DS

Steel Horizon

April 19, 2007

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

It takes a lot of effort to make a fan of turn-based strategy set down a game because it’s too slow. Slow and methodical is what the entire genre is about, so when an enthusiast tells you that a TBS game is too slow you know it’s one to avoid. It’s a shame, too, because World War II naval combat deserves to be featured in a much more exciting game.

So, in a genre defined by its sloth-like pace, what makes Steel Horizon feel so glacial? The strategy – or more appropriately, the complete and total lack thereof. Strategy games are defined by the units at the player’s command, and aside from the flagship, your fleet is completely non-customizable. True, you can choose what types of ships you command, but every light frigate is just like every other light frigate. It would have spiced things up immensely if I could upgrade the armaments and propulsions systems of the ships at my command. There are 14 types of ships available, but compared to customizable games like Custom Robo Arena or Battles of Prince of Persia, 14 isn’t really a big number.

Missions are also boring, although they don’t start out that way. Just like the ship’s inability to be upgraded, so too are the missions relatively static. Any game is going to feel slow when every level is just like the one that precedes and follows it. One can only complete the same mission objectives so many times before a game ceases to be fun and begins be a chore to be finished before moving on to the next game. Again, Steel Horizon deserves better because the story is one worth experiencing if only for German and Japanese soldiers presented as real people instead of just more bad guys to shoot.

And if a lack of customization combined with repetitive mission requirements weren’t enough to keep this game off your shelf, the AI is pitifully stupid. It passes up on obvious opportunities to gain the upper hand to take on targets that are inconsequential and pose it no threat. If I can’t customize my ships and the levels are all the same then the battles need to be interesting and challenging.

The story is Steel Horizon‘s only draw, and the shallow strategy, lack of customization, and repetitive missions are more than enough to counteract it. The DS is lacking in strategy games, but those looking for a turn-based fix would do better to seek out some of yesterday’s favorites like Advance Wars DS and Age of Empires because there’s just not enough strategy or unit customization to keep fans of the genre interested.

Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits

April 13, 2007

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

Lately, many game companies have been looking for ways to bring arcade-style fun back to modern games. Of course, it’s just as easy to bring back the arcade games.

Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits is a collection of 15 of the company’s games, mostly from the early 1980s: Scramble, Horror Maze, Pooyan, Time Pilot, Roc’N Rope, Track & Field, Circus Charlie, Basketball, Road Fighter, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Rainbow Bell, Shao-lin’s Road, Gradius, Rush’N Attack, and Contra.

The game tries to be as flexible as possible. All button layouts are customizable; also the game can be full-screen, letterboxed for aspect ratio, or sideways in either direction. Holding a DS sideways to have the screen be larger is certainly a weird sensation, but many of the games are still playable, and it’s completely optional.

Konami threw in all the connectivity it could. In addition to single-card multiplayer for all the games, there is also a mode where a second DS can watch you play, a concept that brings to mind the old days of people crowding around arcade machines. Other players can also download a game as a demo and keep it until they power down their DS.

Also included in this compilation is the requisite collection of old posters and art from the game. This is pulled off quite well, though, as it’s easy to find but not in the way, and navigating through the images is fairly intuitive.

Of course, the gameplay is what truly matters here, and Konami doesn’t disappoint. While some of the games are less stellar than others, each is presented authentically. The later titles, specifically Gradius and Contra, are the gems here. The games aren’t choppy, and the controls are more than passable, even when the screen is distorted.

With Arcade Hits, Konami did what it set out to do. This is the arcade experience, and it’s just as addictive as ever.

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales

April 13, 2007

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

Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales is a game with multiple personality disorder. First it’s an RPG. Then it’s a card battle game. Later, it’s a compilation of minigames. Then it’s an RPG again. Breadth of gameplay styles is ordinarily a good thing, but there’s not a clear core gameplay mechanic. The minigames get especially challenging, and this only serves to further separate them from the simple story with an obvious focus on younger players.

When the game begins, the player – the titular chocobo – is settling down for story time with his friends. Then a black mage comes by and offers to read from his new book, an evil force is unleashed upon the world, and all the chcobos except you are imprisoned in cards. Bebuzzu, the aforementioned evil book, would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for random storybooks found around the world map that can alter the world around them. Need to go up a cliff? Just keep playing the A

Honeycomb Beat

April 13, 2007

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

Puzzle games either last for forever or for 15 minutes. If the gimmick takes hold, it never lets go and people are still clearing lines 20 years later (Tetris) or being adapted into oddly captivating RPG hybrids a la Puzzle Quest (Bejeweled). Honeycomb, like its dual-colored DS cousin Polarium, just doesn’t grip the player, and it’s not apparent why. The key elements are there: simple gameplay that scales as the game progresses, puzzle mode, and timed challenge mode.

Honeycomb Beat is trying to capitalize on the success of Q Entertainment’s Lumines – this much is obvious from the title. Beat implies that there is a rhythm component to the game, but it’s just what Hudson has decided to call the tap of a hexagon – or honeycomb.

In puzzle mode, the player is supplied with a random assortment of honeycombs – all of which are either orange or white. The goal is to turn all the honeycombs white in the prescribed number of moves. There’s no time limit, but there is a par value for each puzzle. Shoot 10 over par and you get to try again. Every time a puzzle is cleared the adjacent puzzles (arranged in a honeycomb pattern) are available to the player. To break up the tedium A

QuickSpot

April 12, 2007

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

Namco Bandai’s QuickSpot is a frustrating, gimmicky effort that annoys more than it entertains.

The game consists solely of the “spot the differences” game, the children’s activity with two pictures with slight things separating them. There are two main modes: Rapid Play, which focuses on speed, and Focus Play, which focuses on finding all the discrepancies. Then, with a Brain Age-like presentation, the game keeps track of your “brain activity.” Also tacked on is a “fortune” mode that seems completely unrelated to anything.

The game was finished in 2005, and it’s no wonder it wasn’t a priority to get it stateside. It has many of the gimmicky flaws found in earlier DS titles. Engrossed by the touch screen, developers decided to make players circle each menu item to select it, rather than just letting someone tap it or push a button. This becomes extremely frustrating. Also, “boss stages” in the main game involve rubbing the screen and blowing into the microphone. The days when that was innovative and fun are over, Namco. Also, the soundtrack is just weird. The most frequent tunes are techpop remixes of Ave Maria and Joy To The World, for crying out loud.

This title does have a few redeeming points, though. Special modes unlocked by playing the mundane main game throw in some variety. The multiplayer is adequately engaging, with hot potato-like Time Bomb and single-card game Scramble. Namco Bandai also throws in as many of its series as possible for cameo appearances, making longtime fans smile, if only for a second.

QuickSpot is geared toward casual gamers, and in some ways, it succeeds. However, due to its lack of variety, there are better, deeper games, and until casual gamers buy 10 DS games a year, this game will go on without an audience.

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