December 2007

Naruto: Path of the Ninja

December 11, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Video games based on existing story-based properties are seldom great, and Naruto: Path of the Ninja is no exception. Most licensed properties fall into retelling the show’s story, and therein lies the problem. By the time a program is popular enough to warrant a video game translation several season and numerous episodes have already made their way into the series’ canon. Some shows get the serial treatment with each game covering a season of the story (Avatar: The Last Airbender does this) while others just tackle as many major plot points as possible like Naruto. The result is a story that is too bare-bones for Naruto enthusiasts, but not in-depth enough for players looking for a good introduction to the series. Whatever happened to telling a side-story or detailing adventures hinted at in the series proper? Path of the Ninja‘s target audience knows the ins and outs of Naruto’s time spent as a Genin-level ninja, his experience with the Chunin-level exam, and the nefarious plans of Gaara and the Sand Ninja. RPGs depend on their story, and retelling one the audience knows doesn’t make a lot of sense here.

Path of the Ninja‘s controls are par for the course, and in this case, there’s nothing wrong with that. Battles are turn-based, and menu options make sense. Among the options are Move, Item, Attack, Escape, and Jutsu (magic). Moving about the battlefield opens up new Jutsu options and alters the amount of damage Naruto and his buddies can inflict on their enemies (and vice versa). Everything works as one would expect, and the development team did a good job of rationing out random encounters to make grinding for levels unnecessary.

Graphically, Naruto: Path of the Ninja shows that it is based on GBA games. Sprite work is beautiful, environments are large and bright, and the whole thing looks and plays like it belongs on the SNES. Most DS developers insist on using the third dimension just because they can; Naruto proves that just because you can doesn’t mean that you have to in order to make a decent game. Naruto’s visuals get the job done and feel appropriate given that Naruto is a cartoon.

As RPGs go this one is decent. It doesn’t do anything wrong, but it doesn’t stand out from the crowd either. Naruto fans already know the story being told, and there’s too much plot for newcomers to really feel comfortable. Naruto: Path of the Ninja is aimed at the enthusiast buying on name alone, and it shows.

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night

December 11, 2007

Reviews / Wii / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Spyro has been around for a while, and he needs to freshen things up a bit. To do that he’ll borrow gimmicks from other popular games and tack on some unnecessary motion controls. The Eternal Night is the second chapter of Spyro’s A

Dementium: The Ward

December 11, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Chris Ingersoll Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Fans of first-person shooters and survival horror games haven’t had many opportunities to enjoy these genres when away from home. For all of its market dominance, the Nintendo DS has definitely been lacking in those areas, but publisher Gamecock Media Group and developer Renegade Kid are looking to change this with their latest offering, Dementium: The Ward. Dementium brings a mature attitude that is rarely found on the popular two-screened handheld, with an ESRB rating to match.

The game starts off with you waking up in an unlit room in a run-down medical facility of sorts, possibly a sanitarium, with no memory of who you are or why you’re there in the first place. If the monotone recording instructing you to evacuate doesn’t convince you to get moving, then perhaps the blood smeared all over the place will. Before you leave the room, you find a notebook with “WHY DID YOU DO IT?” scrawled across one of its remaining pages, suggesting that maybe you do belong here after all…

Are you a murderer? Well, even if you’re not, those patchwork zombies certainly are. And since you seem to be the only one left alive (and human), you might have to address more important issues than your missing identity — like survival.

Survival is an appropriate word for Dementium, as it plays more like a survival horror game than a “shoot anything that moves” FPS, despite its camera perspective. Ammuntion is limited, with your primary weapon mostly being a guard’s nightstick; sometimes, it’s better to just run for it rather than fight. As you progress through the ward, you can acquire firearms that allow you more accuracy and greater range — assuming you can shoot in the dark. Like Doom 3, Dementium requires you to choose between holding a flashlight or a weapon, meaning that if you want to defend yourself you probably won’t be able to see your target unless it’s right on top of you (or underneath you, in some cases).

This would be frustrating enough without having to handle the DS’s first-person control scheme (Metroid Prime: Hunters used a similar method). For the right-handed, you move using the D-pad and use your held item by hitting the L button; the R button switches between your flashlight and whatever weapon you last selected. Everything else, from looking around to accessing subscreens (notebook, map, inventory, and options), is handled via the touch screen. Lefties can reverse everything if they prefer, using the XYAB buttons to move instead.

If you’ve never attempted this method of control, then you may not appreciate how awkward this is. In order to properly manipulate the movement and attack controls, you want to be holding the left side of the DS as you normally would; however, since your right hand is occupied by holding the stylus, you’re stuck supporting the other side of the handheld on your leg or possibly little finger. No matter how you decide to tackle that problem, this makes the game somewhat physically uncomfortable to play for extended periods of time. This effect may be somewhat lessened if you have a DS Lite rather than the heavier original DS, but it is something to keep in mind.

Mentally, playing Dementium is also uncomfortable, but this time it’s mostly intentional. Your flickering flashlight barely illuminates streaks of blood and other signs of a zombie infestation in the gloomy halls, while an audible health indicator (in concert with an appropriately EEG-like display on the touch screen) constantly thumps away in the background. A suitably creepy piano score and a constant downpour of rain provide even more ambiance, while zombies groan, whistle, and make other unsettling noises to let you know they’re around before they start trying to eat you alive. You can jot down information that might help you solve puzzles in your notebook, which is a small comfort, but at the end of the day it’s just you against a hospital full of bizarre, mutant zombies… the origins of which might creep you out even more, should you discover them.

Unfortunately, there is also a demoralizing aspect to Dementium, which is its biggest failing. If you fall victim to the zombies, then you’re forced to start over from the beginning of the chapter rather than from your last save point. This can result in you losing a substantial amount of progress, which can and will make you throw up your hands in frustration. Additionally, while ammunition and health pickups do not regenerate when you re-enter a room, the enemies do, making backtracking undesirable — and probably suicidal.

The intense (and unforgiving) difficulty and control scheme form an imposing barrier to really enjoying Dementium, but in spite of that roadblock, Dementium is a solid gaming experience and an interesting change of pace from the usual DS fare. The difficulty made me abandon the quest as soon as I had to restart a lengthy chapter, my curiosity about the storyline being totally overcome by my intense frustration. Bear in mind that this game isn’t fit for general audiences; if you’re a fan of the survival-horror genre, then maybe you won’t mind the seemingly arduous challenge as much as I did. There’s a good game here for those willing to put up with its quirks.

Neves

December 11, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Chris Ingersoll Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Neves is a simple DS title that serves its purpose admirably. Essentially a digital version of the classic tangrams silhouette puzzles, Neves (which is “seven” backwards) gives you seven tiles and hundreds of shapes to form with them by using the DS’s touch screen to move, rotate, and flip them into formation.

There are three different ways to play single-player Neves. The simplest mode is “Silhouette”, which lets you screw around at your own pace until you figure out the solution. A step up from that is “Time Pressure”, which puts you on a three-minute clock; you get a silver award for completing the puzzle in the alloted time, and a gold for a minute or less. The hardest difficulty is “7 Steps”, which limits you to seven moves to complete the puzzle. A “move” for this mode’s purposes is defined as any manipulations you need to put one piece in its final location; as soon as you touch another piece, that’s another move, hence “7 Steps” for seven total pieces. These modes essentially correlate to difficulty levels, as the puzzles are the same throughout, and you get credit for completing a given puzzle no matter in which mode you do so. At first there is only one “room” of forty-nine puzzles available; completing it unlocks three more (with a varying number of puzzles per room), and there are twelve rooms in total.

Neves also features a two-player “Bragging Rights” mode that can be played off a single DS card. This is essentially a race to see who can complete three puzzles first. Finally, there is also “The Room”, which contains your stats and options.

As mentioned, Neves is inherently simple, with graphics that are literally polygonal — two identical triangles, one large trapezoid, one medium trapezoid, two idenitcal small trapezoid, and one pentagon are pretty much all you get. There’s also some jazzy music, but the game plays just as well without it (either muted or turned off via the Options menu). The touch controls work well, but occasionally get confused when the tiles overlap; this is really only a problem for “7 Steps” mode, and even then it’s a minor one.

The only gripe I have with Neves is that someone decided to charge full price for it. A game this simple doesn’t demand a thirty dollar price tag; there is literally only one programmer listed in the credits. This should be a “Touch Generations” equivalent bargain title, but for some reason it is not, which is a crime.

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

December 11, 2007

PC / Reviews / by Tony DuLac Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Second time’s the charm. In the case of the mega-expansion pack, Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance, it’s an aptly altered colloquialism. It was less than 8 months ago that the original Supreme Commander was released but somehow Gas Powered Games was able to create a huge add-on that improves the user-interface, sharpens AI, polishes the graphics, tweaks game balance, and offers an entirely new race. It’s an excellent addition to the series and a must-buy for any self-respecting SupCom fan.

The highlight of the show is the new race – the Seraphim. Long thought lost forever, they make a dramatic appearance via a space/time rift, determined to kick everyone’s collective hineys. SupCom‘s previous three races: the Aeon Illuminate, United Earth Federation (UEF), and the Cybran, join forces to fend off the superior technological might of the Seraphim units. The new campaign is fairly short (only six missions long) but just like the original game, these are huge, sprawling multi-part missions that, together, easily take between 10-15 hours to complete due to the huge variety of combat operations (and units) involved. There are a few surprises in the mix but for the most part, the AI succeeds primarily by consistently routine harassment and utilizing well-defended bases.

Considering that this is an entirely new race, you’d be forgiven for expecting something wildly different from the original trifecta of combatants but you’d be disappointingly wrong in that assumption. The Seraphim have a shiny new look but other than their two powerful super weapons – an uber Nuke and a wicked strategic bomber – they feel remarkably similar to the preceding races. It’s a bit of an opportunity lost but it’s a mild complaint at best since the race is still quite enjoyable to play.

The user-interface has been revamped and made less obtrusive than in the previous incarnation; the UI is now context-sensitive, freeing up far more screen real estate for your viewing enjoyment. Even the in-between mission load screens feel more informative and helpful than before. I felt a wee bit more connection to the story’s characters this time around, too, though that’s to be expected from playing an expansion pack.

Multiplayer is still handled just as exceptionally as it was in the original game by the GPG Net matchmaking service. It allows for a wide breadth of player-matching services and informational tools showing everything from a player’s records to their foibles and it works like a charm. More RTS developers should pay attention to how slick GPG Net works because it really enhances and eases the multiplayer experience for the community.

In order to play with all of SupCom‘s races in multiplayer, you’ll need to keep the original SupCom installed on your system – without it you can only battle as the Seraphim in multiplayer action but even if you choose to just purchase this standalone expansion, you’ll feel like you received a fully-featured and superbly enjoyable product. Gas Powered Games has ramped up the action in their technologically inundated universe and the high-powered conflict is just as enjoyable in this follow-up as it was in the original. Isn’t that the whole point of an expansion pack, anyway?

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