"Going At It Like Rabbits"

I can't remember how I heard about this game, I think it was due to the hype feel the magic XX:XY got. Anyways, I ended up getting the game for some reason, and it seems to be structured like a lot of other games on the DS; lots of little mini games. Unfortunately, the mini games in this game can last as little as a few seconds, and then you have to do it several more times before you can move onto the next one.

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Storyline (6/10)
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Essentially, you play as a guy who sees a girl on the escalator and decides to try and woo her. The rest of the game is pretty much the quest he embarks on to get the girl and defeat the evil girl who wants him for herself. It's not very in depth, and certainly not the most imaginative, but it doesn't get in the way and at least gives a reason for why you're doing all the mini games that are put before you, even though most of them seem completely random.

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Gameplay (7/10)
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Since the game pretty much consists of a lot of mini games, it's a mixed bag; some of them are a lot of fun to play, while other are extremely frustrating, whilst some are just plain boring. However, this game makes really good use of the stylus and shows a lot of ways in which it could be implemented into games on the DS. Unfortunately, its use of the two screens is a bit disappointing, and in a lot of situations it can be more detrimental to the gameplay rather than a benefit. One such situation is where enemies are falling from the sky on the top screen and you're using the bottom screen to aim, but the distance between the screens makes it difficult to aim properly.

Once you've finished, there isn't a whole lot to do, you can go back through the mini games you've already done before to collect more hearts, and therefore unlock more outfits to dress your girl in. However, for the most part the costumes and accessories are pretty poor and don't really justify the effort. There's also the “another story” mode, which is essentially just what you were doing in the normal game, but instead of nameless guy and good girl, you play evil girl and her robot version of the hero. There are a few multiplayer games, which are good in theory, but in practice don't play all that well, and it can get pretty confusing at times. Overall, there's quite a bit in the game, but the games take such a short amount of time, and having to finish the same game over and over just to finish the level (some require you to do it ten times in a row, and if you fail, it's back to the start of the level) is extremely dull at times.

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Graphics (6/10)
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It does a good job of using the DS's 3D graphics, and the lack of detail helps at times, but at others it's just a bit bland. It's a cheerful enough game though, and the graphics do a pretty good job of representing that, it's just a shame that it's pretty easy to get bored of them.

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Sounds (7/10)
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Seemingly as with most things in this game; it's a mixed bag. Some of the background songs are really good and actually pretty catchy, the others aren't so bad, but some of the sound effects are pretty annoying and unfortunately they're the ones that you'll hear most often. As far as sound effects go, it seems they had a pretty limited repertoire of sounds for this game, as the same few get used over and over. It's nothing terrible, but it can ruin your enjoyment of the game, especially when you keep failing one particular mission that goes overkill on the sound effects.

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Summary (6/10)
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Not a terrible game, and in fact probably one of the better DS releases, but unfortunately, it's not that long. It can take a while to complete if you get stuck on a few levels, but if not, it is easily finished in a few hours. Add that to the fact that the way they've made it longer is to make you replay the same mission loads of times before you can go to the next. The costume collecting is a pretty bad way of trying to add longevity to the game as well, since most the costumes aren't that good and the amount of hearts you need to collect for some of them are ridiculous. I would recommend getting it, but not at full price, but if you're itching for a decent enough game for the DS, you could do a lot worse than this.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/30/07