If you enjoyed Dementium: The Ward last year, you’ll already have an idea of what to expect in Moon (although developers Renegade Kid are still tweaking the interface further), as it’s built with the same foundational game engine. However, the attitude of the game, while still quite spooky, has now seemingly shifted to something much closer to Metroid. In fact, this preliminary version of the game feels an awful lot like a handheld single-player 3-D Metroid (and that isn’t a bad thing)—except that it’s divided into missions.
Keep in mind that the version we’ve got in our hands is an early demo version that only features some three missions out of 24 total (including the prologue). (It’s possible this count may change as well, but as of now, that’s how many were on display in the game’s Quick Play menu.) It’s also not clear whether or not this number includes the secret missions that are unlockable by collecting alien artifacts throughout the adventure mode. Either way, that’s quite a few missions, especially considering that the prologue and the next two missions together take almost an hour to complete if you fully explore everything.
Moontroid
From the start, you’re greeted with a slick introductory FMV. It’s 2058. “Ever since Roswell we’ve known we’re not alone,” the voice warns. “Now, more than a century later, they found this hatch on the moon.” Maybe it’s a little far-fetched, but personally, I found the approach intriguing. Regardless, the opening movie is around a minute long, and, like Dementium, it maintains the same console-grade level of quality, filled with voice acting and (heavily compressed) full-screen presentation. When it ends, you’re dropped onto the moon wearing space suit and all, in the shoes of one Major Kane, following a squad of others. Upon entrance of the hatch, you’re gradually introduced to the game’s very intuitive control scheme, which incorporates the familiar stylus-controlled turn/look and D-pad movement. You shoot using the L button, which is easy to reach and mostly comfortable, though more so when playing on a flat surface to support the weight of the Nintendo DS. Lefties will be glad to hear that, as with Dementium, you can also swap to a left-handed control scheme where the face buttons and R button are used equivalently if you are so genetically inclined.
To provide some form of guidance, your colleagues, including General Lambert and Captain Tsukigami, keep in touch with you as you descend into the alien depths. It doesn’t take long to realize that your squad members met individualized and equally deadly fates going in beforehand. Kane is apparently different, however. Heading into the depths, he is stricken by a sudden blackout that, upon awakening, leaves him infected by some sort of strange alien substance that seems to be comprised entirely of terrestrial components. This allows you to pick up health refills from many of the enemies you destroy in the form of alien vials of this bizarre, unidentified substance (so, unlike Dementium and its survival-horror foundations, you’ll no longer be hunting endlessly for bottles of pills to sustain you).
The game itself is, as previously mentioned, much closer to Metroid than the Silent Hill-esque style of Dementium. You’ll find yourself exploring based on a similar map system, plotting your route toward distant waypoints (a la Metroid Prime 3: Corruption), though the demo is considerably more linear than Samus’ adventures. You’ll also encounter numerous consoles and other objects which can be examined to provide story cues and other plot developments. Like Metroid, it seems that most of these are entirely optional, but their inclusion provides an opportunity to get involved as you like in the game universe, which is nice. The weapons and upgrades (life and ammo expansions) scattered throughout the world provide further similarity. There are also the characteristic save rooms, dispersed at fairly regular intervals throughout the adventure mode; this style of progression is more satisfying than the mission-based saving system of Dementium. And, of course, the alien nature of your surroundings and the sensation of being lost with very little direction incite an experience that is fairly reminiscent of… well, you know.
The Dark Side of Moon
But that’s where the similarities end. Unlike the Metroid we know, there’s no jumping and thus no emphasis whatsoever on platforming. Similarly, while adventuring beyond the charted route is rewarded (you may recall the previously-mentioned alien artifacts and weapon/life expansions), for the most part, linearity seems to rule (not that that’s a bad thing). The focus is on action first and foremost, with adventure and discovery playing second fiddle… even though the first few missions provide a great deal of walking and not a whole heck of a lot of shooting. There’s also some mild puzzle-solving, though in the demo the extent of what we saw involved piloting a nifty so-called remote access droid through small gaps and corridors to circumnavigate a series of obstacles (generally force fields) and open the way for our hero. You can switch to and from the droid at will whenever you please just like you would select any other weapon or item. It was all pretty simple, but again, the game is supposedly meant to be light on puzzles and heavy on action.
The basic firearm that you begin with (called a Super Assault Rifle) doesn’t require ammunition pick-ups, but it can be overheated if fired too quickly. After so many shots you’ll have to cool down for a few seconds to allow the gun to recharge. If you fully exhaust its power, it takes much longer to recharge than if you ration it. Considering the amount of action in the game (and the number of airborne enemies), this is a good move on the developers’ part; it allows us to blast away without concern for exhausting our ammunition, but it still requires some degree of attention to accuracy and pace. (Keep in mind that later weapons do require ammunition pick-ups. The Muon Pistol—the only other weapon to be found in our demo—runs out of ammo rather quickly and benefits greatly from the hidden ammunition expansions.) There are eight spots for weapons and gadgets overall—four and four. One might presume that this indicates four weapons and four devices might be found throughout the adventure.
In terms of enemies, there isn’t a whole lot of variety in the first few missions. Mostly you’ll be fighting floating balls that blast at you at varying rates, but there’s also the occasional crawly-robot that scales the floors and walls around you and some ceiling-mounted laser cannons that are a serious pain in the rear. The single boss we encountered in the demo was pretty easy (though he is the first real boss)—it was a giant scorpion-like adversary that likes to chase you around the room. If you get too close, he’ll also leap into the air and perform a ground pound, which produces visible shockwaves on the ground below that harm you pretty significantly if you’re within range. The best strategy I found was to run around one of the large pillars in the room until I came up behind him and then blast him to smithereens until he manages to turn toward me and fire back. He’d be too easy were it not for the annoying floating droids all over the place (two at a time) that regenerate immediately upon destruction and fire at you continuously from all angles. Regardless, all it takes to silence this bad boy is several dozen shots from your basic weapon.
There’s also another boss shown in a final cut scene before the demo ends—a giant mechanical adversary that springs from a hole in the floor with four turrets surrounding a face. You’ve seen this dude in the short video trailer released recently. Sadly, I wasn’t able to play this boss in the demo, but it certainly looked cool. It seems this is the first big boss of the game, as he’s designated his own chapter (3) which is called “Guardian Boss 1”.
That about wraps up what we’ve seen of the game so far. I’m really liking what I’ve seen in terms of gameplay; aiming and walking is fluid and effortless and it all happens at a beautifully solid frame rate. You can bet that in the weeks leading up to Moon’s release this November we’ll be back with more. Keep your eyes peeled!
–Steve Schardein