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Bakugan: Battle Brawlers
Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh mixed with marbles.
October 30, 2009 | 12:23 PM PSTKombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
Bakugan Battle Brawlers is the first video game of the insanely popular TV show and card/marble game. The plot goes something like this: you play as a kid interested in Bakugan and on a duel in the park, you run into the most famous Bakugan player, Dan. From there, you find a rare Bakugan and work your way up the ranks into the Bakugan tournaments to be the best. There are elements of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and old fashioned marbles all tied in a manner that makes the concept feel fresh and unique. To better understand the actual game, you'll begin to understand where the game is coming from.
There are two duelists (or four for a free-for-all style battle) that put down some stage cards. These cards are the monster battlefield when you roll your monster across, they spring up and get in battle mode. Bakugan monsters have stats called G-Points that decide who will win a given battle. If you put a severely underpowered Bakugan on the field, you can jump to the rescue with modifier cards and increase the potential to win. In the end, whoever has the most G-Points wins a battle and a gate card. The winner of the match is who collects the predetermined amount of gate cards.
What's Hot
There is a surprising amount of depth to Bakugan even for as simple as the rules seem. Once you get caught up to speed on how to play the game (there are some changes for the video game), you'll be off and running with the story that consists of tournaments and random battles in the park. The battles resemble each other, but the outcomes are what make them exciting. There are a number of factors that can determine if you will win or not.
The best way to win is by choosing the correct Bakugan for the task. If you find that the Bakugan you have in your hand might not be that effective, there are plenty of other options to increase your power. In some stages, you can collect G-Power by rolling your Bakugan around the arena. You have full control over the roll so you can do all sorts of crazy maneuvers to get as many points before hitting a Gate Card. You can also activate some additional cards in your hand if the situation is dire. The last ditch effort is to complete the mini-games that finally determine the outcome of the battle. The gameplay happens in rapid fire succession so you need to stay on the ball to stay on top.
The methods used to increase your power all come in the form of diverse gameplay. On paper, the gameplay sounds like a string of quick-time events but, with the added strategy, it doesn't come across like it. The liberties taken to make it more of a game paid off and, remarkably, remain consistent with the actual cartoon it is based from. The moving parts that go into the battle make it much more satisfying than menu commands in a Pokemon game or the brainy over-analysis of a Yu-Gi-Oh title.
What's Not
Matches all center around leading up to the monster fight. You jump through all the gameplay hoops and when it comes time to have the Bakugan duke it out, the confrontations fall on their face. The G-Points that you accumulate before the final showdown are the fun part of gameplay but when the G-Point numbers are tallied, the round is over without much fanfare. The cycle of exciting pre-fight gameplay starts over with the disappointing finale. It's like listening to a song where it starts to get really intense and you can't wait to hear what comes next and, all of a sudden, the music just stops and leaves you hanging.
To keep you progressing, you can go to the Bakugan store to buy new monsters and cards. You also have the option to upgrade your existing lineup and level them up in key areas that will help you win more fights. Curiously, there aren't that many Bakugan to select from and they are carbon copied across all the different elements so it pads the number of Bakugan. When you spend your hard earned battle points, the upgrades don't feel like they carry a lot of weight but you have to remind yourself that every point counts.
Final Word
Fans of Bakugan will certainly like this game. There are some liberties taken with the rules but that is to be expected and they only enhance the game rather than take away. The sticking point of the game is the crescendo to the monster fight and then not delivering in the end. This is a fun little time waster with a surprising amount of depth that bridges the gap between Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh that incorporates a truly old school game called marbles.
What the Game's About
Bakugan Battle Brawlers is the first video game of the insanely popular TV show and card/marble game. The plot goes something like this: you play as a kid interested in Bakugan and on a duel in the park, you run into the most famous Bakugan player, Dan. From there, you find a rare Bakugan and work your way up the ranks into the Bakugan tournaments to be the best. There are elements of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and old fashioned marbles all tied in a manner that makes the concept feel fresh and unique. To better understand the actual game, you'll begin to understand where the game is coming from.
There are two duelists (or four for a free-for-all style battle) that put down some stage cards. These cards are the monster battlefield when you roll your monster across, they spring up and get in battle mode. Bakugan monsters have stats called G-Points that decide who will win a given battle. If you put a severely underpowered Bakugan on the field, you can jump to the rescue with modifier cards and increase the potential to win. In the end, whoever has the most G-Points wins a battle and a gate card. The winner of the match is who collects the predetermined amount of gate cards.
What's Hot
There is a surprising amount of depth to Bakugan even for as simple as the rules seem. Once you get caught up to speed on how to play the game (there are some changes for the video game), you'll be off and running with the story that consists of tournaments and random battles in the park. The battles resemble each other, but the outcomes are what make them exciting. There are a number of factors that can determine if you will win or not.
The best way to win is by choosing the correct Bakugan for the task. If you find that the Bakugan you have in your hand might not be that effective, there are plenty of other options to increase your power. In some stages, you can collect G-Power by rolling your Bakugan around the arena. You have full control over the roll so you can do all sorts of crazy maneuvers to get as many points before hitting a Gate Card. You can also activate some additional cards in your hand if the situation is dire. The last ditch effort is to complete the mini-games that finally determine the outcome of the battle. The gameplay happens in rapid fire succession so you need to stay on the ball to stay on top.
The methods used to increase your power all come in the form of diverse gameplay. On paper, the gameplay sounds like a string of quick-time events but, with the added strategy, it doesn't come across like it. The liberties taken to make it more of a game paid off and, remarkably, remain consistent with the actual cartoon it is based from. The moving parts that go into the battle make it much more satisfying than menu commands in a Pokemon game or the brainy over-analysis of a Yu-Gi-Oh title.
What's Not
Matches all center around leading up to the monster fight. You jump through all the gameplay hoops and when it comes time to have the Bakugan duke it out, the confrontations fall on their face. The G-Points that you accumulate before the final showdown are the fun part of gameplay but when the G-Point numbers are tallied, the round is over without much fanfare. The cycle of exciting pre-fight gameplay starts over with the disappointing finale. It's like listening to a song where it starts to get really intense and you can't wait to hear what comes next and, all of a sudden, the music just stops and leaves you hanging.
To keep you progressing, you can go to the Bakugan store to buy new monsters and cards. You also have the option to upgrade your existing lineup and level them up in key areas that will help you win more fights. Curiously, there aren't that many Bakugan to select from and they are carbon copied across all the different elements so it pads the number of Bakugan. When you spend your hard earned battle points, the upgrades don't feel like they carry a lot of weight but you have to remind yourself that every point counts.
Final Word
Fans of Bakugan will certainly like this game. There are some liberties taken with the rules but that is to be expected and they only enhance the game rather than take away. The sticking point of the game is the crescendo to the monster fight and then not delivering in the end. This is a fun little time waster with a surprising amount of depth that bridges the gap between Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh that incorporates a truly old school game called marbles.
November 20, 2009
