Own a 3DS? Like sports games? Go now and get Dual Pen Sports.
Dual Pen Sports is a nice fit on the Nintendo 3DS with its mixture of quick to play games, variety of game types and use of the 3D features in the system. It comes with two stylus but note only one can touch the screen at a time so gamers may prefer to stick with one as this gets the job done in most of the sports. So how well does this new sports outing perform and why should fans of both quick to play sports games and Nintendo’s handheld pickup a copy, well, let’s take a look.
Gameplay – Create an avatar, pick it’s outfit then get to competing in touch screen sporting events where score and accuracy count and the competition gets tougher as you go. Events range in variety from Rank match to Score Try (a daily event and practice mode) and multi-player using the local play functionality. Soccer, archery, baseball, boxing and skiing shine while parachuting and basketball get a bit frustrating but player choices will vary. With daily challenges and quick gameplay there is much for gamers to enjoy.
Graphics – Gamers have a limited number of options when designing their avatar but as they proceed in-game more costumes, outfits and rewards are unlocked making characters unique in look and feel. Being a 3DS game the third dimension aspects vary from event to event and do enhance gameplay but not by much as turning 3D off takes nothing away and actually makes it easier to hit goals in some instances. The depth in the archery game for instance is neat at first but unneeded as gamers get more serious about reaching goals. The look reminds very much of Wii Sports and it’s on this audience for whom this game was designed, in both look and feel. No grand textures here, just good ol bright and vivid avatars that are both simple in look yet functional in design.
Sound – Sport sounds are good and crowd, clapping is ok but overall this is not a spectacular sounding game … just has sound as it’s needed but nothing more.
Design – The 3D features add nice depth to the various sporting events but this very easily could have been just a DS game with no 3D. Good launch timeframe title but not groundbreaking. Not every game is rock solid but the boxing, archery and soccer interfaces and functionally offer great fun and challenge.
Miscellaneous – The inclusion of dual stylus is intriguing but ultimately just novelty. Since the screen can’t use two at once and to use two gamers much place the 3DS down, well this just ain’t that portable. That being said if games don’t try to innovate then gamers get nothing new, so there is a bright side just not a selling point right now.
Overall Dual Pen Sports offers quite a few enjoyable sports games that are quick and accessible with a variety of gameplay modes showing off a bit of what the 3DS can do. The sound and graphics are not winning any awards but for a newly launched system this is not a bad entry by far to take a stab at for 3DS owners.
