Zubo Review for Nintendo DS

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: EA Bright Light	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Electronic Arts	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: March 10, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

The visuals in Zubo are nice but not off the charts. The attack animations are quite funny and endearing, and the character designs are of high quality. The resolution does seem to be a bit chunky and lacking detail, however. Sound is punctuated by electro-funk and catchy beats. Putting on headphones is suggested, and the tunes come through with nice fidelity. Unfortunately, for a game supposedly so focused on the music, there is an overwhelming amount of repetition.

Zubo screenshot

Finally, control is handled exclusively via the touch screen, which is simple, smart, and effective. Tapping and holding the touch screen to execute attacks and moves is fun, though it does becomes very repetitive; the moves' timing never varies, eventually growing somewhat tiresome. Disappointingly, the touch screen doesn't seem to be as responsive as it needed to be whilst exploring buildings and navigating menus. Often, I found myself struggling to close my backpack (the game's inventory) and selecting other prompts if they were located toward the corners. On a couple of occasions inside buildings, I even had to turn off my DS and turn it back on because I was stuck on invisible walls and/or caught tinkering with interactive objects in the environment. Luckily, an auto-save feature lets you start from where the environment last loaded.

When all is said and done, Zubo is a nice effort by EA Bright Light to appeal to a younger demographic while still providing an experienced that isn't dumbed-down. This makes it perfect for an aspiring gamer. That being said, the title isn't complex enough to truly appeal to people outside of the intended audience.

By Jonathan Marx
CCC Editor / News Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.7

Graphics
The character designs and attack animations are great, but the resolution is very blocky.

4.0

Control
The tapping and holding of the stylus during combat is great, but menu and building navigation is often foiled by a lack of sensitivity.

3.8

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The electro-funk sounds great, but there isn't enough of it to go around.

3.2

Play Value
The single-player campaign is long enough for a youthful gamer to sink their teeth into, and the wireless play extends the experience further. However, the lack of complexity makes this title unable to transcend its appeal to audiences outside of its intended demographic.

3.5

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

Game Features:

Explore the 10 Worlds of Zubalon: Get lost in the multiple lands, including Wild West, Fairytale, Pop and Horror.

Engage in a Variety of Mini-games: Blow away cobwebs, play the drums, escape the Heart Maze, pop balloons, dig for treasure, Whack-A-Zombie, and much more in order to proceed to the next exciting level!

Challenge your friends: Put your team of Zubos to the test with the adhoc multiplayer.

Befriend Over 50 Zany Characters: Create your dream team to battle the Big Head's army of Zubo clones- the evil Zombos.

Take the Zombos on in Style: Master the accessible strategy system and rhythm action mechanic across more than 100 hilarious animated battle moves and 10 custom composed team musical themes.