''Point Blank DS'' is a 2006 lightgun shooter video game developed and published for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

. It is the fourth entry in the ''

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm or gun can hit a target without the need to elevate the barrel to compensate for bullet drop, i.e. the gun can be pointed horizontally at the target. For targets beyond-blank range ...

'' series, comprising both new stages and ones taken from the first three games. Players use the touch screen to complete a number of different minigames that vary in terms of mechanics, such as protecting an on-screen character or shooting down a specific target.

Development and release

''Point Blank DS'' was produced by Nobutaka Nakajima, known for working on projects relating to older

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

video games, including ''

Namco Museum Battle Collection ''Namco Museum Battle Collection'' is a 2005 video game compilation developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation Portable. It is the first '' Namco Museum'' since the original PlayStation series to be developed in Japan. It includes 21 gam ...

'' and ''

Pac 'N Roll is a 2005 puzzle platformer video game developed and published by Namco for the Nintendo DS. The player is tasked with controlling Pac-Man through different levels, with its controls centered around using the touch screen. The harder the playe ...

'', alongside the

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...

digital versions of ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'', ''

Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to ''Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling ...

'' and ''

Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player digs underground tunnels to attack enemies in each level, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...

''. Development took around ten months to complete, featuring a team of 25 people. Nakajima was interested in the Nintendo DS' hardware capabilities and touch screen controls, thinking that the ''Point Blank'' series could be adapted for play on the handheld. Converting the series' gameplay to the DS proved to be an issue from the start, however the team overcame it later on. Nakajima noted that should the game sell well, similar "touch shooting" video games could be produced for the DS. In Japan, the game was part of Namco Bandai's ''Unō no Tatsujin'' series, which featured quick thinking-based puzzles with cameos by other Namco game characters. ''Point Blank DS'' was released in Japan on May 18, 2006, followed by a North American and European release on June 13. The game was published in Europe by

Atari Europe Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include t ...

Reception

''Point Blank DS'' received mixed reviews from critics, with common complaints being towards the game's lack of replay value and for minigames being too similar to each other. It holds a 66/100 on aggregator website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' expressed disappointment towards the game's lack of depth, saying how it only provides a few hours of play even with the amount of content. A similar response was echoed by ''

GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...

'', who also criticized the long loading times present in the multiplayer mode. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' thought the game was shallow in some areas, notably with its low amount of content, and disliked the multiplayer mode's long loading times, while ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' criticized many of the minigames for being too similar to each other and for the game not having enough variety. ''GameSpot'' also labeled the redemption game remakes as "incredibly dull" and disliked its lack of unlockable extras.

Notes

References

{{Bandai Namco light gun games 2006 video games Bandai Namco games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo DS games Nintendo DS-only games Shooter games Video games developed in Japan