101-in-1 Explosive Megamix Review for Nintendo DS

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Nordcurrent	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Atlus	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Apr. 21, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-4	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Between those issues and then the ability of "Speed Chaos" to create motion sickness even though I was playing on a couple of tiny screens, my patience ended up wearing off. About four or five hours of play was enough to realize this wasn't the game compilation I was looking for. Give me Touchmaster, Mario Party, or WarioWare any day of the week, because this one just doesn't cut it!

101-in-1 Explosive Megamix screenshot

The visuals are quite generic for the most part. There are few charming characters here and there, and even some games with a decent amount of detail, but overall, it's nothing to wow you. I think this could be easily overlooked if the gameplay was fun and engaging, but like I said, that's not the case.

As far as soundtrack, it's a sad story. There are about two or three very similar tracks in this game that keep looping over and over. No matter what game you play, the soundtrack doesn't add any excitement to it, because it's all the same, just a little arcade game song with no power to impress. I strongly believe that video game soundtracks do A LOT for a game. They help to get you excited, energized, and sometimes emotional. But when the music is just cheap and plain boring, the game easily becomes boring as well.

I'm not sure why Atlus would publish this game, especially when they have so many good titles out there that have nothing to do with mini-games. It almost seems as if an amateur development team was using us as guinea pigs for their experiments. Even with the multiplayer option, the value of this title is a bit too low for a retail offering. If only they had released it on DSiWare for five or eight bucks, maybe they would have had better luck. That's all one needs to say about 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix. There's nothing competent enough to make you want this game. There are no hidden jewels in the mix, and no reason to spend 20 bucks on it. Now, if you reaaaally want to make the purchase anyway, hold off a few weeks and you should be able to find it in the bargain bin. Too bad! And I mean it.

By Maria Montoro
CCC Site Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.4

Graphics
Most games looks at least decent, and some of them have cute character designs and such, but nothing is really remarkable.

2.5

Control
Inconsistent controls throughout make this game boring to play and at times extremely irritating.

2.0

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The same music loops over and over again, no matter what game you play. Very few and uninteresting sound effects.

2.4

Play Value
There are enough games that you might find some slight enjoyment out of a couple of them, but overall, it's a low-quality offering.

2.4

Overall Rating - Poor
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

One hundred and one games on a single cartridge.

Collect gold coins by setting high scores and then spend them to unlock dozens upon dozens of exciting new games.

Challenge friends to head-to-head action through multi-card local wireless play.

The more you play, the more gaming enjoyment you'll uncover.