Big Bang Mini‘s bumpin’ soundtrack, composed by French electronic group Yubaba, Smith & Fortune, has become available as a free download today courtesy of SouthPeak Games and Arkedo. The 24-song, 102 MB soundtrack is yours simply by heading over to bigbangmini.com and clicking on the text box floating across the screen or hitting the link in the Downloads category in the website’s top menu.

And if you don’t have the game already, what the hell are you waiting for? It’s only 20 bucks and one of the best DS games to date. Read my Big Bang Mini review to learn more.

Following in the footsteps of arcade classics like Space Invaders and Galaxian, Big Bang Mini is a simple 2D shmup (shoot ‘em up for those not up on their gaming lingo) in which you guide a small ship (an orb in this game’s case) across the bottom of the screen and blast away at waves of enemies raining down from above in various attack patterns. This style of arcade shooter has been around for ages and over the years the genre has become crowded with far too many me-too copycats to name, but three key elements enable Big Bang Mini to stand out in the crowd and truly reinvent the genre: controls, diversity and content.

First let me cover the controls. Big Bang Mini is entirely touch-screen controlled. Instead of moving horizontally along a fixed axis at the bottom of the screen with the D-pad, you have complete freedom to move your firework-blasting orb ship anywhere you like by dragging it to and fro with the stylus. And rather than mashing on a face button to fire at incoming enemies, you flick the stylus on the screen wherever you want and fireworks launch upward from that point at the angle of your flicking motion. Throughout the main arcade mode, you also gain temporary gesture-based powers to help out in a pinch, such as drawing a horizontal line across the screen to setup a protective barrier to hide behind or a swirl mark to activate a whirlwind that sucks up all enemy fire like a vacuum cleaner.

So much subtle strategy is added to the gameplay because of this control scheme. Since the ship itself doesn’t actually do the shooting, there’s increased frenzy over having to constantly monitor your ship’s position to keep it from being hit by incoming bullets while at the same time working to find proper angles to lob up a few shots when you’ve found a safe zone to hide your ship for a couple seconds. Another factor you have to consider is how all missed shots explode and ricochet firework particles back at you, so you can’t just sit there and spam fireworks and breeze through.

However, as much as I love the control scheme, the tense, chaotic pacing of the gameplay can lead to occasional control inconsistencies, which can in turn lead to cheap deaths. For example, there are times when you go to drag your ship to a new location and miss with the stylus by a millimeter, causing a firework blast to explode right on top of you. This goes both ways too. Sometimes you go to flick up a shot only to accidentally drag your ship into harm’s way. These issues can definitely be frustrating, but thankfully they are largely infrequent and by no means backbreaking.

The second component contributing to Big Bang Mini’s success is the unbelievable diversity that permeates every aspect of the experience. This diversity shows up most in the presentation, with each of the nine main worlds being uniquely themed with wildly differing graphic styles, music, sound effects, power-ups, enemies and bosses. The New York world, for example, has a comic book motif going on with a scrolling cityscape in the background, laser-shooting sharks as enemies and text bubbles like “Kaboom” and Pow!” popping up as enemies are exterminated. Then there is the Egyptian-themed Luxor world paying homage to games like Space Invaders with an 8-bit blippy-bloopy arcade style.

The diversity isn’t just an audiovisual thing either; it extends to the gameplay as well. Different gameplay twists are also introduced with each theme. The Rio De Janeiro world, for instance, brings in a rhythm-based combo element, while in the snowy Aurora world you have to deal with changing wind conditions that alter the trajectory of your blasts. Every stage also ends with these cool connect-the-dot bonus challenges, and these too change to meet the style of each world theme.

Last but not certainly not least on Big Bang Mini’s list of accomplishments is its immense content offering. The main Arcade Mode is a whopping 90 levels long (10 per world), and then from there you unlock loads of bonus modes, including a two-player Versus mode supporting single-card download play, a Relax Mode enabling you to kick back and create your own firework displays, a Mission Mode challenging you to complete stages under certain conditions (clear a stage without missing a single shot, finish within a time limit, etc.), an Alarm Clock feature you can set to wake you up with game music, and my favorite of all, the Challenge Mode, an endless score attack mode tied to an online leaderboard testing to see who can achieve the highest score. That’s a lot of modes!

Big Bang Mini is the most pure fun I’ve had with any DS game to date, I kid you not, and that’s saying a lot given the depth and quality of the DS game library. I was actually right in the middle of Chrono Trigger and the new Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero – both great games by the way – but as soon as Big Bang Mini arrived it immediately went into my DS and I’ve yet to take it out.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that all this shmup goodness only costs $20? Now that’s what I call bang for your buck!

Pros:
+ Classically addictive shmup gameplay reinvented with many twists
+ Unique and intuitive touch-screen control scheme
+ Incredibly diverse and distinctive world themes
+ Tons of levels, play modes and bonuses
+ Unbelievable value at only $20 (I’d buy it for twice that much!)

Cons:
– Occasional control mishaps

Game Info:
Platform: DS
Publisher: SouthPeak Games
Developer: Arkedo
Release Date: 1/21/09
Genre: Arcade Shooter
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1-2
Source: Review copy provided by publisher

Big Bang Mini launches at retail this Wednesday, but if you own a Wii with your DS you can now get a preview of Arkedo Studio’s fireworks shooter via the playable demo SouthPeak Games released today on the Wii’s Nintendo Channel. In the demo you can play through levels from the Hong Kong, Aurora and Luxor worlds, three of the full game’s nine total worlds and 90+ levels. After trying the demo, if you’d still rather wait to see how the full game turns out before investing your $20 I’ll have a review coming soon. Just waiting on the review copy to arrive, which should be late this week or early next. I’ll post my impressions soon thereafter. Stay tuned…

Below is a still image of the box cover, with an animated GIF replicating the lenticular effect located on the jump. Give it a few moments to load and brace yourself for a beautiful box art fireworks extravaganza!

SouthPeak Games appears to have a strong showing lined up for next week’s E3 summit, led by two newly announced extensions of Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer released a couple years back for the PS2. Those two titles include Brave: A Warrior’s Tale for PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 and Brave: Shaman’s Challenge for the DS. Rounding out the lineup are Big Bang Mini (DS), Igor The Game (PC, Wii, DS), Monster Madness: Grave Danger (PS3), Ninjatown (DS), Raven Squad (PC, Xbox 360), and X-Blades (PC, PS3, Xbox 360).

SouthPeak’s complete E3 roster and a special sizzle trailer are posted for your viewing after the break.

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Big Bang Mini (Nintendo DS – January 2009)

This addictive fast paced shoot’em up puts a flashy new spin on classic arcade gameplay. Players are challenged to navigate their ship through a brilliant array of highly stylized levels as they launch a bevy of fireworks at waves of dynamic enemies. Players will use the stylus to create their own fireworks displays and combo attacks in order to defeat waves of challenging enemies. Versus play, online rankings, and other gameplay modes only add to the chaos that ensues.

Brave: A Warriors Tale (Wii, Xbox 360® & PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system – Fall 2008)

Set many, many moons after Shaman’s Challenge, the game plays as a series of flashbacks in which a now elderly Brave describes the events of his life. Between the warrior’s tales of his youth, the player takes control of Courage, a young boy who takes lessons from his elder’s experiences to stop the current threat to their village. The game provides players expansive exploration and in-game interactivity on their quest to defeat the sources of evil, continuously offering a significant challenge to players as they advance through a world of untamed wilderness. Brave is able to transform into various animals, track prey, and battle enemies that stand in his way with bows and arrows, tomahawks and a variety of ancient powers.

Brave: Shaman’s Challenge (Nintendo DS – September 2008)

Taking place in Native American lands of long ago, Brave: Shaman’s Challenge follows a young boy named Brave in his quest to protect everything he holds dear. He alone stands against a group of evil Shaman dead set on reviving their old master; the Wendigo. Brave: Shaman’s Challenge features a cast of intriguing characters, a diverse set of amazing magic spells, a richly developed game world, and more puzzles than you can shake a shaman’s stick at!

Igor The Game (Windows PC, Wii & Nintendo DS – September 2008)

The game is based on the highly anticipated animated movie created by Exodus Film Group in cooperation with The Weinstein Company. In the Wii version of the game, players have the ability to choose one of the main characters (Igor, Eva, Scamper or Brain) and play either simultaneously or cooperatively with up to four people. The Nintendo DS version utilizes the stylus to perform movement combinations, combat enemies and solve puzzles. Players can custom build their own monsters to take on puzzle challenges and battle against other mad scientists.

Monster Madness: Grave Danger (PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system – August 2008)

Taking on the role of four intrepid teenagers, players will set out to save their town from the evil that’s been unleashed. This top-down shooter also features new and improved controls, twenty five new mini-games, tightened camera system and a hundred new weapon upgrades and power-ups, as well as full online co-op adventure mode that allows up to four players to experience all of the gameplay of the story mode.

Ninjatown (Nintendo DS – October 2008)

A diverse group of fun-loving Ninjas populate the vibrant yet peaceful place known as Ninjatown. However, after the eruption of a nearby volcano, Ninjatown is attacked by hordes of sinister enemies lead by Mr. Demon, who, for reasons unknown, is bent on destruction. The game is played from the top down, where the player uses the stylus to strategically place Ninjas to defend each area. The action is non-stop!

Raven Squad (Xbox 360 & Windows PC – Fall 2008)

Raven Squad is a tactical action game set in the Amazonian jungles, and blends a first person shooter (FPS) experience with the command and overview advantages of a real-time strategy (RTS) game. Players can solve each mission situation using a combination of the two genres on their own or cooperatively with a friend. Also, they always have the ability to switch between eight different characters with their own unique background, personalities, behaviors, weapons and skills.

X-Blades (Windows PC & Next-Gen Consoles – Fall 2008)

Ayumi, the main character, is an adventurous relic hunter in search of an artifact believed to hold the fate of the world in its grasp. Featuring anime noir, film-quality animation and high-speed gameplay, players can upgrade magic abilities to fight off elemental beasts and design their own control scheme, mapping magic attacks to the buttons they want.

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