Roogoo Attack Review for Nintendo DS

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: SpiderMonk Ent.	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: SouthPeak Games	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: June 30, 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

This lack of a fun factor is a shame, because on a technical level, this is a well-put-together game. Navigating the menus is a snap, with all the available options immediately at your fingertips. The screen bursts with color, and the 3-D graphics run smoothly and look good. It doesn't exactly max out the DS hardware, but it's evocative of the better Nintendo 64 games, so it's hard to think of another puzzler that's this visually impressive. Also, the sound effects work well, and though the background tunes give off a bit of an elevator-music vibe, it takes a long time for them to get overly annoying.

Roogoo Attack screenshot

Regarding controls, the one complaint we have is that at first it's hard to reliably spin the discs in the right direction (right to turn clockwise, left counterclockwise). When you're looking at the bottom half of the disc, it feels like the left button should move those holes to the left (that is, pushing left should rotate the disc clockwise). Since the DS can't tell where the player is looking, though, we'll readily admit we can't think of a better way to do it.

Roogoo Attack also features multiplayer, as well as a half-hearted story that ties the puzzles together without getting in the way - the Meemoos are out of control on the planet Roo, and you have to stop them by collecting the powerful meteors. If you find the game more engrossing than we did, you can revisit old stages whenever you want, which means you can get a lot of use out of the cartridge even if you get stuck on some of the more difficult puzzles.

At the end of the day, Roogoo Attack is a flawless execution of an original, but unfortunately mediocre, idea. It's not like any other game on the market, there's a lot of content, and the graphics are great, but all of that amounts to little when the gameplay doesn't make you want to come back. This isn't a game we'll be playing very much, but thanks to the superb work on display here, we will be paying attention to whatever developer SpiderMonk Entertainment does next.

By Robert VerBruggen
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.7

Graphics
This is a colorful, great-looking game, reminiscent of some of the better Nintendo 64 titles.

3.8

Control
We found ourselves turning the wrong way a lot at first, but there's probably no way to solve this problem.

3.5

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The sound effects work, and while the songs are a little elevator music-esque, they don't grate for a while.

2.8

Play Value
There's a lot of value, with 100 puzzles and three skill levels, but the game isn't very fun to play.

3.2

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

Game Features:

Ten environments with 100-plus action-packed levels.

Connect the game to Roogoo: Twisted Towers on the Wii to unlock additional levels in both games.

Single- and multi-card play featuring six-plus different multiplayer attacks such as Meemoo Attack, Anvil Attack, and Air Mine.

Butterflies, bats, and other flying creatures take your shapes backwards in reverse gameplay.

World map overview for showing progress of levels and difficulty.

Based on the critically acclaimed XBLA game Roogoo.

Charming art style and fresh, innovative gameplay.