Professor Layton Review

February 27, 2008

 

Professor Layton Review

Developer: Level 5
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle, Adventure
Official Site: Professor Layton DS
Release Date: February 10, 2008
ESRB: Everyone
MSRP: $29.99

Review:

Innovation is an interesting topic in the video game industry. We often hear complaints about publishers relying too heavily on sequels that don’t introduce enough new ideas to tried-and-true formulas. On the other hand, some truly new and innovative ideas go largely unnoticed by consumers. Perhaps, then, the success of recent titles like Puzzle Quest and Patapon suggest a new direction for developers. Rather than take risks with unproven design philosophies, it may be best to take successful ideas from different genres and blend them together to create new yet familiar experiences. Professor Layton and the Curious Village does just that. Borrowing the best aspects of adventure and puzzle games, Level 5 creates an experience that is both familiar and refreshing.

As the story begins, Professor Layton and his young apprentice, Luke, are called to the village of St. Mystere to investigate a mysterious will. It seems that Lady Dahlia requires your assistance to recover the Golden Apple, an heirloom that will dictate how her late husband’s fortune will be divided. To find the treasure and solve the mystery of St. Mystere, you’ll explore the streets of the village, talk with the inhabitants, and collect clues. In this way, Curious Village resembles traditional point-and-click adventure games as you use your stylus to move, talk, and search for clues.

Along the way, you’ll find that the villagers are hesitant to cooperate with your investigation unless you first help them solve a riddle. Solving these riddles takes up the majority of your time in St. Mystere, and for good reason. They’re quite difficult. Puzzles range in theme from simple word play and mathematics to involved logic puzzles and obtuse brainteasers. If you get stuck on one problem, you can always come back to it later armed with up to three hint coins that you find hidden throughout the village. There are a limited number of these coins available, but you should always have enough to get you through the most difficult puzzles. You’re also given an unlimited amount of time to solve the brainteasers, as many of them involve computations or scenarios that must be worked out with your stylus on the screen.

Playing through the adventure will take most people about 15 hours, but there is plenty to do once you’ve completed the story. The game has well over 120 puzzles, and you only need to complete two thirds of them to finish the game. You’ll want to explore the village to find hidden puzzles and collect objects to unlock more challenging brainteasers. Nintendo is also offering free, weekly puzzles for download via the Nintendo WiFi Connection, so you’ll certainly get your money’s worth for purchasing the game.

Speaking of value, you’ll notice a consistently high production level throughout Professor Layton. The game’s charming visuals are conveyed through impressive FMV sequences or artful still shots reminiscent of childhood storybook classics. Voice acting, a rare treat for a Nintendo title, is of similarly high quality. Unfortunately, most of the time you’ll find yourself playing with the audio turned down because the music can easily become repetitive and grating.

If you enjoy adventure games for their story or puzzle games for their imaginative brainteasers, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is easy to recommend. As long as you can handle the occasional obtuse riddle, Level 5 has created a great addition to your portable library that’s easy to pick up and play for a few minutes or long stretches of time. They’ve also proven that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to create a unique game experience.

2 Comments | Reviews, Video Games | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by brianfishman

Patapon Demo Impressions

February 26, 2008

Patapon Impressions Header

Patapon is a charming 2D side-scroller from the studio responsible for LocoRoco, another infectious PSP exclusive title. While the visual style is similar to LocoRoco, Patapon’s gameplay mechanics are wholly unique. Those interested in trying it out for themselves can download the demo from the PlayStation Store. Successful completion of the demo allows you to save your progress for use in the retail version of the game and gives you access to an exclusive weapon.

Although Puzzle Quest and Professor Layton stand out as recent successes, it’s not often that developers are willing to take risks and create new genres in this industry. It’s surprising then, that Patapon manages to borrow the best aspects of old genres and create something entirely fresh and innovative. Best described as a rythm-based real-time 2D side-scroller, Patapon truly breaks new ground on the portable system.

While the essential objective of 2D side-scrollers remains the same (start at the left side of the screen, move to the right, repeat), the means with which you do so have radically changed. As a deity, it is your job to guide the Patapon army into battle by beating a ceremonial drum. Different rhythm patterns tell your subjects to perform various tasks like advance, attack, or defend. Chaining these beats using timed presses of the PSP face buttons increases the effectiveness of the command, sending your troops into fever mode. In this mode, accurate timing is more difficult due to increased background noise coming from the game, and this strategy makes for a compelling risk-reward system. As you progress through the story, you’ll collect new troops and various items to equip your soldiers. This mechanic adds role-playing elements and strategy to a game already bursting with new ideas.

At a surprisingly low price of $19.99, it’s likely that many PSP owners will find something to like about Patapon. Unfortunately, the game is not without its faults. Even from the demo, a few niggling issues are apparent. For example, the difficulty curve ramps up fairly quickly, meaning you’ll have to replay a number of stages if you want to be ready for the onslaught of the next level. Furthermore, Patapon is quite possibly the least portable game available for a portable system. Because the gameplay is rhythm based, there is no way to pause in the middle of a level (unless you put the PSP in sleep mode), and you must be listening intently at all times (meaning you’ll probably want to use headphones while you play). Although the PSP’s wide screen is ideal for 2D side-scrollers, Patapon seems like an easy candidate for a downloadable PlayStation Network title on the PS3.

1 Comment | Impressions, Video Games | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by brianfishman

WipEout Pulse Review

February 23, 2008
WipEout Pulse Review Header

Developer: Studio Liverpool
Publisher: SCEA
Platform: PlayStation Portable
 Related Games: WipEout Pure, WipEout HD
Release Date: February 12, 2008
ESRB: Everyone 10+
MSRP: $29.99

Review:

When WipEout Pure debuted on the PSP in 2005, it quickly became a flagship title for the fledgling platform. The fast-paced, futuristic racer proved that the home console experience was viable on a portable machine. Amazing visuals, engaging multiplayer, and tons of downloadable content kept Pure in heavy rotation among early adopters. Nearly three years later, WipEout Pulse improves of nearly every aspect of its predecessor making it a must-own for any racing fan.

In WipEout Pulse, you’ll compete in races against the computer AI, friends, or other players around the world. While getting to the finish line in the fastest time will usually be your goal, you’ll only be able to do so if you stay alive. Racers in Pulse utilize a wide variety of weapons to destroy their opponents, ranging from video game staples like bombs and missiles to signature WipEout power-ups including earthquakes and shurikens. In addition to a shield, defensive players can fend off attackers by using a temporary autopilot, speed boosts, or repulsor blasts.

Previous WipEout titles have relied on the standard tournament mode for their single-player campaigns. Pulse abandons this rigid structure in favor of a grid-based system of progression that gives the player more control over their next event. If you don’t feel like playing a tournament, time trial, or speed lap, you’re free to choose a Zone event in which you must stay away from the walls of the track and survive as long as possible while your ship travels at ever-increasing speeds. New to the PSP series is Eliminator mode, where the object is not to finish first, but rather to destroy the most opponents using a more powerful set of weapons than those available in other events. Though difficult, Eliminator makes for some intense firefights and is one of the standout features in Pulse. If you come across an event that you’re having trouble completing, simply drop the difficulty level down for that race. Unfortunately, this wider variety of event types means you’ll find yourself playing the same tracks over and over as you complete different objectives on each course.

Where WipEout Pulse really shines is in its customization options. As you progress through the single-player campaign, you’ll unlock tracks for use in Racebox. In this mode, you can create your own grids, specifying the race type, speed class, available weapons, and AI difficulty. For those who plow through the single player campaign, Racebox adds significant longevity to the game. You can also design and share your own ship skins online, save in-game screenshots to your memory stick, or, if you’re not a fan of electronica, Pulse lets you import up to thirty mp3s from your memory stick to use seamlessly in the game.

WipEout also raises the bar for its competitors on the PlayStation Portable in a number of other categories. Pulse improves on the amazing visuals of its predecessor, running at a smooth frame rate in even the most hectic battles. Its pulsing (apologies for the pun!) soundtrack from a variety of established artists fits nicely with the gritty style of the game and adds to the sense of speed during races.

The most important precedent set by Pulse, however, is in the online arena. WipEout is the first PSP title to use your PlayStation Network ID as a unifying login for its infrastructure mode. In addition to the standard ad-hoc mode for local multiplayer, Pulse lets you race online worldwide with minimal lag. Within the in-game menu, you can also open the PSP web browser and surf to wipeout-game.com where you’ll be able to access new ship skins, check your leaderboard rankings, and download new content. Although Studio Liverpool nearly doubled the size of WipEout Pure with free, post-release downloadable content, it’s a shame that the content packs for Pulse carry a price tag.

Regardless of minor shortcomings like track repetition or premium downloadable content, your decision to purchase WipEout Pulse should come down to two factors. Do you own a PSP? Do you enjoy racing games? If you answered yes to these two questions, Pulse is a definite must-have. It won’t bring any new fans to the genre, but there is certainly more than enough content to satisfy anyone who likes a good race.

1 Comment | Reviews, Video Games | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by brianfishman

EA Collaborates With Satan! News at 11:00

February 21, 2008
Heidi Montag

I can think of no other explanation for this. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must prepare for the End of Days.

Leave a Comment » | Humor | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by brianfishman

Political Underachievers

February 20, 2008
GamePolitics

GamePolitics is a valuable resource for video game fans presented by the Entertainment Consumers Association. According to its mission statement, GamePolitics “offers a clearinghouse for politically-oriented news and opinions about video games, the video game business and the way in which games relate to modern society.” In my experience with the site, I’ve found it to be a good way for keeping up to date with the latest political events and their influence on our favorite hobby.

In a recent article, GamePolitics reports on what they believe to be a recurring theme in senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. According to the blog, he uses video games as a “metaphor for underachievement.” As reported by the Washington Post, Obama said:

I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that has built up over centuries, how hard it will be to fix schools, because changing our schools will require not just money, but a change in attitudes.

We’re going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that’s going to take some time.

Clearly, the senator doesn’t hold video games in very high regard. But is it fair to say that he equates them with underachievement? I don’t think so. In fact, Obama doesn’t seem to think video games are any worse than television, another activity of questionable value yet one that seems to garner more social acceptance. If GamePolitics hopes to educate voters, it should be wary of putting words into the mouths of politicians.

You’ll note, however, that Obama does not say “turn off the television set, and put the books away…” More so than television and video games, reading for pleasure is a socially acceptable activity simply by virtue of the fact that it has been around longer. It’s worth pointing out that, while reading certainly stimulates the mind, it also requires the reader to be sedentary and isolated for extended periods of time. Playing video games, however, is a social activity. And, with the increasing popularity of titles like Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Sports, it is an increasingly physical activity as well.

Unfortunately, it appears as though the video game industry will gain legitimacy only with the passing of the current generation. As adults who grew up playing video games as kids and teenagers begin having children of their own, the social stigma will recede. In the meantime, informed voting is the best way individuals can influence the public perception of gamers.

1 Comment | Editorial, Politics, Video Games | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by brianfishman

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