Johnny Impossible Review: The Bourne Impossible

Johnny Impossible
Platform: 3DS eShop
Publisher: UFO Interactive
Genre: Stealth/Action

It’s still 2012 and yet we have already had three separate Johnny games for the Nintendo 3DS eShop. This time, it’s up to Johnny to save the day from Mr. Wang’s super-laser device in his latest entry in Johnny Impossible. Like the previous two Johnny games, this one tackles yet another new genre. Johnny is testing his spy gear in this latest adventure in the spy-action genre. Does Johnny have what it takes to save the world?

The main aspect of the game revolves around sneaking around the levels without ever being caught or running out of time. It’s a good thing the game controls well, as this can be quite annoying. See, each area has time limit of how long you must complete the area else you will fail. Normally this would be fine with a time limit of just 30 or so minutes, but each time you get caught by a camera or trip wire, it takes off a minute or two. After you are caught, you need to quickly escape to safety via the next room or a safe room door. If you do not escape within ten seconds you will die and it will be game over. Not is all lost however, you can either load a previous save or do a continue in the same room for a loss of five minutes. As you see, this quickly adds up if you are not careful. As you progress through each of the areas, you will discover different gadgets that will be useful in your fight against Mr. Wang. Along with finding new gadgets you will find parts for upgrades to your gadgets as well to make them better and more effective. These gadgets are rather useful and fun to use luckily.

The game has a very basic 2D look going for it. It’s colorful and certainly fits a spy game setting, but nothing to really write home about. The 3D effect is also used slightly here with just high 3D depth. You can expect all the normal spy sounds and alarm systems to go off in this game as you might expect them to sound.

If you are looking for a simple spy game with gadgets, you might end up enjoying this latest Johnny Impossible entry. The generic 2D flat look and high difficulty might be a turn off however. The quickly reducing time limit can be frustrating at times, while the gadgets in the game help to make it fun while you play it. At $5.99, there is not a big price entry to enjoying this game for a few hours.

Rating: 8/10