Games for Lunch: Mister Slime
In a nutshell: Slimy yet not very satisfying
10/2/2008 7:31 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: Lexis Numérique
Publisher: Southpeak Interactive
Release Date: July 15, 2008
System: Nintendo DS
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site
0:00 Truth be told, I added this game to my GameFly queue based almost solely on the title. To me, the name hearkens back to the NES days, where a title like "
Mister Slime" was descriptive enough, dagnabbit!
0:01 Jump directly to a simple title screen with bouncy, slightly mysterious music. The options screen has a setting for "Sensitive" or "Normal" microphone reception. Bad sign. Selectable difficulties are Easy and Normal. Doesn't that make Normal "Hard"?
0:03 "Lost within the confines of the universe, there exists a world inhabited by strange and fascinating creatures." The Slimes and the Axons are at war over the planet's resources. Every 40 years there are "ritual battles." The music has somehow gotten bouncier.
0:04 "Slimy! Still daydreaming! The Axons could attack at any moment," says a girl slime to our Mr. Slime. These little green blobs have three stretchy arms sticking out at odd angles from their amorphous, 2-D bodies.
0:06 Well, it's ... unique, I'll give it that. I actually have four arms, and I can tap little on-screen anchors to reach out and grab them. Then I tap my other arms to let go and slink around the level. I can stretch for faraway anchors, too. Seems like it would be a bit of an annoying way to get around, in real life.
0:08 And just like that, the first stage is over. Ms. Slime says I completed the stage. How does she know what a "stage" is?
0:09 There's a wild animal behind a door, but no other way to move on. Can I just go back to bed and ignore the impending war?
0:10 The wild animal was a tickler -- he tickles me to makes me let go of anchors. Hardly very scary. By the end of Level 2, the control scheme is growing on me, but I still wish the game let me automatically let go of old anchors.
0:11 Ms. Slime is actually named "Aunt Ma'sly." She lets me walk home by myself, but warns me away from the forest and tells me I "don't know what Slimes can do." Harsh!
0:12 "I hope Aunt Ma'sly is proud of me. I especially hope that I won't get lost on the way back to the village." That's what we in the writing biz call "foreshadowing."
0:14 "I hope there aren't any Axons waiting to pounce on any lone Slimes at the village exit." Whoever wrote this is a master of subtlety.
0:15 I just figured out that I can scroll around the screen with the d-pad. That would have been useful in the training...
0:18 I'm beginning to genuinely like the unique controls ... now I just wish there was something more interesting to do with them. Besides the odd tickler and a spore-spitting flower that slows me down, there are no real threats. It's just aimless wandering and collecting. Where's the danger? The thrill? The excitement?!
0:20 "I need to get closer to the village. I shouldn't have wandered so far just so I could sleep without Aunt Ma'sly disturbing me." Wait, what? What is Aunt Ma'sly doing to "disturb" you in your sleep? Come on, tell Officer Kyle. It's OK. I'll protect you.
