Nnooo’s first proper foray into cross-platform gaming, Blast ‘em Bunnies, is simple, engaging and plays to the company’s strengths.
The developer, known for past releases on DSi, 3DS and Vita, adds PS4 and Xbox One to the mix with this first-person, wave-based shooter. Current-gen consoles haven’t really changed Nnooo’s development strategy, as Blast ‘em Bunnies keeps with a very simplistic handheld mentality. As a good bunny, anchored to a cannon, you’re tasked with fending off wave after wave of evil rabbits. Killing baddies and successfully completing rounds earns coins, used to upgrade and enhance weaponry and health systems. While you’ll be able to survive longer with better gear, the nature of the affair means you’ll be playing for perhaps five minutes at a time at most.
Two main modes are on offer — you’ll take on waves in Survival mode and fight endless enemies in Slaughter mode. Both game types have difficulty levels that increase the challenge, but also super-size your reward. With four different weapon types and health upgrades waiting to be purchased, it’s recommended to plow through Slaughter mode on normal to fill your wallet first. That’ll make you invincible and max your upgrades in order to kill as many baddies as you can within a 90 second time limit. Killing baddies isn’t enough, though — you’ll also need to shoot coins as enemies fall to increase your bank account.
Coin collection isn’t the only thing that you have to manage during a round – boosts and bonuses in the form of crates will also litter your screen as you play. When playing on a challenging mode, or even on a high-numbered wave in normal mode, you really have to prioritise. Picking up a better weapon boost might help you out for a short period of time, but sacrificing one of your hearts to do so usually leads to certain death. Unless you’re playing in normal Slaughter, you can’t be too greedy.
Excessively cute, Blast ‘em Bunnies is full of variety in not only enemy types but appearance as well. With equal amounts of white, black and golden bunnies, it’s clear the enemy’s HR hiring practices are all-inclusive. Enemies include large, lumbering tank bunnies to zig-zagging sleek runners and ranged turnip-throwing annoyances. As you increase in skill, as does the variety of enemy types you face – the zig-zagging guys are hard enough to hit, but having to worry about them and airborne enemies can be downright hair-pulling.
Disney-level cuteness tends to prevail through gameplay, though there are some darker themes like bunny children who can get their throats slit. Despite a flash here and there, Blast ‘em Bunnies is still quite Nintendo-like; it’s hard to feel like you’re truly killing opponents without splatters of blood flying everywhere. Also? You’re shooting baddies with carrots, watermelon seeds and the like rather than a hail of bullets.
While Blast ‘em Bunnies is undeniably better suited to handheld platforms, its low price – around $7 AUD — means those on current-gen consoles shouldn’t shy away from its pop-in, pop-up mayhem. Instead of playing on the train to and from work, I knocked out a couple rounds while waiting for my pasta to boil, or in between loads of laundry. Did I mention how exciting my life is? At any rate, a fast and tight gameplay loop means you’ll be itching for just one more game no matter the console you’re playing upon.
It does need to be said, however, that I encountered a couple hiccups on Xbox One. Nothing serious in the end, but Blast ‘em Bunnies does tend to take a long while to load from its launch splash screen. Every second time popping into the game also caused my consoles to make crazy loud fan noises that I’d normally hear on my PS4 exclusively. Once things load, though, the fan dies down almost immediately.
Blast ‘em Bunnies is a solid, handheld-centric game that’s quick and easy to learn, great to play in spurts and is backed up with an affordable price. Aside from coin multipliers, most optional in-game purchases are aesthetic and really aren’t required unless you actively want to change it up a bit. Even then, you can grab the whole shebang for $25 AUD. All things considered, Blast ‘em Bunnies’ entire package is one that’s easy to recommend to adults and children alike.
Blast ’em Bunnies was reviewed using a promotional code on Xbox One, as provided by the publisher.
Review: Blast ’em Bunnies
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