99Seconds (Nintendo DS) Review

As the direct sequel to 99Bullets, 99Seconds also continues the story, albeit in a completely different fashion. After saving the universe from the threat of the evil Black Eye and his cohorts, the humanoid-ship V-99 discovers a strange zone called Bit 8, where he finds he has the ability to slow down and temporarily stop time. Good job, too, because the local Black Vectors don't take much of a liking to their new guest, and set out to push his dodging ability to the limit. Unlike the last game, which consisted of conserving ammunition through accurate shooting, here players will be guiding V-99 though narrow pathways and gaps of shapes that come from all directions and all speeds.

99Seconds retains the retro pixel look of its predecessor; colourful and solid design with classic bit-tune music and voiceover thrown in for good measure. Dual screen usage is minimal but effective, with everything happening on the top screen, and a high score counter and the game's timer on the bottom screen. Adding to the retro feel of the game is the control scheme; only D-Pad and any one button needed here, and despite not being particularly optimised for it, the 3DS Circle Pad helps a fair bit here as well.

The game's title refers to the amount of time given to dodge incoming shapes and gain as much of a high score as possible, which gradually fills provided you keep moving. Touching the shapes whilst there is still time on the counter won't destroy V-99, but it will freeze both you and the high score counter, and when time runs out and you get hit, that's it. The ability to quickly halt time and take advantage of the slow way it builds again with just the press of a button of your own choosing is the unique aspect of the game and is the best bet for gaining a high score. At certain points of the shapes players are given a chance to go for a glowing orb that increases the clock counter and a V-99 duplicate shape that boosts the score, but each is always on a more dangerous path than just staying rooted in one place and dodging as best as possible.

On paper or computer screen, this all sounds extremely limited and not particularly interesting, but the beauty of 99Seconds is that it has that vital 'one more try' aspect that games like Tetris, where players are doomed to lose, have in spades. It being a download game and thus instantly available on the Nintendo DSi or 3DS main menu only helps this. The three difficulty levels on offer add extra incentive to improve and try harder, and although the scoreboards aren't online enabled, which would have been a vastly useful feature, the scores already on there will require a pro to overcome them. At a mere 200 Points/£1.80, 99Seconds has impulse purchase written all over it.