As you're no doubt well aware, I have some experience in cloning. I've dabbled. Or been
dabbled, or whatever. And I've seen enough to know how it works. You clone something
too many times, the matter starts to break down. And you get, like...this mutated version
of the original thing. Which is not a good thing. Science is a b*tch sometimes.
This game's a bigger b*tch, though.
It's LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe In Peril for the Nintendo DS.
I only vaguely recognize this from the original thing.
That's right, no three involved here. This is just the Nintendo DS version. Remember
that thing? What it really is, is a dumbed-down version, of the 3DS version. Which was just
a dumbed-down version of the console version. See where I'm going with this? Third degree
of dumb, matter starts to deteriorate, Kevin freaking Bacon...probably not a good version.
That's, just...cellular biology.
Or whatever.
So, uh...if you've seen our review of the 3DS version...take that same game and make
it, like, half as awesome and half as pretty. That's the DS version, of Universe In Peril.
The two games are basically identical in terms of the levels and the gameplay. The difference
is, on the 3DS, things look a lot better. And there's a lot more stuff on the screen.
A lot more fun on the screen, too.
Now obviously, the 3DS has a lot more power than the DS. So it makes sense for this one
to have less impressive graphics. Or at least, less technically impressive graphics. So to
make up for it, the game really simplifies things. Less objects, fewer enemies, less
LEGO builds, things like that. And it also changes the style a bit. So the characters
have this comic-book style, whereas the 3DS version goes for that shiny look, like the
console version.
And in theory, that would be fine. But the game still doesn't run that well. There's
some framerate issues, some technical things...and the sound. Not a great sounding game.
But you know, it's not like this is a bad DS game. It happens to be much better on newer
platforms, but...if the original DS is still your system of choice, it's still a fun game.
And like the 3DS version, it does a really nice job of breaking up LEGO Marvel Super
Heroes, which is an incredibly huge game on consoles...into something more bite-sized,
and portable.
The levels have been shortened, and streamlined...and each one has several objectives to complete.
So because it's more about completing these little objectives, and because all the levels
are shorter...there's something faster and more immediate about this version.
It really does feel like a portable game.
And you still get a lot of content. Although it still seems like a fraction of what you
get in the console version. There are 45 missions across several levels...and again, each mission
has several objectives. So there's definitely some replay value here. Especially considering
the unlockable characters. That alone makes you want to go back. To play earlier levels
with characters you got later...and of course, to collect everything, you have to.
But again...as for the negatives? Bad presentation, bad music and honestly, some of the absolute
worst cut scenes ever. They're so compressed, it's really almost unwatchable.
It's been a general rule that...the LEGO games are always
a lot better on consoles. I mean, there almost seems to be a complacency on the handheld
side where it's, like...good enough is good enough. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is better
on consoles than the 3DS, and it's better on the 3DS than the DS. But at its core, even
with the three degrees of separation, or whatever...it's still a solid beat 'em up. Or, I mean...as
solid as it could be.
Play it, is my point.
But...play it elsewhere, if you can.