Classic gameplay galore in this excellently designed platformer
User Rating: 8 | Mutant Mudds 3DS
This charming retro platformer is sure to have you hooked. Following a mutant invasion, Max sets out with his squirt gun and jetpack to bring those mudds to justice. But what keeps it from being an unoriginal platformer? First, Max has a jetpack that can let him glide for a limited time. Enemies are all invincible to anything but his squirt gun, you'll need to use strategy to avoid and shoot them. But what makes Mutant Mudds unique is its 'layer-hopping' idea. While Donkey Kong Country Returns included this before, Mutant Mudds has many different layers on top of each other, so it's not doing it for show as much as DK Country. This great idea is dragged to, and past, its full potential: you get clouds that blow you forwards to the layer in front, and enemies generally navigating between layers. It makes such good use of the 3D effect that Mutant Mudds is very frustrating without the 3D on, as you find yourself trying to avoid enemies that are on another layer, and making stupid mistakes due to confusion. This means that Mutant Mudds is at home on 3DS and wouldn't work on any other platform. The graphics are simple but charming, a lovely throwback to a by-gone era. The chiptune soundtrack is excellent. Generally, Mutant Mudds' presentation is truly great. The price is a bit too high for only 40 levels, but you're still getting several hours of enjoyment. But Pullblox was round about the same price and had a potential sixty hours in it. This is how a level editor would have really helped Mutant Mudds. It's not a complicated platformer, so a level editor would've been ideal. It would also make the price a lot more worthwhile. Still, this is one of the best platformers on eShop, and you must, without a doubt, download it.
