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Big Bang Mini pops up in Rio
There's only one thing more explosive than new Big Bang Mini screens, and that's a new Big Bang Mini trailer. Wait, no, really, that's completely inaccurate. Lots of things are more explosive than video and images, including, uh, actual fireworks, but maybe we can get away with the hyperbole when we're talking about a game that uses fireworks. Anyway, despite the extended opening and music from the other Big Bang Mini trailers, this footage from the schmup is new, fresh, and even a little Brazilian. Welcome to Rio de Janeiro. In this Rio, the weather is bad and you've got no homing missiles. But then again, would you have them in the real Rio? Confirmed: Big Bang Mini is like going on vacation.Oh, just watch the trailer.%Gallery-18714%[Via press release]
Studio Arkedo taking on Wii for their next game
Studio Arkedo, the French developer behind Nervous Brickdown and the upcoming Big Bang Mini on DS is branching out to Wii, according to a Cubed3 interview. While talking about the upcoming Nintendo Channel demo of Big Bang Mini, Camille Guermonprez offers the fairly unambiguous hint "Our next project in on the Wii, by the way *grins*".This could mean a Wii version of Big Bang Mini, as Guermonprez states earlier in the interview that "We would love to do Big Bang Mini with its addictive blending on a bigger screen.." Or it could mean a new project. What it probably won't be is a WiiWare game: "WE WANT BOXED GAMES *grins*", Guermonprez said. Whatever it turns out to be, expect color.
DS Fanboy Preview: The World(s) of Big Bang Mini
Studio Arkedo's Big Bang Mini is pure uncomplicated fun. It's a shmup with all the button tapping swapped out for frantic swiping on the touch screen. It's Pac-Pix's bow and arrow expanded into a whole game. Other elements are added as the game goes on, but the basic gameplay -- flinging projectiles at the top of the screen at top speed while dragging your little character around to avoid debris -- stays the same. I covered the basics of gameplay in my E3 preview. This time, I'll focus a bit more about some things that I didn't cover as much: the visual styles, the bosses, and the bonus modes -- at least for the three worlds I've experienced.%Gallery-18714%
E308: A mini hands-on with Big Bang Mini
Studio Arkedo's Big Bang Mini is a very simple game, and I mean that in the best possible way. Like the other recent retro-style shooters on the DS (Space Invaders Extreme immediately comes to mind), Big Bang focuses entirely on making you shoot almost everything on the screen. Unlike Invaders, it uses a totally stylus-based control scheme -- which is surprisingly okay! Usually, classic, frantic game style plus touch equals problems!You control a little icon of some kind (in the first level, a wireframe pyramid thing -- it changes with the theme every level) who shoots fireworks at stuff flying around on the top screen. You have to drag the little avatar around with the stylus, and then also swipe upward to shoot fireworks. If you hit the enemy, it blows up; if you miss, your shot explodes into fireworks, whose sparks then fall down towards the bottom screen and must be avoided. You can aim your shots by drawing lines at different angles, and you can shoot about as fast as you can slash the screen. %Gallery-18714%
