Welcome to Modojo, 
Zubo Preview
Written by Robert Falcon on Thursday, August 21, 2008
Those zany Zubos are set to go bonkers on your DS.
Internal studio EA Bright Light is working on Zubo, a fun game that combines care-taking, music/rhythm abilities and exploration into one all-ages adventure. It may be a little bizarre for some, but overall, it's looking fresh.
In the game, players control a group of quirky yet likable characters known as the Zubos, forming three into a battle party. Zubalon, their home planet, is under invasion by an evil force known as Big Head, along with his supplementary army of Zubo clones. It's up to the Zubos to battle these clones and turn them into allies, thwarting Big Head's schemes.
There are 10 worlds across Zubalon, each with individual themes based on popular movie trends. You'll find yourself traveling through the Wild West like a cowboy before making your way through levels based on pop, fairy tale and horror genres. Each one is uniquely designed, with many paths to take and numerous Zubo clones to do battle with.
As you go through the adventure, you can change up your battle party with any converted Zubos. If you're not happy with a certain component or they are weak on energy, you can switch them out and change your battle strategy.
Zubo relies on a gameplay system that's easy to get into, hard to master and fun to play. It's based around rhythm/music attacks. You attack enemies by following a rhythm action mechanic, tapping buttons at just the right time for maximum effect. It's a dynamic approach not normally seen in role-playing games, and a welcome one at that. Over 100 battle moves are available, along with ten custom composed team musical themes. Each one is impeccably different.
EA Bright Light has done a great job putting Zubo together. The visuals really sparkle, with friendly characters, beautifully drawn levels and smooth animation. Granted, the game's still not finished yet (it doesn't ship until early 2009), but it's very promising. The music and sound effects are right on track as well.
Last but not least, Zubos also has a few extras outside of its story mode. You can play a variety of mini-games, including drum playing, Whack-A-Zombie (a variation of the classic Whack-A-Mole), balloon popping, maze competing and eliminating cobwebs by blowing them away. You can also team up with friends through multi-cartridge play, forming an effective battle party.
You may not have heard much about Zubo, but you will soon enough. The presentation is cute, the gameplay should have long-term appeal and the mini-games and multiplayer support will keep you Zubo-fied for some time.
