Dungeon Burnout

Intro

Burnout Dungeon is the latest entry in the list of games that I knew I wouldn't enjoy that much before I even played it. This is because I knew from the description alone that this game would be a painful reminder of those terrible gem finding missions that knuckles had in the Sonic Adventure games. Seriously, is there anyone that really enjoyed those parts of the game? Well, if you did this game is for you! Regardless, I decided to give this game a quick glance and have a few things to say about it.

Story

On the story side of things Dungeon Burnout is both extremely simplistic as well as poorly presented. On the simplistic side the story is all about gathering three red shards in order to power a portal that will send you to a new location. In terms of presentation though the game lacks any sort of opening cut-scene or text crawl to explain what is going on and why. Without that information your merely a sprite running, jumping, and dashing into enemies for no apparent reason. Which makes it hard to get invested into the plight of our nameless astronaut.

With that being said, I can forgive the game for being simplistic since this game isn't meant to be particularly deep or moving. On the other hand I can't forgive the game for lacking any sort of attempt at presenting it's basic story to the player.

Gameplay

There really isn't all that much to this game in terms of gameplay. You simply run, jump, and dash around until you find all three of the red shards. Though, I suppose on a minor posite note the game does feature some rather intuitive controls in that z is used to jump and x is used to dash.

You can also pickup power-ups that allow you to jump or dash as long as you have power to spare. Though as soon as you run out, you'll have to wait a few moments for it to recharge.

About the only major negative I can throw at the game is that I don't understand the point of keeping the various enemy units in the game. They only pose a minor hindrance to the player in that you either become unable to move as long as they are in contact with you or you'll get sent flying in various directions.

Visuals

On the graphical side of things the game is a bit weak in my opinion. Though to start out on a more positive note the game features rather simple art work that fits the nature of the game while also being pleasing to look at to a certain extent. On the downside the game features a few areas of questionable design where it's difficult to navigate in the direction you want to go. Another issue you'll encounter with some regularity are enemies that are either stuck or appear in the ground.

Sound

On the sound side of things the game is a bit lackluster as well. There is only one track that plays during the main game and another that plays during the congratulation screen. Outside of that the only thing you'll hear are a few sound effects related to dashing or jumping. Which is rather disappointing since your initial run in this game can easily eat up 10 to 20 minutes. So, it would have been nice if the game included a few more tracks in the main game to change things up a bit. It's also a bit disappointing that there isn't a musical track playing on the title screen.

Conclusion

Burnout Dungeon is a mix of good and bad attributes in my opinion even if the basic premise of the game gets under my skin. On the plus side the game features rather simple and intuitive controls and captures the feelings of the early days of gaming. On the downside this attempt to capture that old-school feel means the game feels rather lacking in an era where even short games like "Punch Bears" can still be deep and meaningful while also being easy to pick up and play.