Bakugan Video Game For Wii (Review)
The new Bakugan video game has been released for the Wii and other major game consoles near you. If you’re not familiar with Bakugan, then likely you don’t have a son age 10-14 living at home. Bakugan is the biggest collectible toy and card game craze to hit the shelves since Pokemon and Yugioh. Not only is it a collectible game, it is also a cartoon that has been airing for just over 3 seasons now. Just like its predecessors, this new cartoon/toy is a marketing machine, pumping out never ending cards and collectible toys to its undying fans, an it has no sign of slowing down.
The concept of the game is that there are these spheres which contain monsters inside. When rolled onto the metal cards, they have a magnet that is spring loaded to pop them open, transforming the Bakugan balls into their brawling forms. The players controlling the Bakugan then use a combination of ability cards and metal gate cards to boost their points, or G Power, higher than their opponent. There are a number of special ability, rare, and new Bakugan toys that affect game play differently. But in the end, whomever has the most G Power wins the brawl. The actual card game plays out very similar to the cartoon, and players get to use the same Bakugan in real life that they see on the screen. Thanks to it’s raging success, there has been rumors of a Bakugan movie and a Bakugan MMO.
The Bakugan video game plays kind of similar to how you play the actual card game as well. You create your brawler and, along with your ‘mysterious’ Bakugan gaurdian named Leonidis, brawl your way up the ladder to become the ultimate Bakugan Brawler. Along the way, you meet up with many familiar faces, both friend and foe.
The gameplay is fun, though it does get repetitive after a while. Really, if you are an experienced gamer, there will be no challenge in the game for you. The game does do a good job of pandering to the fans though, and it’s quite a bit of fun if you are the sort of person who just can’t wait for Pokemon Platinum to come out…
Playing the Bakugan game with the Wii Remote is probably the most fun part since you get to chuck your balls onto the field, and guide them with a deft flick of the wrist. Meanwhile, your opponent is trying to shoot at your Bakugan and knock it off course. If you control it well, you will end up flying around the battlefield picking up bonuses and extra G Power before settling in for the real battle. The battles themselves are certainly fun to watch and well animated. Though after a while, even watching the cut scenes gets a bit repetitive and boring.
The graphics are decent, comparable to the numerous Pokemon games to be released before. The story plays out like a good episode of the anime, so nothing extremely deep and lots of “Save New Vestroia and all the Bakugan who depend on you!” sorts of comments are to be expected.
If you or a young boy or girl are a big fan of the Bakugan toys, then you are going to love this new game. However, if you are not a big fan… well then you best steer clear of this game and drop your hard earned coin on Arcane Asylum or something a little more complex.