The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
The player uses the A or B button to jump once, and pressing that button again, while in midair, causes the character to hover for several seconds. The player can also shoot with either the X or Y buttons. Most enemies in the game must be shot several times to be killed. While standing on an orange launch pad, jumping will send you into the background, or foreground.
The gameplay generally remains the same, as this is mainly to make use of the 3D capabilities of the 3DS. The PC version, due to the fact that 3D visuals aren't standard, uses a depth of field effect when it jumps between the background and foreground.
Story
The game begins with a short cutscene. It shows two people, one of them, Max, the main protagonist, sitting in a small living room and playing a video game, until a large meteor suddenly hits. The scene fades to black, then shows a news station on TV reporting on a "Muddy" invasion, and equipped with only a water gun and a jetpack, Max goes to stop the Mutant Mudds not long after. Legend has it that the Water Sprites are able to erase any kind of dirt or mud, and that collecting them all will get rid of the Mutant Mudds for good. After that, the player is immediately thrust into the tutorial level, where one learns the controls.
Development
Mutant Mudds was developed and published by Renegade Kid, best known for its first-person shooters Moon and the Dementium series on the Nintendo DS. Mutant Mudds was first showcased at E3 2009 by the developer's co-founder Jools Watsham. The game was originally titled "Maximillian and the Rise of the Mutant Mudds" and was planned as a third-person shooter for release on the DS. According to Watsham, a team of four designers at Renegade Kid spent two weeks modifying the 3D graphical engine from Moon to create an early, polygonal incarnation of the game.
However, the developer scrapped the idea when the game failed to attract publisher attention. In late 2010, Renegade posted a request to obtain the support of 1,000 fans to justify distributing the game on DSiWare via the Nintendo DSi. Again, Renegade Kid's plans fell through. Watsham suggested that the game was intended for Xbox Live Arcade at one point.
Reception
Mutant Mudds has been well received by most critics, holding an average score of 82% on GameRankings and 80% on Metacritic with praise for its level design and gameplay.
