Puzzle games aren’t just supposed to bend our minds, but also offer unique ways to play puzzles we’ve grown to love. Some have stories, some require reflex, and some just make you think.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Professor Layton brings puzzle games to life with a charming story, visuals, and deep clever puzzles. What sets it apart from the rest is the way puzzles are presented with the DS hardware and the way you think about them. Professor Layton has set the standard for puzzle games, and you don’t just have to have the quantity to make a puzzle game great.
A great platformer has responsive controls, unique gameplay, good puzzles, and good graphics. Platformers go all the way back to the beginning of video games so there’s is a lot of scrutinies involved in them.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
While Mario may be the same thing over and over again the Galaxy games really show what the Wii was meant for, and truly offer unique gameplay, charming visuals, and fun combat and puzzle-solving. Galaxy 2 succeeds on the first game with pretty much better everything. The game is more epic, it feels like it’s on a larger scale, and you just can’t get enough of that Galaxy feel.
The most disappointing isn’t exactly the worst. These games tend to be over-hyped and turn out just mediocre when they were claimed to be something amazing by developers.
Disney Epic Mickey
With a game that was supposed to be so amazing, and well, epic this game really was like a punch in the gut. With a bad camera, muddy textures, and poor combat and controls, Epic Mickey should have come out next spring with more polish. This just goes to show that a superb idea can fall flat.
Multiplayer really defines most genres these days and is usually what keeps people coming back to games. A good multiplayer game usually consists of leaderboards, stat tracking, a reward system, and lots of maps, customization options, and just super fun addictive gameplay.
Modern Warfare redefined the FPS multiplayer scene and Black Ops perfects it with Wager matches, tons of customization options, perks, ranks, and well-made maps. Nothing can really hold a light to Black Ops, and to me is probably one of the best FPS multiplayer games of the decade.
While graphics may not be essential, the artistic side can set them apart and make them individual and unique. The artistry of graphics is very important in defining a series or making it instantly recognizable.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Yarn. Who would have thunk? Using yarn to create the world is probably one of the most original art designs I have ever seen. Why does such a cutesy art design beat out other games that have tons of research behind them? Because it’s original. That’s the keyword. The game makes you feel just as fuzzy inside as the characters look.
The Legendary Starfy is actually the fifth game in the series, but the first game seen here in the States. You play as Starfy, who finds a little rabbit who lost his memory and must find crystal shards that will restore his memory. Yeah, it’s not too great, but this game is clearly aimed toward little kids.
The game has tight controls and is easy to grasp, with Starfy mostly swimming underwater, but he’s really slow on land. The goal of the game is just to navigate screen to screen, collect little stars (currency in the game), and watch cutscenes until the end. It gets very boring after the second chapter, and most older, more experienced gamers will turn it off. The game is just way too easy with enemies that don’t attack you. Yeah, you have to run into them to get hurt. Navigating the levels for treasure chests and stars is probably the only incentive to go through this game, but the items you can buy are pretty lame.
Try dressing up a star. It looks pretty bad and obviously only appeals to small children or simple-minded people. Even the boss fights are easy and can be killed in just a few hits, not to mention a save before a door, then a save when you go through it, then no save until the end of the level. Yeah, that makes no sense, but kids won’t really notice or care. Plus, you can save it in the start menu! Do we really need this many saves?! Well, you can find different abilities to help Starfy that are attached to the touchscreen, such as Moe’s ability to sense treasure, a mermaid’s ability to give you level info as you go, and you can transform into a fire-breathing dino, but it’s not as fun as you would think.
There are four different mini-games that are boring and pretty lame even with other people, but little kids will enjoy them, I guess. There is even a little talk show thing that Moe does, but it’s as strange and lame as can be, so I don’t even think kids will get this. Overall, the game has a nice art style, looks really cute, and has crisp, clean visuals, but the underlying game is just for casual DS players and kids. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone remotely more than the most casual of casual players or kids.
Assassin’s Creed is an amazing franchise, and no one would have thought it would ever go to portable systems, but it did. Discovery follows Ezio in a 2D side-scrolling adventure that plays out fairly well. The story doesn’t really have anything to do with the console game except follow the Templar’s plots. Ezio must help Christopher Columbus get funding for his expedition to the new world, but the Templars are foiling his plans.
The game controls fairly well, with you just moving left and right. Ezio can jump, climb walls, attack, throw knives, and even sneak his way through levels. The levels are fairly large, and some even have multiple objectives, so you must climb your way around the platforms, kill guards, and pull levers to find your destination. Wall climbing is fairly simple with the press of the B button. Like in the console game, you can pull enemies off ledges that you’re hanging on, hide in haystacks, barrels, etc. While climbing walls is easy, it’s also the most frustrating part since, during tight situations, you will try to jump on a wall and you have to press B again for Ezio to cling on. You never quite get used to this (especially if you’ve played the console game), and it can lead to cheap deaths.
Fighting is just like the console game, which is a counter-attack fest. Holding R lets Ezio block, and pressing Y at the right time will let him counter. It’s familiar with the console game, so it won’t freak you out. The best way to avoid confronting guards in these fights is to use your minimap on the bottom screen. They show up as yellow arrows, and if they get into your field of vision (the black square around you), they will see you and alert nearby guards. Throwing knives before they see you are good, as well as waiting for them to turn around so you can run up behind them and kill them, just like in the console game.
Later on, all this gets more difficult and becomes hair-tearingly difficult since you can’t always see the next jump ahead of you and you can plummet to your death far away from the next checkpoint. There are multiple kinds of guards, and you will get the harder ones thrown at you more often in the last few levels. Navigating around these guards is sometimes impossible, and you must fight them due to the level setup. While these levels are hard, all the ones before them are pretty fun, and it’s satisfying to jump up from a ledge and land on a guy without him seeing you.
While there are different kinds of objectives, you can blow through the game in about 4 hours. If you have a DSi, you can take a picture of yourself, and it will be put on a wanted poster like in the console game. Tear 10 of these down, and you get a permanent health increase. Collect orbs throughout the game and buy Animus hacks to use when playing through the game again to increase your score. This adds to the replayability for people who really dig this game. The graphics are pretty good and look nice in 3D, but there’s really no detail to them. The voice acting is good, and the game’s just overall fun to play and worth a playthrough.
Nintendo is known for making several iterations of their handheld systems, and the DS is no exception. With the original DS being launched on November 21, 2004, this makes the fourth model in six years. That’s two per year, with a fifth model due out at the end of the year. I feel that this is what the DS should have originally been, but I guess the technology wasn’t quite there yet.
Techno Jumbo
As always, I’m going to go in-depth on comparing a few models. The DS has two processors, the ARM 9 and 7, which control each screen. The DSi XL has the same hardware as the DSi, but it’s significantly different than the DS Lite. The DSi hardware has the ARM9 running at 133 MHz, which is twice as fast as the ones in the original DS and Lite, which were at 66 MHz. The processors are also smaller, which in turn uses less power. The DSi has more RAM at 16 MB, which is four times as much as previous models (the DS Lite and the original only had 4MB). The upgraded hardware allows for smoother gameplay, and games can look better and do more thanks to this.
The biggest thing about the XL is, well, it’s bigger. It sports two 4.2″ screens, which are 1.2″ inches larger than the original DS and Lite. Does this make a huge difference? Oh yes, you bet. The XL also has two 0.3-megapixel cameras that are on the DSi. There is also an SD storage slot that can hold up to 32GB of cards. The DSi also has an internal flash of up to 256MB, unlike the first two models. This allows for downloads from the DSiWare store.
So this makes the DS a powerhouse compared to the last two models. The speakers are louder and more clear, and this is a huge steal at $190.
New Looks
The XL doesn’t just have new looks on the outside, but on the inside as well. The new DSi firmware allows a Wii menu that allows you to select your games in a horizontal list. You can also press L or R to take pictures on the fly, which is a nice touch. The first two DS models had a simple interface that allowed you to select your game and go into the options. In the DSi software, you can press the power button to reset the DS and go back to the main menu, unlike the first two models. The power button is also on the inside, but thankfully, away from accidentally hitting it. The DSi also allows for updated internet security and a faster wi-fi chip.
Another thing you’ll notice is the larger pen-sized stylus, but there is a mini toothpick built-in as well. One major thing gone is the GBA slot, but this isn’t all so bad since you can buy any GBA model for under $20 now. This sacrifice had to be made to fit the cameras, SD slot, and flash memory. You do have to realize, however, that the first two DS models had actual GBA hardware in them and weren’t software emulated (downloadable GBA games, anyone?).
The Experience
Playing the DSi XL is sublime. I have fairly large hands, so seeing the huge screens is not only easy on the eyes but also on the hands. The longer, larger frame of the console gives you more handle and control over what you’re doing. Using the pen-sized stylus also helps, and I feel I have more freedom. Everything looks bright and crisp on the excellent TFT LCD screens, and the 4 different brightness settings help this a lot (unfortunately, there is no button for this). The games sound sharp and even more clear than other models. When playing the same game on the DS Lite, you notice sounds on the XL that you couldn’t hear before unless you had headphones.
I also have to mention the cameras. They aren’t great (lower-end cell phone quality), but they’re pretty decent in good light. The browser is also not that good. Using the same Opera browser as the Wii, the DSi browser is slow and doesn’t support Flash. It couldn’t even load this site very fast. The DSi browser is a good concept, but if you have a cell phone or laptop, stick with that. Another thing that I was disappointed in was that you can’t save your game saves to the SD slot. Maybe a future update will allow this.
The DSiWare store is easy to use and familiar if you have a Wii. Unfortunately, there is nothing but shovelware on the store (with a few slight exceptions), but hopefully some good games will follow. The system also comes pre-installed with two Brain Age games (reviews will follow soon). The battery seemed to last several hours for me as well, even when playing system-heavy games. The DSi XL is a perfect investment for anyone who has a DS. If you own any other models (even the DSi), trading that in towards an XL is probably the smartest thing you can do.
Dead Space is a surprising new gaming franchise from EA that is actually original, in-depth, and just really amazing. The whole story behind Dead Space is just so surreal, thanks to all the different forms of media, from movies to books to comic books. Dead Space is an alien artifact that somehow unleashed a deadly race of aliens onto a planet colony and found its way to the Ishimura, which is a planet-cracking ship.
Dead Space: Extraction sets itself between the comic books and the first Dead Space game. Think of this as what happened before Isaac Clarke entered the Ishimura. Extraction may initially throw you off guard since it’s an “on-rails” FPS kind of like old arcade games. This may turn Dead Space fans completely off since you don’t have control over exploration. While this does hamper the score a lot, there is so much fun and fright to be had in Extraction.
The main focus in Extraction is getting the hell off the Ishimura and finding a shuttle. You play several characters throughout the game, but your main guy is Nate. He is a P-SEC officer who is working with his sergeant to get as many people to safety as possible. You really only see your reticle; the main focus is to point and shoot. The controls are really great and laid out for both regular use and the Wii Zapper (or any other gun attachment you may have), so I will be reviewing this game off of the Zapper control scheme. You have a lot in your hands besides weapons, and this includes your stasis (which slows down objects) and your telekinesis, which will pull objects towards you. You also have a swipe attack for melee and cutting things throughout the game.
Most of your weapon arsenal is tools, and all the weapons from the original Dead Space are back with lots of additions. Some of these include the P-SEC pistol, welding gun, and nail gun. The nail gun is standard and has unlimited ammo, but each weapon has secondary fire. For example, the pulse rifle has a shotgun blast that must be charged, the P-SEC pistol has a spray shot, and the flamethrower can shoot fireballs. All of these weapons will be needed and strategically used for certain situations.
Most of the game plays through the creepy and eerie story, with the character moving on his or her own. While this is immersive and cinematic, it can be boring sometimes since several minutes can pass by just looking around at nothing. The game moves at a slower pace than you would want, but it fits the atmosphere. There will be times when creatures will grab you out of the dark, and you must shake your Wii remote to turn on your glow worm. You will hear strange voices and creepy visions that pop up out of nowhere. While you’re roaming these halls, you need to act fast and use your telekinesis to grab ammo, upgrades, health, audio/text logs, etc. All of these are tallied up at the end of each chapter, and you are scored.
When it comes to creatures, I can’t really recall any new forms. Every single form from the original Dead Space is here, and even some environments. The developers recycled a lot of content, and this felt like a big no-no to me. While there are some simple mini-games, such as a rewiring game where you can’t touch red circuits, a turret section, and some parts that have you nail stuff up to keep things out, The game is riveting and exciting, but by the time you get through all ten (long) chapters, you just want it to end. This is partly due to the difficulty factor and the unbalanced ammo versus creature problem. Scrounging ammo is very difficult in this game, even in the easiest setting, and it makes you wish the developers would just stop doing that.
I, however, highly enjoyed this game and found it to be worth the $50 purchase. A number of weapons, a decent length, and amazing graphics helped make this game easy to chew. There is just enough mixed around for you to stay on the edge of your seat, and that’s what keeps you playing.
I remember talking to my family years ago about a game where you can play as a bug, animal, etc. instead of a human or some other form of biped. THQ finally delivered with the interesting concept of playing as a tarantula or scorpion in Deadly Creatures. The game is about some guy who killed another guy and said deadly creatures did it. Yeah, not very interesting, but Dennis “King Koopa” Hopper and Billy Bob “Major Pervert” Thornton’s voices as the two hicks in this game make me wonder where this low-budget game got the money for that.
Anyhow, you start out like a tarantula crawling around in a desert, trying to find nests of real-life enemies such as tarantula wasps and different types of lizards and scorpions. All represent real-life creatures and are as gross as their real-life counterparts. While you’re skittering around as either the tarantula or the scorpion, you can walk up on walls to collect grub to slightly add health while also unlocking concept art. There are crickets and grasshoppers to give you health, while bright green ones permanently increase your health. When it comes to combat, this is where things get interesting. You can use the A button for your basic attack, then combo from here with a wiggle of the Wiimote. You can shoot your web to stun enemies, pounce on enemies, and if you’re the scorpion, you can even flip that Wiimote upside to bury underground, then turn it up to pop out and attack your enemy. The control scheme is fairly neat, but there were a few moments when the controls wouldn’t respond unless you held the Wiimote a certain way. Among these moves, you can slowly unlock more by leveling up, such as being able to climb on ceilings (passive moves) or the ability to burrow under designated areas. Along with these, you can unlock an “execution move,” which will display buttons to press for cinematic camera cuts, and this can be pretty epic.
Some moments in combat can actually be pretty epic, such as the rattlesnake and tarantula fight (as seen on the cover). Some moves are button-timed sensitive, which is used for great cinematic camera cuts. While that sounds like that’s all there is, that is really true. The whole game is combat-based, and there’s not much in terms of variety. The level design is a bit funky since it can be hard to find out where to go thanks to the bland brown environments, which make it hard to figure out where to go. There are a lot of invisible walls, and there are just certain places you can’t climb. You have cacti blocking your path, cracks in walls, and even some collision detection issues where if you move too far to the side of a log underground, your creature will just stick to the air for a second, then fall off and die. There are certain obstacles each creature must overcome, such as jumping for the tarantula and digging for the scorpion, but these don’t pose too much of a problem.
My main gripe about the game is that it’s too damn difficult for larger creatures to fight. There are no hints on how to beat these guys, and it just makes things so impossible and frustrating, especially when the guys take forever to kill. The environments tend to be a little cramped, and it may take a long time to use every move on the enemy until the right one kills them. Some enemies must be turned upside down, some have to be stunned, etc.
When it comes to looks and sounds, the graphics are just OK with flat textures, and everything is really brown. The creature models are highly detailed with excellent lifelike animations, but that’s about it in the looks department. The sounds the creatures make don’t seem to sound accurate, but hey, this was kind of an experimental game anyway. I really hope THQ makes another game in the series or someone else picks up on the idea. There is a lot of potential here, and I hope the idea doesn’t die.
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Try multiplayer. A lot of fun !