Take-Two interactive presents: Tang Tang. A puzzle game in which you play as a "super dimensional cyborg hero" and are are to create and destroy blocks at will. You are to stop "hoards of invaders bent on pillaging the natural resource of Energy Crystals". I know I was having good old family fun for hours with this one. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm being sarcastic. This game has many flaws that hide what could be a good game.
Gameplay:
You are presented with a 13 by 8 block length playing field (not including the edges). In every level there are two different types of blocks: ones that you can create and or break and ones that you cannot. There are also enemies floating around the screen in some sort of pattern. Some enemies bounce lengthwise, some roll around the screen, some follow the edges clockwise, and some just waddle around aimlessly. Most enemies can easily smash your blocks too. It’s your job to navigate through the level, pick up all the “Energy Crystals”, and then enter the portal that appears to the next stage. You are given three energy bolts per world which means that you are able to eliminate only three enemies for every five levels. You are also timed for , but every time you lose a life, you begin at where you started the level and 20 seconds are added to the clock. There are 24 worlds with 5 levels and a boss each. The bosses are just a random animated picture (varying from alien to snowman to man-eating plant) and literarily floats around the screen randomly and stops every five seconds to shoot four random projectiles from it’s four corners. You are given infinite bolt shots to take it down. Because it floats randomly, the are times where it is impossible to dodge it. Now if you only get hit twice per boss fight per world you will only make it to the 15th world using the maximum setting of 7 lives and 5 continues.
Conclusion: this game is impossible to beat!
Aesthetics:
Every single entity in this game has been scanned, yet not touched up. Everything is animated in two of three frames and looks icky. There are supposed to be lovely computer rendered images in the back, but evident compression of the pictures make them look less than good. The game simply doesn't use much of the system's power. If not for the size of the screen, this game could be played on a GBC.
There is a battery save, but not the kind that you might think. You can shut off your game at any time and return to the beginning of the level that you were on. That’s it. All of your lives and continues stay intact. All this does is allow you to continue a game you have been working on already. You'll be lucky if you get to the 50th level before you get sick of the first 10.
Control:
What they tell you in the manual and in a short demo is:
-B makes blocks
-A jumps
-down and A shoots the electric bolt
-destroy a block from underneath an enemy and it dies
What they don’t tell you is:
-down and B makes a block diagonally down
-jumping into a block twice from underneath breaks it
The controls are pretty tight, but there is still the question of where the L and R buttons went. There evidently needs to be more character and communication between the game and the player.
Sound:
For what it's worth, the sound is pretty good. All 50 seconds of it. It's true. 23 seconds for the title theme and 27 seconds of thinking action music left for every single level, including the bosses. It sounds different from the built in midi of the GBA, but sounds a bit staticy as each instrument must have been recorded separately. The sound effects are fitting, everythings on cue, yet the sounds feel recycled in some way.
Multiplayer:
Now this is interesting... the whopping 10 page manual (half of it covering seizures and battery leakage) says nothing of multiplayer action. If you look at the back of the box, you will see pictures of the game in action, but at the top is a 1P score and a 2P score. In the picture you can even see two little cyborgs running around. However... the pictures on the back of the box cannot possibly be from the GBA. The playing field size on the GBA is 13 by 8, but on the box pictures it’s 18 by 12. There is also no way in heck that the actual gameplay looks that good in action. The bottom line is there is no multiplay in this game.
OVERALL:
Perhaps if they allowed you to continue playing for more than five continues.
Perhaps if they gave a level select and a grading system based on time and points.
Perhaps if it had multiplay.
Perhaps if more time was invested into it.
Perhaps if you were able to see any records of anything. (it asks for your name for a high score, but I never saw it again)
Perhaps Tang Tang might have been a decent game.
Expect this game to litter bargin bins and pre-owned racks soon enough. It's simply not worth the money. Also, I'm pretty ticked about the false pictures.
The Lowdown on  Tang Tang
| Aesthetics: Below Average |
Control: Average |
| Gameplay: Average |
Multiplayer: |
| Sound: Average |
Innovation: 4/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 2/6 |
|
Overall: Below Average!
"Has Some Detrimental Problems"
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Tang Tang
