Evasive Space (Wii)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 1.5 stars Poor
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 3.0 (1.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Brett Todd
• Reviewed on: 02/25/2009
• Released on: 02/16/2009
• Originally published on GameSpot: Evasive Space (Wii) Review

When a game features a hero named Konki the Stellar Guardian and a bad guy called Dr. Dark Matter, the review sort of writes itself. It isn't the absurd childish character names that make Evasive Space an awful slog though; it's the controls. This WiiWare top-down shooter with a twist (there's no shooting) is based on an impressive premise of escaping every nasty situation that enemies throw at you, which gives the game an addictive puzzle vibe. Unfortunately, the game is also based on the not-so-impressive premise of using the Wii Remote to guide your every movement, which is just about as enjoyable and as painful as slamming a car door on your hand. Repeatedly.

Only the concept here is sound. The idea behind Evasive Space is good enough that the game would probably have gulped down a lot of quarters if it had hit arcades around the same time that Foreigner hit the top 10. You take command of Konki the Stellar Guardian's 2D spaceship and maneuver it through a series of levels to gather up all of the Constellation Stones that have been swiped by the insidious Dr. Dark Matter and his gang of space thieves. Yes, this is a deeply dumb plot that you will ignore whether you're playing the 20 missions of the solo campaign or the local multiplayer where you take on up to three other players in one-off races and timed challenges.

Of much more importance is the game design, which veers away from top-down arcade fare, such as old classics like Asteroids and modern equivalents like Geometry Wars, and ditches shooting completely. Instead of blasting baddies to bits, you evade obstacles. The focus here is on staying away from the many level hazards and grabbing power-ups like time bonuses and diodes that power ship upgrades, such as on-demand shields. Primary level objectives include races through maze-like corridors to hit warp gates before they close and scavenger hunts where you scoop up set numbers of floating astronauts or energy power-ups. Everything is intense and frenzied even without any firepower, due to tight time limits. You often have less than a minute to get out of Dodge, so every mistake where you run into a wall or turn the wrong way can be very costly.

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