 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Jaleco |
| Publisher: | NIS America | |
| Genre: | Puzzle | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1-2 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Wi-Fi (Ad Hoc) | |
| Buy Now: |   |
Puzzle games are in abundance on the Nintendo DS, with the touch screen mimicking mouse-like controls and cheap development costs resulting in virtually every type of puzzle game finding a home on the system in some form or another. So now, almost 3.5 years after the system's launch, it really takes an unique puzzle game to stand out. Fortunately, Puchi Puchi Virus is just such a title.
The wacky Japanese tone of the storyline and setting aren't particularly unusual though. As Doctor Kevin A. Longfellow, you must rid a small town's residents of the nasty Puchirus virus. The Puchirus quickly spreads inside its victims, eventually hardening and turning its host into a creature that reflects his or her personality. To get rid of the virus, Doc Kevin invents the Puchi Buster DS. The Puchi Buster DS acts as an interface to treat each patient with (thus forming the player's view), where Kevin can then tap the viruses to coagulate and eliminate them. Assisting Kevin (and by "assisting" I mean usually running around frantically in the background on the top screen) are the ultra-cute Nurse Honeydew, and a giant chicken named the decidedly un-Japanese George the Chicken.
To rid each patient of the virus, the player must quickly tap sets of three like-colored viruses before they spread in the patient. Doing so forms a triangle from the viruses, which will then clear them as long as they're tapped quickly enough. Tapping and overlapping other sets of viruses in turn forms chains, which of course result in a much higher score and are necessary objectives in some levels. Each of the game's 102 patients requires a different set of objectives be met before moving on, such as performing a certain number of chains or racking up a number of points.
That's not as easy as it sounds however, because the player can't simply tap viruses at their leisure to setup huge chains. Once a virus has been tapped by the stylus to begin coagulating, it will quickly harden completely if not dealt with. Once that happens, it needs to be reverted back to its original form by clearing a new triangle around it before it can be properly cleared. The Puchirus also begins moving around and multiplying rapidly at higher difficulty levels, resulting in some fun and frantic tapping, with power pills available after 50 viruses are cleared to use strategically when the pace becomes overwhelming. And it definitely will become overwhelming at some point, because the precision and speed needed to tap these relatively tiny viruses becomes almost too much to deal with later in the game.
The game's insane difficulty later on though is made somewhat more tolerable by the wackiness involved. In addition to George the Chicken, most patient names are puns related to their look or personality, resulting in some truly hilarious bios. The writing in general is also better than you'll usually find in a puzzle game, which isn't a big surprise since this game comes from strategy RPG gurus NIS America. While curing 102 patients using the same basic gameplay mechanics over and over again does result in some repetitiveness (despite varying objectives), the great artwork and snappy writing helps keep the game from getting too bogged down. The included Single Card download play for two players (along with wireless demo download) should also help many endure the lack of variety.
Bottom Line:
Puchi Puchi Virus is a little too repetitive to be considered one of the system's top puzzle games, but it's unique and fun enough that it's definitely worth a look from puzzle fans or gamers that eat up typical Japanese wackiness.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 7.0 |
Posted: 2008-06-03 16:55:03 PST