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DS

North America

Spotto!

by Matthew Blundon - February 17, 2010, 12:32 pm EST
Total comments: 4

9

Get ready to blast some ghosts in this great budget-priced game.

The DSiWare Shop has been overflowing with great content since the New Year rang in, ranging from the strategic Number Battle to the family-friendly Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever. Developers are turning things up a notch by releasing quality titles are a small price. While Nintendo's latest title is certainly at a low price, does it pack enough content and appeal to justify the price?

Spotto is a very simple game at heart. In short, players play as the world's marvelous "Bombirdier" known as Spotto in his self-titled game. His goal is to defeat ghosts in order to rescue Chikkie Wowwow, President Wowwow's daughter.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Spotto is the way the game plays. Being a Bombirdier, Spotto must fire bombs at ghosts in order to defeat them. To do this, players must adjust his aim using the stylus. On the lower screen, to the left of Spotto, who remains stationary throughout the game, is a dial that can be turned to adjust his aim, which is outlined in red on both screens. Once Spotto's aim has been adjusted, he'll fire away with a click of a button, hoping to defeat some of the ghosts.

It's a simple concept overall that is made difficult by the limited amount of bombs that players are presented with. At the beginning of each stage, players are given a mere five bombs to shoot down all the ghosts in an area, which can range anywhere from two to five. If the bomb successfully falls into the mouth of a ghost, it'll explode and that bomb will be added back to their supply. On the other hand though, if the bomb falls to meet contact with the ghost's inside, you will lose it.

Further complicating the mix are the obstacles that pollute each stage. Everything from wardrobes to bookshelves lingers in the air, and they must be utilized in some cases to get the bomb to reach a ghost's mouth. Ghosts and obstacles sometimes move too, making the game more difficult.

Thankfully, the game starts players off slowly turns up the difficulty level. After some courses, players will face a boss, which players the exact same as any other stage except it's a much larger enemy.

In terms of content, Spotto packs 50 stages, each of which is highly entertaining. Though the graphics are somewhat repetitive over the majority of the game, the visual appeal and simplicity of the visuals adds a very unique feel to the game.

Besides the main story mode, which should last a couple of hours, there's also a challenge mode in which players progress through a variety of stages with a limited supply of bombs. The intention is to see how many stages you can get through before your bomb supply depletes. It's a nice addition to the game, but players will probably be spending most of their time with the story mode.

While Spotto is a simple game at heart, the amount of enjoyment one can have playing the game is unbelievable. If you're looking for a simplistic game, look no further than Spotto. Not only does it boast hours upon hours of replay value, but it's also priced at a mere 200 points.

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
9 6.5 9 9 9 9
Graphics
9

Spotto is a very stylized game, though some backgrounds are a little generic.

Sound
6.5

The music is made up of simple pieces that are pretty forgettable, but the the minimal amount of voiceover when you select "yes, sir!" or "maybe later" is very cute and appealing.

Control
9

Using the stylus to control the angle at which Spotto will throw his bombs works great and feels very natural.

Gameplay
9

Spotto is an easy game to get into and very difficult to put down. It is an addicting and enjoyable game that's bound to keep you occupied for quite some time.

Lastability
9

There are 50 stages in the story mode, and the challenge mode adds even more content.

Final
9

Spotto is a highly enjoyable budget-priced game that's difficult to put down once you get into it. The stylized graphics are very appealing and the game has practically unlimited replay value. When everything is said and done, this is one game you're not going to want to miss.

Summary

Pros
  • Simple, easy-to-learn concept
  • Tons of replay value.
  • Very stylized
Cons
  • Some backgrounds look generic.
Review Page 2: Conclusion

Talkback

The name is awful, but for $2 it might be worth it.

Apparently this title was called Birds & Bombs in Japan, which makes a helluva lot more sense.

Actually, it's going to be called Bird & Bombs in Europe and Australia.  It was called Neratte Spotto! in Japan, hence the NA name.

Oh ok.

Regardless, Spotto! is a terrible name.

Wow. I've been looking for something to grab with my remaining points. It might as well be this and that Fuse pinball game.

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Genre
Developer
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Spotto!
Release Feb 15, 2010
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Neratte Spotto!
Release Nov 25, 2009
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages

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