So I beat "Mutant Mudds"... Apr 03, 2012 8:14PM PST

My tax return money was burning a hole in my wallet, so I decided to buy a 3D game from eShop: "Mutant Mudds".  The game's 8-bit feel instantly charmed me, whisking me to memories of early gamerhood.  

The basic gist is mud-like aliens have infested the countryside and it's up to you wash them away.  This is accomplished by collecting all the water sprite medals located at the end of each of the 40 levels.  20 levels are accessible from the main overworld screen, some of which require a certain amount of collected coins to enter, while 20 harder sub-levels are hidden in each of those levels, 1 apiece.

The gameplay is classic 2D platformer.   The horizontal plain is seperated into 3 tiers - close, middle, far - which are alternated by jumping from orange pads located at various points.  Your character can jump, shoot water bullets, and float for a limited amount of time.  Each of these actions can be upgraded by collecting a certain amount of coins which are strewn through each level, however, even when all the upgrades have been earned, only one can be used at any given time. 

Along with helping to earn upgrades and unlock stages, coins also act like breadcrumbs that guide you.  While the proper course of travel may already be obvious, collecting all 100 coins per level is important as they are required to unlock the last 8 levels, and missing any along the way will require you to return and gather them.

I thought the game was pretty tough given it's 2D platformer limitations.  Some of the later levels are really challenging, requiring pinpoint jumping and perfectly timed shooting accuracy.  Properly timing the whole jump/shoot/float mechanism sometimes had my button-thumb in knots, and my mouth shouting obscenities.  

The game is fairly short, and I imagine that someone who's warmed up and ready could finish it in a day.  I couldn't do it, instead playing for a few hours each day for about a week.  I imagine that 2D platformer newbies would get more time out of it as some of the required maneuvering really is complicated.  Anyone who's cut their teeth on MegaMan and the like, though, should have no problem finishing it in a relatively short amount of time.

The last thing that struck me was the lack of bosses.  There isn't a single one.  I still liked the game, though, because when it was over, I didn't want it to end.

What I liked:

Classic 2-D audio and visuals.

3-tiered horizontal plains work well in 3D.

Tight control, pixel-perfect sprtie collision.

What I didn't like:

Kinda short.

No bosses.

image links:

http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/876085/Mudds.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2012/01/mudds126.jpg

Edit | Delete | Unpublish

• 
• Share it:
• E-mail it
•  2

Comments (2)

• 

• Muddy

  Posted: Apr 04, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Cary Woodham
  

  I didin't like Mutant Mudds. There is a right and wrong way to do a retro-styled game and the lack of variety and constant stream of difficult and annoying jumps exhausted me.  Plus, Pushmo is a MUCH better eShop game anyway.

  But then, i'm not really liking Kid Icarus: Uprising much either, so what do I know?

  Flag | Reply | Delete

  • 

  • You're welcome to your opinion

    Posted: Apr 04, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    I actually appreciate difficulty in a game as long as it's well thought out and manageable.  All of the tough parts in MM could be passed with proper coordination of jumps, shots, floats.  IMO, too many games now are being dumbed down to appeal to the common gaming denominator, consumers who aren't great gamers and are easily frustrated.  It's a good business move, but I don't like it.  I tire of in-game tutorials and super powerups that help those who die frequently.  That's just my take, though, and I've been gaming for almost 30 years, so I'm used to the good old days when games had one difficulty, and games usually culminated to a very difficult experience at the end.

    As for Pushmo, I have that game, too.  It's a puzzle game and nothing like MM, which is an action game.  I like it, I'm just not huge on puzzle games.  I'm about halfway through Pushmo right now, and can only stomach a level or two before my brain fizzles out and I have to move on to something else.  there's a lot more content in Pushmo, though, albeit somewhat repetitive.

    As for KI:U, I haven't played that one either.  The AR feature seems cool, I just don't know if I'll like the meat of the game (i.e. its awkward controls).