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3DS

North America

Bird Mania 3D

by Alex Culafi - May 3, 2012, 3:39 pm EDT
Total comments: 8

2.5

Lacking fun and substance, it seems that the cheapest 3D eShop game may also be the worst.

Originally priced well below any other 3D eShop game, Bird Mania 3D brings back memories of the cliche phrase "you get what you pay for."

A constantly moving side-scroller, Bird Mania pushes players forward as they avoid trees, dash through enemies, and build points by collecting stars and popping balloons. As the player gains more distance, the game speeds up, making collecting and avoiding much more difficult. It's a high-score-building arcade-style game; so basically, you keep playing until you get hit by an enemy or a tree and subsequently die.

Unfortunately, beyond that, there isn't much to it. This might be unfair to say about such a cheap game, but the artificial difficulty only comes in the game speeding up and provoking a loss of focus, no doubt furthered by the unimpressive-yet-distracting 3D. Bird Mania simply does not give a feeling of accomplishment, or even fun, for doing well.

I was originally impressed when I saw that this game had a story mode. However, it's not a "story mode" per say, but rather a mode that coincidentally has story in the title. The difference is that in the latter, it’s acceptable to include no gameplay in the mode, and to instead include game credits and a disconnected slideshow explaining the plot in a few sentences before kicking the player out into the main menu. If that wasn't bad enough, the actual text likely wasn't even edited before publishing, containing strange uses of grammar and unnecessary capitalization. Here's one example: "Mojo overslept and has to Begin a crazy chase over fellow Birds". Don't worry; you have about as much context as I do. If anything, the plot, involving Mojo oversleeping and having to find his friends in Africa, actually worsens the experience of the game once you realize the horribly depressing truth that the game itself only ends when Mojo falls to his death (confirmed with an unmarked "R.I.P." tombstone after each finished round).

Outside of the "story" and the main mode, there are achievements, tasking the player with killing a certain number of enemies in a round or getting a specific amount of stars during the day. The shame with these achievements is that they simply exist, and actually obtaining them doesn't seem to do much for the actual gameplay outside of a check mark next to the achievement. Without incorporating the social aspects of Xbox Live or the ability to unlock content, such a mode feels silly, useless, and out of place. The achievements in Bird Mania are more difficult than the game is enjoyable. I spent 30 minutes trying to get one achievement, done so not out of addictiveness, but rather feeling the need to discover whether the fun of this game was somehow hidden underneath the tasks. They aren't. There's also a high-score board, but it's not an online one, so it’s not terribly interesting.

Bird Mania 3D is not a fun game. It is repetitive, lacks the addictiveness of other high-score-focused affairs, has an insult of a story-focused mode, contains no substance outside of a basic mode, and does nothing to convince the player that a good purchase was made. That's all there is to it.

Summary

Pros
  • It functions
  • The music is okay
Cons
  • Everything else

Talkback

joshnickersonMay 03, 2012

I think I'd rather have a eShop version of that Perfect Strangers game that popped up on the web this week...

ShyGuyMay 03, 2012

Those birds look angry.

motangMay 03, 2012

I bought and I agree with the review score.  I am glad it's only $2.

Quote from: joshnickerson

I think I'd rather have a eShop version of that Perfect Strangers game that popped up on the web this week...

Now there's a dream to chase after.

LittleIrvesMay 04, 2012

So is this game like Jetpack Joyride on iOS then? That's what it sounds like. If so, JJ is a fun little title but Bird Mania seems to lack the charm and presentation. Makes sense, given Joyride comes from Halfbrick, of Fruit Ninja and Raskulls. Glad to see the 1.99 price point on eShop though.

It's funny (and sad) -- people are confused why a 2 dollar game isn't great because of the prevailing notion that handheld downloadable games should be 99 cents because of the App Store. People! It's 2 dollars! That's less than a medium coffee at Dunkin' Donuts! No kidding the game's going to be weak sauce. Sheesh.

Aura Aura Climber was also only $2 and that game is awesome.

Regardless of the price, games should be fun. No excuse.

There are plenty of great games on iOS, and even some on DSiWare as Neal pointed out, at sub-$2 prices. I can forgive a lack of content or depth at a lower price, but I don't care what the cost is, if the game isn't fun it's a failure.

RankJunkieMay 13, 2012

You know a game is bad when "It functions" counts as a pro.



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Genre Adventure
Developer Teyon
Players1

Worldwide Releases

na: Bird Mania 3D
Release May 03, 2012
PublisherTeyon
RatingEveryone
jpn: Bird Mania 3D
Release Dec 19, 2012
PublisherTeyon
RatingAll Ages

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