Nintendo 3DS: Dual Pen Sports Game Play

Video Game : Dual Pen Sports (Nintendo 3DS).

UK Release Date: September 02, 2011.
Genre : Sport.
Platforms : Nintendo 3DS.
PEGI Rating : 12+.
Publisher : Nintendo.
Players : 1

Dual Pen Sports is built around the concept of using two styluses to compete in sporting events and twitch puzzles.
Using two sticks to play the game works reasonably well – so long as we weren’t attempting to hold the 3DS at the same time. The only way to play Dual Pen is to lie the console on a flat surface. This isn’t a problem unless you’re on the bus, in the car or, you know, moving.

The core of Dual Pen pits your character against challengers in seven sporting events. A couple are undeniably fun, notably archery and skiing; others are merely okay. One – basketball – is a train wreck.

Half of them feature intuitive left hand/right hand controls – you slide your stylus on either side to punch with the corresponding hand in boxing, or tap to move directionally in skiing. Others aren’t as straight-up, and use a ‘step one/step two’ mechanic.

The athletic events have multiple ways to play – simple best-score matches against the computer characters, or alternative scoring modes and daily challenges. You also gain experience points that earn additional swag for your character.

A separate mode called Tap Challenge offers a series of speed puzzles that measure your skills with the styluses. It keeps track of your ‘progress’ over time and which hand you’re better with – but without any real benefit.

In our view, Dual Pen Sports is a loose collection of game parts; one part Wii Sports, one part Brain Training, and one part Pilotwings, with no overarching narrative or global sporting event to bring it all together.

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