A new arcade-shooter from Nnooo has arrived this Spring and it’s not space ships or enemy spies who are the target, but evil bunnies. In Blast ’em Bunnies, you play as a rabbit who must protect his home from invading rabbits. To do so, the “good” bunny uses a machine gun tailored to shoot carrots and other garden produce to rid the field of evil. There are 9 enemy types: Walker, Runner, Golden, Grenadier, Flyer, Blocker, Boss, Burrower and even *gulp * Throatslitter. You start the game out with the Carrot Rifle and after defeating so many buns and earning coins, you will have the opportunity to purchase new weapons which can shoot turnips, watermelons and beans.
In order to gain better equipment for fighting, collecting coins in the midst of battle is vital. Eventually the hoard of coins can be traded in for weapon upgrades, special ammo types like bouncing pumpkin bombs or sticky raspberries that explode. The upgrading options give Blast ‘Em Bunnies more longevity and with the DLC options, there is more to see. The DLC packs are basically cosmetic changes that altar how the enemies and the map appears.
The game is truly as odd as it sounds on paper, er screen. There is no explanation why the evil bunnies are attacking each other than that the baby rabbits are in danger, so the only motivation is pure instinct to prevent the evil rabbits from taking you and the kiddies out. With an enemy like Throatslitter, this game is not child-friendly and frankly, I had a difficult time dealing with images of the rabbits being so violent (especially since I’ve been planning on adopting one). The game would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t for Throatslitter who is holding the player’s baby bunnies hostage. If you don’t hit him in time you lose your little bunny children in a horrific manner. This aspect of the game seems awfully extreme even if it was created for adults. Perhaps the purpose of Throatslitter was to invoke a dire need to annihilate the enemy yet this character just comes across as a poor decision.
Not all of the enemies are as awful as Throatslitter. The Flyers, the best designed character, who use their flop ears as means of gliding and fighting from the sky are very clever and humorous because of their serious faces covered with aviator goggles. Other enemies like the Blocker and Boss are reminiscent of other game enemies while the Burrower is more alike to a real rabbit of jumping and borrowing. The game is literally an endless shooter; you keep playing through missions. If you play the 3DS version, you have the option of using the Gyroscope and it adds a fun/ realistic element to the gameplay. Instead of simply using the control stick to move, you physically move your body along with the 3DS to find and blast the bunnies on your bottom-screen radar.
The graphics are bright and fairly decent for a quick arcade game and there’s plenty of missions and goals to extend the play time. Blast ‘Em Bunnies is a game that could have been more enjoyable if the violence towards the baby rabbits was left out. Throatslitter leaves a bad aftertaste and hinders the overall game experience. Yet with the clever design of the Flyer and the use of garden vegetable fed-guns, the game is what gives this title character and a bit of cuteness. If you’re up for an endless shooter and don’t object to the violence, then try out Blast ‘Em Bunnies on either the 3DS, PS Vita, PS4 or Xbox One for yourself.
A 3DS game code was provided by Nnooo for the purpose of this review.
Blast 'Em Bunnies
Pros
- Flyer has a clever design
- Entertaining in Small Bursts
Cons
- Poor Taste in including a Throatslitter enemy
- Only One Map in the Orginial Game, others are part of the DLC offers
