Last week, Nintendo released two new games for StreetPass Plaza players. The first was called Battleground Z (Z for Zombies). The second was called Ultimate Angler (a fishing game). Geared towards a younger audience, their simplicity and dumb fun certainly made a combined price tag of $7.99 worth the price of admission. Without further delay, let’s get into them.
Battleground Z
Beating up on poor zombies is seemingly becoming an annual tradition in video games. Typically, the zombies are grotesque with flailing bits of skin/pus, but not this time. Nintendo doesn’t exactly play that way when it comes to zombies (outside of Zombie U). Battleground Z features adorably stupid zombies that are fun to watch in action as much as they are fun to dispose of with authority.
The game starts when your Mii is on a subway trying to get home. Sadly, that doesn’t happen, as zombies invade your subway cart in attempt to dispatch and transform you into one of their own. Have no fear, though, as you’re armed at the beginning of the game with your wits and a large Wii remote (shameless self-promotion, you have to love it). What more could you want when you’re battling the undead?
Battleground Z puts you up against waves of zombies in different stages that require different tasks to be performed. The gameplay is built around a simplistic core that asks you to ‘hit-hit-hit’ your way through stages. Kind of in the same vein as Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, though missing some of those deep elements and objects of gameplay featured in PvZ. You’re presented with a certain amount of waves of baddies to go up against. Of course, not all the stages in Battleground Z are the same, so you might just fight waves in one stage, but have to achieve tasks, such as collecting car tires from taxi trunks or escorting a shopkeeper through an alley, to complete other levels. The only real depth the game features is the ability to do a charge attack with weapons (such as a giant piggy bank or a Wii remote) or swing/fire these weapons to progress. It’s as simple as this paragraph just described it.
Now, keeping the audience this game is geared towards in mind (younger audience that isn’t quite ready to be scarred by Resident Evil), this type of gameplay fits the bill. My six year old son loves this game. It’s not overly complicated, but it’s engaging and in short enough spurts to keep his attention span. That’s enough to make this game good and the small price attached to it helps.
Of course, it does help there are different variety of zombies you run into during stages. You might see regular run-of-the-mill undead or undead who are gigantic and stuck in trashcans or even dogs (those are the worst). There are enough variety of zombies to give the game a bit more personality, so it doesn’t seem like a low-grade Nintendo Land stage. The enemies are quite cool and funny, especially to my son.
Having said that, the need to feature microtransactions is a bit burdensome. Granted, you don’t have to purchase ‘Play Coins’ to continue the game, but you asked to walk around in StreetPass with your Mii to gain more people/coins to get into the zombie ‘Fray’. I’m all for gaining more friends via StreetPass, which is pretty much the reason why StreetPass exists, but I’m never happy to have stop-and-go gameplay. I just want to keep going and don’t want to earn more coins to do so. The game is bought, so it should be there are its fullest. That’s my biggest downer about Battleground Z, but it’s not big enough to ruin the experience. It just delays the fun a bit as you go along.
At the end of the day, Battleground Z is still a worthy title to own in StreetPass Plaza. The level of engagement and the quick turnaround in gameplay helps to keep a good gaming pace going. Being a first time StreetPass user (I’m a n00b), this feels more like a mobile/casual gaming experience for me. It’s enough to keep the fun intact, but it’s not going to revolutionize or have me playing it on and on for hours. In addition to that, the social component added in Battleground Z helps to keep the title interesting (I have a few people from Kentucky on my team, so it’s nice), as well as keep it separated from a definitive moniker of mobile/casual gaming.
In short, knocking around zombies is simplistic fun. Having people to join you in the fray is even more fun. Having to collect Play Coins to continue the fun is a bit of a pain.
Still, though, ZOMBIES.
Ultimate Angler
I’m an idiot for fishing games. I’ve played some great fishing titles in my life (Sega Bass Fishing – Dreamcast) and some not-so-great fishing games (Reel Fishing); regardless of the game, it’s always fun to fish on my television rather than in real life. Certainly less smelly, sunburn-y and less smelly (again, because I cannot stress that point enough).
Between Ultimate Angler and Battleground Z, I would have to give the gameplay edge to Angler, if I was forced to choose one. The simple fact that it actually throws in a bit more variety and depth into the overall body of work helps to make it a bit more fun. The variety and depth show up when you’re selecting different ways to fish using different rods/bait at your disposal. The gameplay also throws in challenges you can meet that equal out to rewards (Plaza tickets, coins, items), such as catching 10 fish, completing stages, etc..
To make the game just a bit deeper, you can actually upgrade/improve your equipment to help catch better and bigger fish. On top of that, the game allows you, depending on how many fishing partners you invite on fishing trips, to collect bait and mix/match it in hopes of catching certain type and sizes of fish. The amount of fishing partners dictates how much bait you’re going to get on a trip. The amount of partners is dictated by the amount of Play Coins you have at any given time (still don’t like this concept). Again, this is a lot deeper than Battleground Z in terms of gameplay, which makes it more intriguing. Don’t worry, I fully realize that each game has its own personality, but Ultimate Angler just seems like there was a bit more thought put into it.
The actual act of catching the fish is comparable to the Sega Bass Fishing controls. You mix/match (or just use single pieces) bait to try to snare a particular fish. Once you cast out your line, you wait for the fish to bite, push the ‘pull’ button on the bottom 3DS screen (it will hook the fish) and you move the thumb pad in a circular fashion being careful not to snap the line (there is a lovely meter that will help you avoid doing just that). It’s quite simple to play, though I do miss the rumble that the Sega Bass Fishing rod controller gave off.
If all of this wasn’t enough, as you catch fish you can put them into your own personal tank. This tank is upgradeable, Animal Crossing style. You can stylize and make your tank as good (or as bad) as you want. For example, inside my tank currently resides a nice reef, a couple of smallmouth bass, smaller fish and a boot I proudly caught. Yes, you read that right, a BOOT. I worked hard for that boot.
Anyway, the negatives of Ultimate Angler lies within the Play Coin system that you’re required to follow, as well as the slightly slow pace between going to the clubhouse (to upgrade/improve/sell/buy material) and going to the hotel (arranging fishing trips and acquiring fishing partners). The loading time between both drags a bit. I wish they had just put everything together in one place and not divided it up between two locations. It seems unnecessary.
Those two complaints aside, I have had the most fun with Ultimate Angler. I probably would play the game a lot, if I didn’t have to deal with that Play Coin system. Still fun, though.