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The game reaches the Nintendo DS but unfortunately it should have stuck to consoles and the PSP. While the console versions of the game had a few cumbersome features, the PSP version addressed a few of these annoyances while adding some more of its own. The Nintendo DS version adds a whole grocery list of annoyances and isn’t really recommendable to anyone except the most ardent of Marvel fans.
The story in Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects revolves around Niles Van Roekel and his desire to take over another planet. In order to do so, Van Roekel has attempted to create the best fighter ever. He wasn’t quite able to do so, but he did create six characters near that level. These are the Imperfects, who prove to be quite a challenge even to Marvel’s lineup of superheroes.
The game’s singleplayer mode is quite annoying. You start with only Wolverine and The Human Torch. You’ll have to unlock everything else by going through the singleplayer mode. This means constantly fighting character after character with no real meaning. You’ll get battle points by going through his repetitive process. These points can be used to unlock additional characters, costumes and arenas. You’ll also be able to unlock concept art. It’s pretty difficult to get anything of substance though since you’ll need many matches before you’re able to purchase a considerable item.
The game’s gameplay isn’t solid on the Nintendo DS. The controls are difficult to come to terms with. Though the game includes a lock-on function, this is often too slow to react to opponents’ moves making it fairly useless. The Nintendo DS’s touch screen is used to activate motion and flight powers, which is somewhat useful since the game does have multitiered levels. The finishing moves are also done via the touch screen. These are undoubtedly the highlight of the game but even they are underwhelming. The game includes a number of problems like unbalanced hit detection, dumb components, and disappearing environments.
The game’s visuals are equally unimpressive. The different character models are only barely recognizable from each other. The stellar animation that so heavily assisted the other versions has been stripped in this version of the game, as well. The environments are even more bland than usual, with far less items than the other versions of the game. Even the game’s particle effects are mediocre, scarcely displaying smoke, fire and explosions.
The game’s aural package is equally disappointing. The background music of the game is decent although nothing spectacular. The sound effects are very quiet and don’t really relay that these superheroes are fighting. Like the PSP version of the game, the Nintendo DS version also lacks voice acting.
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects is a game that doesn’t really fit the Nintendo DS. The game doesn’t take advantage of the Nintendo DS hardware’s unique capabilities at all. It lacks presentable visuals and a decent combat engine as well. Only the most diehard Marvel fans should consider looking at it and even then, only for the unlockable content. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Oct 24, 2005
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