Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS is a great game. Part Sims part adventure, your role here is to be the best new resident in Boomtown.
It’s played in real time, so if you go to Mr. Nook’s store at 7:58 AM and his establishment opens at 8:00 AM, you might have to hang around a couple minutes for it to open.
In addition, the game itself is long and involved. So whether you spend your playing time collecting ‘Bells’ or money to pay off Mr. Nook for that mortgage, or helping out your neighbours with whatever they need help with, here are a few indications that can let you know if you have been spending too much time playing Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS.
Whenever the time of day ends in a number 4, like 1:14, or 1:24 etc, you jump up wondering, where is my DS, it’s time to shoot a balloon with a present attached out of the sky with my regular or golden slingshot.
Whenever you hear the name Gulliver, you don’t think of the Jonathan Swift work, Gulliver’s Travels. Instead you find yourself thinking of the in game UFO character, Gulliver.
Whenever you help out a neighbour, and you go to him/her telling him/her that you have fulfilled his/her request, you linger a bit as if you expect them to give you a present in return.
When you spot a shovel, you look at the ground for a star that indicates something special is buried there, like something rare or valuable.
One of your friends or neighbours says he/she is thinking of leaving town and you try to convince him/her to stay.
When you go to your local Post Office to mail something off, you find yourself wondering if you can also make your mortgage payment there. Or whether you can access your bank account from there.
There are no Zeldaesque or Final Fantasy type monsters to fight in this game, but it will keep you returning if you want to sharpen your fishing skills, or keep expanding your in game home.
Some gamers say this game has no end, but that is up to you, the gamer. For me, it became more enjoyable once I got the Golden Slingshot.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Hotel Dusk Room 215
The first time I heard and read about Hotel Dusk Room 215, I was intrigued. It sounded like a game I could really like, but at the time the game was so popular that no matter where I went to see if I could purchase a copy of it, no one had it.
So eventually I became so involved in other things and games that I forgot all about it. That was until I recently stepped into the local Gamestop store and happened to see a copy of it on the shelf. Needless to say, I became instantly ecstatic. And once I got to playing it on the Nintendo DS, what I found here was indeed an enjoyable and involved game.
In it you take on the first person perspective role of former NYPD detective, Kyle Hyde. Now he works for an oufit known as Red Crown, that occasionally sends him to find things that do not want to be found. And in this venture, he is in search of his former partner, Brian Bradley.
Although the sketches of the characters are in black and white, and may remind music lovers of AHA’s eighties music video of their hit single, ‘Take On Me,’ the story line is tightly woven and makes you feel as if you have stepped into a mystery novel.
Lack of voice acting aside, this game does not have the Final Fantasy or Zeldaesque monster bashing/hack and slash type of excitement. In fact, it is a bit heavy on the reading side when it comes to conversing with the other characters you meet in the game.
In fact, if you have played SNES’s Ultima The False Prophet, and you thought that was reading intensive, then playing Hotel Dusk Room 215 should be a breeze since it’s way shorter than Ultima The False Prophet.
Containing just ten chapters, in Hotel Dusk, you basically search for clues everywhere you can without being caught in certain off limits areas by the hotel owner, Dunning Smith. And you also talk to everyone or the other guests to see if they know anything.
By the time the game is over, you find out that they, the guests, are all connected to someone who stayed there previously and you help them sort out their own problems as well. I really like this game and I am on my second play through of it as I played it so fast the first time out that I missed a few things.
Like getting the paper clip from the Hotel Dusk brochure or even bothering to read the summary at the end of each chapter.
So if you don’t mind taking a break from the hack and slash, monster bashing kind of RPG and you want to try your Nintendo DS stylus on a good point and click sort of mystery, take Hotel Dusk Room 215 for a spin.
You will be sort of glad you did.
Rated T for Teen for mild violence and the use of alcohol once the hotel bar opens.
So eventually I became so involved in other things and games that I forgot all about it. That was until I recently stepped into the local Gamestop store and happened to see a copy of it on the shelf. Needless to say, I became instantly ecstatic. And once I got to playing it on the Nintendo DS, what I found here was indeed an enjoyable and involved game.
In it you take on the first person perspective role of former NYPD detective, Kyle Hyde. Now he works for an oufit known as Red Crown, that occasionally sends him to find things that do not want to be found. And in this venture, he is in search of his former partner, Brian Bradley.
Although the sketches of the characters are in black and white, and may remind music lovers of AHA’s eighties music video of their hit single, ‘Take On Me,’ the story line is tightly woven and makes you feel as if you have stepped into a mystery novel.
Lack of voice acting aside, this game does not have the Final Fantasy or Zeldaesque monster bashing/hack and slash type of excitement. In fact, it is a bit heavy on the reading side when it comes to conversing with the other characters you meet in the game.
In fact, if you have played SNES’s Ultima The False Prophet, and you thought that was reading intensive, then playing Hotel Dusk Room 215 should be a breeze since it’s way shorter than Ultima The False Prophet.
Containing just ten chapters, in Hotel Dusk, you basically search for clues everywhere you can without being caught in certain off limits areas by the hotel owner, Dunning Smith. And you also talk to everyone or the other guests to see if they know anything.
By the time the game is over, you find out that they, the guests, are all connected to someone who stayed there previously and you help them sort out their own problems as well. I really like this game and I am on my second play through of it as I played it so fast the first time out that I missed a few things.
Like getting the paper clip from the Hotel Dusk brochure or even bothering to read the summary at the end of each chapter.
So if you don’t mind taking a break from the hack and slash, monster bashing kind of RPG and you want to try your Nintendo DS stylus on a good point and click sort of mystery, take Hotel Dusk Room 215 for a spin.
You will be sort of glad you did.
Rated T for Teen for mild violence and the use of alcohol once the hotel bar opens.
Friday, October 3, 2008
LOZ: Phantom Hourglass
Every once in a while, there comes along something we enjoy so much that we just cannot seem to get enough of it. One such thing is a video game from the Legend of Zelda series.
And the particular game in mind is The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hour Glass. I have no doubt been a big Zelda fan since I played the first original NES Legend of Zelda game, Link’s Adventure, so when I saw the ads and read the reviews of the Phantom Hour Glass for the Nintendo DS/DS Lite, my video game fingers and thumb began to have that Zelda-esqe itch.
Enter a world in which touch screen/stylus video gaming technology encounters Link where Legend Of Zelda: The Windwaker (Nintendo Gamecube) left off. And if you have grown accustomed to playing previous Zelda games via the use of a game system’s cross pad, then getting used to the Nintendo DS/DS Lite touch screen stylus effect can take some getting used to.
But once you do get the hang of it, use of the stylus is fun, engaging and addictive. If you want to defeat an on screen enemy, for example, just touch it with the stylus and watch as Link goes Zelda on it with his trusty sword, boomerang, bow and arrow, bombs or which ever weapon you want Link to use.
If you want to pick up an object, or talk to someone, same thing, just touch it, or the character with the stylus. Plus, the game’s graphics and sound effects are so magnificent and clear that you might want to slow down and enjoy parts of this game as opposed to rushing through it.
And even though acquiring the Phantom Hour Glass proves to be a bit of a challenge at first, you will see the significance of the Hour Glass, once you have it in your possession. Also, it took me a while to figure out this part of the game, so for those of you who are suffering some sense of frustration by the time you get to Molida island, here is what you do to gain access to Romanos’ cave.
Follow the Ghost Ship all the way as far as you can go in the Northwestern Sea, until Linebeck says: ‘….maybe someone on an island knows how to get through the fog…’
Even if your ship goes down while trying to make it back to Molida island after the Ghost Ship/Northwestern Sea scene, you will still gain access to Romanos’ cave on Molida island after speaking with Romanos’ son once you have followed the Ghost Ship as far into the Northwestern Sea as you can go.
So set aside some time, pick up your Nintendo DS/DS Lite stylus and go do some exploring of your own, Legend of Zelda style as Zelda: The Phantom Hour Glass gives you and Link one more adventure to go Zelda on.
And the particular game in mind is The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hour Glass. I have no doubt been a big Zelda fan since I played the first original NES Legend of Zelda game, Link’s Adventure, so when I saw the ads and read the reviews of the Phantom Hour Glass for the Nintendo DS/DS Lite, my video game fingers and thumb began to have that Zelda-esqe itch.
Enter a world in which touch screen/stylus video gaming technology encounters Link where Legend Of Zelda: The Windwaker (Nintendo Gamecube) left off. And if you have grown accustomed to playing previous Zelda games via the use of a game system’s cross pad, then getting used to the Nintendo DS/DS Lite touch screen stylus effect can take some getting used to.
But once you do get the hang of it, use of the stylus is fun, engaging and addictive. If you want to defeat an on screen enemy, for example, just touch it with the stylus and watch as Link goes Zelda on it with his trusty sword, boomerang, bow and arrow, bombs or which ever weapon you want Link to use.
If you want to pick up an object, or talk to someone, same thing, just touch it, or the character with the stylus. Plus, the game’s graphics and sound effects are so magnificent and clear that you might want to slow down and enjoy parts of this game as opposed to rushing through it.
And even though acquiring the Phantom Hour Glass proves to be a bit of a challenge at first, you will see the significance of the Hour Glass, once you have it in your possession. Also, it took me a while to figure out this part of the game, so for those of you who are suffering some sense of frustration by the time you get to Molida island, here is what you do to gain access to Romanos’ cave.
Follow the Ghost Ship all the way as far as you can go in the Northwestern Sea, until Linebeck says: ‘….maybe someone on an island knows how to get through the fog…’
Even if your ship goes down while trying to make it back to Molida island after the Ghost Ship/Northwestern Sea scene, you will still gain access to Romanos’ cave on Molida island after speaking with Romanos’ son once you have followed the Ghost Ship as far into the Northwestern Sea as you can go.
So set aside some time, pick up your Nintendo DS/DS Lite stylus and go do some exploring of your own, Legend of Zelda style as Zelda: The Phantom Hour Glass gives you and Link one more adventure to go Zelda on.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Ring Of Fates
Although I read the reviews and watched the videos on youtube, when I plunked the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Ring of Fates game into my Nintendo DS, I became a little apprehensive.
Would this title live up to the previous Final Fantasy video games I have played before, was just one of the many questions that played out in my mind as the game’s introduction took shape on my DS screen. I was in for a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Incorporating high quality graphics, voice acting in certain cut scene sequences and a magic system it took a while to get used to, what I found here is really a great game.
In it, you take the role of Yuri, a young adventurous lad who is accompanied by his twin sister, Chelinka. Even though she is with you, you or Yuri end up doing all the fighting, Legend Of Zelda, Link style. You are on a quest to save your world from vicious monsters and bosses, the gameplay is fun too.
You basically enter caves or dungeons, solve little puzzles to advance the game, fight off monsters with your Hatchet or Sword and use different colour magicites to unlock certain doors, and of course building up your hero’s levels as you play.
Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, you do not hoof it from one town to the next. Instead, after you have completed one area, you simply step out of the village you are in or home, after which you can automatically enter the next town or place.
Call me strange, but I sort of missed the hoofing it part. Or the use of an Airship. But it is a great little game, little because unlike longer Final Fantasy games, this particular one only contains eleven chapters.
And you, Yuri, have to keep the other comrades who join you along the quest alive or healthy. Enemies you encounter, will attack anyone at random. Even though I like the game, I found this to be especially frustating in the last few dungeons where the enemies were faster and tougher to fend off.
But if you are a lover of RPGs and games in the Final Fantasy series, this is one you might want in your collection. It reminds me much of The Legend Of Zelda series, especially when Yuri and Chelinka are exploring a new area, with Yuri doing all the hacking and slashing away.
Another unique aspect of this game are the off the story mode mini games. For example, if you want to take a break from all that hacking and slashing away, you can go to the Moogle character found at any of the save icons, talk to him where you will gain access to the Blazing Caravans racing game or Paint The Moogle one.
They are both fun and entertaining. I had fun painting the Moogle.
Would this title live up to the previous Final Fantasy video games I have played before, was just one of the many questions that played out in my mind as the game’s introduction took shape on my DS screen. I was in for a bit of a pleasant surprise.
Incorporating high quality graphics, voice acting in certain cut scene sequences and a magic system it took a while to get used to, what I found here is really a great game.
In it, you take the role of Yuri, a young adventurous lad who is accompanied by his twin sister, Chelinka. Even though she is with you, you or Yuri end up doing all the fighting, Legend Of Zelda, Link style. You are on a quest to save your world from vicious monsters and bosses, the gameplay is fun too.
You basically enter caves or dungeons, solve little puzzles to advance the game, fight off monsters with your Hatchet or Sword and use different colour magicites to unlock certain doors, and of course building up your hero’s levels as you play.
Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, you do not hoof it from one town to the next. Instead, after you have completed one area, you simply step out of the village you are in or home, after which you can automatically enter the next town or place.
Call me strange, but I sort of missed the hoofing it part. Or the use of an Airship. But it is a great little game, little because unlike longer Final Fantasy games, this particular one only contains eleven chapters.
And you, Yuri, have to keep the other comrades who join you along the quest alive or healthy. Enemies you encounter, will attack anyone at random. Even though I like the game, I found this to be especially frustating in the last few dungeons where the enemies were faster and tougher to fend off.
But if you are a lover of RPGs and games in the Final Fantasy series, this is one you might want in your collection. It reminds me much of The Legend Of Zelda series, especially when Yuri and Chelinka are exploring a new area, with Yuri doing all the hacking and slashing away.
Another unique aspect of this game are the off the story mode mini games. For example, if you want to take a break from all that hacking and slashing away, you can go to the Moogle character found at any of the save icons, talk to him where you will gain access to the Blazing Caravans racing game or Paint The Moogle one.
They are both fun and entertaining. I had fun painting the Moogle.
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