First person shooters on the Nintendo DS are few and far between, but strangely, with the exception of the occasional drop in quality, they usually fare quite well with both gamers are critics. It seems gamers are willing to give touch-screen controls a chance for shooters, and Renegade Kid, developers of the upcoming DS title, Moon, come ready to please.  The developer’s last title, Dementium: The Ward, pushed the envelope in several ways. The controls were great, and the title showed exactly how immersive (and frightening) a Nintendo DS title could be. It wasn't amazing, and it lacked real variety and replayability, but I'll be damned if it wasn't fun.

Needless to say, getting a chance to check out the developer’s next title was an opportunity I leapt at, and after landing on the lunar surface I can say that I’m not disappointed with the product one bit.

Attempting to take the title of best FPS developer on handhelds, Kid's newest title brings players to (and under) the surface of Earth’s Moon, where there are devious secrets to uncover relating the famous Roswell, New Mexico incident. The preview copy has what appears to be the introduction to the game, where the research facility has issues that end in (dun dun dun!) aliens running rampant.

Combat is quick and smooth and the game resembles Metroid more than Dementium in terms of gameplay. At one point in the early levels, I found myself tasked with deactivating red shields that blocked my patch. Using a small utility droid, I was able to maneuver under obstacles and through crannies to hit switches, similar to how the Morph Ball is used in Metroid games. It’s a simple concept, and one that’s been abused and misused by developers, but Renegade Kid seems to know what they’re doing with it, and these sections of the game are interesting enough so as they don’t grow tiresome. 

Early glimpses of plot weren’t too impressive, but there is definitely time for the game's story to pan out. The graphics were top notch, and the gameplay will be more than enough to justify keeping an eye out for the game when it launches in a few months. It’s been called the Halo of the DS, and whle I don’t know if I’d go that far,  Moon is well on its way to being one of the best handheld shooters in a long time. 

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