Mojang's Minecraft, a small indie title that has become a pop culture phenomenon, would seem like a perfect fit for Nintendo platforms, with a large sense of wonder and creative gameplay. Unfortunately, Nintendo is the only major gaming platform without a version of the venerable franchise. At first glance, Wobbly Tooth Games' Battleminer appears to be a low-budget Minecraft clone, but quickly proves to be something simpler and less compelling. A competent but bland exploration/action game, Battleminer will quickly be forgotten about once players realize that they've seen everything the game has to offer after only a few hours.
Battleminer's two modes, Survival and Creative, contain the same play mechanics but utilize them in different ways. Survival tasks the player with finding survivors in a massive, procedurally generated landscape, killing giant ants and crafting new tools. Killing all of the ants around a survivor will reward the player with new crafting recipes, more ammo for weapons and healing items. The player must mine the land for resources to use in crafting, and various resources require different tools; as better resources are earned it becomes possible to craft stronger items.
This mode, as a whole, is extremely repetitive. The large open world would be exciting to explore if it wasn't completely devoid of life or activity outside of the ants and survivors, and the crafting system is limited and underdeveloped; players will unlock all of the recipes in just a few hours, and by then most will likely be bored of walking between areas. Survivors all look alike and have the same voice, which makes the game feel like an existential nightmare in which you're doomed to repeat your actions over and over again for eternity.
Creative mode is similarly limited, but at least affords more freedom to play. This is where fans of Minecraft will likely spend most of their time, choosing from lots of colours and blocks to build whatever they can imagine; the game's Miiverse community appears to be active and enjoying this mode. At the same time, though, there's only so much that can be created with Battleminer's small library of items and resources.
The combat, which is limited to killer ants, is flawed due to the first-person perspective. Though it utilises the Circle Pad, it's frustrating to walk and aim with A, B, X, and Y at the same time, leading to cheap deaths. Controls in general don't feel intuitive; it's difficult to jump up and reach survivors that are stranded on elevated towers if you don't have objects to place vertically, for example - luckily, wood, dirt, and other resources can be stacked. The visuals are muddy and bland, meanwhile, coming off as Minecraft without any of the colourful charm, while the music - a sweeping adventure score - is out of place and awkward as a result.
Conclusion
Battleminer is a simple game that is likely going to disappoint those anticipating a larger, more fulfilling experience. While there is some fun to be had, a purchase is only recommended for creative players who can turn straw to gold - otherwise, stick with a portable version of Minecraft.
Comments 26
Ha!
Perhaps another Minecraft clone will get its chance another day.
I will say based on observation that this is very poorly executed, but I'm still gonna buy it. It's my only way of getting a portable Minecraft, and I'm sure I'll find some enjoyment in it.
I went ahead and got the game on release, just to give a clone a chance. It is quite repetitive alright, with none of the charm of Minecraft. But it certainly is nice for several minutes at a time. If anything, these devs can afford to be cheap with these clones because the real deal is not coming to dethrone them.
I'm glad Cube Creator 3D looks better than this mess.
Took you THIS LONG?
I have had this game since it came out. Very disappointing, but I still play a little.
I've been playing this game for a couple months now, and have enjoyed it a great deal. To be fair though, I do lack familiarity with Minecraft. Nevertheless, I recommend Battleminer - I think it's lots of fun!
Cube Creator 3D seems even more promising if that demo wasn't enough!
I must be old, I don't get the appeal of Minecraft.
I got this game when it came out, just because I wanted to see a minecraft like game running on my 3DS. I played it for about 5 hours and never, ever want to play it again.
Can't be as boring as the Cube Creator demo. Yuck.
6/10 for me. The only problems with this game for me is how the compass never points you to the survivors waiting to be rescued. I'm hoping that gets added in the upcoming update. And yes, I will admit that the game does tend to get repetitive at times.
Overall, from what I paid for this game, I'd say I enjoyed it for what it was. I did enjoy how it is a simpler Minecraft clone and it doesn't heavily rely on building stuff, which I'm personally not fond of (and I say this as a person who likes customization in games). I'm also not much of an FPS person myself, but I find guns in this game fun for some reason. Shooting those ants and spiders seem to yield some sort of fun factor and satisfaction for me.
@kensredemption No, that's literally NintendoLife's purpose. They're mission as an organization is to review EVERY Nintendo WiiWare, Virtual Console. DSiWare and 3DS/Wii U eShop game released in the NA and PAL regions. The fact that they ever review exclusively retail games is just a bonus. But games like these get very few reviews. NL fills an important niche for that reason. If you just want reviews of the biggest releases, there are a hundred other sites you can visit.
I bought it and its devoid of anything fun. Hopefully they can update it with better animations and better control
Not surprised Minecraft is garbage and a shoddy clone is even more garbage. Glad that this style of game is banned in my house, I would not want this drivel to infect me or my son.
This remindes me of how Xbox Live was, so many Minecraft clones were made until it was finally released on the platform.
@Zodiak13 I'm tempted to hate your opinion, but I can't disagree with a fellow Dreamcast Enthusiast.
I think Cube Creator 3D will be better. The demo was excellent.
@Zodiak13 Saying Minecraft is garbage clearly means you lack any creativity or taste in video games.
@Klobb I will agree on creativity, since that is why I enjoy video games, comics, novels, and music (everything but country). I have zero creativity in the art, music, and writing bones. I will disagree on taste as that is subjective, and I have a diverse library of games from Atari times to current gen systems (sans PS4/XBone). I will admit I despise FPS and Sandbox games (GTA/Saints Row type). I am glad you are able to tell me what I "lack" based on my opinion Minecraft. Appreciate it..
@Pokefraker You are welcome to hate my opinion, it would never hurt my feelings. I know I hold an unpopular opinion and I set myself up for backlash if I decide to make it known. Glad to know there are few of us DC enthusiasts left.
I really like this game, it's pretty amazing for a 3DS, something the reviewer does not seem to understand at all.
Hi guys ive been playing battleminer multiplayer all by myself for awhile.U see i went 2 every website trying 2 find friend codes 2 exchange with but no1 says anything 2 me. can any of u guys exchange fc's with me my fc is 2208-7809-0394 my name is jared
@19Jaredsimms i think the SAME THING mine is 4356-1858-6552 i already added you so you just have to add mii see you soon. Mas
I have unique perspective on this ridiculously old subject matter. I've played every single wobbly tooth procedural generated games and both types of "cube creator" and Minecraft 3ds. First off it's unbelievable nobody gives wobbly tooth any credit for puling off procedural generated on original 3ds hardware. They milked their achievement with 3 diff Minecraft clone games each with a gimmick but only few dollars each. Oddly imo the first one which is "battleminer" is the best. Unless you wish to risk confusion stop here. It has one texture choice and it's decently high res textures. Both their other entries lack anything resembling high res textures, "the magic hammer" (a weird super simplified rpg-ish take on Minecraft clone) has no texture at all...just flat color blocks. Battleminer also has challenging enemies that actually fight back other than just walking at you. The ants are nasty and you really have to dodge their incoming projectiles and shoot back and it is actually decent fun for short while. All 3 are slim with crafting and building materials but still original first "battleminer" is the best just due to much higher res textures, you can make great looking creations easily. Avoid magic hammer it's just ridiculous, but the "battleminer Z" game is very similar to battleminer but with Zs instead of ants. Zombies are the only enemies n this blurry texture version of battleminer. The survival mode is much worse imo, HOWEVER there is a "horde" mode on battleminerZ which is a zombie wave mode not unlock call of duty if it were made by Lego. It's seriously good fun albeit a bit silly and bit glitchy if you stray from what the game expects you to do in this mode. If you venture too far from the start area in horde mode your gonna have a bad time, if you try to select bizarre looking ghost items in your inventory that just appear with -negative numbers the game freezes. But if you just shoot and have fun raiding scattered chests you'll have a great time. Depending on what you would want the original battleminer is the best for fun Minecraft clone on original 3ds hardware, but BattleminerZ has horde mode that retains is fun far beyond the time when you tire of fake minecraft.
@Jhomesjones This was actually helpful, as I was looking to decide whether to get BattleminerZ, seeing as I thought it was a much bigger deal than Battleminer when it came out.
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