Steel Penny Games

I will break my review into categories, and then give some closing comments, just so you know what to expect. And now, on to the review.

First and foremost, the most important aspect of any game: Gameplay. I started up Bruiser and Scratch and had no trouble getting in and playing the game. The tutorial levels provide great stepping stones for those too lazy to read the online manual. Everything works flawlessly and directing the characters where to walk and push things is a synch. That being said, the game does not use anything the Wii has to offer. Sure, you can point at the screen to select things on the menus, but other than that, nothing. I would have liked to see something unique, but alas, it is a block-pushing game. I'd rather have nothing, than tacked-on rubbish like so many other games I've played.

Next up: Graphics. The game looks above-average. It's not as clean or polished as LostWinds or World of Goo, but it's certainly not bad. There are some nice environments, and I liked seeing the night versions of the stages. There wasn't a lot of detail, but what was there looked nice, and didn't strain the eyes. The only problem I have with the graphics, really, is the lack of animation. The characters don't move smoothly and the transitions through menus are uninspired. Not bad, just lacking detail. It does have a solid framerate, as well.

The sound department has to be the worst aspect of this game. The entire game just feels like someone forgot to add the music in. The title theme is beautiful, and I find myself humming the tune after I'm done playing the game. All of the sound effects are nicely done, and the game over/puzzle complete jingles serve their purposes nicely. But when playing a puzzle, sometimes being stumped for long durations, the game could use some background music. I assume SPG didn't want gamers to be distracted when trying to solve puzzles, but hearing just wind blowing or something really wasn't enough. Also, during the story segments, there were no voices or anything. Now, I wasn't expecting full voice-acting, but little meows or barks, or anything for that matter would have been a welcome improvement. Without this integral part of the game, the story came off as a little lazy/boring.

Lastly: fun/lasting appeal. There are 134 puzzles in this game: 11 tutorial, 48 story, 75 challenge. The first 8 tutorials are nothing, but the rest will have you thinking to some extent. If you find block-pushing puzzles fun, well, you'll have plenty with this game. If it isn't your thing, then you probably won't spend your money on this game anyway. Most puzzles have multiple ways of solving them, and to get a gold star, you must solve the puzzle in a minimum amount of moves. This will keep you busy for a long time.

In conclusion, I really enjoy this game. Despite some shortcomings and design choices, this game has kept me entertained even until now. I won't beat SPG down for not making use of WiiConnect24 of multiplayer, though it would have been nice to have leaderboards to compare all the stats Bruiser & Scratch keeps track of with everyone who plays. Other than that, it was a solid purchase, 1000 Wii points isn't too much to ask for.

Overall, I give this game a 7.5/10 and I hope that I will get to experience more of Bruiser & Scratch in the future. Great first-outing guys.

On a side note, I hope Nintendo takes notice of this game and hires on Steel Penny Games to help with the next Zelda, because Zelda always has block-pushing puzzles and Nintendo doesn't know how to make them challenging enough.