Hey, look at this, it’s another great 3DS game from Engine Software with a name I’m
not sure how to say.
Like, remember when we just called games Tennis?
Baseball?
Banana Prince?
I could say the names, back then.
I didn’t look stupid, back then.
Hey, Engine Software, what’d I ever do to you?
Here, here’s some free suggestions.
You could’ve gone with…Ball Race.
Balls And Rods.
Fast Balls.
Balls II: Electric Ball-ga-loo.
Testicular Rollercoaster.
Alright, so the last one probably wouldn’t work.
It’s…Proun?
Proun?
Plus?
Goddammit, Engine Software.
So Pronoun Plus comes from the team that gave us Sue-mico.
Sum-ico.
Su-me-co.
For the Nintendo 3DS.
That was a really cool math game.
Which, I realize how silly that sounds, but it’s true.
It’s a really cool math game, whatever.
I don’t have to explain myself.
Who do you think I am?
Engine Software’s naming department?
Anyway, Proud Minus is similar in that, it’s another really fun, really slick game with
a mathematical edge.
In this case, it’s like…if you were racing through the pages of your geometry book on
a sphere, avoiding massive shapes and geometric formations.
Either that, or you’re controlling a hamster who just ate mushrooms.
That’s Prawn Plus.
Anyway, so it’s basically a racing game.
Like F-Zero for math nerds, if you want to be a dick about it.
You steer the sphere, which rhymes, as you move forward on a fixed rail.
You have to steer your way around it to avoid all the dangers that math can pose, not the
least of which is the headache.
Okay, you don’t actually avoid headaches in this game.
What you avoid is huge rings, and…like, big confetti shapes, and…strange, floating
ribbons.
Basically, it’s like giants are getting married, this game.
And you’re rolling around trying to pick up the bridesmaids, by showing off how fast
your balls are.
Look, I’m nowhere near mature enough for this.
Actually, it’s apparently based on the work of a Russian artist, with another name I don’t
know how to say.
Which, in all seriousness, is actually very awesome.
I love when video games take inspiration from artists who had a distinct style.
The way Skyward Sword did Monet, and The Bridge did M.C.
Escher…Proun Plus does El Lissitzky.
Look, just Google it, alright?
Point is, the game is absolutely gorgeous.
Like, half of the fun of playing it?
Is seeing what the next level looks like.
It’s one of the coolest-looking games on the 3DS, and the best part is…it’s not
just a style thing.
The gameplay is actually woven into the style, it all comes together.
And to me, that’s great game design.
Of course, there are a couple different kinds of games.
Like, in addition to straight-up races, there’s also point races, where you have to reach
a certain score to pass…as well as endless races, where you just keep going until you
crash into something.
So that does a lot to change things up.
Which, frankly, the game needs.
If there’s a criticism to make, it’s that the game doesn’t take long to go from magical
to kind of repetitive.
Like, those awesome tracks?
There’s not actually that many of them, so they do start to
repeat themselves.
And also, in terms of replayability…there’s not much of that, either.
Just three stars for your score, and the online top ten.
And for a game this interesting, it’d be nice if there more to it than that.
Then again, if your biggest complaint is, I want more of this?
I mean, are you really even complaining?
‘Cause the bottom line is…this game doesn’t have a bottom line, you just spin around and
end up back on top, phrasing.
Point is…this game’s awesome.
It’s awesome to play, awesome to look at, awesome in every
way.
Plus, it’s only a few dollars.
Plus…is the half I can say.
It’s Proun Plus…is it, Proun Plus?…for the Nintendo 3DS.