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Setup & Timing
Nanostray 2's setup is simple, with the host tapping "2-Player" and then "Single-Card Play" to access the Single-Card Download play features. Opening credits were extremely short; actually, they were almost non-existant - just a single screen. The download time was long - at a little under two minutes, it wasn't as long as Shaun White Snowboarding, but it was still really long for a one-to-one transfer (especially considering there is no touch screen input).
Menus & Navigation
The opening menu is annoying. There are seven options, which is fine, but not when they're stacked on top of each other (making each one very short). Then, for some reason, only the center one-third of the screen is used for the stack of options (in favor of an animated background). What's there works well, and each button is clearly labeled and its boundries are clearly defined.
Ease Of Use / Play Control
The controls couldn't get any simpler: move with the direction pad and shoot by pressing the "A" button (there is no touch screen input in the download this time around). The moves themselves are pretty accurate.
Category Score: 13.5 / 15
Content
Nanostray 2 has significantly less content than the first Nanostray game. There aren't weapon choices, there aren't sub-weapons, and all touch-screen input is gone. Grapically, the game is similar to the first, but has its own unique style (boulders are no longer just rock). Once again, the sound is dominated by sound effects that aren't essential, but that do set the mood. Feature-wise, the options menu is VASTLY cleaned up, but it was also VASTLY cleaned out.
Overall Fun
Nanostray 2's Single-Card Download content is a fun and engaging top-down vehicle shooter. Compared to the first Nanostray game, the option selection process was, in fact, greatly cleaned up, but there was too much content removed. Gone are the weapon/sub-weapon selections. Gone are aout half of the modes. Still, the game is fun to play via download. Both Nanostray games have excellent single-player modes (which aren't reviewed on this site), but the first Nanostray game clearly had the better downloadable Vs Play. I'm hoping to see more Nanostray titles. as they're both fantastic.
Shorten the data transfer time.
Rework the menu to feature larger options (two stacks - one of four and one of three - perhaps).
Offer alternate control schemes: touch screen, shoulder buttons, etc.
Replace the options removed after the first game (weapon choices, sub-weapons, etc.).
Offer adjustable time limits, point goals, etc. (not implemented)
Allow more player (4? 6? more?) to play at once. (not implemented)
Move the weapon-swap icons closer to the right side of the screen. (not implemented)
Permit players to customize their button setup (for both the weapon fire and sub-weapon fire). (not implemented)
Clear up the feature selection process, eliminating the occurance of one feature eliminating four others. (implemented)
Category Score: 12.5 / 15
Overall Single-Card Download Rating: 78 / 100 (a.k.a. 39/50)
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