Publisher: THQ
Developer: 5th Cell
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Real-time Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Smith

When you think about games for the Nintendo DS, story depth and character development don’t usually spring to mind. Most of these games are meant to be played in small chunks while riding the bus to school or the subway to work. Playing them for extended lengths of time usually results in aching neck muscles and eye strain, but with the release of Lock’s Quest, THQ and developer 5th Cell have given us an immersive and entertaining reason to fight through the pain.

In the Kingdom, Source is life. This magic substance, found in wells throughout the land, is used by the Archineers to build and maintain structures. The greatest of these Archineers was Agonius, who through the course of years had become the King’s favorite. But Agonius wanted to use the power of Source to create life; an ability that the King feared would endanger his reign. So the King forbade Agonius from proceeding with his experiments. This prompted the angry and ambitious Archineer to desert his King and disappear into the wilderness.

Many years later, the Kingdom comes under attack by mechanical beings called Clockworks, a machine army created by Agonius, now known as Lord Agony, using Source. Archineers from far and wide are recruited by the King to defend the land from the Clockwork scourge, and after a long and bitter war, two Archineers corner Lord Agony in a high tower. There is a tremendous explosion — and the war ends. Lord Agony is thought to be dead, but no information about what happened in the tower can be discovered.

With the war a distant memory, life has returned to normal. Lock, who lives in a small, seaside village with his younger sister, Emi, and their grandfather, Tobias, wants to become an Archineer. Tobias, himself a former Archineer, has been teaching Lock the tricks of the trade, and finally allows him to put them to the test by sending him to build a retaining wall to keep the village safe from high tides. While working on the wall, a wounded Archineer staggers to Lock and warns him that the Clockworks have returned and are advancing on Lock’s village to capture their Source well. Lock sends Emi back to town to warn the inhabitants, but is abducted en route. After helping to stop the Clockwork invasion of his home, Lock sets out to recover his kidnapped sister.