| Introduction
Inspired by the hit television series, 'But Ugly
Martians - BKM Battles' is the title for this GBA release.
In the game's story-line, our three favorite Martian
heroes, B.Bop-A-Luna, 2-T-Fru-T and Do-Wah Diddy must
prevent a renegade force of evil aliens sent by their
leader Emperor Borg, from taking over the earth. To
achieve this, they'll need to go into
Butt-Kicking Mode (B.K.M.) for maximum fighting power. Interesting, huh? Let's
see...
GamePlay
One thing you can say about Butt Ugly Martians is
that it's simple - no complicated puzzle sections, no
changing weapons and absolutely no figuring out what
to do next. In fact, all you really have to do is shoot
things and keep an eye on your health meter. Yes, it's
true; just mow down hordes of aliens, guns and robots
and locate the odd key to access the corresponding door.
After around three levels of this, you must battle
it out with an increasingly more difficult end of level
boss and then it starts all over again in a slightly
different environment. Collecting extra health, armor
and weapon upgrades will also make your BUM a truly
deadly killing machine.
You get the opportunity to change your Butt Ugly
Martian via the 'select' button. Here, the developers
appear to have been heavily influenced by last year's
Powerpuff Girls title from BAM! Entertainment. This
maneuver actually works for and against you, as it obviously
allows you to give one of the three a rest if their
health is low, but it also means that you must start
from scratch with your weapons collection. This is entirely
unnecessary with the easy setting however, as there's
always more than enough health to carry you right through
the game.
If the repetitive gameplay wasn't frustrating enough,
the developers have made matters even worse with a baffling
15-digit password system. This would be bad enough in
a normal game but, as both this review and the game's
literature indicate, this is a title aimed at the younger
player. I found this drawn-out computer code difficult
enough to record and input so I can only assume that
other gamers will be just as baffled. It does record
your score, level and high score, but the lack of battery
backup really is inexcusable--even if this were the
best shoot'em up ever, it would lose marks for this
alone.
The levels in BUM do get progressively larger but
as distinctive landmarks are hardly plentiful, it's
very easy to get lost. Fortunately there's help at hand
and pressing the right shoulder button brings up a rather
detailed map screen. This includes the location of keys
but more importantly shows the areas you've previously
been and those you've yet to explore.
Controls
Although the control system is incredibly simple,
bear in mind that this title is squarely aimed at the
10 years old or younger crowd, and as a result, the
first level is a fully-featured tutorial that includes
details of pick-ups, enemies and how to use your various
weapons.
The controls are very easy to use; you should only
ever really encounter trouble if you get boxed into
a seemingly impossible corner, and a quick look at the
map will have you on your way again. The collision detection's
also reasonably well implemented although on the 'easy'
setting you take so little damage it's difficult to
see if anyone at all is actually hitting you.
Graphics
The graphics are simple and clear, and as a result,
lend themselves more to the visual style of a GBC title
than what a GBA is capable of. The backgrounds and various
props do change when you enter a new environment, but
as there appears to have been little thought given over
to the overall design, you quickly get bored with the
task at hand. Things improve slightly with the various
cut screens, which have been lifted from the TV series,
but this does little to help the overall presentation
of the game.
Sound & Music
The soundtrack is one of the better aspects of this
title and it's been a while since I've enjoyed the in-game
music so much. It's intelligently used throughout the
proceedings to create atmosphere, and if the gameplay
had received half as much thought as the audio then
we might have a real 'must have' title here. The various
sound effects are less impressive, but still do their
job and do occasionally warn you of danger before you
actually see it.
Final Comments
The biggest problem with BKM Battles is the lack
of variety, so after ten levels of mindless blasting
you'll suddenly be asking yourself, "What's the
point?..." This could have been helped to a certain
extent, for example, by the introduction of some simple
puzzle elements, but unfortunately outside of destroying
things and collecting keys there's little in the way
of immersive gameplay. The manual does mention a link-up
facility, and apparently doing well in BKM Battles will
open up extras in the GameCube version although this
does little for this GBA title. If you're a huge fan
of Butt Ugly Martians and own both a GBA and GameCube
then you'll no doubt spring for this title; shoot'em
up fans however, should look elsewhere.
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