Why would you make a twin-stick shooter on a system that doesn't have two sticks? It's uncomfortable to play. The graphics are pretty good for 3DS standards.
A virus is on the loose, humanity is on the brink, and our only hope is a microscopic vehicle that shoots first and asks question later. Never mind that the plot makes absolutely no sense, or that it’s never clear if you’re flying through a human body or a marble-sized organic galaxy or a pile of bat guano. Nano Assault EX is pure fun, details be damned.
There are two modes of play. Most levels take place from a top-down POV. In these you’ll navigate the surfaces of peculiarly shaped organisms and zap malicious viruses, twin-stick-shooter style. The remaining levels play more like Star Fox, your ship constantly moving forward as you evade obstacles and blast enemies. These stages conclude with boss battles against large organisms that often nearly fill the screen.
All throughout the adventure, developer Shin'en Multimedia pushes the 3DS hardware to the limit. The 3D effect is implemented wondrously, producing imagery that looks absolutely massive on the tiny screen. It’s not all good news, however, as enabling the third dimension has a clear impact on performance. While the game remains eminently playable in 3D, I generally stuck with 2D mode and its silky smooth frame rate.
Short and not overly difficult, the main campaign in Nano Assault EX will entertain you around three hours. There are other modes, like Survivor and Boss Rush, you can explore if you want to eke more fun out of the game, but I suspect most players will have had their fill after finishing the campaign. Even if you never touch the extra modes, however, the campaign alone makes Nano Assault EX worth the price of admission, and it’s a shame that the game will be lost forever when the 3DS eShop shuts down in 2023.
There are two modes of play. Most levels take place from a top-down POV. In these you’ll navigate the surfaces of peculiarly shaped organisms and zap malicious viruses, twin-stick-shooter style. The remaining levels play more like Star Fox, your ship constantly moving forward as you evade obstacles and blast enemies. These stages conclude with boss battles against large organisms that often nearly fill the screen.
All throughout the adventure, developer Shin'en Multimedia pushes the 3DS hardware to the limit. The 3D effect is implemented wondrously, producing imagery that looks absolutely massive on the tiny screen. It’s not all good news, however, as enabling the third dimension has a clear impact on performance. While the game remains eminently playable in 3D, I generally stuck with 2D mode and its silky smooth frame rate.
Short and not overly difficult, the main campaign in Nano Assault EX will entertain you around three hours. There are other modes, like Survivor and Boss Rush, you can explore if you want to eke more fun out of the game, but I suspect most players will have had their fill after finishing the campaign. Even if you never touch the extra modes, however, the campaign alone makes Nano Assault EX worth the price of admission, and it’s a shame that the game will be lost forever when the 3DS eShop shuts down in 2023.
It started pretty cool, but some of later levels require 1 hand to operate circle pad, 1 for circle pro and one for firing using ABXY. This could be solved by using L and R to fire normal and extra missiles but only possible configuration uses both L and R for specials. As I only have two hands I'm not able to play this game comfortably.
Pretty fun for what it is, just a twin-stick shooter with a handful of rail shooter stages. Only high-score chasers are going to get much out of the extra content; outside of that it's easy enough to blitz through.