Do you feel lonely? Do you need a hug? Do you need some 'woo-ing' skills? Well then Sprung is the game for you, especially if u need to practice your pick up lines.

Sprung was initially known as Crush, why the name change? We are unsure, but that's getting off the topic slightly. Sprung is a text based dating game and the idea is to try and take the two characters available, Becky and Brett, and live their lives out and take them dating. Becky is a party girl who has recently split up from her boyfriend, and Brett is a classy sort of fellow who is out to try and seduce his best mate, Becky. What an interesting story this could turn out to be.

The graphics in the game are very attractive, very smooth and 2D. It's clear from the start that the people at Ubisoft weren't trying for 3D graphics as the clean crisp lines of the 2D animations work extremely well for the game. The sound is also provided in great supply and there will also be a section in the game where you can alter it. We'll get on to that later.

 

Ok now let's get on to the main part of Sprung and that's its gameplay. It may seem a little bore some to most but to those who enjoy a good dating sim it will be just up your street. The aim of the game is to take either Becky or Brett and go through an array of different scenarios. Most of the time it will simply mean that you will have to make the right decision with the conversation, and make sure you press the correct lines so you can flirt properly and not mess it all up otherwise you could crash and burn and have to start all over again. At times the dialogue seems to branch out, but there only ever seems to be one route to completing your set task. As the game progresses the scenarios get deeper and longer, but don't worry about not saying the right thing, as at certain points there will be a checkpoint so that if you do fail, you only go back to that point.

Now back to those extra bits, they include an in-game museum, an art gallery and also a music room. As I said earlier, with the music room, you are able to alter the sound of the music of the game. This can be done by either playing with the speed or the pitch. The museum allows you to view any items you may have collected during your game. Some of these items can also be used in scenarios to help you out a little. Lastly is the art gallery which allows you to view the many images you will collect as you slowly progress through the game.

So there you have it, a 2D dating game on the Nintendo DS, lets see how this one sells on release.