps to add to the atmosphere. Both the strong musical score and environmental sound effects successfully add to the tension you will encounter throughout the story.
Value
After completing each of the 17 available episodes, you will be able to go back and replay them on any difficulty you want. This will only appeal to those who want to see how they would fare on a more challenging difficulty. The only other bonus is that some levels have collectible artifacts, which will open up 7 bonus episodes to play through. There is no multiplayer component to Moon. Some will be disappointed over this fact, but it’s clear that the Developers wanted to focus on giving players a strong single player experience without compromising it.
Conclusion
Moon is proof that First Person Shooters can work successfully on the DS. Yes, it will take most gamers some time to get used to using a stylus to aim, but once you do, you’ll wish that more developers would follow suit. I only wish that the game offered a bit more variety in the environments and enemies as there is a really interesting and engaging story here. In the end, Moon is still a great experience and should be tried by all shooting fans. Chances are that this game will become a rarity in a few years, so pick it up while you still can.
Pros
+ Successfully proves that portable consoles can do First-Person Shooters
+ Responsive controls
+ Fun driving sections
+ Interesting music and sound effects
Cons
- Will take novice gamers time to get used to the control scheme (play it on easy to learn)
- Repetitive environments with lots of back-tracking
- Lack of variety in Enemy models
- Very little replay
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
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