DualPenSports
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3DS
| DualPenSports

The majority of Nintendo 3DS releases so far appear to have forgotten that the console has a touchscreen.

Most have focused on the stereoscopic 3D, and gone with button controls. There are a few that got all touchy-feely on us - the likes of Steel Diver, The Sims 3, and Nintendogs + Cats - but the 3D is definitely the focus.

DualPenSports attempts to restore the balance by sticking styluses in both of your hands and getting you to swipe them down both sides of the touchscreen.

As a collection of mini-games, it offers a great deal of content. It's only a shame that there's so little variety.

Hands at the ready

There are seven mini-games to blast your way through in total, covering a wide range of sports.

You've got the likes of baseball and basketball in there to satisfy Americans, while football and boxing keep us Brits entertained. Archery, skiiing, and paragliding finish off the package.

Each requires you to hold a stylus in each hand and perform specific actions on either side of the screen. These actions involve such movements as swiping downwards on one side and then quickly swiping upwards on the other side.

As you beat scores and times in two different game modes you'll unlock hairstyles and the like for your character. You'll also be gifted with Athli points, which are your method for tracking how you're doing overall.

Penned in

The games are interesting enough, and may well last you 15 minutes or so each, but after that they become repetitive and a bit dull.

There are extra modes that attempt to prolong your entertainment. New challenges appear everyday in a sort of Wii Fit style, and tap exercises test your left hand skills versus your right hand skills.

There's also two-player versus as a means of extending the life of the game. But all this feels like an attempt to hide the fact that there really isn't much to DualPenSports at all.

Another issue is that you can't hold the console while you play, meaning you can't make the small, natural adjustments you normally make to sustain the 3D effect at its best. Holding both styluses and remaining in the right position feels awkward.

We very quickly turned the 3D slider down before our eyes were burnt out of their sockets.

Target audience

Give DualPenSports to someone a little younger, however, and they'll most likely adore it.

The menus are slick and easy to navigate, and the game is lovingly presented. It's clearly trying its hardest to look like Wii Sports, and it pulls off the illusion well.

As a Christmas present for smaller children, DualPenSports wouldn't be a bad pick at all.

For the older kids like ourselves, there just isn't enough to warrant a purchase.

DualPenSports

A collection of sporting mini-games that, while initially entertaining, prove far too simple and lifeless
Score
Mike Rose
Mike Rose
An expert in the indie games scene, Mike comes to Pocket Gamer as our handheld gaming correspondent. He is the author of 250 Indie Games You Must Play.