Pang Adventure (Or Buster Bros as it was known in the 1990’s) is a game from the beloved 90’s series of two brothers that go on a 2D style of action, adventure, in which they have to stop an invasion and pop the invaders balloons in the process.
General Gameplay
The gameplay is very simple, just pop the balls. This style of gameplay was popular in the arcades in the 1990’s and on the home consoles. The objective is to pop the balls on each level and progress to the next stage. The beauty of this game is that you can have someone else play the game with you so it is both a couch co-op and online. From our test play through there is about 100 levels and other modes such as Tour Mode and Score Attack.
Audio
As you would expect from a game like this, a light hearted soundtrack that fits the levels design, also there is a great ambient sound effects that also go well with this game. The in game, menu and other parts of the game music is done well. People with headphones and surround sound will not hear it in 5.1 or 7.1, but the game is design to be in stereo sound. During our playtest we did not encounter any issues with the game’s music or sound effects and found it to be very family friendly.
Visuals
The game visuals are done very well. It gives the appearance of a 1990’s cartoon that you would see on Saturday mornings. The game drawings and graphics on screen are done with vivid colors and also very sharp attention to detail. When you are playing the game you will see that the graphics are associated with the level design and match the stages down to the theme. A game like this also showcases how an older title can get a great facelift. Also with the bosses and characters there is no type of issues that we have saw with detail. If anything it is like watching a great cartoon being a video game.
Controls
Controls are very simple in the game. A button to shoot your spear, and moving left to right. As stated before that the game is a reboot of the series, so the developers kept the control simple as they were when the series’ first came out. In our play testing, none of our family gaming members experienced any issues with the controls and it was very easy to pick up and play the game for all ages.
Delivery
If you are looking for a family friendly, two player co-op game then Pang Adventures will be a great title for your digital library. Keep in mind though that this can be played both couch co-op and online so if you have a friend, family member or another person that has this game, it is a blast. We during our testing did not see any of our family gaming members have any disappointment with the game and seem to enjoy it a lot. However with some of our special needs gamers, the bright colors did cause some anxiety with younger gamers, so parents and guardians please use some caution when having younger gamers play the game and maybe adjust the colors for them.
Family Friendly
This is a family friendly game when played with another person, however when playing the main adventure alone the game can get very difficult very quickly in later levels. Also as this is a reboot of an older series, there is no health bar, it is one hit and you are out for the round. This is as old school gaming can get. You can throughout the later levels get a shield for your character but as we said the game does get more difficult in the later levels. Also with the one hit rule, fighting bosses can get harder for gamers that are not used to this type of gaming. Again this may frustrate some gamers, so parents be aware of the anger levels in your gaming family and adjust the game accordingly. Also when play testing the game we did notice that some of our family gaming members did feel that the game was getting to repetitive with the levels, the best way to conquer this is to stop playing the game and play another title.
Closing
In closing, Pang Adventures is a great reboot of a classic. With updated graphics, more levels and co-op this is a great addition to any digital gaming library.
