Big Bang MINI for Nintendo DS

START 2009 WITH A BANG -
NEW ARCADE-STYLE FIREWORK GAME BIG BANG MINI
MAKES EVERYDAY THE FOURTH OF JULY

Nintendo DS Big Bang Game will be available in stores, beginning January 20.

Players are able to light up the night sky with dazzling bursts of fireworks to defeat whimsical enemies which threaten them from above.

A challenging new twist on the retro shooter-style game, Big Bang Mini, developed in conjunction with Studio Arkedo, offers Nintendo DS™ players the opportunity to create their own fireworks displays. Players send up rockets with a sweep of the stylus while avoiding the burning fallout from fireworks which miss their targets. The aim of the game is to collect stars which fall when an enemy is defeated and progress through the game’s 90 levels.
In the single-player ‘Arcade’ mode, players move through ten worlds, each with nine challenging levels and a fearsome enemy boss guarding access to the next world. Only when the boss is defeated is the next world unlocked. Players can also enter the ‘Challenge’ mode and link to a high score site through the Nintendo DS’s integrated WI-FI.
The innovative ‘Versus’ multi-player mode in Big Bang Mini requires just a single game cartridge yet lets two players compete on separate Nintendo DS units. Parents, in particular, will appreciate not having to invest in a second copy of the game to allow friends and siblings to enjoy multiplayer games. In this mode, players launch fireworks at each other’s targets, holding the DS unit like a book, and watching the rockets fly from one screen to the next.
‘Mission’ mode adds a new degree of difficulty to challenges found in the various worlds and requires excellent speed and accuracy to complete tasks. In sharp contrast, the ‘Relax’ mode lets players enjoy a computer-generated fireworks display or create their own, just for fun. The game also offers utilizes the Nintendo DS alarm clock feature so players can wake to sounds from the game’s award-winning soundtrack.
Rated E for Everyone, the game is a ‘shoot ‘em up’ that will make long journeys pass in a flash – whether sat in the back of a car driven by mom or dad, or on the train while commuting to work, such is the game’s appeal to players of all ages. The tutorial arms players with the basic skills quickly, as play is controlled entirely by the stylus. Fast, strategic moves are required to send up fireworks, collect stars and move to safety from falling debris.
The aim was to create an absorbing, yet challenging game for Nintendo DS which fully utilized the unique attributes of the stylus to enhance gameplay, according to Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. “The classic arcade shoot em up, is a perennial favorite, but it needed a genuinely new twist,” explained Mroz. “There’s a universal attraction to fireworks, and something strangely captivating about creating displays, even in the midst of gameplay. The sweep of the stylus is the ideal way to launch a rocket into the sky with a satisfying swoosh, before it bursts into a kaleidoscope of brilliant shapes and colors – and destroys the opposition. It’s this combination of the old and the new in Big Bang Mini which will have players hooked.”
The game has already received an excellent response from industry reviewers, was awarded ‘Best Game Soundtrack’ at the prestigious video game festival, Prix du Festival du Jeu Vidéo in France, and was also nominated for ‘Best Portable Console Game’.

Be on the lookout for our review coming soon :)