Review - Bushwhacker

Bushwhacker, the newest game from DJarts Games is a spin on the old NES classic Zelda.Combining questing with an over head 2d world the game takes place in a whimsical world of bushes, swords, lighting and monsters. While there is no main quest line to drive the player forward earning gold, collecting puzzle pieces and furnishing your house all give you something to work towards.While Bush whacker plays a lot like the old NES classic Zelda, it has a look and feel all its own.

The basic premise of the game is that your character needs to spend energy "whacking" bushes with his (or her!) sword to uncover jewels, gold, potions or monsters. All while managing your energy so that you do not run out. Energy can be replinished many ways, from buying energy from the in game store using gold coins you find, spending real world money on "Bush Bucks" or sending your friends energy packs that can be used to restore a portion of your energy bar. Every level your character gains their total amount of energy increases allowing you to chop down bigger bushes, when you level up you are also granted a free full bar of energy.

Part of the appeal of Bush whacker comes from the art style. Mixing a blend of old school Super Nintendo style graphics with cell shaded flash animations the game comes alive in a fun and entertaining way.



However, do not let the art style mislead you, Bush whacker comes with a veritable ton of things to work on, and brag about. Whenever you finish one of these achievements you are given the option to publish a bragging post to your wall to let your friends see what you have been up to.

The game tracks EVERYTHING you do and lets you see it in your achievements page, there are also pages showing you compared to your friends and a built in way to see your friends houses lets you see just how well they are fairing. 

Along with a myriad of things to brag about the world of Bushwhacker is quite large. Sporting 34 unique areas at the time of this review. Each area has a puzzle that the player needs to finish, by collecting pieces. A unique monster to capture and a set number of customization items to find. Completing each level to 100% (by finishing the puzzle, capturing the monster and then finding the very rare customization peices) can take quite awhile. Thankfully though you are free to move to the next area after either finishing the puzzle or meeting the level requirement. A few sections require quest items that you can purchase from the market. There are also bonus areas that are locked until you get your friends to help you unlock them via Facebook wall posts. Speaking of posting to Facebook, this game barely requires you to post to your wall at all. The only thing that has to be posted are the requests for help with locked gates, and these can be gotten around by purchasing Bush bucks and unlocking them with "Lock Picks".

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Graphics and Sound - 7 out of 10

Bushwhacker is both visually appealing and at the same time mind numbingly  annoying to your ears. As always I rated this category into two parts, each with a possible 5 points. 

Graphics got a perfect score, 5 of 5. The game has clean animations, three detail levels in settings, and a uniformed look across the board. A shining example of what is possible with just some flash programing.

Sound however... There are roughly 3 sound files. And some way to soft to hear ambient sounds. There is a tell tale "thwack" when you whack a bush, your lightning spell makes a bacon frying on the pan sizzle and well.. That's it. Sound got a paltry 2 of 5.

Social Interaction - 4 out of 10

Facebook games are all about the social aspect right? Well if so this game has a lot to learn from the big boys. The only *required* post to your wall is for unlocking special gates blocking off bonus areas of the map. Other than that the only reason you will want to post something is to flaunt your luck to your friends.

Learning Curve - 5 out of 10

For such a simple premise, whack bush get stuff, Bush whacker has a decent learning curve. There are power potions, mana potions, monsters and bushes. The way you interact with these will definitely affect the way you level up and progress through the game.

Uniqueness - 8 out of 10

Bushwhacker is one unique game. While there are other energy based game like Mafia Wars or other whack till you drop games where you find buried treasure (such as Treasure Island) Bush whackers unique art style and game play set it apart from the crowd.

Value - 7 out of 10

There are far worse things you could do with your time than play Bush whacker. While you are never forced to spend real world money on the game you are forced to wait and in my opinion that can be a good thing. When compared to other time sinks such as Farmville which require near hourly dedication to properly enjoy Bushwhacker is best enjoyed in spurts. Play for 20 to 30 minutes here and there then stop and let your energy build back up.

Total - 31 out of 50
Above Average


Links:
DJarts Games CA.
Bushwhacker