The Rub Rabbits! (Nintendo DS) Preview

Project Rub is a DS game that divides the user base; many think it's a work of genius, others think it's an inferior version of Wario Ware. Sonic Team, unfazed by the latter category of owners, have gone full throttle ahead with a sequel that looks to carry on the legacy of the original game with even more dodgy challenges than before, and an even dodgier title.

The iPod-alike, featureless, silhouette characters are back in action, and the game looks all the better for it. Much of Project Rub's charm was because of the graphical style, so it's a joy to welcome it into a brand new game. Overall, the visuals have been given a big overhaul though, looking far more advanced than the original

Also keeping in style with the original, the music and sounds are batty, but the quality of them appears to be up. In the first game, while it was good, the music could get very repetitive leading to frustration, particularly during some of the levels that didn't seem to have any other purpose than to give you a headache and/or RSI. With any luck, the music for this iteration will be similarly crazy, but with a bit more variety in it - it sounds promising so far, but there's no telling how irksome it'll get until the game has actually been played.

On to the actual game then

You're thrown into the game by witnessing the first glances between our hero and heroine and logic is thrown to the wind as the boy falls in love - just like in real life. The next thing you know, you're running up a down escalator, dodging around business men and sumo-wrestlers alike, all the while trying to get the attention of the girl who is on the opposite escalator, while your rivals are all doing exactly the same thing. Other levels include you having to paddle up rapids avoiding crocodiles, catching food in your mouth as it is flung to you by an enraged girl as you're tied up on a chair (while dodging poisonous packages that she also sends you

You're not just left to fiddle with yourself this time either, with a multiplayer mode being added in. Four people on a single cartridge (and more with multi-cart) can play games like air hockey and some altered versions of the single player levels, but surely the most intriguing (and perhaps slightly disturbing) is 'Baby-Making' mode. Two players connect and input data about themselves, then work together to try and cut a wedding cake evenly. Depending on the data entered and how well you cut the cake, you get a baby with different aspects which you can name, even signing a digital birth certificate. You can take your baby to the park and interact with other babies