My Feel The Magic: XY/XX review from DS-X2. The game that's fun and shouldn't be seen as a dating game!
One day the guy is just walking along and he notices a very cute girl (Well I guess she's cute, the game only shows you shadow outlines with minor details) and instantly wants to get hold of her. Suddenly out of the blue, the rub rabbits come and give the hero a bowl of goldfish and on his wacky love adventure he goes, doing things from saving goldfish from a mans stomach to dancing around a camp fire, fighting off a killer plant. The game is just full of weird comical moments.
GamePlay: The gameplay is unique because of the use of nearly all of the DS's features. The whole game is done through touch screen or the use of the DS's microphone. The mini games are longer than something taken out of WarioWare, you?ll find yourself spending a couple of minutes on most of them. The idea is that you are put into a scene and have to beat the mini game, for doing that you are given some points to add up in the heart, once the heart has reached 100, you can advance to the next lot of mini games, but if you lose a mini game, you'll lose points and have to retry the game again.
Control: The games themselves range from touching the screen with the stylus to pressing something, rubbing things, dragging things along and also using the microphone to shout to your sweetie pie to gain her attention, or even to go sailing in the vast ocean.
As with most DS games, the touch screen is responsive and works well with Project Rub's games, this is also the same with the microphone, although since the game is not voice recognition, you don't have to say words, you could just scream at the poor girl, or if you are angry, even give her a little insult now and then.
Graphics: The graphics are also different and varied. The characters in the game are all shadowed out apart from little details like hair and clothes. It's kind of a cell-shaded look to the game. The game tells you the story through cut scenes that the characters are involved in which is mostly static. The animated scenes are fluid and don't seem badly animated.
The mini games themselves range from 2D to 3D graphics. There really isn't anything in the game that pushes the DS graphically, but the game is really colourful and bright, it gives you that warm welcome feeling.
Sound & Music: There really isn't much music in the game. You've got your title screen music, which is really funky and no doubt will get you humming along to it. Apart from that you've got two different boss tunes and then the normal mini game music. Sega usually makes wonderful soundtracks, but you wouldn't really know from this game, it's so short on music and most of it doesn't stand out. The sound effects are fine, the speaking is clear, plus there is also a bonus of the female sounding somewhat erotic when you rub her with your sponge.
Dual Screen Use: The dual screens are used pretty much like all the other DS games at the moment. The top screen is used to extend the display image. Mini games will have you watching the top screen for falling objects and obstacles, etc.
Final Comments: Project Rub is a strange and unique if a somewhat short experience. The game will last you a mere 2-3 hours. It does have things to make you come back, like a harder difficulty setting, clothes for you to unlock for your girlie and secret rub rabbits to find in the cut scenes.
If you wanting a fun game for your DS and aren't worried about the longevity of a game, by all means give Project Rub a check, you'll surely find a game that is funny, twisted and enjoyable. It is a game and not some mere dating sim, if only getting girls in real life was just as fun as this.