May 6, 2010

Hell’s Kitchen

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , , — Yukino @ 5:50 PM

Status: Almost finished, traded in

Purchase Hell’s Kitchen from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Feb 14, 2009

Repost of review:

Play your way through five grueling weeks under the watchful eye of Gordon Ramsay to become a 5-Star Chef. Balance your time between managing the dining room and perfecting your dishes in the kitchen to keep Ramsay happy.

Graphics:
For a DS title, there is so much more that could have been done in this department. While Ramsay looming over you on the top screen is pretty life-like, your dining room patrons and waiter are too tiny. There a very few frames of animation in regards to the patrons eating, and your waiter vanishes and appears to wherever you point him instead of actually walking through the area. In the kitchen, your work station is very basic. Instead of chopping vegetables, pouring milk, and the like, you simply see your ingredients shake in the mixing bowls. As your food cooks on the stovetop, you can see the heat and smoke if you burn your food, but it doesn’t look like anything edible. Just blobs of colour in a pan/pot until its put on the pass to serve, at which point it is hidden under the silver lids.

Controls:
Tap the screen. Seriously. That is basically all you need to do. Tap on the host stand to seat patrons. Tap on the table to bring their order to the kitchen. Tap on the Pot icon to swtich over to the kitchen. Tap on the bowls to “mix” the various ingredients. Oh! Now you get to drag them to the pot/pan/oven as directed. Tap to put onto the pass. Tap to serve the dishes. Tap to clear the table. Tap, tap, tap.

Sound:
Ramsay’s bleeped out phrases from the show are scattered throughout the game depending on your progress. A bit of incentive to hopefully not hear the worst phrase of them all: “Shut it down!” There is some ambient music while you listen to the ingredients mix, the tiny clinking of diners enjoying their meal, and the sizzling of your food as it cooks.

Fun Factor:
The highlight of this game, and the reason I kept trudging through each “day” in the kitchen, was collecting Ramsay’s own recipes. Before you begin each day in the kitchen, you have the option to read the recipe of the day. From his famous Beef Wellington to chocolate chip cookies, there are 35 entries from the US version of the television show to unlock and learn to cook yourself.

Replay Value:
If you are a completionist, you will leep replaying each “day” until you hit that 100% mark. Otherwise, once you get that fifth Star in career mode, you are pretty much finished with the game. You can always try out arcade mode as well, which throws you straight into the kitchen, filling ticket after ticket of food, seeing just how well you can do.

Overall Opinion:
As a Gordon Ramsay fan and loyal Hell’s Kitchen viewer, I was hoping for so much more with this game. I love the cooking genre, and the DS is a great platform for them as we have seen with the Cooking Mama titles. Hell’s Kitchen is a pure time management title. It lacks the personality of similar games such as the Diner Dash and spin-off “Dash” games. Unless you are a fan, I say pass on the DS version.

Aliens in the Attic

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , — Yukino @ 5:45 PM

Status: Completed 75%, traded in

Purchase Aliens in the Attic from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Nov 27, 2009

Repost of review:

Virtually every family based movie these days gets a movie tie in game to go along with it. Usually these games are not very exciting and kids bore easily. While I cannot compare how closely this game matches the story of the movie, I can tell you about my experience with Tom, Jake and Hannah and the creatures that took over the house.

The game begins with Tom, Jake and Hannah going up to the attic to fix a broken satellite dish. Suddenly they are being attacked by small robotic creatures. From the attic the threesome must work together to get out of the attic and make their way back into the house and save the adults who are under control of aliens.

Tom and Jake are capable of wielding weapons, while Hannah is good for reaching hard to get places by either crawling or double jumping. The boys can hold up to two weapons as well as throw grenades. Household items can be found throughout the house (usually once you rescue an adult) and are used to upgrade your weapons.

Like any level based adventure game, you are going to find yourself blasting through each level until you reach that level’s boss Alien. Health and grenade pick ups are randomly placed throughout, as well as screws which assist with upgrading your weapons. Giant Question Marks can be spotted when there is a new skill or information the game needs to give you. Some boxes can be moved or destroyed, there are moving platforms and collapsing floors to deal with as well.

The neatest but also most frustrating part of the game is using the touch screen to aim your weapons more accurately. By touching your stylus to the targeting circle, you can drag it in the direction you want to shoot which is the best way to take down flying targets and aim for vulnerable spots on the bosses. While I liked this feature, I found it a bit awkward to move my character while doing this, so I reserved using the touch screen for enemies I could battle while not having to move.

The game is pretty straight forward: destroy the enemies, get to level boss, fight, repeat. Kids who were fans of the movie will most likely enjoy the game at least long enough to play it through once, but since you do not have as many character options as the console versions, there is little replay value.

*Review product was provided by Playlogic, and does not affect the outcome of this review.*

May 5, 2010

Big Bang Mini

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , — Yukino @ 9:35 PM

Status: Still exploding fireworks

Purchase Big Bang Mini from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – July 11, 2009

Repost of review:

A delightful yet challenging 2-D shooter for the DS, Big Bang Mini offers hours of pyrotechnic fun in easy pick up and play form. The premise is simple; blast your enemies away by launching colourful fireworks at them while keeping your ship out of harm’s way. Make sure you have a comfortable stylus and are in your best gaming position as you get ready to be immersed in the crazy fun that is Big Bang Mini.

Your stylus is your all-purpose weapon. In the beginning you’ll be launching your explosives with a quick flick of the stylus upwards on the screen, either straight or angled, as you try to get the best shot possible towards your target. You’ll also be dragging your ship to safety from wave after wave of enemy attacks, floating debris, and the fallout from any of your failed attacks. There are permanent weapons boosts such as homing missiles and world upgrades like Luxor’s mirror shield to help you defeat the enemy, but learning when to use these power ups is important as some of them require charging time. And don’t forget that you’ll also need to fly your ship around enemy fire in order to collect the Stars to fill your progress meter.

It’s easy to get distracted and manage to have your ship blown up. I’ll frequently find myself completely engrossed with the eye-poppingly vibrant enemies attacking me from the top screen. From giant spiders to squiggly-line snakes, shrunken heads and dancing skeletons, you are literally bombarded with screen after screen of wonderfully designed opponents. And when you aren’t staring at them, you might also find yourself bopping your head to the accompanying musical tracks.

Big Bang Mini offers 90 levels of game play over 9 different locations, each level boasting catchy music and unique challenges. While the levels can be completed within a few minutes, the game is kept fresh with increasing level of difficulty each step higher, whether that be new obstacles on screen, the various world-only and permanent upgrades to your ship or just the fact that you are so intensely focused that you forget about moving your ship out of harm’s way. The first 9 levels of each World have optional bonus “pictures” for you to reveal, while the final level is the Boss Battle.

In addition to Arcade mode, you can unlock new modes to either relax or pursue more of a challenge. By successfully completing all of the bonus pictures in Arcade mode you can unlock Relax mode, allowing you to just have fun setting off fireworks in the World of your choosing. Finishing Arcade mode gives you access to Mission mode, giving you set challenges to defeat, and thus allowing you to unlock one final secret of the game.

Big Bang Mini also offers single card download play in Versus mode. Battling it out against your friends to see who has the best strategy as you manage your use of limited power ups and return fire back at your opponent is also a great bonus to the game. This is a great feature for parents who don’t necessarily want to buy two copies of the game and allows for siblings to play together.

Overall Opinion: Big Bang Mini is now my favourite casual game on the DS, beating out Meteos which had me addicted for months. I love that I can sit down and play a couple levels at a time, however it seems I’m always telling myself “just one more level” or “one more try”. Any parent looking for a game that can be shared amongst siblings and will offer loads of playtime will love this title. So will hardcore gamers who have enjoyed other games, such as the classic Space Invaders. At $19.99 you are getting more than your money’s worth, and a cool lenticular on the box as well!

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , — Yukino @ 9:29 PM

Status: 1 playthrough complete

Purchase Rhapsody, A Musical Adventure from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – June 23, 2009

Excerpt from review:

The Story:

Our heroine, young Cornet of the village of Orange, is quite the shy girl. Her mother passed away when she was young, she lives with her grandfather, and has the ability to interact with Puppets. She loves playing on the horn that her mother taught her to play, and has a best “nemesis” in her childhood friend, Etoile.

Cornet has never met Prince Ferdinand, but every night she dreams about him rescuing her, being the love of her life. While enjoying her daily excursion into the woods with her magical puppet Kururu, the two of them are attacked but Prince Ferdinand is there and saves her. So when the prince is kidnapped by a witch named Marjoly, and accidentally turned to stone when the witch’s spell takes a bad turn, Cornet (armed with her magical wish-granting horn) and Kururu set off to save the prince and return him to normal.

Gameplay:

The DS version of Rhapsody features a 2-D turn based battle style, and plays just like any other dungeon-crawler JRPG. You are free to wander into all the buildings in each of the towns, interact with the NPCs and search for hidden items and money in your neighbours’ trash cans. Once you enter one of the dungeons, you can explore for hidden treasures and even stumble upon new Puppets for Cornet to add to the party. Some of these puppets will require your party to be at a certain level in order to join; others you will need to defeat in battle. But no matter how you find them, you must play your horn in order to fulfill the recruitment.

Like most RPGs, battles have three basic options: Attack, Magic/Special Abilities/Items. Each round of battle begins with you selecting each party member’s move, with no knowledge as to when the enemy will make their move. Puppets have elemental alignments which give them various related magic spells, some of which will only damage one enemy and others which will attack the enemy party as a whole.

The special music note bar at the top of the battle screen is the Kansha Gauge. When Cornet plays her horn in support of her party, each active puppet in the battle will give her a support note. As Cornet keeps supporting and gaining these notes, she gets to pull off some very special attack moves: Sugar Candy, Flan, Cake and Pancake attacks. When the bar is maxed out at 5, she can use Heart, which will fully heal and restore all ability points to the team.

Graphics/Sound:

2-D dungeon crawlers usually look pretty decent on the DS. Rhapsody is no exception. The sprites have limited animation, and there really aren’t any CGI scenes to speak of. The few cut-scenes that exist consist mostly of singing, which was kept in Japanese but subtitled for the US release. There is one melody that runs through what Cornet plays on her horn and what the characters use for their singing highlights. I am glad that when dialogue comes up, the characters close-ups don’t look like the “chibi” form you actually control on the screen.

Fun Factor/Replay Value:

I don’t know how much replay value I will get out of the game. I managed to collect most of the puppets on this playthrough, and there wasn’t much that I could find in the way of sidequests. My playthrough was just around the 20 hour mark, and I think the only other thing I could have done to extend the gameplay was to keep levelling up in the various dungeons. It was a pretty enjoyable one time game, however.

Female Aspect:

Rhapsody features a lot of strong female characters; Cornet, Kururu, Etoile. These women embody different aspects of female nature: insecurity and discovery, nurturing and encouragement. But where the game fails is in how they approach certain issues females (especially young females) face. I did not play the original PSOne version, nor the Japanese releases, but some of the things said in the game simply do not lend themselves to a game that is E rated. They make poor references to weight (calling Cornet “chubby” at a mere 100 pounds), comments about showing leg to the prince (would you tell your 8 year old playing this game that this is acceptable behaviour), and even comments about the witch, Marjoly, not wearing underwear. Now, as an adult I can see some humour in some of the text, but if this game is rated as E for Everyone, then I wonder how the ESRB let dialogue like that go lower than a Teen rating. If these were actual dialogue translations from the Japanese release, then the localization team should have changed them. And if not, and this was the work of the localization team, then they should have been told to change the text or accept a higher ESRB rating.

Yukino’s Comments:

Other than my disappointment that this game somehow passed with an E rating, I would definitely say if you are looking for a fun, quick JRPG that you should give this a try. It really doesn’t use the stylus, so don’t worry if you’ve lost yours. I was able to find it for $15 new/$10 used, which I think is a good deal for a game that can be finished in under 20 hours. A nice, cheap but fun addition to the fan of the genre.

America’s Test Kitchen

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , — Yukino @ 9:22 PM

Status: It’s a cookbook!!

Purchase America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Apr 22, 2010

Repost of review:

Spending time in the kitchen is something I both love and dread. Love because I enjoy making good food for my friends and family. Dread due to the inevitable piles of dishes that will be left to clean up, and I’m usually the one doing that, too. There is an entire row of cookbooks in our home covering a wide range of cuisines. We leave shopping lists stuck to our refrigerator and our kitchen table doubles as a prep table and cookbook stand. The kitchen in our apartment is rather small, not much counter space is available, which means its hard for two people to work together.

Enter America’s Test Kitchen the “game”. Not exactly a game but used on the Nintendo DS family of systems, America’s Test Kitchen is an interactive cookbook and kitchen helper, enabling you to make healthy dinners for yourself and your loved ones, with and without their help. It boasts 300 recipes from appetizers to desserts, features video tutorials and walks you step by step through creating each one.

America’s Test Kitchen features a very comprehensive glossary as well. In Cooking A-Z you can learn more about cuts of meat, how to tell when fruits and veggies are ripe, and even which utensils you should have in your arsenal. And if you aren’t sure how to trim asparagus or seed tomatoes, well you can find out how to do that here, too.

Let’s Get Cooking takes you straight to the meat and potatoes of this software. If you have food allergies or just don’t like certain foods, I recommend starting out here with the Excluded Ingredients option. Marking which ingredients you don’t want to use will put Xs on the recipes containing them so you know which ones to avoid. I have a mushroom allergy which I found was super helpful in narrowing down my options early on. Now you are ready to browse through all recipes that meet your dining requirements.

Now, you can’t review the software if you don’t make something from the recipe index. I decided to make Chicken Picata, primarily because I was craving it, but it was also a dish that was easy enough to do in my tiny apartment kitchen. Before starting, I used the ingredient list to see what I needed to pick up from the store, and got out the utensils I would be using for preparation.

The best thing about America’s Test Kitchen is also the only gripe I had while making my entree. You can continue or return to the previous step by speaking clearly enough into the DS microphone. This is great for when your hands are covered in goop and you want to wash your hands while listening to the next step. The downside is that the game kept thinking that I was talking to it, even when I was just closing the fridge door. It would skip ahead on me and keep asking me to repeat myself when I said nothing. It also registered my husband talking to me as receiving commands. So whenever my hands where clean I would listen to the next step then close the DS lid. I can foresee that being a major issue if you were to have a group in the kitchen you or using two systems to make your meal.

Once I completed making the Chicken Picata I was given the chance to stamp my efforts with either a Bronze, Silver or Gold medal. Based on how the dish turned out and the ease of cooking I rated it with a Bronze “Made It!” stamp. I was also able to make a note for the recipe at this point, where I decided to write “Use less lemon juice” in case I made it again.

Even though I ran into issues with the voice commands with America’s Test Kitchen, I will use it again. There are some delicious looking recipes that I want to try out, and when I have a larger kitchen to work with I plan on using the “Send It” function to have my husband help me make meals.

MillionHeir

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , , — Yukino @ 9:18 PM

Status: 1 playthrough complete

Purchase Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – April 2009

Repost of review: (Note – This was the old format for reviews which changed in Summer 2009)

Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, is a search & find, puzzle solving game for the DS from the popular series Big Fish Games has released for the PC. You are on the case to find missing millionaire Phil T. Rich, questioning known and unknown associates, trying to find his whereabouts and where he hid his will.

Graphics:
Nothing is very stunning about the graphics for MillionHeir. Since all the scenes are just pictures you move around the screen and search for hidden items in, most of the pictures themselves are very bright, with some darker and more shadowy areas in some places.

Controls:
MillionHeir is not a very complicated game to pick up & play. You use your stylus to move around the screen and tap the hidden items. By using the Hand icon, you can draw or move certain hidden items to change them slightly before the clues are collected. You also collect a Flashlight, for dark areas, X-Ray flashlight to see through things, and special goggles that allow you to search for objects that might be hidden in water or other liquids.

Flow:
The game is very basic. You search different areas for clues on suspects. You can always move to another area if you get stumped. There are about 3 characters to investigate before you unlock more suspects from the dossier. I’m not quite sure how the clues actually lead to anything, but then again, I don’t think the series would have been as successful as it is if people questioned that. You are also alotted a certain amount of hints per section should you really be stumped. Hints are not available for the pictures where you need to find the differences in the photographs though.

Sound:
While there are no voiceovers in the game, the background music for the puzzles is catchy. The only other sound to the game is the familar typewriter noise that plays as text is displayed on the screen.

Fun Factor:
The game is pretty addictive. I spent an hour and a half at the airport playing this game and I was not bored. A lot of the lines the suspects use are just as cheesey as their names, like Jim Ferno, the firefighter, or Manny Cotti, the chef.

Female Factor:
You play as a generic non-characterized detective. You can name yourself as you like, as there is no clear distinction at all as to your gender. There are some very interesting female suspects that you will investigate during the course of the game.

Replay Value:
There are various modes available for you to choose from. Single player mode starts you with choices of Rookie or Detective. Playing through the game will unlock more difficulties and options. Multiplayer mini-games such Scavenger Hunt, where you can challenge up to 3 friends to see who can find the most hidden object before the timer runs out, and Hot-Seat Multiplayer, a mode where you pass the DS around and see who can find each object the fastest.

If you are looking for a really good pick up and play style game that doesn’t require a huge time investment all at once, then MillionHeir is a game for you. Play for 15 minutes or over an hour, dragging your magnifying glass and finding the hidden items. It’s a great time killer, and you won’t even notice the time flying by.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , , — Yukino @ 9:12 PM

Status: Still puzzling my way through

Purchase Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Aug 24, 2009

Repost of review:

Prepare yourself a spot of tea, and get ready to partake in a smashingly great adventure on the Nintendo DS.

One day while doing his normal adventuring, Henry Hatsworth finds a golden bowler hat,  which unlocks access to the Puzzle Realm. It turns out the bowler is only one piece of many, which when worn complete the Gentleman’s Suit, giving the wearer the ability to traverse and control the Puzzle Realm. But when Hatsworth found the bowler, the Puzzle Realm began to leak into the real world, and now Hatsworth fights to collect all the pieces of the suit, collect scads of treasure, and become the next Gentleman.

Every great adventurer needs a nemesis, and Hatsworth definitely has one in Leopold Weasleby the Third. Weasleby is number 2 to Hatsworth in the Pompous Adventurers Club, and seeks to claim the number 1 spot by also entering the Puzzle Realm in search of the Gentleman’s Suit. He sends henchmen such as the womanizer Lance Banson (among others) to impede Hatsworth’s progress.

Henry Hatsworth is essentially two games in one – a platform adventure experience on the top screen and a puzzle game on the bottom. Together they combine to make the Puzzling Adventure.

Using the top screen, you will guide Henry throughout the various worlds that pieces of the suit are rumored to be hidden in. Defeating enemies in the top screen will uncover jewels and gold used for upgrading your weapons, and finding items sends them down to the puzzle screen. Just like other platformer games, you will find crumbling walkways and moving platforms. Suit pieces like the Pantaloons will allow you to jump between and slide along walls.

When you have defeated an enemy on the top screen, it moves down to the Puzzle Screen. By lining up three blocks of  the same colour either vertically or horizontally, you will permanently remove the enemies (face blocks), regain health (heart blocks) and use other items you may have picked up. Example: the lightning bolt blasts away all the blocks of that colour on the bottom screen, and when you return to the top screen it will zap away any enemies that are on the screen.

The Puzzle Screen contains two meters. The first meter controls how much time you can spend on the Puzzle screen itself. Once the timer runs out you are sent back into the main world. The second is your Super Meter, which increases when you make the blocks of three combinations. A full meter will rejuvenate Hasworth, while a double full meter will active Tea Time, bringing out Henry’s Robot Suit, a powerful suit I like to activate during boss battles as much as possible.

Switching between the two screens does take a little time to get used to in the beginning, but once you are, it is a lot of fun to keep flipping between the screens. My only issue with Hatsworth’s gameplay was that you didn’t get to really use the stylus too much. The one time I use it is when I am in the Puzzle screen, but even then you don’t have to use it. Most of the game is controlled by the digital pad and your action buttons.

My second, and last, issue with Hatsworth was the lack of true voice audio. There is “voice” to the characters during certain scenes, however it is all just random noises, almost like broken Simolean. The music in the game is good but there is no way it takes up so much space that real voice over work could not have been provided. Especially when we’ve seen that the DS can handle it, as was proven with Professor Layton.

EA does provide some great bonuses though. You can download the complete game soundtrack for free from the official Henry Hatsworth website. They also have delightful video promos for the game, one of which you can see here:

This is definitely a must buy game, and is perfect for people of all ages. Even younger children will be able to pick up and play with little assistance required.

Ninjatown

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , , , — Yukino @ 9:09 PM

Status: I love this game!!

Purchase Ninjatown from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Mar 16, 2009

Repost of review: (Note – This was the old format for reviews which changed in Summer 2009)

Nestled between Mount Feroshi and the Dark Forest, the Ninjas of Ninjatown live their secret lives, making their delicious Ninja Star-Shaped Cookies while enjoying a cup of green tea at the bistro, training in the dojo, harvesting the special ingredients needed for those secret cookies. They are accountants, bakers, defenders and protectors. But something has stirred in the Dark Forest, and his name is Mr. Demon. Leading the Wee Devils to invade the unsuspecting people of Ninjatown, he is armed with Dark Syrup and after only one thing: to acquire the Ninja’s secret cookie recipe and take over Shawnimaland.

Graphics:
Ninjatown comes to life with the use of very vibrant colours and cute little animations as the Ninjas fight and flip their way to victory. The huts are all very similar with colour determining which Ninjas are housed within, and there are several other power-up buildings that accompany your Ninja huts, basic yet extremely effective. Backgrounds are decently textured for a DS title who’s focus it definitely on gameplay, yet they are not sacrificing graphics for game.

Controls:
Ninjatown offers building spaces laid out on each map where you place your Ninja huts and other buildings. From each of the huts, you can upgrade your Ninjas (once you have collected enough cookies to do so), tell them which enemies to target, to rest if their health is low, and even remove the hut if it is no longer needed. Using the DS microphone, you have access to Old Master Ninja’s Skills; some of these skills are blowing into the mic to push back enemies, yelling into it to give your Ninjas a speed boost, stopping time briefly with the hourglass in order to pause play and upgrade or build new huts. You can tap on each Ninja to check their health or just watch them do backflips if you’d like.

Sound:
There is not a lot of variety in the music for this game, basically one track for the map screen and another for the game play itself. Each wave of enemies is sounded by a gong, and you get a few different attack noises from your Ninjas and their enemies.

Fun Factor:
If you enjoy action strategy games and love to be challenged, then you need to play this game. Not only does it offer great game play, but there is a wonderful humour entwined with the storyline. Quick thinking and planning ahead for each new wave of enemies will help you clear the levels with higher grades.

Replay Value:
One thing that I love about Ninjatown is that I can go back to levels that I cleared with low scores and attempt to better my score. If I got a D grade or passed on Easy Mode, the game will let me try again and again until I achieve the mark I am looking for. Ninjatown also delivers some multiplayer action with a play-off system. Battle against another Ol’ Master Ninja in defending your respective Ninjatowns from waves of Wee Devils and Associates. The first player to defeat all the enemies is the winner. Winners will collect character tokens and losers will unlock Forbidden Techniques.

Overall Opinion:
This is a wonderful game, a great addition to any DS collection. The only issue that I ran into was a sudden jump in difficulty as I progressed into the final maps. This could prove to be a little challenging for younger players who tend to get frustrated easily, but if nothing else it will really make you think as you refine your strategy with each attempt.

Again

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , — Yukino @ 9:05 PM

Status: 1 playthrough complete

Purchase Again from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Mar 30, 2010

Repost of review:

I love losing myself in a good book. Sometimes nothing is better than reading a finely spun story and putting yourself in the shoes of the lead character while snuggled up in your favourite spot on the couch and savoring a pot of tea. Playing an interactive novel game is a real treat for bookworms, as it combines intriguing storyline with various puzzle elements and exercises your brain putting your reasoning skills to work.

Again is the second interactive novel experience from Cing Inc, who also brought Hotel Dusk to the Nintendo DS. In this story, you slip into the shoes of FBI Agent Jonathan Weaver who is investigating a string of serial murders mirroring a similar chain of events as the Providence killings from 19 years earlier. Agent Weaver has special “visions” – flashbacks of the past – which have been bringing new evidence to light as you and your partner Kate Hathaway retrace and re-investigate the original crimes.

Being an interactive novel adventure, Again is very reliant on the story-telling and dialogue. It is important that you exhaust all options in order to gain the most knowledge to help you in solving the case. Talking with one witness can unlock new text for another, which in turn might have you bothering the first witness once more. For the more interactive parts of dialogue, you will notice questions are presented in orange text and answers in white. For questioning people, select which lead you want to pursue until you have run through all of the available choices. Sometimes one set of questions will be replaced with a new one, depending on the answers received from the witness. When it comes to having Agent Weaver answer questions, you want to select the correct choice from the white text replies. If you choose the wrong answer it’s not a huge deal. After a brief comment from the person you are speaking with you can select another answer.

Once you have access to new crime scenes you will get to experience Past Visions and the Psyche Gauge. In these Past Visions, one screen of your DS turns into a past version of the room you are in. The touch screen side remains the current version of the room, and using this screen you will move about the room and compare the differences in each scene. You need to find the variances and make the present scene the same as your Past Vision. This usually entails looking for items that are out of place, searching the room for clues on opening hidden safes, maybe even just turning on a tap. The Psyche Gauge will drain if you Focus on an area or item that does not trigger a Past memory. Once you have drained the gauge, you’ll get a Game Over screen. You can Retry from this point, taking you back into the room. Just be sure to remember what you have failed to flash on so you can avoid draining too much from the meter.

There will be times when you will have to leave the crime scene without finding all of the segments needed to complete the Past Vision. Don’t be afraid to exit the area and head back out to visit witnesses in order to gain more knowledge or retrieve an item needed to recreate a memory. You will be able to return to the scene until you have uncovered all there is to know. I learned this the hard way while stuck on the second Providence murder, which stumped me for a good couple of hours. Also use some time away from the game to think about the clues or the room you are searching. Not only is it good to give your eyes a break, but stepping away can also make you see things differently when you go back. I recommend having a note pad near by so you can try to solve puzzles that aren’t as simple as others.

The only complaint I have with Again is in the “acting”. On the non-touch screen side of the DS you get to see the person who is speaking, and the cast is made of of real actors which is great. However, their movements are a series of photos mashed together in stop motion animation. My guess is for the lead characters about 15-20 poses exist, and much fewer for the lesser cast. My biggest pet peeve of all is with a blind character’s portrayal in the game. Blind people do not walk around with their eyes closed. I really wish that someone would have caught that before the game came out and had it corrected.

As I sit here and write up this review, my DS is charging as I have drained the battery a couple of times already during my quest for the truth. I’ve been sleuthing in the car, at GameStop, eating dinner, and the story has not let me down. Just when I think I might have figured something out, a new twist is thrown at me. However, as I get closer to the end of the adventure, there are things I am almost 100% sure are for certain. But like any good crime novel, I know there will be (or should be) a giant “Holy Carps!” moment sprung on me soon.

Currently I am on Day 8 of the investigation and sitting at 12 real time hours of game play. By the time this review goes live, I hope to have solved the case, which puts my estimate for the actual run time of the game somewhere around 15 hours. That of course depends on just how big of a last hurrah the game throws at me. Fifteen hours is very comparable to the time you might put into reading the latest Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson or Janet Evanovich hardcover. Add in the fact that you’ll get a little more out of Again based on the fact you actually do the detective work, and the $30 it costs to pick up Again is well worth it.

Review product was provided by Tecmo Koei, and does not affect the outcome of this review.

Professor Layton & the Diabolical Box

Filed under: Gamer — Tags: , , , , , — Yukino @ 8:59 PM

Status: 1 playthrough complete

Purchase Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Aug 27, 2009

Repost of review:

Hershel Layton and his young assistant Luke return this fall as they investigate the murder of the professor’s mentor and the disappearance of a cursed box the scholar had been in possession of. A train ticket leads them to hop aboard the Molentary Express, where they travel along the rails, investigating the passengers as well as exploring the towns they pass through.

Several interesting characters join the ride, providing some wonderful mystery and humor: Molentary Express’ owner Mr. Beluga, the outrageous Babette and her little Tom, and rocker train conductor Sammy Thunder, to name a few. Some friendly faces from the first game also make appearances (but will not be revealed as it could ruin the story for some of you.)

As well as enjoying the train ride, you will also visit countryside towns such as Dropstone and Folsense, towns which are linked by some unknown past. The addition of adding the different locations to visit is a wonderful touch, as there is so much more opportunity to show off the power of the DS and it’s ability to hold all this information on a single cartridge.

Treating us to over 150 puzzles, with more to come via downloadable content (new puzzles to be released each week), the search to retrieve the Elysian Box (the Diabolical Box)  provides similar puzzles and more advanced puzzles than our first experience with Professor Layton. There is everything from math to word to map puzzles and a whole bunch of other brainteasers, some of them becoming harder each time you talk to the puzzle’s “owner”. Just as in the Curious Village, you are going to find that everyone and almost everything has a puzzle for you to master. And don’t worry if you missed a puzzle here and there. Granny’s Puzzle Shack is back, as she sets up shop conveniently along your path. Hint coins are also scattered about, hiding in lampposts, garbages, and other such spots.

New mini-games are also included: creating new teas with your Tea Set, snapping pictures with your Camera, and taking care of an overweight Hamster (I named mine Mochi). By sharing teas with people you can get more information and clues to help you figure out who has the Box. Using your camera once you have restored it to working order unlocks hidden puzzles. Look for the camera icon underneath  the Professor’s  Trunk icon to see if there is a hidden puzzle on the screen somewhere.

Professor Layton proved with The Curious Village that the DS is a powerful little machine, providing high quality full motion videos and top notch audio, including wonderful voice-over work. The sequel offers even more in the voice and FMV department, which makes me wonder why other developers can’t seem to pull this off. Instead of only giving us voice work during cutscenes, we also are blessed with audio during text screens. I cannot help but get a huge smile on my face whenever I have the opportunity to listen to the wonderful voice over work. By far, it is some of the best work in a video game I have ever heard, across all platforms. The game’s musical score is also terrific. Each song is completely fitting to the backdrop or scene it is tied to.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is a wonderful journey with a well construed storyline that is easy enough to follow and allows the player to truly become a detective in her/his own right. Come to your own conclusions and see if Layton and Luke can confirm your predictions yet again.

If you haven’t played the original Professor Layton title, I strongly recommend that you do so before playing Diabolical Box. It doesn’t really affect the story much if you haven’t, but there is crossover between the games that is more enjoyable if you have finished the first. You can check out my Professor Layton & the Curious Village review here.

My total play time: 16hr 30min     Total Puzzles Solved: 122 puzzles     Total Picarats: 3478 Picarats

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