The 5 Most Dangerous Games of 2009

Bakugan

Key Innovations In Bakugan

  • 1. Analog Gameplay Gone Digital: Bakugan began its life as an intricately designed card game with innovative concepts. Taking the tried and true formula to the gaming world should prove easy and addictive.
  • 2. Multiconsole Collecting? Unlike Pokemon, which is Nintendo-exclusive, Bakugan will be released across six different systems. Activision isn't talking details yet, but releasing a game like this across multiple systems could be a boon for connectivity.

While Nintendo has had a great deal of success with both the Pokemon gaming and trading card franchises, the two actually play quite differently. One is a collection-based RPG, while the other is a complex card game on the level of Magic: The Gathering. Bakugan is Activision's answer to Nintendo's jauggernaut, which just may catch a few fans due to its new gameplay concepts.

Here and Bakugan

For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, here's a Bakugan primer. Bakugan, like Pokemon, is a popular Japanese anime-game franchise in which characters summon monsters to do battle. Unlike Nintendo's series, Bakugan began life as a card game, and thus has been pretty innovative in its execution. In Bakugan, players use metallic cards and do battle by rolling on them magnetic spring-loaded balls with creatures inside. It's a great analog mashup of the best parts of the Poke-verse, and now that it's coming to consoles and portables, it could explode in a big way again.



Bakugan's story closely parallels that of the anime series, as it's been penned by series writers and written specifically for the game. Bakugan starts you off as an inexperienced Brawler who must fight his way to the top. Instead of forcing you into the shoes of a pre-existing protagonist, you can choose from one of the show's stars or create a character.

Once you've picked your hero, you'll do battle in a variety of different arenas, each with a varying size, shape, and trap set. Winning battles is a matter of picking the best Bakugan balls and cards as well as skillfully shooting the former onto the latter.



Gotta Bak 'em All!

Of course, Bakugan is built for collecting and competing. Over the course of the game, you've got hundreds of cards to collect as well as 40 Bakugan creatures, which you can pit against your friends in highly customizable battles in which anything can be altered -- even the rules!

Bakugan is due out on six different systems -- the Wii, DS, Xbox 360, PS3, and PS2 -- this fall. With a wide scope and proven gameplay, Bakugan's debut could be the start of something big.


Comments [21]

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Mr_ChickenWings

These all seem pretty great especially want to play M.A.G. and Dark Void. Well i want to play all of them. I hope i hear more about these games and can't wait for them to come out.

autarch_77

um...where is bioshock 2? and what is Bakugon again?
"The most...dangerous...games..." yeah that's what it says alright.

BlackMidget8

Dark Void looks great. But lets not pretend this kind of combat hasnt been done before. I hate to break this to everybody. But Tribes has been doing the kind of similar combat for like ten years now.

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