3DS

Dream Trigger 3D

May 19, 2011

3DS / Reviews / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

You can’t fault a game for trying new things. After all, with a system launch as full of retreads as the 3DS’, anything seems like a breath of fresh air. Enter Dream Trigger 3D, a game that is nothing but new things. Unfortunately, trying often leads to failing, and though there are some intriguing parts to the game, the way everything is tied together just feels a bit disjointed.

At first, it seems a bit like games such as Rez and Child of Eden. You’re a ship of a sort, shooting enemies in a 3D environment from a 2D plane. The visuals are trippy and artistic, which we guess makes sense from developer ART, and the whole thing is set to musical cues.

From there it gets a bit frazzled. You see, you can’t just shoot the enemies right away. First, you have to expose them by tapping on corresponding parts of the bottom screen, revealing them on the top screen and letting you take them out. Yes, this is tough, and it’s a big part of Dream Trigger. It seems like a mechanic that fans of dual-screen games like Henry Hatsworth will enjoy, as it makes for another one of those pat-head/rub-belly exercises that require a certain brand of mental acuity. (The game supports a left-handed mode, as well as a control setup that lets players use buttons instead of the touch screen. This makes things a bit less of a juggle, but the speed at which you can do things goes down a bit. You’ll want to invest the time to learn the intended controls.)

There are fifty stages to the main game, with boss fights where you take on baddies based on nightmare concepts: you’ll fight Fear, Desire, Rage and others on your way to the end. 

Even when you learn the controls, though, Dream Trigger is hard. Unlike the almost-calming Child of Eden, Dream Trigger has some elements that feel almost reminiscent of bullet-hell games, and bosses take more hits than would seem reasonable. Ultimately, it’s a matter of pattern memorization, learning levels and knowing where enemies will be before they appear.  

Besides the main game, there’s not too much to do. You can try for better scores on each level, take on a friend in a strange versus mode where you take on enemies and avoid opponent attacks simultaneously and replay campaign stages in Time Attack mode, where it’s speed rather than points that’s tracked.

There’s a very specific type of person who will want to play Dream Trigger 3D, and they already know who they are. This isn’t the game to ease people into the genre, and it’s not exactly a 3DS showpiece, but it has enough of its own hook to get those danmaku die-hards to plunk down their cash.

Pros: Interesting visual style, attempts at innovation

Cons: Steep learning curve, limited appeal 

 

Steel Diver

May 11, 2011

3DS / Reviews / by Chris Rasco Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Steel Diver is a side-scrolling action game where the player pilots a submarine through a series of complex levels using a series of touch screen controls.  Originally intended to be released for the DS, Nintendo decided to change its platform and make it available for the 3DS instead, feeling that it stood to benefit from the added 3D effects of the new system.

Steel Diver features 3 primary gameplay modes. The first is your standard Mission mode. Players can choose from one of three available subs for each level. The subs vary in size, speed, and weapon capabilities which drastically alter the difficulty of the level. Each is full of enemy subs and ships, narrow tunnels and other obstacles. Your sub is controlled using a set of touch-screen controls on the lower screen. Controls will vary based on the sub you choose, but the basic navigation controls and firing controls are common between vessels. Each mission has a time limit, which adds to the chaos of carefully navigating some of the tighter tunnels while also taking enemy fire. Fail to complete the mission in time, or destroy your sub, and you’ll still enter your initials into the high score list along with the percent of the mission you completed. Successfully complete the level and you’ll get a chance to play a bonus game, Periscope Strike, in order to earn decals for your subs.

In Periscope Strike, you are no longer controlling the sub, but instead viewing the surface through a periscope and attempting to sink enemy ships with projectiles. Your control screen changes to reflect a zoom-and-dive slider and fire buttons. The zoom is for viewing far-off ships, while dive allows you to avoid taking damage from enemy fire. Your goal is simply to sink all of the enemy ships. One unique aspect of this mode is that, in order to track enemies on the surface, you literally hold the 3DS up like the screen is a periscope and move in a circle. The upper screen reflects your movement, giving the appearance that you are in fact using a periscope. While I found this feature to be incredibly engaging and fun, it makes playing Steel Diver in the car or on the bus a little difficult. Others may not enjoy having to stand and spin around at the end of each level.

The final gameplay mode is called Steel Commander. Steel Commander is a top-down two-player strategy game that is half-Chess and half-Battleship. Each player commands a fleet of battleships, supply ships, and a submarine. The goal is to sink your opponents sub or all of their supply ships. Fans of tabletop gaming should really enjoy this game mode.

As you play through the Mission Mode of Steel Diver, you’ll unlock a few additional levels as well as power-ups called decals. Decals are collected for each ship you sink in the Periscope Strike bonus game, not in the standalone gameplay mode. Each decal has a different upgrade to your sub, and you must collect a certain number of the same decal in order to activate that power. Mission Mode also tracks which sub you’ve completed the level with, encouraging you to complete all levels with all of the available submarines. 

Despite the lame pun, Steel Diver really is a very deep game with three vastly different gameplay modes that come together to make a very enjoyable game. The 3D features provided by the 3DS are nice, but in the end I usually played with 3D turned off. Steel Diver is definitely not a title that simply shows off the features of a new platform, it’s one of the most enjoyable handheld games that I’ve played in a long time. The interactive gameplay won’t be for everyone, though.

Pros: Three gameplay modes

Cons: Can’t be played without room to stand and move

 

Super Monkey Ball 3D

April 27, 2011

3DS / Reviews / by Shawn Vermette Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Super Monkey Ball 3D is something of a mixed bag. It has a fun (albeit short) main game, a decent Mario Kart clone and a bad Smash Bros. clone. Its saving grace would be its use of 3D, but even that has some problems. 

Past Super Monkey Ball games gave you some pretense of a story, but not Super Monkey Ball 3D. There’s not even an attempt at a story to give you a reason to play through the main game. Instead you are simply tasked with picking a monkey and guiding it through various, increasingly-difficult stages without falling off the edges of the level. There are 8 worlds with 10 levels each to play through. This mode works really well with the 3DS’ 3D technology, as it really helps with the depth perception needed to prevent accidental falling. It works so well that I found myself shifting my head to try to see the level from a different angle, which unfortunately had the side effect of destroying the 3D and causing me to lose a life. In the end, I could only play it in 2D mode because of that subconscious need to adjust my viewing angle. Unfortunately, in 2D mode the graphics aren’t that great.

In Monkey Race, the Mario Kart clone, the 3D works well yet again, and the racing works very much like Mario Kart, complete with random items that can be used defensively or offensively. The only real problem this mode faces is a lack of replayability and variation. There are all of 9 courses in 3 grand prix. That lends itself to being a one-and-done game mode.

The last gameplay mode is called Monkey Fight, and it is definitely a substandard Smash Bros. clone. Rather than be solely about fighting, the 4 player fights focus on who collects the most bananas, which you get by picking them up around the stage, or by beating out of your opponents. The 3D in this mode is just annoying, as is the fighting. I found myself avoiding fights completely, just jumping around the levels picking up bananas from the other monkey fights. That actually served me better than fighting did as far as collecting lots of bananas. Like Monkey Race, it suffers from a lack of variation, as there are only 3 stages available for fighting, and they all have very similar layouts.

The sound design in Super Monkey Ball 3D is mediocre. The sounds are about on par with the rest of the games in the series, almost to the point of being directly ported from previous games.

As mentioned throughout, the 3D is a mixed bag. In some cases it is done very well, but for the most part you’ll likely want to play it in 2D, if you are anything like me. 

If you really, really like Super Monkey Ball games, then this is the launch title for you. Otherwise, you’d probably be better off passing on it for a different game.

Pros: Well-done 3D in the main gameplay mode, main mode is fun and challenging

Cons: 3D has issues at times, no replay value, very little game for the price

 

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

April 18, 2011

3DS / Reviews / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The Ghost Recon series is known for its use of stealth. After all, the games star these elite soldiers that infiltrate enemy lines and take on entire armies at once. With Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, though, it uses a type of stealth we weren’t expecting. 

See, Shadow Wars is really a turn-based strategy game, in the vein of X-COM or Fire Emblem. While this makes sense to those who know that X-COM creator Julian Gollop was lead designer on the project, it’s probably not what most expect from a Ghost Recon game. You take a small squad of characters, each with their own abilities, weapons and roles, and move them across a grid-based map to complete objectives. There’s covering fire from allies, foliage and buildings to hide in, ammo pickups and other things, and each step has to be pondered carefully. Some maps require routing enemies, while others make you defend a position or reach specific targets. In fact, many maps have different consecutive parts, each with its own objective.

Those worrying it’ll be too hard (or too easy), don’t fret: the game has three different difficulties, and you can change these mission-to-mission. You get rewarded for higher difficulties with more points toward your rank, but you could go through the entire game at a casual level if you’d like. As you progress through the campaign, it slowly adds mechanics, characters and strategic elements, so in that way it eases you in. In addition, there are one-off battles to fight.

Shadow Wars started life as a DS game, and it has gotten criticism for its graphics. Honestly, we don’t see it. The units, while not very detailed, are small, and they move around with life and character. Sure, these base units could mostly be done on the DS, but, likely a matter of getting the game out quickly, the developers focused on world effects to layer on top. The ravines and rivers on the map look nice, and the fog and such make it seem much more advanced than it is. The result is a “living board game” look, and if you’ve ever played a tabletop miniatures game, after you see this you’ll want something exactly like it for whatever game you play. 

The game supports hotseat multiplayer, a turn-based tradition and a welcome addition at launch of a new system. We wish there was full support for four players, but one-on-one matches are still fun. (Unlike Advance Wars, though, Shadow Wars has a bit of a learning curve, so you’ll need to explain various mechanics and control points to new players.) 

At launch, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is the only game that looks to stay in your system for longer than a week or so. It’s unlikely to be easily replaced by more robust offerings like the rest of the launch titles, and we heartily recommend it.

Pros: Deep single-player mode, defined characters

Cons: Few 3DS features, not-as-robust multiplayer mode

 

Pilotwings Resort

April 15, 2011

3DS / Reviews / by Graham Russell Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Pilotwings Resort is, in many ways, a nostalgia trip. The series saw installments on SNES and N64, but hasn’t been seen in fifteen years. That said, this isn’t Kid Icarus. We think people can generally understand the appeal of a game that lets you strap on a rocket belt and fly around places.

Oh, and glide around on a glider, and fly a plane. Those are the three things you do. 

For the uninitiated (and with the 15-year hiatus, we’re sure that’s many of you), the game issues various challenges that you take on in these aircraft, and it grades you on your ability to hit targets, follow paths and land gracefully. Attaining certain levels get you one, two or three stars, and you need at least one star in things to move on to the next set of missions. In this version, you fly around Wuhu Island of Wii Sports fame. That’s really rather arbitrary, but it explains why things seem familiar. (Oh, and all the reused assets.)

While it starts off reminiscent of the original games, it soon develops a feel more similar to Monster Games’ other titles, Excite Truck and Excitebots. Everything is structured similarly, from the menus to the challenge design. While those titles were solid, they didn’t exactly burn up the sales charts, so it’s a bit surprising that they didn’t try to rock the boat.

There are a few additions in Resort that are a bit gimmicky. During your flights you can take 3D photos of the island, and sometimes you’re required to. We understand the fun of taking 3D photos of things around you. We’re not so enamored with the ability to take shots of the eight or so things on this island we see the whole time we play the game. You can save them! You can share with friends! We are trying really hard over here to care about that.

Somewhat surprisingly for a first-party title, Pilotwings has a higher tendency than most games to kick you out of focus. The world’s nice and lush, but this problem (that is sure to be the recurring nightmare of the system) takes you away from it a bit. Otherwise, visually, we can’t complain, though with all these assets being used before for Wii Sports Resort, we’re just not enamored with them.

But we like Pilotwings. The controls work well, the Rocket Belt is still a freakin’ Rocket Belt and the challenges are varied if small in number. That last part is really the problem here. There are only a handful of missions for each craft, and they’re not long. If you’re the type to keep trying to get a perfect score, you’ll find it to be worth your time, but if you’re less persistent about those things, the missions will be over in a few hours. There’s a Free Flight mode, and that sounds relaxing. Right? Relaxing? Well it is in theory, but for some reason there’s a time limit on it, so you can’t just kick back and glide around for as long as you want. We didn’t notice anything in Free Flight mode like a score or a challenge, so it just seems silly to have a limit there.

At launch, Pilotwings is the most traditional first-party option, and it’s not a bad time. It’s just over fast enough that you may start reconsidering the costs of the game and system you just purchased.

And yeah, that photo thing. We’re still not sure what that was supposed to be.

Pros: Smooth flight, return of a classic

Cons: A little short and devoid of extra features 

 

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