[Review] Ben 10 for Nintendo Switch

Publisher: Outright Games

Release Date: 11.14.17

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not generally a fan of a game based off a TV show or Movie; most of the time they seem like just a little extra effort to bleed a few extra bucks from the fan base. They seem quickly and poorly made and don’t really add anything to the franchise. I was a little wary of this possibility when I loaded up Ben 10, afraid that it would be a regurgitated formula of poorly made “fan” game. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this wasn’t the case. Outright Games seemed to really put the time in to Ben 10 to make it a fun game, whether or not you are a fan of the show.

I suppose that a big factor in to helping spur the fun of this game is that Ben 10 is the type of show that almost feels like a video game to begin with. Featured on Cartoon Network, Ben 10 features a boy named Ben Tennyson who discovers an alien wristband (Omnitrix) which gives him the ability to change in to different alien, each with different powers. He uses each different alien to help out with situations and crisis’ as they arise, depending on which ability he needs.

In the Nintendo Switch Ben 10 game, we find our hero running around the 3D beat-em-up world on city streets, forests, and junkyards. Zombozo is on the loose, and he is taking people’s happiness on the day of a parade! (how dare he!). To change in to your alien form, you use LZ to pull up a wheel with all of the aliens that you can change in to. From the beginning you only have 3 aliens to choose from: Four Arms, Cannonball, and Heatblast. These three are ample in abilities to help you start chasing down Zombozo and his cronies. Clowns and Jack-in-the-box’s will periodically appear and you will have to beat them down before they beat you. Pressing Y will do your average attack, punch or throw small flame balls. As you use more combo’s, your alien boost points will fill and you can use ultimate moves to pound the enemy in to oblivion. X is also handy, as it knocks back your enemies.

As you run through the streets, destroy everything; boxes, trash bins, light poles, etc. Doing so will release green orbs which you will need to collect to power up your alien’s further in preparation for your impending boss battles. Collect enough green orbs and unlock different perks for your aliens such as higher attack power. The enemies, however, don’t seem too difficult to beat and it definitely feels as though the point of the game is really to unlock all the aliens and unlock all the perks.

The biggest plus to the game is that the story really keeps you engaged. From the beginning cut scene to missions and story-updates, you will keep playing to see what comes next. The game does present a lot of diversity. You can’t get away with using one alien for the whole game; certain parts of the game will require the specific ability of specific aliens (like four arms to rip off a gate, for instance). It forces you to continuously switch what you’re doing and helps fight what would otherwise become quite monotonous. There are 6 stages in the game, and each stage feels like an episode from the show; something that kept me engaged throughout the whole game.

There was a major plus to the game that I realized after my 4 year old son nabbed my switch; Ben 10 is a kids show and my 4 year old was able to figure out how to play the game (with a little help from dear-old-Mama). It kept him engaged for over an hour, which for anyone with a young child knows…that is quite an accomplishment. The game was diverse enough to keep even me entertained, but simple enough that my preschooler was able to play through the game. Since there are few games on the switch that are simple enough for the younger demographic, this was a great addition to my library.