Reviews & Articles

Deep down (deep deep down), I think we all secretly feel that meteorologists are messing with us. Those meteorologists out there reading this - they know it's true. In Elements of Destruction you play Marty, the crazed meteorologist. His boss, Miss Burns, has just fired him for too accurately predicting bad weather. Drew McCoy, who sees nothing but sunny days ahead, is his saccharine replacement. Marty does what any self-respecting meteorologist with a hobby in mad science would do in that situation: he uses his evil machine to control the weather and wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.

I admit, maybe a bit too strongly, that Symphony of the Night has colored many a gamer’s perception of what a “good Castlevania game should play like.” Oh yes, the aforementioned game is almost considered one of the proverbial “holy grails” of videogames because no matter how many years have passed, it still feels fresh and inspired. This is something many videogames lack. So let’s travel back a few years on our DSs and analyze Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Language is powerful. It is a way for us to communicate. It allows people to create worlds and take people places they have never seen before. This is present in this review: I created a space for you to learn about my experience. Scribblenauts for the DS comes downright close to doing just that in game form.

This game doesn’t mean to toot its own horn ... it just does. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is a smooth ride across the land of Hyrule, by train rather than by boat. A successor of epic proportions to Phantom Hourglass, the first DS Zelda game, Spirit Tracks carries on the tradition of massive boss battles, picturesque visuals and an entertaining tale.

Having a humorous cheer squad at your back would help anyone feel more empowered in their time of need. Elite Beat Agents, for the Nintendo DS, is about an agency that sends spunky music agents across the world to help people through their times of trouble or grief.

A million years ago, shortly after the NES ruled the earth, there was the Super Nintendo. That system wasn’t just good, it was awesome. Many of the games on the system set the standard for what is considered “classic gaming.” One of the games I was obsessed about was Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. I know this game like the back of my hand. I know where every dungeon is located, how to solve [the majority of] the puzzles, where to get most items and spells, the locations of the capsule monsters and how the story unfolds. Now, Natsume has remade it and released it. Does it live up to how cool it was back at last year’s E3 and the standards of the series?

Phase II is ready to begin. Pick up your DS, insert Dementium II, and prepare yourself for yet another twisted tale by the team that brought you Dementium: The Ward and Moon. Renegade Kid, the developer behind the much-appreciated Dementium survival horror/first-person-shooter series has out done itself.

I still remember when I learned about Radiant Historia all those months ago. I remember not being impressed with it, that everything was a bit too trite. It looked like one of those games that we, as gamers, have seen one too many times before. I remember when I saw it in action over a month ago online, and it started to impress me with its soundtrack. And now that I have my hands on it, I can honestly say that this game surprised me. It sucked me into its deep plot, soundscapes and accessible yet tricky combat. This is definitely one of the unassuming masters of the role-playing genre.

I am not a Naruto fan on any level. Believe it! Every time I tried to watch the anime shows, it just came off as downright silly to me. Whenever I watched videos of the games in action or a review or even read a review of one of the games, the game came off as “stupid” to me. I don’t know what it is, but I could never connect with the action of the series or the characters. The game series has always had the feel of “shovel-ware” to me. However, I have played Naruto Shippuden: Shinobi Rumble for a while now, and I’m pleasantly surprised with it.

Time travel is an interesting idea. In fact, I would call it an awesome one. Who wouldn’t be game to fixing the past for not only personal gain, but also to better the world? Of course, things are never this easy as time paradoxes and rips in the time-space continuum are enough to render the best of plans null and void. So where does this leave us in terms of gaming? Atlus has developed its own answer to this question in the form of Radiant Historia, which will be released Feb. 22.

I still remember when I originally learned about Knights in the Nightmare being ported to the PSP. It just didn’t seem like a good fit to me. How do you take a game that was so finely controlled with a stylus (or what could be considered a mouse) and translate it into a “traditional” gaming experience? It did not make sense to me to choose such a platform, but such a decision was made. Even though I saw Knights in action online several months ago, I did not believe it for myself until I saw it in motion. Amazingly, this is almost exactly the same game available for the DS and stands just as proud as its twin. It is an excellent thing considering how amazing the DS version is in general.

Many years ago, mascot rivalry was a huge deal. Everyone was on the mascot bandwagon, but no one seemed to be able to overcome the looming tower named Mario. In 1991, Sega brought a brash blue hedgehog with an attitude to the table, and Mario finally got a run for his money. The competition never looked more aggressive. I took my side back then. I didn’t hate Mario, but Sonic was just all the edge and speed a little one could ask for. So if you told me back then that in 2010 the new Sonic game, Sonic Colors would be a Nintendo-exclusive, that may have upset me greatly.

I like the beach. But, who doesn’t on some level? Despite the old traditional reasons for going for the cool breezes and sun, it is a soothing place. Oceans and lakes have been around for millenniums while we live out our lives. I find it to be soothing to watch them and remember that some of my problems are only temporary. With this in mind, I present to you Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City for the DS.

Chrono Trigger is known as a standard in videogame RPGs, and there’s a very good reason: solid gameplay and a truly epic story. Sure, it has the classic — and now overused — themes like a princess that just wants to tag along, a seemingly heartless villain with a complicated backstory and an alien that wants to eat the world, but all of these elements are still fresh anytime I play the game. One of my best friends and I still talk about Chrono Trigger because its story is rich and timeless.

Magic is a fascinating element. It can help make an ordinary fantasy story extraordinary. It is also what helped sell millions of Harry Potter novels. Suffice to say, life would be a lot more interesting if magic were present. This was in the back and forefront of my mind as I played Witch’s Wish on the DS.

When I first learned Knights in the Nightmare is coming to the PSP, I was immediately concerned. How could something that so highly required the touchscreen of the DS transfer to the PSP? I could easily imagine it being ported to the iPod Touch or iPhone. But ported to the PSP? I just could not imagine it. Atlus was kind enough to show us a working demo of the game.

I picked Let’s Draw! off the list of available games for review because I have an 8-year-old niece that loves to draw; she doesn’t follow directions too well, as we were to see, but she loves to draw. I handed the DS to her without the instruction booklet to see if the game was written for little kids or if an adult would be required to help.

I love exploration. And I’m nosy. Give me the opportunity to poke into every corner, and I’ll do it. Even if the corridor leads nowhere, I’ll happily do it. I won’t peak into someone’s desk drawers, but if it is on a counter of some sorts, it is fair game. Anyway, one of my favorite NES games was Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. Although it retained the old control style of the original, it took things a step further. There is this massive world waiting to be explored. The townsfolk could lie to you, and the clues, although not entirely complete (cartridge space was much more limited in those days), might lead you in the wrong direction. But I loved it. I remember renting it for several weekends during those days, whipping zombies to death, gaining levels and exploring the countryside. It was a very introverted experience. The only person you could truly rely on was yourself. But now, modern gaming has made it obsolete. And the automap function has spoiled me the most. What is this all leading to, you might be wondering? The latest addition to the Castlevania mythos: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. It is a solid DS title, no matter what you think of it.

I don’t get the whole “matching” shtick. OK, maybe that’s an understatement because I can match socks, and wearing a pair is a must if you wish to leave the house. What doesn’t make sense to me is how millions of people enjoy matching the same few colors ad nauseum and the game not taking the gamer anywhere. The original Puzzle Quest took the matching genre in a natural progression of what gamers have already seen. Collecting gems allowed gamers to use skills to manipulate and damage their opponents. It was fun. And it had gamers dreaming of gems falling from the sky. Several years later, Puzzle Quest 2 is finally in gamers’ hot little hands.

I don’t know children’s shows very well anymore. I do not watch as much Cartoon Network as I used to as I tend to stick to shows on DVD. Anime doesn’t always agree with me. Furthermore, it has been many years since I have willingly watched an episode of Pokemon or Yu-gi-oh. I am aware of the current craze: Bakugan. And some of my charges are obsessed with it as well. Although, I think they like how it all looks and not about the actual strategy involved. This brings us to the Wii incarnation: Bakugan: Battle Brawlers.

You have to give good old Sonic some credit. He never gives up. Sega is hard at work on two new games starring everyone’s favorite hedgehog, and one of them is for the Wii: Sonic Colors.

Once upon a time, Beat City was a happy upbeat place — until it was taken over by failed opera singer, Dame Isolde Minor, and her evil Cacophony Corporation, who drained the music and life out of Beat City. Then, from a far away planet came a Groovy Whale — a flying whale armed with headphones — who finds a citizen with a strong sense of rhythm and transforms him into Synchronizer by embedding a loudspeaker in his forehead. Together, they bring back rhythm and revitalize Beat City.

How do you feel about storybooks? I suspect that I’m like most people: It is something geared for children. It is meant to be didactic. Xseed is hard at work to prove that maybe, just maybe, everyone should pay a little more attention to that style of storytelling. Welcome to the world of Ivy the Kiwi? for the Wii and DS.

I do not remember the exact day the original Final Fantasy game was released. I was only 3 years old at the time. I was only aware of Mario’s romp on top of mushrooms and Link’s journey through the countryside. Storytelling during that time was basic at best and nonexistent at worst. But it wasn’t the games’ fault: Cartridges back then had only so much memory available to store all of the information. It is not like today; a single CD has well over 800 MB available. Well, Square-Enix is working hard to take us back to the “good ol’ days” of gaming when it was all about games being light-hearted adventures. That’s what I thought of when I saw Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light for the Nintendo DS.

Did you know that the majority of people have a “sense” of rhythm? This is seen every day in the fluidity of our speech and general movement. It is not just limited to music and dance. It is a part of our everyday lives. With this in mind, let me introduce you to Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove for the Nintendo DS.

Hearing the title Harvest Moon usually puts a massive grin on my face. It takes me back to my Super Nintendo days. When most games focused on and continue to focus on violence, Harvest Moon was a breath of fresh air. It taught gamers about the joy of gardening and chilling out. Years later, I got my hands on Rune Factory: Frontier. It was a blast. Now, Natsume is trying to outdo itself with its upcoming DS game: Rune Factory 3: A Fantasy Harvest Moon.

Many will admit Sonic the Hedgehog didn’t make the transition to the third dimension as gracefully as he could have and that his oeuvre of subsequent starring titles has been of inconsistent quality at best. However, Sonic Colors, his latest next-gen adventure, presents itself as a potent collage of what has inarguably worked for the blue blur over these past 12 years.

Mentor Interactive is a small publisher looking to make its mark on the learning games part of the gaming industry. So far it seems to be doing very well. Most of the titles, such as My Virtual Tutor, are all built for the DS platform, which is good for parents actually concerned with what their child is playing.

Is it too bold of me to assume that you have already played the original Puzzle Quest to death? It is a very popular game due to the fusion of matching jewels and light role-playing elements. In fact, I bought it for my sister for her birthday two years ago. She still plays it to this day. Now the story continues with Puzzle Quest 2, which is available for the Nintendo DS and Xbox Live Arcade. I was fortunate enough to play a bit of the XBLA version at E3 before it launched.

There is a reason people my age wax and wane about the mid-1990s. Videogames were coming into their own, and excellent and memorable games were produced. It stands as the threshold of change, as animations were evolving from pixilated sprites to polygonal figures. One of those games on this cusp of change was Chrono Trigger for the SNES. It was then ported to the PlayStation a few years later and now to the Nintendo DS. So what is the point of bothering a game 15 years old? Simple. It is one of the best role-playing games ever made. Period.