Nintendo DS Review: 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix

That bear has honey. Release the vultures...

By: Uma Smith

Ideally when cooking, one does not toss in all the ingredients simultaneously into a pot. There’s preparation and timing involved. And obviously, one must consider whether or not the ingredients work well together in the first place to bring out that certain flavor. What really counts in the end is the final product. That is what we are evaluating here with Nordcurrent’s DSiWare release, 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix: are the “ingredients” appropriately “megamixed” or do we have here an “explosive” mess?

As the title suggests, a huge number of mini-games are offered in this “megamix.” Each varies in terms of their rules, appearance and controls. To give you an idea, you can be surfing the waves, cooking a dish, escaping from a museum, or stomping a zombie to death. What a combination!

Upon first loading up 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix, you are greeted with 10 games. Their respective instructions are accessible before entering the game, and believe me, it’s a wise decision to peruse. If you proceed without getting acquainted with the rules and objectives, you’ll find yourself lost and quickly failing your task.

Each game has a designated target score you must reach before getting a check mark pass. Keep in mind that you may be penalized for failing to perform a task properly. For instance, during the cooking game, allowing the right ingredients in the pot will grant you points while the wrong ones will deduct them, thereby giving you a “mega” fail.

As you progress, you’ll have the opportunity to unlock more games with the points earned. Regardless of winning or losing, you’ll still be given these points. Hence, it’s not about winning; it’s more about getting through as many available games as possible.

Despite how easy it is to unlock the different mini-games, each one varies in terms of difficulty. Most often, the challenge stems from the lack of ample instructions, which leads to moments of disaster. Take the mini-game where you guide a frog up the river for example. In this case, you want to avoid the obstacles as well as score enough points. This is done by placing your frog right beside this obstacle as you pass. However, this was not mentioned in the instructions. Consequently, there is a lot of trial-and-error in certain games before you can determine what actions earn you points.

Some games last for a few moments when you must get a high enough score within a certain time limit. Others require you to stay alive as long as possible. For instance, in the surfing mini-game, you are trying to get away from the waves behind you while avoiding the sticky oil waiting ahead of you. Regardless of what game you play, the experience lasts for a limited period of time. And if you have a short attention span, you’ll be putting down this title despite the number of games available.

Another downfall associated with this title is how the controls can be difficult. Keep in mind that not all mini-games suffer this fate. For the ones that have you use the d-pad and face buttons, the controls are acceptable. Where most of the frustration lies is with the touch controls. If you don’t “draw” properly with your stylus, you won’t get what you want. Other times, you are required to use the stylus to move, but the degree of responsiveness is very low. Sometimes, they don’t even respond at all! For games like “Garbage Wars” where you have to quickly grab garbage bags on your side and throw to your opponent’s, it becomes very challenging in a bad way!

Visually, 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix looks pretty decent thanks to its colorful presentation. As mentioned earlier, each mini-game has a completely different look. Nothing really leaps out of the screen, but it keeps things from being dull.

However, the audio does little justice with uninspiring sound effects and repetitive background music. This minimalist approach makes the overall experience fall short of being “explosive.”

OVERALL (2.25/5)

Although there are some enjoyable games in 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix, others suffer from difficult controls, insufficient instructions and gameplay that negatively impact the overall impression. If you are pondering whether or not you should consider this DSIWare title, remember that it’s all about quality, not quantity. And in this case, the quality of the “megamixed” ingredients here falls too short of being gourmet.