Bakugan Battle Brawlers

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List Price: $39.99
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to mix pokemon, yu-gi-oh, marbles, Mario Party mini-games and, ummm, jumping in rain puddles? No? Well, neither had anyone else until Bakugan came along.

Here's the basic premise: two monsters fight it out on a board, and the one with the higher HP wins. That's it. However, the process by which you get to this point is almost utterly incomprehensible, requiring you to build decks of cards, use sixaxis motion control, exploit certain field advantages, and even use a modicum of strategy. You see, before this battle even starts, you have to lay out certain cards on the field (called "gate cards"), and, by using a variety of motions on the sixaxis controller, you have to throw and steer your bakugan onto these cards. During this process, you can collect a number of power ups, depending on the battlefield, and can also be hit with certain status effects, etc. Once you land on a card, you can claim it in one of three ways...blah blah blah.

Here's the weird thing: despite the huge number of things you need to do to set up a battle, battles are remarkably repetitive. I mean, no matter the field element, no matter the rules, everything feels...pretty much the same. And ultimately, this is the downfall of Bakugan there isn't enough other stuff going on to break the monotony of these battles. I mean, no one will deny that pokemon is incredibly repetitive, battle-wise. Yet, you still have the ability to explore a world. In Bakugan, you are pretty much limited to four environments, two of which offer nothing but battles, one of which is a store, and the last one is your room. You don't actually move your character the environments are static, and you are offered choices (in your room, e.g., you can "change clothes," "check personal stats," "check rankings" and "save".).

Another problem with this game is that it is very, very easy. I have no problem making a game accessible to a younger audience (and since this game arises from a television cartoon series, it's clear that this is the target audience). But there is little to nothing even approaching strategy in this one. If you aren't strong enough, you just fight in the park against opponents until you can power up your creatures or deck. Even a poorly made deck can win a lot of battles (and since there are only 9 cards in a deck, three of which are the creatures you fight with, it's not so hard to figure out what's going on). You are already two tourneys into the game before the enemies even become normal difficulty.

There is a story in the game. It is completely forgettable.

There is one big plus: the cel-shaded graphics look quite nice. Pokemon should take a cue for its next outing on the Wii.

There is a kernel of a good idea here: this is one of the very, VERY few titles that the sixaxis controls actually improve (although I don't know if that's merely because everything is so repetitive). The weird mix of things to do is oddly charming, but it just never comes together. Sure, you can roll your bakugan around the arena collecting powerups, but why would you? Most battles can be won without them (particularly since the minigames power up your character incredibly, and you will ALWAYS beat the computer). As a multiplayer game, this might be OK. But I don't play multiplayer, and since it lacks an online component, most others won't, either.

I would say give this game a rental before you purchase it. That's probably all you'll need, anyway.

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I bought this game knowing nothing about the series, other than the general idea of little toys with creatures in them. The game starts off with a tutorial which teaches you everything you need to know.

If you know nothing about Bakugan, like I did, and you are slightly interested in this, I would get it. The game is fun in many different ways. In a way I can see how people may think it's a tad repetitive, but there's so many different combinations of Bakugan and ability cards and gate cards that it makes it so easy to change it up and seem like new again.

If you are a fan of this Bakugan, like my brother, you should definitely buy this game. My little brother (15) loves the show and now loves the game since I bought it. He and I battle in the game all the time.

This game is very fun and addictive, and for such a low price it's almost a must buy. I bought it for $6-7 dollars, and that was money well spent. My only issue with the game was the way the graphics are designed. They do stay true to the tv show anime, but my seem a little childish at times. Nonetheless, an amazing game and I do not regret buying this game one bit!

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My son, who just turned 5, loves this game. He loves the Bakugan toys, and he likes the cartoon.

He loves playing this game. I just sit around slack jawed staring at the TV, wondering what the big fuss is. I stil can't (or subconciously refuse to) get it.

This 5 star review is for him.

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Easier than Bakugan-Defenders of the Core but still challenging enough for a 9 year old boy. Happy with the purchase.

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I originally bought it for myself but I didn't get the chance to play it before my cousin started begging for it, I enjoyed it for DS and it's pretty okay but shortly after I got it for Wii. It is completely different. I expect it to be especially different for the PS3.