EDIT : I’ve decided on allowing requests on DS games. Just post them under about and I’ll try to review them as soon as I can.

after some initial complications with mine, its up and running and we’re already addicted.

expect to see some reviews soon

-Jeremy

-Jeremy

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is Link and Zelda’s first adventure on the DS. Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to Wind Waker on the Gamecube. Meaning that it retains the art style of that game, so if you were absolutely repulsed by the cartoonish art style of that game, then this may not be the game for you. However it is still an extremely amazing DS game.

The story picks up directly where Wind Waker ended, with Link and Tetra sailing the Great Sea with the pirate crew. When the game starts, they’re on the hunt for a fabled ghost ship rumoured to have a great treasure but also the cause of many disappearences. Before long, they run into the ship and Tetra jumps off to board it. The ghost ship almost immediately runs off, and despite Link’s attempt to leap at it, he fails and falls into the sea, washing up on a nearby island. Soon, your off to save Tetra.

As with previous LoZ entries on handhelds, Phantom Hourglass is played from a top down view. Of course, with the game being on the DS, its almost bound to have some sort of touch-screen based control scheme, and thats just what it has, and does it excellently. You move Link around by simply dragging the stylus to where you want to go, and attack enemies either by tapping them to jump attack them, or making a quick swipe in front of link to swing your sword. You can execute a spin attack by making a quick circle around Link. The items that you will pick up during the course of the game also make use of the touch screen. For example, when you use the boomerang, all you have to do is draw a path to show where you want the boomerang to go. You will also be using other features of the DS like the microphone. This new control scheme allows for a whole lot of new ways to solve puzzles, which results in some extremely satisfying gameplay, including one extremely fiendish mini-puzzle. Overall the control scheme is extremely tight and intuitive.

Another addition is that each dungeon’s map is displayed on the top screen. While this is usual Zelda fare to have a map, you can now bring it down to the touch screen in order to make notes on the map, be it to remind you where a item is or which lever to pull first. While this may seem like a small addition at first, you will soon realise its extremely invaluable.

Seeing as it is a sequel to Wind Waker, its only right that it has the sailing around the Great Sea. For those of you who absolutely loved the first game besides that one particalar part, fear not, the sailing in this game feels a lot less tedious. All you need to do is draw a path that you want your ship to take and it will automatically sail. You’re in a steam ship this time by the way, meaning you travel fast and the wind has no effect whatsoever. However, you still need to pay attention in order to dodge the occasional obstacle or kill the occasional sea monster.

There is also a multiplayer game that can be played either with local wireless single or multi card, or also over Nintendo Wi-Fi. The game is slightly reminiscent of Pac-Man, and you will probably find hours of enjoyment from it, or find it a little dull. The gameplay over Wi-Fi is fairly lag free for the most part, and allows you to select from playing against friends, people of around your skill level and around your region as well.

The graphics, as mentioned before, are abuot the same as Wind Waker, in terms of art style that is. They retain the same cartoonish art style that people either love or hate. The charcater’s faces are pretty expressive with tons of goofy faces. The environments of the game are pretty pleasing to look at too. On the technical side of things, its a slight downgrade from the gamecube but the graphics are still highly pleasing to look at. The sound, as is the case in most LoZ games, is of very high quality. The tunes are very memorable and add quite a bit of effect to the game. There is a lack of voice acting, apart from the yelps of Link, but that isn’t too big a deal for Zelda games.

Ultimately, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is an extremely satisfying game and a terrific effort at bringing the series to the DS. The control scheme is fantastic and will no doubt become the standard for many action games to come on the DS. Although the difficulty might be a tad on the easy side for seasoned players, it is still a title you definitely do not want to miss.

Overall Score: 9/10

-Jeremy

Ever dreamed of a game which never ended? Well get out of bed and to your DS because Animal Crossing is that game. Animal Crossing : Wild World delivers a unique experience, but it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It could either be the best thing that ever happened to you, or a hole in your wallet.

Animal Crossing feels like your own little world, hence the name, with mostly everything depending on you. You start off in a cab on the way to your new home, on the way you’ll be asked some questions which determine your looks, this matters a lot because there’s no option to change it later on. Once you reach your town, you’ll be prompted to go check out your house which is rather pathetic. Tom Nook, the raccoon who built your house, will be wanting payment. Worry not, you have no deadline to make your payment, in fact, you could leave your house as it is. But you shouldn’t.

After a small tutorial given by Tom Nook, you’re free to do what you want, get used it because that’s what the rest of the game will be like. Your town will have two shops, one Tom Nook’s and the other a clothing shop called Able Sisters, a museum, the town hall and a gate for wireless play. You’ll be visiting Tom Nook’s shop a lot as carrying out daily activities mostly rely on his shop. As you progress into the game, his shop will eventually upgrade to become bigger and better, the final upgrade requiring a visitor to buy something from your shop.

Your town will have many residents coming and going and the great thing is that there’s such a large amount of animals to exchange your residents with, making a repeat very unlikely. The villagers make up the bulk of the game, from talking to you to challenging you to a fishing race, it all adds up the the game’s amazing gameplay. Look out for visitors which come on certain days, they might offer you something.

Seasons and events are celebrated in this game, though they might differ from your traditional Fourth of July. Each season brings a new element into the game, so you’re not stuck with sun the whole year round. Holidays are unique to the game, such as complimenting someone or making up a tune. Monthly events are what most people would look forward to. They range from competitions to flea markets.

Selling fossils, fish and insects are good ways to earn money. But why sell them when you can put them in a museum? The town museum is run by a sleepy owl called Blathers, he’s eager to take mostly whatever you can give him, as his museum is empty when you first visit him. His sister, Celesta, is waiting in the observatory for you. There you can plot constellations, though this isn’t all too fun, its one of the things that makes up the wild world of Animal Crossing.

The addictive thing about this game is the freedom you’re given. You could relax in the cafe drinking coffee, talk your neighbors to death or rush to pay your debt with Tom Nook.

All of this wouldn’t be so cool without the game’s bright and colorful graphics. Everything’s sharp and smooth, with emotions carried out nicely. The environment is lush, changing as the seasons go by. The music, sound in par, is great and compliments the cheery and relaxed atmosphere of the game.

Though, it may get repetitive, as eventually you’ll find yourself trying to repay Tom Nook’s debt after debt. But with all the things you can do in between, your interest will be held.

In the end, it depends on you. If you like a nice slow time enjoying yourself, this game is for you. Don’t expect it too hold your attention too long though, eventually you’ll need to get back in bed for the magic to restart.

- Julian

- Julian

That’s it for now.

- Julian

Luminous Arc is a turn-based strategy RPG. Its got a fairly interesting – if slightly cliched – storyline has a few twists up its sleeves, but after those twists you don’t feel much motivation to continue the game for the story, which you may not want to, considering the moderate amount of grinding you have to do during the course of the game. The characters are slightly loveable – with a few exceptions such as a particularly annoying bimbo-like character – but the dialogue in the game is really weak, either being overly cheesy or just plain redundant. You might end up getting attached to a character, or you might not, but overall the game’s story isn’t very strong.

Its just kind of sad that the story is one of the main driving forces of the game, since the combat is pretty standard turn based strategy fair. If you’ve ever played a Final Fantasy Tactics game, Fire Emblem or just about any recent turn based strategy game, you’ll have an idea what to do here. Characters move around a grid based battlefield, with the order of their turns being decided by their stats. In each turn, they can move and perform an action, such as attacking, using a skill or spell and using items, after which their turn will end. The terrain also affects attacking, attacks coming from the sides or back dealing more damage and being more accurate. An interesting part of Luminous Arc’s combat system is that when a character levels up, he/she will automatically recover all their HP and MP, adding a layer of startegy as to when to level up your characters.

Luminous Arc mixes things up a bit with the introduction of Flash Drives(No…not memory storing devices) Basically, Flash Drives are super moves that all characters can perform after building up Flash Points. Flash Points are gained through doing actions, killing enemies, or even doing nothing. In other words, no matter what you do, you’ll end up getting Flash Points. The game also has Synergies, which are like team flash drives performed by two characters when certain conditions are fulfilled. These Flash drives and synergies were a pretty good addition to the game, as it adds another layer of strategy.

Luminous Arc can be controlled either by stylus or by the traditional D-Pad and ABXY buttons. When using the stylus, you tap buttons on the touch screen to select them. This would be a pretty good system except that the stylus and touch screen often dont accurately pick up where you are tapping, be it having to tap numerous times or selecting another thing altogether. Ultimately, both control schemes work fine and its up to your personal preference as to which to use.

The graphics in Luminous Arc are quite good for what they are. The game is all sprites, but they look pretty good, the DS being the sprite powerhouse it is. The sound however, is not as strong. The tunes are easily forgettable and don’t add too much effect to the game.

Luminous Arc also features local wireless and Wi-Fi compatability in the form of fully fledged battles using your team trained in the story mode. I never got the chance to try this out though so I can’t comment.

Overall, Luminous Arc was a pretty enjoyable experience throughout and if you are looking for a strategic turn based RPG, its a pretty safe bet to go with.

Overall Score: 8/10

Jeremy

Until then, Seeya