Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Majesco
Rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Here’s a list of some things I’ve never done: worn a cool watch, eaten a raw peach, done a bad Ice T impression, smiled on Christmas Day, gone a day without quoting The Big Lebowski, eaten glass, or gone camping. One of these is relevant, and I secretly wish it were eating glass. Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures has hit the streets, and camping fans, I’m sure, have been filling their rugged newsletters and message boards with buzzing anticipation. So what kind of game can they expect: a crisp autumn hike in the Colorado mountains, or eating glass?

Camping Mama tells the story of Mama and Papa’s camping trip to a secluded island. Mercifully, they’ve chosen to bring along their children, Ichigo and Ringo, one of which the player controls. In my case, Ringo explored several of the island’s 6 zones, enjoying a classic camping adventure in the process.

Levels involve exploring an open area on the island, usually to accomplish a task set by Mama or Papa. Papa might ask you to collect four fish, or Mama might ask you to find her in the forest. Along the way are animals, which deal damage to your character should they come into contact with you. Opening chests collects medals (which I never found a specific use for) or props with which to decorate your campsite. While fulfilling the tasks set by your parents, interacting with objects in the environment starts mini-games, which exclusively use the touch screen.

Exploring areas composes a majority of the game, and while this component made a decent first impression, it didn’t take long for tedium to set in. Enemies follow very explicit patterns, so it’s not as if there’s a lot of really intense puzzle solving to tackle, and levels are bright and colorful, but the lack of any bold artistic style turns colorful into bland after a few hours. As for the minigames, they follow the same general pattern as the exploration. I was initially pretty impressed, thinking that they generally put the touch screen to pretty good use. After about an hour though, I was already replaying minigames, some of which seemed ripped directly out of previous Cooking Mama titles. I may not have been camping, but I don’t know that you dice mangoes or shave coconuts on a typical camping trip. For as out of place as that may seem, Camping Mama implements several more hilariously out of place minigames where I was asked to rid the grass of snakes (Papa knows not to mess around with snakes) by straight up getting rough on them with a hammer, and was asked multiple times to throw flower crowns on the heads of wild animals. You know, like you might during your average weekend outing.

For as mediocre as the game is, I feel like my complaints aren’t especially topical. When it comes right down to it, Majesco never intended for my demographic (snarky twenty somethings) to play this game, because it’s pretty clearly intended for children. And to that end, Camping Mama is pretty successful. Doing poorly on a minigame almost never equals failure. I lost a race, but still received a gold medal on the challenge, with additional support from Mama. There’s very little chance for children, however young, to get frustrated or stuck on a level, which can be devastating for children and parents alike. Furthermore, I found it pretty easy to play minigames without reading the instructions, another plus for young players. Mama and Papa also have some spoken lines, though they’re delivered with accents outrageous enough to make Tommy Wiseau blush.

Chances are Camping Mama isn’t for you, but that’s alright. If you’re a parent or uncle or grandparent or anyone in need of a good game for children, there are far worse choices. Camping Mama is built specifically to meet its audience’s limitations without dumbing itself down or succumbing to silliness, and let’s face it, kids won’t find it egregious if they play the same minigame a couple of times.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Michael Rabalais for The Adrenaline Vault, 2011. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Developer: Rising Star Games
Publisher: UFO Interactive
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

When I received my copy of Pucca Power Up in the mail, I was drawn to a phrase on the back: “Pucca and Garu’s action romance story.” Personally, I can’t think of a more exciting sentence. The possibilities of such a statement drive me absolutely wild. Are they driving monster trucks through the Arc de Triomphe while feeding each other chocolate covered strawberries? Are they searching for the Ark of the Covenant while drawing scented bubble baths? It’s incredible! So it leaves the question, is Pucca Power Up the Expendables mixed with the Royal Wedding, or Hudson Hawk hanging out with my high school girlfriend?

Based on a South Korean media franchise, Pucca Power Up delivers several vignettes, one for each of the game’s six levels. These vignettes feature Pucca’s frenzied attempts to gain the love of Garu, a ninja guy unaccustomed to such attention. Pucca’s attempts take her from towns, to cities, to caves and beyond.

As mentioned before, there are six levels to guide Pucca or Garu through. Players guide their character, a choice dictated by the level, through various platforming stages. On the way they’ll encounter enemies ranging from cats to enemy ninjas, which can be handled using either projectiles or a melee weapon. Occasional boss fights are sprinkled throughout, and a mini-game caps off each world.

The standout quality of Pucca Power Up, in my humble opinion, is how obtusely Korean it is. Pucca attacks enemies using a “steel bag” which appears to be a purse made of metal. No character raises any issue to that. Players collect “Smile Men” throughout levels, which act as currency in the shop. The manual calls these collectables Gingerbread Men, though that doesn’t make much more sense. I’m certainly not bemoaning the foreigneness of Pucca Power Up, because it’s the only thing that sets it apart from any other tedious platformer. There’s really nothing exciting to spend time on, as levels are exclusively switch and jumping puzzles, and there’s literally no depth to the combat. I also found that the game seemed to expect more of its controls than it could deliver. I was expected to jump, duck, and weave through enemy attacks, and I found myself absolutely incapable of such feats. It seems clear that Pucca Power Up is a game meant for children, but the reality is a game too boring for adults and too difficult for kids.

It doesn’t help matters that Pucca Power Up feels like a completely loveless affair. The box and manual show that the game’s source material has a very distinctive art style which barely comes across during play. Background textures are blocky and bland, and characters don’t boast much fluidity in their animations. When each level ends up being the same tired grind, featuring the same bland platforming, a charmless environment only adds to the tedium. The game’s platforming may be solid, but it doesn’t mean that it’s fun to play.

There’s nothing especially offensive about Pucca Power Up, but I still can’t recommend it. Unless you absolutely can’t live without a new platformer on the DS, or your children have literally nothing else to play, Pucca Power Up is negligible at best. The game’s one-dimensional combat and bland level design aren’t any fun, and there are plenty of DS titles out there more worthy of your time.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Michael Smith for The Adrenaline Vault, 2011. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
Genre: RPG
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

Camelot’s original Golden Sun series is considered by fans to be the best portable RPG series of all time, and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is the long awaited third entry that fans have been craving since the closing credits of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Taking full advantage of the NDS hardware, Dark Dawn promises to be the best game in the series. The question is, can it really live up to the cult-like status of its predecessors?

Dark Dawn is set 30 years after the end of The Lost Age. Now known as the Golden Sun event, the massive release of alchemical power has warped the world beyond recognition. Countries have been destroyed, towns shifted across the continent and new species of both animal and people born. While some hail the Adepts responsible as the Heroes of Vale, many more blame them for the catastrophic destruction that shook the world. Players assume the roles of the children of the Heroes of Vale, and set out to find the reason behind a dangerous phenomena. Psyenergy Vortexes appear unpredictably in random places, and suck the energy from everything around them.

Dark Dawn stays very close to the gameplay of the original games though it does offer full stylus based controls. It’s also retained the systems that really defined its predecessors; both psyenergy based puzzle solving and Djinn class customization are present. Fans will appreciate that the deep narrative style has been kept, which is to say that dialogue scenes are excessively long and detailed.

At its core, the Golden Sun series is about puzzle solving. Despite being an RPG, the bulk of gameplay is spent solving puzzles from dungeon to dungeon with Psyenergy. Draining or refilling lakes, pushing pillars to create paths and so on happen in literally every area and are the post important parts of advancing the game. Though fans will certainly appreciate the beautiful new graphics, it is the hours upon hours of puzzles that evoke the nostalgia of the series. Personally, I was pleased to see that battles kept the same stilted animation style that was so distinctive to the original.

While the puzzles are deep, engaging and thoughtful, many have complained that the battles are far too easy. Compared to the consistent challenge of the originals, many feel that Dark Dawn‘s battle system was simplified to lure in the more casual gamer. I can appreciate the sentiment, but I felt the battles were of average difficulty. Though perhaps not as challenging as its precedecessors, combat is more complex here than in a truly casual RPG.

Dark Dawn fell short of many expectations and exceeded others, and fans are torn. The graphics are gorgeous and the original gameplay systems have all been retained and polished, and the uzzles are harder and more interesting than ever with the refined Psyenergy system. Battles, however, are much easier. It’s not the perfect game fans hoped for, but it is a must-have for anyone who enjoyed the originals.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Lieren Teeling for The Adrenaline Vault, 2011. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

While dungeon-delving RPGs used to be standard fare, everyone has been trying to make them different, new and exciting in some way so that they will appeal to new generations of gamers with different standards. From adding some unique system to overcompensating for the “old” gameplay with flashy graphics, there’s always a gimmick to spruce up the tired formula. Atlus’s Etrian Odyssey series stands out in that it does just the opposite. It takes the classic, first person, dungeon-exploring, turn-based RPG formula and wholeheartedly embraces it. Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City tries to add some subtle twists without straying too far from its core principles.

The Drowned City takes place in the island city of Armoroad, a prosperous trading city since ancient times until an earthquake a century ago sunk the central part of the city, destroying much of its advanced technology. Shortly after the so-called “Great Disaster,” a labyrinth appeared within the gaping hole that swallowed most of the city. Since then, adventurers the world over have traveled to Armoroad seeking answers, lost technology or simply the treasure trapped deep below. You take the role of the invisible leader of a newly formed guild of adventurers seeking to plumb the depths of the mysterious labyrinth. In an interesting twist, a sea-exploration system has been added, and you explore not only the labyrinth, but also the surrounding islands.

Drowned City adds onto the core gameplay of the series, making very few changes. While the class system itself is much the same, the classes are not. Instead of adding more options onto classes from the previous games, Drowned City scraps all the originals and makes new ones. There is also a new sub-class system that allows you to expand the versatility of your characters by combining class abilities and perks. The new sea-exploration system plays similarly to labyrinth exploration in its grid-based movement and random battles, but it also requires creativity and some puzzle solving, as you can only travel so many “turns” (grid spaces) on different kinds of supplies. Lastly, there’s a new weapon-customization system called “forging.” A weapon that has sockets can be enhanced using special hammers and materials to add elemental effects, status effects, self buffs and chance of bind-on-hit.

Atlus has made the right choice in not changing the core aspects that make the Etrian Odyssey series what it is. The additions to the system feel like logical things rather than gimmicks to make the series feel fresh, and I’m quite impressed. Every new entry a series gets increases the chance for it to crash and burn, as developers try to come up with new ways to keep players hooked. Drowned City manages to retain its eye-catching art style and old-school appeal, while expanding on itself in a number of interesting ways.

Sadly, as interesting as the series is, and as much as it should stand out against other games today, it’s a niche series at best. The hours upon hours of grinding and soul-breaking FOE encounters won’t appeal to the masses. What fans of the series call hours of engaging gameplay, many other players call monotony. What fans call an in-depth class system, others call old-fashioned. Atlus knows this, and fortunately doesn’t try to cater to the masses. Instead, it gives the true fans what they want, though it means the series will remain niche.

In the end, Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City does what the series does best, and it does it well. Fans will be thrilled with the return of all the things they’ve come to love about it, and will be pleased with the new additions. While many reviewers might give a lower score for being niche and not appealing to everyone, I choose to judge the game based on its own merits and how well it does what it sets out to do. I couldn’t tear myself away.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Lieren Teeling for The Adrenaline Vault, 2011. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Mentor InterActive
Developer: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning
Genre: RPG Adventure
Rating: Everyone
Release date: September 28, 2010
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Cosmos Chaos for the DS is a textbook example of the slightly cheesy, if accurate term “edutainment”. Aimed at kids between 4th and 7th grade, the title is an educational RPG developed by the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. Designed to be a great way for students to expand their vocabulary while playing a genuinely fun game, Cosmos Chaos is pretty ambitious.

Cosmos Chaos offers its players the choice to play as a boy or girl, but the difference is cosmetic only. It doesn’t affect the story or gameplay in any way. Regardless of which you choose, the main character’s little dog is abducted by a strange alien spaceship. Giving chase, the character finds themself in a desert town where they befriend a robot that the spaceship was really chasing. Unfortunately, all of the robot’s vocabulary chips have been stolen, so he can’t speak. Together the two set off to retrieve the robot’s chips and find the lost dog.

Encompassing elements of both an RPG and a mini game collection, adventure game, Cosmos Chaos has the player wandering from screen to screen talking to people and running errands in exchange for items or clues. When a random battle occurs, the player assumes control of their robot friend who then fights for them and levels up. After a victory, vocabulary chips are recovered by playing a mini game that asks the player to identify the meaning of the words stored in them by selecting a correctly used sentence. These vocabulary games are used to do almost everything. Responding to people requires you to choose the correct use of a word and healing/recharging your robot is done by two more vocabulary challenges. Any word that pops up can be tapped on to hear a pronunciation and definition of it, and hidden all over in the backgrounds are flashing stars that teach more words when selected.

It’s obvious after only a few minutes of play that this game is made for a particular age range. That being said, the idea of making kids learn to advance in a game is not a unique one. Educational games have been around since the first time someone figured out kids respond better to entertainment than text books. Cosmos Chaos, however, has one advantage going for it: enjoyable gameplay! Blending vocabulary building into an RPG is a surprisingly brilliant idea and the RPG elements themselves are well done. They manage to keep the focus on the story and gameplay rather than the constant review.

There is little bad to say about this game other than its mediocrity when compared against the standards most gamers go by. It doesn’t have fancy, flashy graphics or a gripping, moving story. There’s no emotional voice acting or beautifully dramatic dialogue, but that isn’t the point here. For the age range it targets, it’s perfectly appropriate, well written, and engaging.

Cosmos Chaos really accomplishes what it sets out to do, and that’s to make a charming, enjoyable game to teach kids vocabulary. With two younger sisters in the targeted age range, I can vouch for it’s appeal to them as both are eager to get their hands on it. Too bad there’s only one save file. With that in mind, Comos Chaos deserves a high score for succeeding where most “edutainment” games fail.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

I haven’t seen the recent movie upon which The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is based. I come into this game only knowing that it’s probably loosely based on the famous animated segment from Fantasia. So, a cartoon short and a movie might make an interesting combination for an action game for the Nintendo DS.

Merlin, the most powerful sorcerer of his time, is killed by his arch enemy, Morgana. Before he dies, Merlin instructs his last remaining apprentice, Balthazar Blake, to find his heir. For the next thousand years, Blake searches for this heir, until one day he meets Dave Stutler, who is unaware of his gift. Then Horvath, an evil follower of Morgana, uses Dave’s dormant powers to escape from the Grimhold, a prison that keeps the sorceress’s minions locked away tight. Horvath then imprisons Blake and escapes to try and free others from the Grimhold. You take the role of Dave as you fight through Manhattan to stop his evil plans, with the help of the imprisoned Blake. Horvath uses his magic to summon objects, which have been turned into monsters, to try to stop Dave.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a 3D action game. In the story mode you navigate your character, Dave, through the environment using magic spells. These are used to attack monsters that stand in your way. There are six types, each with its own color. The spells are unlocked as you progress through the game. As you use each type of magic, you obtain an aura of that magic’s color. Monsters have their own colored auras, and you are immune to them if you have the same spell color selected. Throughout the environment you can find spell power-ups, allowing you to unleash a more powerful attack using that spell. Once you find three of the same type, you have to complete a minigame on the touch screen to activate it. The multiplayer mode is called “Pass the DS.” As the name suggests, the mode only requires one DS for up to four players. You take a turn, then you pass it along when your turn has ended. Multiplayer mode plays the same as the story mode, but it has four different styles, each with their own goals.

Sorcerer‘s look and feel is similar to another DS game, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. The environment looks great and has a good 3D feel to it. The controls are not as bad as most DS games that I have played in the past. I like that each spell has a unique style, which adds some flare to the game.

The major problem with Sorcerer is that it gets boring really fast. At first it seems like it would be a fun game to play, but it’s the same thing over and over again. It throws a certain colored monster at you. You switch to that spell. Then it throws a different colored monster at you. You then switch to that spell. Then it throws two different colored monsters at you. Then you switch between the two different spells. The story doesn’t do enough to make you want to keep playing. I was only able to play in short periods, but I dug deep and played enough of the game to realize boring repetition is all you get.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice relies too much on the movie to sell the game. A great looking environment and unique spells are no match for repetitive gameplay. The only way I see someone enjoying this game is if they are a die-hard fan of the movie and can’t get enough of it. Everyone else should stay as far away as possible.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Patrick Watts for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments

Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Game Republic
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z hold a special place in my heart (along with Outlaw Star) as the three series that introduced me to anime. With the recent reboots to the original Dragon Ball and early story arcs of Dragon Ball Z, a slew of new games have come riding in on the coat-tails of the series’ fresh burst of popularity. Dragon Ball Origins 2 is the second game that follows the DB storyline, picking up right where Dragon Ball Origins left off.

Dragon Ball Origins 2 places you once again in control of Goku as he searches for the Dragon Balls scattered after the end of Dragon Ball Origins. Seeking the four-star Dragon Ball left to him by his grandfather, Goku finds himself facing off against the Red Ribbon Army; they too are searching for the Dragon Balls, but they intend to use the balls’ incredible wish-granting power for evil. Along the way, Goku is joined by various friends from the original anime, many of whom are also playable.

Dragon Ball Origins 2 plays much like DBO, with one significant change: it allows the use of button input for gameplay as an alternative to stylus-only control. The game progresses in an episodic format, with the story divided into small chunks of roughly 10 minutes of gameplay each; bonuses are awarded for fast completion. Goku and his allies fight using either stylus input or buttons to unleash combos or perform special attacks on enemies encountered in real time on the map. Character power is enhanced by spending training points (earned in various ways) on three character stats: health bar, skill power and special attack bar. Between episodes, earned money can be spent on collectible figurines or various items in the shop.

Dragon Ball Origins 2 first grabbed me with the one huge improvement on the first game: button input. I hated the mandatory stylus control; the option to use the buttons is a very welcome and appreciated addition. The button controls are well executed and make the battle system, though not much changed from the original, feel much smoother. The 3D graphics are surprisingly well done; they’re a good example of what the DS can do and how anime characters can and should be rendered in 3D. The episodic format of the story progression is perfect for a portable game, allowing short sessions of play that can easily fit into anyone’s schedule.

Despite it’s graphical polish and gameplay improvements, DBO 2 is not an outstanding game. Though the episodic format is good for on-the-go play, the way the chunks of story are presented comes off stilted and somewhat hard to follow. As much as the story stays true to the anime series, it’s unlikely that anyone who hasn’t seen the series will really understand everything going on. Environments, though well rendered, are repetitive and simplistic, with little variety in the scenery or enemies found there. The puzzles, touted as one of the game’s features, are annoying, less challenging and easier to solve than those of the previous game.

In the end, Dragon Ball Origins 2 has a few shortcomings that hold it back from being great. Still, it’s a fun game that really captures the adventure and exploration feel of the anime series. Fans of the anime will really enjoy it as a decent interpretation, but even those who haven’t seen the series can enjoy it as an average but fun action-adventure.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Michael Smith for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Developer: Handmade Game
Genre: Puzzle
Release date: Available now

The sliding-tile puzzle is something that most people know, but in case you have no idea what I am talking about, maybe this will jog your memory: it’s small, made of plastic and has 15 sliding squares. There’s an empty slot that allows you to rearrange the squares to complete the puzzle. Hudson Entertainment has a put an unusual spin on this child’s birthday party goody-bag staple with Rooms: the Main Building for the Nintendo DS and the Wii.

You’re at home and you hear a knock at the door. You see a nicely wrapped present at your doorstep. The card reads, “Happy birthday! I hope you enjoy your birthday present -From Mr. Book.” Inside the present is a weird puzzle game that transports you outside to a strange city street. You are then greeted by a talking book with big, googly eyes. He explains he is your guide and helper for the Rooms Mansion, made up of sliding rooms, and you’ve been invited to visit. To escape and return home you must do what the strange talking book says and enter the mansion.

Rooms: the Main Building is broken into several stages. To pass each stage you move your character to the door. The rooms are broken into sliding sections. You have to use your touch screen to create a pathway to the door by sliding the sections together in a particular order. It wouldn’t be a puzzle game if there weren’t various things added to make it a challenge, such as ladders, locked sections that require keys, teleportation and so on. The obstacles become more frequent and difficult as you progress farther into the game. Rooms: the Main Building also offers a challenge mode after you complete the story that adds things such as time limits.

The thing that really keeps Rooms: the Main Building from being a total crap-fest is the room editor. You can create your own puzzle. If there’s someone else nearby who has the game, you can share your custom level. This could create some great road-trip entertainment as you battle your friends and try to stump each other. I did find the idea of taking an old child’s party gift and turning it into a puzzle video game very artistic.

To be perfectly simple and to the point, this game is tedious and just not fun to play. Rooms’ game play is this: slide a room section, pass over the obstacles, enter the door to progress to the next stage, then repeat. After a while you start to see that the game makes you yawn a lot with the childish and repetitive story.

Rooms: the Main Building is a puzzle game that is just boring. Puzzle fans who have puzzle-fan friends are the only players who can be entertained by this game, utilizing the room editor and the sharing ability. If you don’t like puzzle games and they frustrate you, run away from this game as if a hungry dinosaur is chasing you.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Patrick Watts for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: SouthPeak Games
Developer: Renegade Kid
Genre: Survival horror
Release date: Available now

If you’re looking for a little bit of the old ultraviolence in a video game, it would seem that the Nintendo DS would not be your console of choice. There are very few shooters available for the system, and for good reason; hardware restrictions and control problems make the DS unattractive for action-game developers. Bucking that trend is Dementium II, SouthPeak Games and developer Renegade Kid’s attempt to show that blood can be convincingly spilled using the Nintendo handheld.

Dementium II continues the story began in 2007′s Dementium: The Ward. Psychiatric patient William Redmoor is brought to the Bright Dawn Treatment Center following the murders of his wife and daughter. But even before he gets to his room, he begins to see horrific visions that make the hospital look more like a slaughterhouse. These visions are the result of brain surgery performed on him by a mysterious physician, whose voice taunts Redmoor throughout the game. Redmoor escapes from his cell and tries to survive an onslaught of twisted creatures during his journey to find the doctor.

The first few moments of Dementium II eases you into the controls and the environment of Bright Dawn, one of the least appropriate place names to be found in a game. You move William around the map with the D-pad. Dragging the stylus around the touch screen substitutes for mouse-look, and you attack using one of the shoulder buttons. A very helpful map is constantly displayed on the bottom of the touch screen, allowing you to see where you’ve been and where you probably should be going. Inventory is managed by tapping a field under the map and dragging with the stylus, which opens an inventory screen; drag to the item you want to equip and lift the stylus, and the item is ready to use.

Dementium II is dark, in both senses of the word. Not only does it have a creepy and unsettling environment, it’s also visually dark. You feel around in the edgy blackness for hours until you finally find a flashlight, and you’ll thank God for it as the dungeon crawl progresses. The sledgehammer is also a useful find; this two-handed weapon gains you access to areas that hold many valuable items. Projectile weapons include a revolver, a shotgun and an automatic rifle, and are scattered throughout the hospital. Most are fairly effective against the odd collection of enemies you encounter, but ammo for them is scarce and hidden in corners of rooms, forcing you to search every area thoroughly to keep yourself armed and dangerous. Gameplay is simple: fill in the map, find clues and combinations to various locks, kill baddies. And despite the lack of a quick-save function, Dementium II is easily played in 15-minute chunks, a vital feature for DS players who usually game on public transportation or in the laundry room. Save locations are noted on the map, so it’s usually easy to run to the nearest red mirror and save your game.

Dementium II is heavy on the atmosphere, which is a good thing for a successful survival horror game to have. But much of the surprise of combat is spoiled by the music, which switches from a light, repeating melody to a sound similar to the screeching strings heard in the shower scene in The Birds when enemies are near. The simplicity of the inventory system is a welcome feature, but there is no auto-reload function for the weapons; having to manually reload your shotgun after every other shot can easily get you killed. Redmoor’s journey includes a significant amount of mandatory backtracking, which combines with the checkpoint saving system to artificially extend the length of the game to eight to 10 hours; be prepared to recharge your DS several times before you finish. Boss battles are simple, repetitive affairs, at least until the final confrontation. In most shooters you can tell when the final boss is near; you always find a room filled with plenty of every kind of ammo and powerup in the game. Not so with Dementium II. You enter the final arena with whatever’s left of your arsenal, and there are no spawning ammo caches or health packs in the room (word of advice: stockpile dynamite and flamethrower fuel). But the biggest annoyance in the game is the control scheme. The movement controls are fine until you combine them with the shoulder button to fire your weapons. This serves to tie your hands in knots, and makes it practically impossible to fire and move at the same time, something that all shooter players know is vital to survive. You get used to the controls as the game goes on, but being forced to stand still during combat is a recipe for disaster. Also, Renegade Kid has added a Survival mode, levels of which unlock when you complete each of the campaign’s five chapters. This is nothing more than you versus a neverending flood of gradually tougher enemies with no ammo or health in sight.

Dementium II is the kind of game that stimulates the gaming psyche in conflicting ways. Your mind knows that the controls are difficult to manage, the enemy AI is rudimentary at best, the music ruins the tension of impending combat rather than feeding it, and the boss battles are merely wars of attrition. But your heart appreciates the game’s creepy atmosphere, the simple inventory system, the always-on-top map that’s not relegated to a tiny corner of the screen as it would be in other games, and the straightforward story that won’t confound you if you put it down for awhile and come back to it later. This is a fine step forward for action games on the DS, even though there are potholes to navigate along the way.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Michael Smith for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Conspiracy Entertainment
Developer: DTP Young Entertainment
Genre: Fashion simulator
Release date: Available now
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Ever since its release, the Nintendo DS has been the chosen platform for fashion games. The system’s appeal to teen and preteen casual girl gamers over other consoles makes it the perfect place for a game such as America’s Next Top Model. The popular television series comes to the DS to let fans take the experience of the cutthroat fashion competition with them wherever they go.

You choose one of four models to guide through the ins and outs of trying to become America’s Next Top Model. As in the television series, all the competitors live together in a large mansion, where they interact with each other and form alliances or make enemies. Every girl strives to catch the judge’s eyes by matching each week’s theme well enough to avoid elimination at week’s end.

The choice of your character is aesthetic only and doesn’t offer any bonuses or penalties in the course of the game. Each week is assigned a fashion theme; casual, winter and so on. While matching your model’s outfit to the week’s theme, you must also manage the woman’s hunger, mood, overall looks and fitness. The models are judged every day in different categories and face a final judging at the end of every week, when one of them is eliminated. Most things in the game are handled as minigames. Walking the catwalk is a timing-based mini game, while applying makeup and changing your hairstyle involve meeting a checklist of requirements. Even interacting with other models can lead to a minigame in the form of a “cat fight.”

As an interpretation of a real competition, America’s Next Top Model tries to cover all of the different aspects involved and manages to include quite a bit. Interacting with the other models, keeping your model fit, making allies or enemies, and styling hair, makeup and clothes are all present. There is a reasonably wide selection of clothing, makeup and hairstyles from which to choose, and matching the week’s style is fairly easy. It’s not too hard to meet your model’s needs and the competition requirements, since you’re never judged without fair warning despite the game’s insistence that there will be “surprises.” Weekly photo shoots, daily judging and weekly eliminations are all strictly scheduled and easy to manage.

While the gameplay is simple and the concepts are individually well executed, there is no variety. Every game day is more monotonous than the last, and the judging or occasional cat fights do little to alleviate it. Even the background music is repetitive and lacks variety. Characters move slowly even when running, and with a large area to explore, this is extremely frustrating. Styling menus are clunky and slow, and a lack of information makes guessing the best combinations very hit and miss; two coats might match the “winter” theme, but one is worth more points, and trial and error is the only way to know which is which. Also, characters are blocky and pixelate badly when zooming in on them for photo shoots or applying makeup.

America’s Next Top Model tries hard to re-create the popular TV series, but it spends too much time trying to cram in all the different facets of the competition, rather than making any one or a few of them well done and interesting. The result is a game that is bland and repetitive to the point of mind-numbing boredom.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Michael Smith for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Valcon Games
Developer: Little Worlds Studio
Genre: Educational
Release date: Available now

My parents will be pleased. Finally, the thousands of dollars that they spent to send me to college for my music education degree are finally justified. The endless hours that I spent bent over a piano keyboard preparing to lead a classroom full of rambunctious young students in a rousing rendition of “America the Beautiful” are finally amounting to something. I can use that knowledge to tell you to that there’s no substitute for getting piano lessons from a real teacher on a real instrument. Not even Easy Piano, Little Worlds and Valcon Games’ attempt to introduce you to the wonderful world of music through your Nintendo DS.

Easy Piano features three modes. One teaches you the basics of reading music notation, the second lets you select from a collection of 33 songs in several genres to play, and the third gives you the opportunity to create your own music. A virtual tutor guides you through the modes from the top screen, while you use either the stylus or the one-octave mini-keyboard that comes packaged with the game to complete the lessons and play the songs.

The Learning mode is divided into 10 lessons, focusing on notation fundamentals such as the musical staff, lines and spaces, note placement, the treble and bass clefs. Each lesson ends with a minigame, which you must successfully complete to move on to the next lesson. Unlocked minigames can also be played in the Activities section of the Learning mode.

In the Star Pianist mode, you must correctly play at least 80 percent of each song’s notes to unlock the next song in the list. Aside from examples of the standard classical piano repertoire (Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” and Pachelbel’s notorious Canon in D), there are traditional children’s classroom tunes, the national anthems of the United States and Canada, and pop tunes such as Madonna’s “Material Girl” and, as a strange selection, “Our House” by the British pop band Madness. These selections are played just like Guitar Hero; notes scroll from right to left, and you must either strike the correct key on the keyboard peripheral or tap the corresponding spot on the touch screen when the notes reach the left edge of the display. The tempo of each song can be adjusted with the D-pad, and there are two difficulty settings (Beginner and Virtuoso). And in Composition mode, you can either use the stylus to drag and drop notes onto a blank staff or use the keyboard to create your own melodies, which can be played back using the sounds of four separate instruments.

As a musician I can tell you that there’s not much that’s good or useful in Easy Piano. First, owners of the DSI can’t use the keyboard peripheral because the newer Nintendo hand-held doesn’t have a Game Boy Advance slot, a fact that also excludes DSI users from the fun to be had in Guitar Hero: On Tour. Easy Piano can be played with just the stylus, but you’ll need extra-sharp reflexes to tap correctly on the touch screen in some of the songs. The minigames at the end of each lesson are boring and much too easy to successfully complete. Some of the information in the lessons is decades out of date (in four years of music school, I never heard whole notes, half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes referred to as semibreves, minims, crochets and quavers, respectively, and that was 30 years ago). The finger numbering is wrong in some of the lessons. Some of the melodies in the Star Pianist mode have a range greater than the size of the keyboard, causing the developer to make awkward and incorrect octave jumps in the music. And perhaps worst, the program spends almost the entire Learning mode teaching you to read music, but it doesn’t let you try to use what you’ve learned in the Star Pianist mode, choosing instead to rip off the gameplay mechanics of Guitar Hero and Rock Band with scrolling colored pills instead of actual music notation. Easy Piano‘s only saving grace is the Composition mode, which features a surprisingly powerful music-creation interface that lets you put your musical thoughts on-screen.

Some parents might think that Easy Piano might be a good way to get their children interested in playing the piano. Resist the temptation. Your kids will learn more in one lesson with a real teacher than they will with this program, and probably for less money. The combination of the boring minigames, the lack of reinforcement of the things it tries to teach, and the overall absence of fun makes this program the video-game equivalent of a bad lesson plan.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Michael Smith for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Aspyr
Developer: Big Blue Bubble
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now

I had no idea of the history behind Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain when I first started playing it. FF is a first-person action RPG for the Nintendo DS that comes from a long history of game books written in a “choose your own adventure” style. Does it have enough to be a great video game for the DS?

Your adventure begins when you step off a boat onto the docks at a town called Stonebridge. You’ve heard of the legendary keep of Firetop Mountain, and you’re in search of the treasure it might hold. Many before you have tried to find it, but have not returned. There is a legend of a Warlock named Zagor who controls the area along with his minions; they stand between you and the treasure.

Fighting Fantasy starts with a series of questions. They ask what type of play style you like, such as a magic user or weapon wielding warrior, and a character is created. If you don’t like the outcome, you can customize your character and choose your two starting abilities. You move your avatar with the directional pad, and use either the buttons or the stylus for camera control. The touch screen displays your action bar, which you can use to customize the abilities that are ready to use at a moment’s notice. To advance through Fighting Fantasy, you must complete quests given to you by NPCs. Killing monsters and completing quests give you experience that you use to upgrade your skills and abilities. You’re given the opportunity to draw and take notes on your map to help guide you through the twisted dungeons and caverns.

Fighting Fantasy starts slowly, but after an hour or so it started to grow on me. The game has some good things to offer. The open 3D world is great for the DS. The inventory management system is easy to use. There are many items and gear you can find along the way, adding to the RPG flavor of it. Save points are liberally scattered throughout the game, and it’s a good thing; I found myself getting killed a lot. The ability to draw on the map and take notes is amazing. It saved me a lot of time because it gave me the ability to make note of where I had already explored. There are also dialogue options that add a little spice to the game. You can outsmart a monster and not have to fight him if you choose the correct conversation responses.

The Nintendo DS is not great for first-person games because the controls are always a problem. In Fighting Fantasy, the controls are what hold it back. They hinder your ability to truly enjoy the game. While I was playing, I was wishing for two joysticks for movement rather than the DS layout. Also, the story didn’t add anything to the experience. It seemed very bland and uneventful.

It’s not the prettiest looking game, but Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is enjoyable, even though it’s greatly handicapped by its controls. The game does have many good aspects to it. The story doesn’t draw you in, but the gameplay does. But if you have never played a first-person action RPG, don’t start with this one.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© Patrick Watts for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: VD Dev
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now

If you’ve ever been pulled over by a police officer, then you know it’s never fun. Most people driving by slow down and stare at you like you’re a sideshow feature at a traveling carnival; some people must enjoy it when others get in trouble. C.O.P.: The Recruit from Ubisoft gives you the chance to be on the side of the city protector, flashing your red and blue lights whenever you feel like it.

You play as Dan Miles, a former underground street racer who creates havoc in New York City with his reckless behavior until Det. Bradley Winter has a car chase with Dan and catches him. Dan has one choice: go to prison for unlawful conduct, or become a cop in the City Control Division (CCD) in a new program that takes criminals and turns them into police officers. His first task in the CCD: take on a terrorist organization and save the city.

C.O.P.: The Recruit’s gameplay is a tribute to the Grand Theft Auto games. You run around an open-world 3D cityscape commandeering cars instead of stealing them. You receive various missions from your City Control Console (3C). Your 3C also contains your map and a directory in which you can look up various locations spread across the city to help you navigate. Your touch screen also can be used for shooting (the option can be turned off if you prefer to use buttons).

Having an open 3D world on the DS is very impressive. You can walk around, take any of the various cars that are in the city and drive. New York City feels like a real place, with the sounds and surroundings being convincing even for a DS game. C.O.P.: The Recruit is well put-together in the sense that being a DS game and having a 3D world is altogether effective at times.

I really don’t know where to start to discuss what I disliked about C.O.P.: The Recruit. The first thing that annoyed me is that any enjoyment to be had is lost because of the control system. The driving mechanic is clunky; I crashed into anything and everything possible in missions during which I needed to chase a car. The shooting part of the game is terrible. Some developers have no trouble making shooters for the DS. VD Dev is not one of them. And plot-wise, C.O.P.: The Recruit’s story is a snoozefest.

I have to be honest; when I first got this game to review I was a little excited. I really wanted C.O.P.: The Recruit to be a game in which you could be a policeman, bust bad guys and save the day, but it falls short. Clunky controls mixed with terrible shooting make for bad headaches. Even with the surprising open 3D city environment, this game just doesn’t deliver.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Patrick Watts for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink | One comment

Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Monolift Soft
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

Take one of the most recognizable Manga and anime series and have it fused with a turn-based RPG. The result is…Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the DS. For the first time ever in North America, the world famous Dragon Ball Z series arrives in a turn-based RPG from Namco Bandai.

Right after Goku defeats Piccolo in the world tournament is where Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans starts off. All the famous Dragon Ball Z characters, like Krillin and Gohan, are living their lives and doing what makes them happy when mysterious alien warriors, called Saiyans, come to Earth with the sole purpose of destroying every living person. Goku and the others must band together if they have any hopes to stop these powerful Saiyans.

The game is a standard turn-based RPG. You fight random enemies as you progress and gain experience, and with this experience you gain levels and obtain better skills. With a max party size of three, you are able to switch between reserve characters at any time during battle. There’s also a feature called “active guard”. When an enemy attacks one of your characters you press the corresponding button next to the character to block some damage. Pressing the button too early or late, however, cancels your “active guard” chance.

Attack of the Saiyans brings some pretty good things to the table. The flashy animations and “active guard” help create a great gaming experience that is not boring to look at, even for hours on end. The title also does a great job capturing the story of the series and putting it into an interactive turn-based RPG format.

All is not perfect here, though, as when I first started playing, there was one big thing that stuck out…the difficulty. The game is too easy. I did not feel challenged when fighting enemies until much later in the game when facing a boss.

While Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans is by no means ground breaking, it does serve as a bit of salt and pepper to the turn-based RPG. It adds a little spice to the genre and makes it better while being simple at the same time. People who are new to the series, “hardcore” Dragon Ball fans, or people just craving a new turn-based RPG for their DS will find this game entertaining.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Patrick Watts for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | One comment

Publisher: Oxygen Games
Developer: GameInvest
Genre: Sim
Release Date: Available now

Handheld systems have long been the perfect remedy for whiling away a long wait – whether it be in those Black Friday lines as we chase down the last copy of New Super Mario Bros., or at our local health clinic as we look to procure that life-saving substance that will ward off this season’s media emboldened Big Bad – the H1N1 virus. What better way to kill the hours spent suffering through an interminable hospital wait than by guiding ourselves through a virtual medical drama – the salve that the game designers at GameInvest have concocted in their latest release, Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward.

In Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward, the player assumes the role of a nurse who is charged with guiding a bustling hospital through a manic stretch of nine days, during which all manner of medical mysteries must be resolved via quick application of your stylus. Each day is dominated by minigames, in the guise of patient visits, which must be resolved within a time limit in order to progress further in the adventure. The player will be called upon to guide a patient to the appropriate area for diagnosis (using the touch screen) and then work on the treatment depending upon which diagnosis is prompted in an on-screen thought bubble.

This system leads to some Sims-style micromanagement, where the player will need to get patients the appropriate diagnosis and medication while also insuring that other day-to-day elements of hospital management are attended to including room preparation (which is accomplished by clicking on beds and laundry baskets to prepare the bed for a new patient). Eventually, the player will accumulate a queue of tasks which they can prioritize using the stylus and touch screen, which introduces an element of project management to the game. Time is of the essence and if a patient is not attended to within a timely fashion, they will leave and the hospital will suffer. Prompt and proper service will result in increased funds for the hospital, which can then be allocated to resource development (i.e. new equipment and salary boosts for the staff).

While the idea of running a busy hospital caters to that cabal of gamers who enjoy shaping sim cities and the like to prosperity, the game play in Hysteria Hospital is too superficial to offer much enjoyment to the hardcore sim crowd. The game descends into a very cookie-cutter approach to treating patients with a small variety of actions and minigames called upon to handle the unhealthy hordes. While the game quickly introduces elements of resource management, the lack of depth kills any potential for truly strategic game play.

In addition, the visuals are lacking with character models and environments displaying all the flair of last generation handheld titles. I realize hospitals are antiseptic and utilitarian by design but on the small screen, liberties should be taken to make the game visually appealing and sell the fantasy. While the DS may lag behind the PSP, it is still capable of producing some compelling artwork, and the developers have not exploited the system’s strengths.

Over the years, I’ve railed against the legions of publishers who have taken aim at the Wii’s large, built-in audience of casual consumers and plied them with collections of shovelware detritus and largely, those titles have come from shady publishers who know no shame. A short while back, I reviewed Oxygen’s Wii release, Cid the Dummy, and railed against the company for following this same tactic. Once again, they’ve returned with a barebones release aimed at liberating funds from unsuspecting casual consumers. After the release of Hysteria Hospital, I am seriously considering a malpractice suit.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Ed Humphries for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Oxygen Interactive
Developer: Oxygen Interactive
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now

If playing Britney Spears at Abu-Grabe qualifies as torture, then forcing people to play My Make-Up must be tantamount to water-boarding. I’m noticing an alarming trend, as I review the latest slew of games from O-Games USA. “E for Everyone” is quickly becoming a euphemism for “N for Nobody.” My Make-Up is the latest evidence.

Let’s not mince words here: My Make-Up isn’t really a game. It’s a character creator; a precursor to some other game that doesn’t exist. There is no story, no competition, no leveling up or earning swag. Just you, a face, a color palette, and whichever friends decide to join you to exchange makeovers. Technically, the game sports three modes: Makeover, Pampering, and Facepainting. In reality, Facepainting is the only mode that actually gives the player a free hand with which to do something creative.

As with most character creators, you can chose different eyes, noses, skin tones, and hairstyles. The difference, in My Make-Up, is that you can also customize your lipstick, blush, mascara, and eyeliner. Applying makeup happens pretty much the way it does in real life: you touch the color you want with your stylus and then drag the stylus across your face in the desired area. Then you save that, maybe take a picture to show to your friends, and you go do something more fun.

Now maybe I’ve been socialized in a way that prevents me from seeing the fun of this game. Maybe little girls everywhere will love this game forever, as will their mothers, who no longer come home to find $15 tubes of lipstick all over their children’s faces. I doubt it. I grew up with two sisters, no brothers, and did a lot of theater in high school. It’s a miracle I’m not wearing makeup and a skirt as I type this very article.

I know how to put on makeup, and I’ve got a pretty good idea of why little girls love it. All of that is lost in the translation with My Make-Up. The stylus is unresponsive and frustrating. There’s no fun, soft brushes to slap your friends in the face with. YOU aren’t the one who gets to look pretty. Even if you can interact with friends online, it’s no slumber party. It’s just cartoonish faces and a few sound effects; not even any music to speak of. My Make-Up is barely a step up from MS Paint.

While I’m not the target market for My Make-Up, I still feel qualified to call the game a big let-down. There’s barely anything game-like about it, not even mini-games. Facepainting is the only mode in which the player can really take control of the brush, and even that is tedious. Your kids will have a lot more fun with a Halloween makeup set, or something out of a bargain bin at Ulta.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© James Dolbeare for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Oxygen Interactive
Developer: Oxygen Studios
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now

Folks, I know Chicago is a harsh and unforgiving place in the winter. I know not all kids have room to run around in their parents’ houses. I know that parents don’t want their kids playing violent games with “mature” themes. But for the love of God, are we so lazy we can’t even get off our butts to play a real game of tag? O-Games seems to think so.

My Friends is, quite literally, a virtual playground. You can create your own character, as well as other friends to play with, or play with others online. While your customization options are fairly limited at the outset, you can get new looks from happy friends. You begin on a playground, where you interact with your friends by giving them gifts or playing mini-games.

Mini-games include tag, treasure hunt, ball rush, and other recess activities. “Mini-games,” however, may be a misnomer, as they’re actually the only game-like part of My Friends. The rest of the game is pretty much just trying to make your friends happy so they’ll give you new swag like locations, games, or outfits.

The look of the game is dismal at best. The characters are pixilated, the environments are boring, and the menus are poorly designed. Not surprisingly, the music is annoying and adds nothing to the experience. The menu interface is poorly designed as well, as the arrows and colors often don’t do what you’d expect.

As it turns out, playing games that are almost entirely physical isn’t all that fun when you remove the need to actually move around. My Friends feels like all the extra features of a normal game without the game itself. Sure, I’ve played games in which the character creator was the best part, but those were bad games with much better character creators than My Friends.

If you’re looking for a way to keep your 7-year-old from running around on the train or bus, this game might be worth a look. Still, I think playground games are best left to the playground, and even young children will appreciate something with a little more imagination than My Friends. As for the online interactions: it’s little better than a smartphone.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© James Dolbeare for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | No comment(s)

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

So I’m a grown man who knows exactly in which house of Hogwarts the students at his law school belong. It takes a real nerd to admit that. I used to be a little cheesed at J.K. Rowling for not giving America its own school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wizards of Waverly Place shows us why J.K didn’t bother: such a school would be run by Disney and populated by the daughters of country music stars, with most of the magic used to prepare and convey food.

Disney Interactive Studios has clearly accepted that only fans of the TV show or movie would buy Wizards, as they didn’t bother to include any exposition or semblance of a plot. Having had no prior contact with the franchise, I neither knew nor eventually learned who the characters were or how they related to one another. This isn’t a game about the Wizards of Waverly, it’s a game in which the characters were plucked from Waverly Place and placed in generic mini-games.

The gameplay mainly centers around casting spells by tracing paterns on the DS screen with the stylus. The “stylus as a wand” concept is a surprisingly clever control scheme, although it doesn’t change the fact that you’re using magic to make sandwiches. There’s very little room for creativity in your spell casting, since the spells are fairly limited in both number and use and most objects aren’t affected by them. Also, the game practically tells you how to complete your objectives. This makes for a very poor action/adventure experience, as the puzzles are pretty much solved for you.

Wizards also sports an online mode for those who have set up a Dgamer account. In the online mode, you can play against others in the minigames you’ve unlocked in story mode. While this is much more fun than playing the games alone, it gets old quickly. And you’ve still got to endure the story mode to unlock the minigames in the first place.

Even for the DS, the graphics in Wizards are nothing special. While there’s a lot of detail in the environments, characters and objects are often pixilated, and anyone who doesn’t enjoy the giant-head-tiny-body BRATZ aesthetic will probably be put off by the look of the game. The music is repetitive, generic and annoying. The interface can sometimes be frustrating when the DS fails to execute a spell that you’ve correctly traced, but for the most part it responds well.

If you’re a huge fan of the series, Wizards of Waverly Place might be worth a look. Even so, don’t go in expecting any real story or clever dialogue. This game has very little to do with the series, and is simply banking on its name to sell an otherwise lackluster game.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation:

© James Dolbeare for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | One comment

Publisher: Activision
Developer: A2M
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: Available now

Like any children’s movie to come out in the last 20 years Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has spawned a video game adaptation. The DS version attempts to capture the humor and fun of the film. It deviates from the main characters of the series and focuses on one of the new characters introduced in the film. While obvious that this game is made for children, can it be enjoyed by older gamers as well?

Buck is a swashbuckling weasel who is in short, insane. His humor and character come across in the film, but somehow do not translate as well into the game. The game attempts to tell the story through cut-scenes in between levels but falls just shy of this goal. The levels don’t convey the story either, as you are often just going from point A to point B collecting items. There is some dialogue thrown in there but nothing to truly push the story.

The game is essentially a 2D platformer that has you jumping, swinging, climbing, and rolling through levels. The characters and levels are rendered in 3D but the game is mainly side scrolling. There are moments where levels may open up a bit and have some depth but that is not too often. One problem with the game is that it often does not let you know that a level has opened up a bit. I found myself wondering where to go at times and this can get a little frustrating, but thankfully these instances were few and far between so this is not a major concern. One problem that comes up often is collision detection, especially when swinging and jumping. I often found myself frustrated while attempting to swing and jump through some of the game’s challenges. This is a major flaw in a game so focused on platforming.

The game has many items to collect, such as nuts, crystals, and heart orbs. The heart orbs obviously increase your health ala Zelda, and you actually need them. There are times when the collision detection gets frustrating with enemies. Buck is limited in his attacks with scratch and ground stomp being the main two. Some enemies must be stunned using the ground stomp and due to the poor collision detection it can take multiple attempts to take an enemy down. The crystals can be used to unlock certain mini-games and cheats. These mini-games involve Sid the sloth attempting to shoot rocks at incoming enemies to protect 3 baby dinosaurs. There are some hidden areas to be explored and the game does a good job of letting you know what items you missed on each level, which could lead to replayability for those who would like to complete 100% of each level.

One thing that the game does very well is capture the art style of the film. There are moments when the characters look very good (particularly for the DS). The environments are true to the movie and the dialogue is done by the same voice actors from the film. I just wish that the humor, so prevalent in the film, had made the transition to the game. This really would have complimented the decent graphics and immersiveness of the Ice Age world. The film series is filled with laughs and I didn’t find myself laughing at all during my play through of this game.

At the end of the day A2M’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs achieved what it set out to do, make a decent DS title that children who see the film would love. It takes the most memorable character from the film and puts him front and center in a somewhat fun game. I could easily see parents taking their kids to see this film and then stopping by the game store on the way home to continue the experience. I’m positive that kids will love this game because my son certainly does. I give it 3 stars for that reason alone, because for the market it was created for it does an average job at fulfilling its promise. As a true platformer, though, it loses some of its luster through somewhat repetitive gameplay and its issues with collision detection. It’s an average game based on a hit movie that will soon be forgotten.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | One comment

Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developers: Feel Plus, Brownie Brown
Genre: Strategy/RPG
Release date: Available now

The original Blue Dragon released back in 2007, exclusively for the Xbox 360, and was met with a somewhat bland response. At the time I remember being a little excited because I thought it was going to be an ongoing RPG series exclusive to the 360 and because the art style was done by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. However, after a short time playing the 360 version I just could not get sucked into the game due to its story and gameplay. Now, we have a new entry into the series with Blue Dragon Plus. This time it’s on a different platform and is in a new genre. Can it fulfill the promises that it’s bigger brother couldn’t?

Blue Dragon Plus carries on the story presented in the first game, and is essentially a sequel in its plot and characters. This is immediately a fault with the game. If you have not played the first one then you will have no idea what is going on, as the game does little to catch you up on the events of the first and just assumes that you know the back story. I love to feel immersed in the story of a game. That is usually what keeps me playing through to the end, but in this case, I just felt like I was lost the whole time and didn’t really understand why the characters had these powers and who their enemies really were. I had to go in search of these answers myself on the Internet. I understand the idea of wanting to carry on your story but I think since this was on a different platform, that they needed to truly bring everyone up to speed.

The story follows the main character Shu and his partners through countless battles against the enemy from the first game. The characters have the ability to control phantom shadows, and these shadows are where the game derives its title from. Each character’s shadow is unique to and has certain abilities that unlock as the character levels up. Like any other RPG you are constantly shuffling equipment, items, and weapons. The game gets to a point where you can have many characters under your control and setting each character up often becomes a task in itself. It’s one thing to have an RPG with item management, because it is often crucial in core gameplay, but to be doing this with so many characters often gets tedious and somewhat frustrating. You also gain the ability to control robot mechs that you unlock throughout the story. These are just more allies on screen to control but they do add to the strategy as you pick and choose which mechs to use.

The core gameplay element of Blue Dragon Plus is strategy. The game requires that you pick your units and tell them where to go and which enemies to attack. You do this using the stylus. You have the ability to choose one character or draw a circle around multiple characters to select them. This actually works very well on the DS. If you tap on a character it gives you the actions that they can currently do including attack and heal. Like the item management this can get somewhat stressful when attempting to direct many characters on screen at once. The game does allow you to pause the real-time battles, however, and make your strategic decisions. You also have the ability to rotate the camera with L and R and pan the camera with the D-pad which helps in character management. The strategy is further added between each battle with the main “map” being a cube (that somehow fits in to the story but had me lost) that your characters move through and ultimately open up new battles and progress the story. Your party will split up at times and you will choose which characters to send together into each battle and equip them as you see appropriate.

In terms of visuals, Blue Dragon Plus does a great job of capturing the art style of the original. The characters all have their own unique look and the graphics are pretty good for a DS title. The view is very similar to other strategy RPG’s on the DS with that almost overhead-side view that looks great with the 3D environments and 2D characters. The game throws in some pre-rendered cut scenes that look good as well. I just wish I knew what was going on because I probably would have enjoyed them more.

The bottom line is that it really isn’t a bad game. It has plenty of RPG elements to keep the hardcore fans happy but I just don’t think that it has the broad appeal that it strived to have. The confusing story is what will keep players away from this niche title. I think that only those who went along for the first Blue Dragon ride on the Xbox 360 can really appreciate this game. Even hardcore strategy RPG fans may find themselves bored with the 25+ hours that this title delivers. In the end Blue Dragon Plus delivers a lot but I find it too much for your average DS player.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation:

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2009. | Permalink | No comment(s)