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DualPenSports
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Graphics & Sound:
All Wii Sports wannabes replicate the simplistic visuals of Nintendo's wildly-successful tech demo, and DualPenSports is no exception. If you're a huge fan of Wii Sports (or anything with "Wii" in the title), you might find yourself charmed by this game's collection of Mii clones. Everyone else will wonder why this game couldn't have been released for last-generation DS models. Sure, it wouldn't look as crisp as it does on Nintendo's newest handheld, but no game like this is out to drop jaws. The problem is, DualPenSports isn't a good fit for the 3DS; it's not in any way taxing to the hardware, and the 3D effect is completely incompatible with the game's premise. And, in the end, that's all that this game amounts to: two gimmicks clashing horribly against one another. The presentation is mostly cribbed from Wii Sports and the me-too titles that followed it, and it works just fine. The touch screen templates that act as the game's controls also work well enough, though it's completely possible to become overly distracted by the top screen. But really, you're supposed to be paying attention to it in the first place.
The cheerful muzak dreck that accompanies nearly every part of Wii Sports is not a good source of inspiration, but DualPenSports remains steadfast and shameless in its mission to be the first 3DS cash-in clone. It's not awful, but you make no mistake: you will grow sick of it before you finish playing it for the first time. Sound effects get the job done. Nothing more, nothing less. You get the same unenthusiastic cheer clip every time you succeed, and there isn't much variety across the board. It's completely shrug-worthy. |
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Gameplay:
The Wii Sports formula for success: take a bunch of well-known athletic games, strip them down almost beyond recognition, and present them in a manner that just barely shows off what the hardware can really do. DualPenSports tries to emulate that formula, but it's missing one crucial feature: it's not included free with every 3DS. In fact, it's $39.99. This game isn't deep, fully-featured, or fun enough to warrant even half that price.
DualPenSports features seven sports-inspired mini-games: Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, Boxing, Archery, Skiing, and Paragliding. Within those game modes are two game types: Rank Matches and Score Matches. Rank Matches have you going up against a series of increasingly more difficult A.I. opponents, while Score Matches aim for a less competitive type of challenge. For example, Baseball's Rank Matches require you to surpass the home run record of your opponent, while the Score Matches encourage you to aim your shots to special scoring zones on the field. The other sports follow the same pattern. Ideally, the variety in the sports offered would be enough to keep players coming back. Alas, I was ready to put the game down after trying each one a single time. None of the sports are broken, but they're dull as dishwater, and in some cases, poorly-designed.
DualPenSports does a bit more with its core concept outside of the seven main sports mini-games. You can aim for stamps and extra athli by taking on Today's Challenge, which gives you a series of special scenarios to conquer. Or you can try the Tap Exercises, games designed with the purpose of testing your "fingergility." These might have worked well if the 3DS touchscreen was designed differently, but as they are, they're flawed and generally uninteresting. The Symmetry exercise is my favorite part of the entire game, if only because it reminds me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind's most iconic scene. |
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Difficulty:
DualPenSports lays out several rules for you, but the main rules are really easy to break. The developers really want you to use two styluses (the game even includes two extras in the case), but here's the problem: the 3DS's touchscreen can only register one contact point at a time. The dual stylus control scheme can only be described as awkward, so why not dump the whole thing altogether? That's exactly what I did, and as a result, I had an easier time of it than I did when I tried to play by their rules. Ostensibly, there's no point to playing a game if you don't play by its own rules, but in the case of DualPenSports, that ship had already sailed for me.
If you decide to stick with DualPenSports, you'll find the difficulty of Rank Matches to ramp up smoothly as you progress. It's nice that the game tries to reward the player with a special point system called "Athli," even if the payoff (more customization options for your create-an-athlete) is weak. Ultimately, the investment required (any at all) isn't worth it because the game has no hook and just isn't much fun to play.
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Game Mechanics:
DualPenSports prides itself on one of the most poorly-conceived gimmicks I've seen in a long while. Take motion-based controls, awkwardly map two different actions to two different sides of a touchscreen, and have the player use two styluses. If played this way, the portability factor is almost completely destroyed. Games that require one stylus are often complicated enough, especially when the player is on the move. DualPenSports practically requires you to have a completely flat surface to play on, because if you play with two styluses, there's no way you're going to be able to hold the 3DS.
So how exactly does this control scheme work? With a strong supply of painful contrivances, that's how. Let's take Basketball, for example. Regardless of which type of match you're playing, the setup is always the same. First, you wait for your teammate to pass the ball to you; you must tap a designated spot on the left side of the touchscreen in order to catch it. Finally, a directional flick on the right side of the touchscreen will have your player shoot. The strength and direction of your flick make the difference between a made basket and an airball. The first part of this complicated process is completely in service to the gimmick, and adds only tedium. This kind of stuff is all over DualPenSports. In Baseball, you actually have to do a backswing to set the hitting power, which feels out of place. In Archery, you must raise the bow with your otherwise inactive hand before drawing back for a shot; who in the world thought this was a good idea? The only sport that uses the "dual-stylus" scheme to decent effect is Boxing, because your left hand is every bit as important as your right in the ring. Skiing and Paragliding handle the scheme well enough, but Skiing's controls are wildly unresponsive -- and Paragliding is completely boring to begin with.
I admit that DualPenSports was not designed with gamers like myself in mind, and I'm completely fine with that. What I'm not fine with is the idea of being charged $39.99 for a meager amount of low-quality content. Save your money.
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-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos |
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