Today, I spent a little time with a title for the Nintendo DS that I’ve been meaning to get around to.  The game is called Moon – a Nintendo DS exclusive – and it’s an interesting little affair.

Moon is an first person shooter developed by Renegade Kid, and it’s clear early on that they had some bold ambitions for the little handheld that could.  Seemingly undeterred (or perhaps just blissfully unaware) by what many see as the failure of first person shooters on the DS in the wake of Metroid Prime Hunters, Moon pushes right ahead and wastes no time in getting right to the fighting.

My time has been short with the title thus far, but it was enough to get a glimpse of some of the pros and cons going for this shooter.

The story for Moon moves briskly, but hints at something big lurking in its furthest reaches.  The game opens with a transport carrying your character, Major Kane, arriving at a recently discovered hatch leading well beneath the Lunar surface.  You are promptly informed that it is the year 2058, that the events of Roswell were real, and that markings on this hatch mimic those found a century previous in New Mexico.  Now, you and your team of special forces troopers are to investigate, but before you can even be debriefed by command, your base is attacked and the action set into motion.

The first thing I noticed was how well tuned the controls were.  I’m generally remiss to use the stylus as an aiming device, as it strikes me as an extremely poor substitute for a good thumbstick.  But with Moon, the movements felt measured and balanced.  A quick swipe to the right or left was enough to pull a 180, but at the same time, I also felt I had tight enough control that pinpointing a target didn’t take numerous frustrating attempts.

After surveying the Lunar landscape however, the graininess of the visuals quickly became apparent.  For those that have had the experience, I would have to say that the graphics struck me as being somewhat akin to the early Descent games, both in style and function.  In fact, the Descent-like feel grew even more apparent when insect-like robots climbed above and below me, showing that threats would readily come from all three dimensions.

While the game was quick to throw the player into the action, it was just as quick to start popping out the toys.  After getting an assault rifle with infinite ammo, a small RC device was quickly found that could be used to travel through airduct-like tunnels and piled debris that obstructed many of the routes displayed on the map.  Through these mechanisms, it is apparent that this is how Renegade Kid wanted to display a level of complexity for the title, as the controls themselves are very simple (stylus to aim and tap context options, D-pad to move, Left Trigger to shoot – all other buttons appear to be functionless) and don’t even feature the ability to jump.

At this point, I have to give Moon more of an A for effort than for execution, but it’s an intriguing title that I can see myself digging into more when the opportunity presents itself.

Keyan Reid
Professional Hero
JRE Thug Division – Core Elite

(Moon is exclusive to the Nintendo DS)