In the early 90s, the action/puzzler genre dominated the PC and console world, with classics like The Lost Vikings, Adventures of Lolo, and Lemmings all becoming critical and commercial hits. Commonly, these games would resemble action games, seen either from a side view or a top-down view, but each level would involve using a set of definite abilities to navigate characters to the exit; typically, there is one specific solution to each level. One of the few recent examples of the genre (aside from the numerous ports of Lemmings, including a recent port for the PSP) was Sega’s Chu Chu Rocket, for Dreamcast and, later, the Game Boy Advance. Today, the genre is all but forgotten. Pet Alien for the Nintendo DS, based on Cartoon Network’s CG series of same name, tries to introduce a new generation of gamers to this classic genre; but if the future of the action/puzzler depends on this game, then it will likely stay forgotten.

Pet Alien follows Tommy, a 12 year old who lives in a lighthouse with five alien companions. The game begins with Tommy and his alien friends being abducted by the Robitix, a robotic race who capture creatures from around the galaxy to use as exhibits in their intergalactic zoo. Initially, the player finds themselves aboard the Robitix’s spacestation, controlling Gumpers the alien; the other four aliens become available throughout the tutorial. By the time the game begins in earnest, you can switch between each of the five aliens at will. At this point, they work together to rescue Tommy from the Robitix and escape from the space station.

In the Lemmings tradition, each alien has one ability that they’re good at, and every ability is required to progress through most stages. The bulk of the gameplay revolves around figuring out what abilities are required in what order to advance past the current obstacles. Enemy Robitix are usually present, mindless automatons that you must manipulate to either get them out of your way or to clear obstacles from your path.

And that’s where the problems start. Since merely touching an enemy or certain other environment elements causes your death and forces you to restart the level entirely, there’s a lot of frustration involved. Certain levels cannot be beaten if you make a mistake at the beginning of the stage, but they don’t tell you that until you get to the end of the stage, and at that point you’re stuck, and have to reset. There’s a lot of trial-and-error to figuring out each stage’s gimmick, and you will die a lot trying to figure out what you’re supposed to do. Since most levels require split-second timing to complete successfully, expect to devote a good amount of time to each of the game’s 80 levels, especially once you reach the second spacestation and the stages begin to get fairly complex.

Still, there’s not many real difficult puzzles in the game. Most levels are variations on a few basic formulas the game sets up early on, then repeats for the remainder of the adventure. It does take a minute to deduce exactly what the game wants you to do, but for most adults the puzzles won’t pose much of a mental challenge. And here lies the game’s biggest problem: neither the license nor the puzzles will hold an adult’s attention, but kids will be turned off by the high frustration level and dated game mechanics. It feels like the game’s developers couldn’t figure out what age group they needed to target for their audience, and consequently missed kids and adults both.

Which is unfortunate, because the game is technically very sound. The 3D graphics are among the best I’ve ever seen on the DS, with crisp, detailed character models, bright, colorful environments, and vibrant special effects. The music is a little saccharine-sweet for anyone over 12, and the sound effects, while unique, become grating before long. There are five touch-screen-based minigames unlocked over the course of the adventure, and once you’ve unlocked one they can be played from the main menu. They’re fun enough diversions, but they’re also the only part of the game to use the touch screen at all; during regular gameplay the bottom screen merely displays how many crystals you’ve collected and what (if any) keycards are in your possession.

Pet Alien is based on a little-known license. Given the right gameplay to go with the license, this game could have attracted a whole new fan base to the original show. As is, unfortunately, the only people who will have reason to seek this title out will be the show’s die-hard fans, and even they won’t find much to enjoy. If you’re a huge action/puzzler fan looking for a fix, this might be worth a try versus buying Lemmings for the tenth time. Everyone else, there’s nothing here that will draw you to the show or the genre.

Gameplay: 5.8
Classic action/puzzler gameplay is marred by trial-and-error based level design and a huge amount of frustration.

Graphics: 7.5
The art design’s not spectacular, but they were just working with what the show gave them. The 3D here is among the best available for the DS.

Sound: 4.5
The music’s about as saccharine as cartoon music can get, which is pretty bad. The sound effects, though sparsely used, are repetitive and grating. Keep the volume turned off.

Difficulty: Medium
The puzzles aren’t all that challenging. Split-second timing and the ease with which you can die, though, lead to lots of frustrating deaths.

Concept: 6.4
This style of gameplay fits the show’s concept well, and it’s been a while since anyone made an original action/puzzler. That said, the bulk of the show’s humor got lost in the translation, and could have added a lot to this title.

Overall: 5.9
Anyone young enough to appreciate the simple puzzles and kiddy license will be turned off by the high frustration level. Anyone old enough to withstand the high frustration level will be turned off by the simple puzzles and kiddy license. For hardcore fans of the show or the genre only.