Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon

I barely was able to play the first Luigi's Mansion but the setting and game play had always intrigued me. I was pretty excited when this game was announced and it helped me decide to purchase a Nintendo 3DS. The game maintains the same charm and aesthetic as the first game. One of the big differences is the inclusion of more than one location to explore (5 total) that are pretty different from each other. I thought each zone looked really cool and they were filled with interesting rooms. Each zone also has a set of gems to find in addition to a hidden Boo to find in each level. The game plays fine though being able to move more freely while using the vacuum would have been nice. The sound is excellent and feels very much like a fun Nintendo game.

There are two main problems I have with the game. The first is the lack of checkpoints. Missions can take longer than 20 minutes to finish sometimes and there is no way to stop and come back. You have the do the entire thing in one go (including going back to get collectibles). This can be kind of annoying if you are trying to finish up a level to go do something. One thing that lessens this is the 3DS's ability to go into a low power suspended state so you can come back later. The other problem is somewhat related in that the game kind of drags along. Most locations have around 5 missions plus a boss fight and as I said earlier they can last a while. Some of the missions also feel like filler content and some boss fights even take too long.

Overall the game was what I wanted out a new Luigi's Mansion and anyone who was a fan of the first will like this game.