3DS

Asphalt 3D

April 13, 2011

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

Though variety abounds in the racing genre, the main division in the genre comes down to this: some are more about racing, and some are more about the game. In the 3DS’ launch lineup, there’s one of each, and Asphalt 3D is for those who love the little rewards over a smooth ride.

First, though, let’s get through the bad stuff. Asphalt is clearly a port of an iOS game, and it doesn’t fit that comfortably on the new platform. The game uses 3D in the game itself and in car selection, but the rest is largely untouched, and those elements reuse as many assets as possible. Some things, be them menus or road textures or what have you, seem much lower quality than the system is capable of. The engine still has issues with slowdown, and the problem is compounded with every additional car on the screen. (Good thing you don’t start every race with everyone all there at once! Oh, wait. You do.) To add more problems, the game’s placement of the drift and jump information covers up the top center of the screen, which would be exactly the area you need to see in a racing game.

So Asphalt starts on a bad foundation. It takes the game equivalent of a low-rent apartment and covers the walls with tons of posters, going for fun over quality. The game feels like Burnout, with close calls, jumps and dangerous driving the order of the day. There are boost, repair and money icons scattered across the track to pick up. There are bonuses for finding shortcuts, jumping, dodging traffic and avoiding the cops. To top it off, each race has different primary and secondary objectives, and completing each helps you level up, increasing your rank and unlocking cars, parts and attribute-boosting sponsors. If that weren’t enough, there are over a dozen achievements This comes from the game’s origins in iOS development, where casual gaming principles dictate this type of constant gratification.  

Asphalt 3D supports local multiplayer for up to 6 players, as well as StreetPass functionality that allows players to exchange best times. It’s not the online play we hope for, but it’s still something. (And for those who read our Ridge Racer review, Asphalt‘s announcer is, if possible, more annoying, but since she speaks less often it’s really a wash.)

The game beneath is not great, and that’s going to turn many away, especially with the solid foundation of its competitor, Ridge Racer 3D. It is, however, not an entirely wasted effort for those who like their games to be as game-like as possible. 

Samurai Warriors Chronicles

April 11, 2011

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

When you pick up one of Omega Force’s Warriors games, you know what you’re going to get. All play similarly, with huge casts of characters, weapons to collect and maps with officers to hack and slash to death. Samurai Warriors Chronicles is very much one of those games, and people looking for a profound shift in what the game is are out of luck. There’s quite a contingent of people who love the feeling of playing these games, though, as it’s the game equivalent of a cheap pizza: it may not be a high-quality meal, but it’s comforting to kick back with a slice.

This time, you’ll be kicking back in 3D, though. The game implements it subtly, and that’s nice. the engine runs well, and the smaller viewing area helps with the series’ trademark framerate and slowdown issues. It certainly isn’t trying anything new, but that’s not exactly unexpected. Thankfully, though, Chronicles doesn’t use the segmented-map tactics of the series’ previous portable titles, as the grand map is what really makes the game fun.

In the campaign mode, you create a character and play through his or her life. There’s not that much to the customization, but you do name the person and answer some personality questions to determine base attributes. The visuals aren’t customizable, but the protagonist is in many cutscenes and that’s probably the reason. The one twist in Chronicles that changes the gameplay? You control a group of up to four different warriors on the battlefield, and over the course of the battle you’ll be presented with short-term goals to complete. These often have time limits of as low as 30 seconds, and that’s where the switching comes in: battlefield positioning can keep you from losing valuable seconds in completing missions. Some missions even require that a specific character complete a task like defeating an officer or defending an area. Most aren’t vital to winning the whole battle, but each gives a bonus like experience or items, and it’s recorded for people who strive for completion. 

There are some things included to keep you busy after completing (or between advancing in) the campaign. You can return to battles you’ve cleared to grind for levels and try out new strategies. You can also use StreetPass functionality in a similar way to Street Fighter, with your characters’ stats used for passive skirmishes with others’ team. It’s a fun diversion, but there’s not much depth there. Sadly, there’s no actual multiplayer here either, and we would have liked to see that, since co-op makes the console versions a lot more fun.

Sure, Samurai Warriors Chronicles feels a bit recycled, but in a launch lineup of recycled games, it has an interesting storyline, a polished engine and a formula great for just passing the time. Your level of enjoyment entirely depends on whether you like the series, but there’s no fatal flaw here to keep you from having a good time.

Pros: Progression and replay value in a depth-starved launch, smooth controls

Cons: Too frantic at times with character switching, Warriors fatigue in full effect 

 

Madden NFL Football

April 1, 2011

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

EA makes a lot of money on Madden. That’s probably the rationalization for the release of Madden NFL Football, EA North Carolina’s launch-day 3DS title. We’re sure it will make them even more money, but is it worth yours?

That’s complicated. We’ll say this: it’s clearly leaps and bounds better than the DS installments of the game. The full 3D engine, the broadcast commentary (including the magnificent Gus Johnson) and the analog controls make it feel very much like the console versions in many respects. The game offers the same level of control of last generation’s console versions, if not the advance tricks of newer installments, and in general, it runs smoothly.

The GameFlow feature, introduced in the console versions and finding its way to mobile adaptations, is welcome here, as the portable is a place people like instant action. Don’t worry, though, full control is an option, too. There’s a 5-on-5 mode like the one in Wii installments, and that’s a bit fun. (It reminds us too much of NFL Street, though, and suffers a bit under its shadow.)

One way the developer found to show off the 3D was with Spotlight Moments, basically quick-time events in key plays of games, when the camera finds dynamic angles and goes all NFL Films on you. It can be a bit silly, but for a launch title, it’s the kind of thing we approve. (Just take it out next year, guys.)

At this point, you’re probably waiting for the caveats. There are two main ones.

The first? It’s a launch game, but even out of this crop, it seems to have the least grip on how the system’s 3D should be used. The field of play? Oh, that’s wonderful. But the interface elements are unfortunate. Why does the score need to take up so much of the 3D screen? Heck, why does that even need to be on the 3D screen? The bottom screen, used for drawing plays, just shows a slightly zoomed-out symbol-based view of the top screen, and that could have been adjusted to make room. As it is, that beautiful depth effect is obscured by these floating numbers. The other problem is that the game keeps trying to make things pop out. Even those of you who haven’t played the 3DS would know this problem from 3D movies. Sure, it’s cool the first time. After that, it just takes you out of the immersion of the world, and on the 3DS, it tends to knock you out of focus to have something appear closer than the screen. It’s a simple fix; let things just go deeper instead.

The second? It’s barebones. As we’ve talked about, the engine runs well, and there are few complaints there. Clearly, that was where EA North Carolina spent their time, and a rushed development cycle meant no frills beyond a simple season mode. (No, not even local multiplayer.) This is a publisher problem. Would it really have been that bad to release the first 3DS Madden in August with the other platforms, and give the team time to implement online or a franchise mode? The game engine has grown up to rival its console brothers. Let the rest rise to that level as well. 

Madden NFL Football is basically like a preseason game. The team’s gearing up and could have a great season, but they’re still shaking off the rust. Except that, in the NFL, those games don’t count. That said, many still like watching preseason games, and for those more curious about the prospects than interested in being competitive could enjoy this. For a little while, anyway. 

Pros: Engine finally starting to rival its console brethren, GameFlow works here

Cons: No multiplayer, franchise, or really any frills at all

 

Ridge Racer 3D

March 30, 2011

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

Anyone who has tried out a 3DS quickly realizes that the system’s particular brand of 3D lends itself well to a few specific genres. Flight games? Oh yeah. Augmented reality? That too. Most especially, though, three dimensions make a racing game really shine. That depth perception, while making most games immersive, actually helps the control of the game itself in racing titles, as you see the walls coming at you and the cars zip past. Why? We’ve been training ourselves all our lives to judge that stuff. 

So to Ridge Racer 3D, one of two racing games available at the 3DS launch, and one with an impressive-if-infamous pedigree. Lately, the series is always found revving its engines at the starting line of a system’s lifespan, and the focus on pure speed often means it’s obscured a bit by the time the next launch rolls around.

We think people should stop forgetting the game’s really quite good.

Ridge Racer‘s brand of pure drift-and-draft speed may not be as exciting as a Burnout-style or Blur-esque action-racer, and it doesn’t have the authenticity of a sim like Gran Turismo. The result is the game equivalent of an electable candidate: not the favorite of many, but most can agree it’s fun and worth your time. 

In the weeks leading to the game’s release, Ridge Racer 3D has gotten knocks for how it looks in screenshots, and we don’t blame the critics. In motion, though, the game is nice and smooth. The low polygon count allows for lots of on-screen action and interesting lighting effects, and what those don’t make up are compensated for by the fact that the screen’s still not that large.

The car mix is a little more friendly to the average person this time. Namco has thrown in a lot more American muscle cars, and there are some interesting choices for those who like a bit of quirk in their rides. Each car has a ton of color choices and paint jobs, so it’s easy to make your car your own.

There are a few things that hold Ridge Racer back. For one thing, that announcer is, put as nicely as we can, an obnoxious presence that we want to strangle. If we hear one more thing about our slipstream or our opponent’s slipstream or how well we’re using a slipstream, we’ll flip. (Thankfully for the safety of the Namco Bandai voice acting talent, you can turn the volume of the announcer all the way down. And you should do it immediately upon inserting the card.)  Besides that, we really wish Namco could have stepped up to the plate with an online multiplayer option. The game’s engine seems like it would have held up fine, and the system’s launch strategy means many are, for a bit, almost alone in their device ownership. Still, local multiplayer is handled well, and in what has become a launch game caveat, what did get put into the game is handled well.

The 3DS is good at racers. That inevitably means there will be a better game than this eventually. It may be a while though, and if Ridge Racer lasts you even halfway to that other game’s release, it will be well worth your money.

Pros: Smooth racing, interesting customization options

Cons: There’s an announcer? We have no idea what you’re talking about. We especially didn’t hear anything about a slipstream.

 

Bust-a-Move Universe

March 28, 2011

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

A portable launch can always use a good puzzle game. Whether it’s Tetris or Lumines, the genre’s great for short sessions, easy to learn and hard to leave home without. In the 3DS’ rather-robust launch lineup, Bust-a-Move Universe stands alone in the genre, and that makes things… interesting.

Why? Bust-a-Move, the Taito (now a part of Square Enix) puzzle series, hasn’t really evolved over the years and, at least on its face, there’s no real reason to play it in three dimensions. The gameplay, if you’re unfamiliar, has you shooting colored bubbles at a descending formation of bubbles, trying to create clusters of three or more of the one color to remove them and clear the field. It stars Bub and Bob of Bubble Bobble fame, but really only in the way Dr. Mario was about a plumber, which is to say it’s all secondary aesthetics.

The game, as its predecessors, features two modes: Puzzle Mode, with specific formations to clear, and a random mass of bubbles in Challenge Mode. Clearing bubbles builds a meter with special attacks. The low-level special changes all bubbles around a target to one color. The medium attack is a wild bubble that counts as any color that completes a chain. The top one? It wipes out an entire swath of bubbles, and in puzzle mode, it’s an easy way to wipe out the few bubbles holding the entire formation to the ceiling. (Of course, you don’t get points for that, either.) Clearing a formation that also removes a large segment of connected bubbles gives you “bonus time,” essentially an invincibility mode when you can rapid-fire bubbles and all of them are removed at the end of the time regardless of whether they matched anything.

Puzzle Mode’s worth a playthrough, and you can go back to increase your score in any given area if you’d like. Each area is capped by a boss, but the gameplay in these areas are more like a simple fixed-position shooter than anything else, and they seem a bit incongruous. Challenge Mode is good for sucking a lot more time, as it’s all about survival instead of finding the perfect solution. 

Of course, why would you want to play this in 3D? We’ve played it, and it’s hard to say. For the most part, it’s pleasant, as the bubbles rise from the background when reaching their initial position, and the various planet backdrops make for interesting wallpaper. Developer Arika kept it subtle, and that’s a good thing. Just one gripe, though: the series’ signature screen-shaking to indicate that the bubbles are about to get pushed downward? We found that this regularly kicked our eyes out of focus. It could have been a bit more understated and not caused this.

Still, there’s not that much game here. What’s on the card is polished, though, and Square Enix priced the game at a lower $29.99 price point, so that gives it a few breaks. What’s more, it’s Bust-a-Move, and we can’t think of much they could add to give it more value later, so that makes it a smart choice as a launch title. In a launch field of flawed designs, it’s hard to fault a game that’s just not that ambitious.

Pros: Perfectly-functional version of a game many know and love

Cons: Our Pro was “perfectly functional,” which doesn’t get your heart pumping

 

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