Nano Assault (Hands-On) (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

The basic premise of Nano Assault is to control a microscopic Nanite space craft and navigate through treacherous locations within an actual virus in the hope of preventing the spread of the deadly Nanostray bug that may otherwise contaminate an entire civilisation and wipe it out completely. Cue fast-paced, highly intense shmup action, the likes of which were last seen in games such as Treasure’s Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies on Wii, Big Bang Mini on Nintendo DS from Arkedo, and even Shin’en Multimedia’s very own Nanostray 2, also on DS. Nano Assault not only delivers crazily fast gameplay, where twitch mechanics come into play to avoid the onslaught of microbiological beasts trying to down the Nanite ship, but packs a mighty punch in terms of overall visual prominence. Twisting, turning, enemy-filled stages await, all at an eye-blisteringly swift pace and with stunning 3D depth that is all the more apparent when levels change from the free-roaming, infection-seeking stages to the downright muscle seizing tension of into-the-screen, break-neck speed action.

Fight off viruses, dodge through obstacle after infected obstacle tunnels, face off against some devastatingly tough bosses that launch wave after wave of shots in your direction, analyse cell clusters, and destroy the core virus to eventually save the world. There are various weapons at your disposal in Nano Assault as well, with special beams that seek nearby enemies, blasting them to smithereens before shooting off to break down others in a chain until its charge disperses completely, as well as useful bombs that explode and emit an impressive array of projectiles. Concerned that this all sounds too overwhelming for the mere casual gamer? Well, fear not, since Nano Assault employs a clever auto-adjust difficulty setting, which reduces the test slightly to suit any gamer's level accordingly.

Nano Assault would not be a true Shin’en Multimedia game if it did not include a plethora of extra options to complement the main Story Mode. Thankfully, the team has poured its heart into Nano Assault, and on top of the thirty-two main cell stages, facing off against ten extremely tortuous bosses, there is an Arcade Mode where single cell levels can be played through once more in order to beat specific set targets (do not lose a life, do not use the secondary weapon, reach a certain score, and so on), with the chance to update your online ranking, as well as gain Nano Coins for use when buying in-game goodies later on.

These extras that can be bought include a selection of eleven tunes from the game that can be played in the Jukebox, each track costing different amounts of Nano Coins dependent on how far into the game it is from (general Play Coins can be converted, thankfully, for those struggling to beat challenges elsewhere). Anyone that has played a previous Shin’en game will be fully aware of the company’s prowess in the audio field, so grabbing enough coinage to unlock all the music, hooking up the 3DS to an external sound system with strong bass, and cranking up the volume to attain the optimum atmosphere in order to truly appreciate the intricacies of the futuristic soundtrack on offer, is a must. Additionally, there is the Nanopedia, which is an encyclopaedia of the creatures faced during the Story Mode, fully viewable and rotatable in 3D at leisure. A great little effect is how the tilt function of the 3DS can be used to view the critters from various angles. As if all of the above was not enough, however, a Boss Rush is available for hardcode gamers to add even more longevity to what is already a sturdy product.