Tainted Report

If you're like me, you are probably not very happy with Nintendo. I've had a few tirades against the Wii here in this blog, and I could probably continue these rants for a few years if I wanted to. But, in an attempt to retain some credibility in this blog, I'm going to try something a little different. Thus, I present to you...

Extending the life of your Nintendo DS
5 small tips to retain your faith in Nintendo's dual-screened fiend.

Are you broke like me? If you are both a DS owner and broke, then you are probably finding it hard to get enjoyment out of your DS. Well, I'm here to share with you a few ways to put some life back into the DS. 5 ways, in fact.

5. Invest in Homebrew

One of the best decisions I made when I had some cash was investing in a slot-1 Homebrew device. Basically, homebrew allows you to download homebrew applications onto the DS cartridge, which you can then use on your DS. It's nothing compared to the wide array of options available to PSP owners, but it is definitely a wise purchase. Not only have people made games, but there are also a ton of helpful homebrew applications to choose from, such as web browsers and Instant Messengers. For more information about Homebrew, check out this thread.

4. Share With Friends

Someone mentioned this in another blog, but I figured that it was worth a mention here. If you have an old game lying around that you don't really want to play anymore, trade it with a friend for a different game. I have received a few games this way, and it's been a huge benefit for someone like me, who may not have a steady cash flow.

3. WiFi = Longevity

When you go to buy a new game, look for the WiFi symbol on the box. Online multiplayer options can add hours of play time on to the game, and will increase the replayability of the game. WiFi is always a plus when dealing with DS games, so make sure you look into it.

2. Make Use of Offline Multiplayer Capabilities

This may seem obvious, but make good use of the single-card download ability of some games. If you don't have a copy of Clubhouse Games, for example, but your friend does, you can still have a ton of fun using the Single-Card download capabilities. And if you all have the same game, the Multi-Card options are usually much more robust, and is a ton of fun. I still have a ton of fun playing Mario Kart DS with a group of three other people, and that game has been out since 2005!

1. Revisit!

My number one tip for increasing the life of your DS is pretty simple: Revisit old games! I understand that some games grow tiresome after playing for weeks on end, but remember that the game will feel fresh and new a year down the road. So if you can't afford to pick up the latest Final Fantasy game, give your old copy of Final Fantasy III another playthrough. If you don't want to play through the entire game again, then try and complete all the sidequests in the game, or maybe spend your time maxing out the stats of your characters. There are plenty of things to do in games if you look for them.

And games without a linear story are great to replay! Games like Mario Kart DS, Tetris DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Harvest Moon DS are all great titles to play in short spurts, especially if you haven't played them in awhile.

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There you have it. These tips aren't really revolutionary ideas or anything, but they are tips that have helped me get through times when I couldn't splurge on a new game. I hope these may be of some use to you!
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The DS' innovative dual-screen design and touch screen interface has brought about a lot of ambitious efforts from companies. Games like Trauma Center: Under the Knife and Elite Beat Agents show how well the unique setup of the DS can be utilized to create a new and fun gaming experience.

But if there's one company who's taken the touch screen design to a new level, it's 5th Cell. The company developed Drawn to Life and Lock's Quest, two games whose gameplay mechanics are almost entirely dependent on the DS touch screen. And the latest offering from that company looks to push the innovation to a new level. The game's title: Scribblenauts.

Scribblenauts is so ambitious because basically, the game is only limited by your own imagination. The game is a platforming collector game, where you collect things called "Starites." But these Starites are not in a place that is normally accessible to you, so you must use some sort of help.

That's where the fun comes in. You get to choose what tool you use. So if the Starite is in a tree, you can spell out "ladder" on the touch screen, and then you could climb it and get the Starite. Or, maybe you would rather have a bird that would fly up into the tree and retrieve the Starite. The possibilities are endless, and that's why I am so amazed at this innovative design.

IGN got the chance to interview the creator of this game, which you can read here. He talks about the limitations of the design process as well as the idea behind it.

quote

IGN: Okay, so in the trailer – that people need to check out, by the way – you can see that you write down a ladder and can then climb up it, right? Now could you also turn that ladder on its side and instead light it on fire and the tree would then burn, since it's all made of would.

Miah: You could, yup. You can flip objects, you can take an axe and cut the ladder in half if you wanted – not sure why you'd do it, but you could if you wanted – and even if it wouldn't help anything in that situation you can do it. That's half the fun of the game really. You can just do anything. It's all about messing around with these objects and properties and seeing what you come up with and how you can solve problems. That's what's really fun about showing off this game to people so far. They look at it and say "Wow. So wait, can I do this and this and this" and then of course, yes, you can.

After reading that interview, I am incredibly excited for the game. The interview hinted at possible online play, which makes me even more excited. I think it kind of sounds like a DS Little Big Planet, but maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, enjoy the interview as well as the attached gameplay trailer.


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I don't know about you, but I have been a devout follower of Moon since I first heard about it. The shooter from Renegade Kid (the people behind the horror game Dementium: The Ward) is a FPS that puts you on the moon (shocker!) as you try and uncover the truth behind paranormal activity. Or something like that. I've yet to play the game, so I don't know a whole lot about the story.

But what I do know is that the game looks beautiful. Now, I'm not one to judge a game based solely on looks (I chose the DS over the PSP, after all) but this game is stunning. We're talking legitimately good graphics, and not just "good for the DS." These aren't next-gen graphics, obviously, but man do they look good. Here, have a look for yourself:



Color me impressed. Anyway, the next bit of information that made me excited was the revelation that this game will not be a straightforward, run and gun FPS. Instead, Moon is all about atmosphere. It focuses on the desolation of the moon, and so the focus is much more and searching for answers. Yes, there is still shooting robots and other various enemies, but I like the Metroid Prime approach.

Even better still is the RAD, a small vehicle that goes with you through the levels. This little car is used to solve puzzles and reach places that you couldn't go normally. On top of that, it has a stun gun, making it a neat gadget to use as a companion to your normal weapon. It is a cool feature, and one that will surely break the monotony of the run and gun formula.

There are even some driving missions, because who doesn't want to drive around on the moon? Apparently, controlling the "LOLA" 4x4 is done by using both the stylus and the d-pad. Definitely sounds interesting, and will be another way to mix things up.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my excitement with you all. The game hits shelves on January 13, so it's heading to stores soon. If you want more information about the game, I would advise you to check out the IGN Review of the game, which offers a lot of information about the game. And also, head over to the Moon forum and help start some discussion about this awesome game.
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Here's another review for all you people interested. Enjoy!

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Booting up Professor Layton and the Curious Village is like throwing yourself into an Encyclopedia Brown book, but without the chance to solve the mysteries yourself. The premise of the game seems to be a point and click mystery game, but it turns out to be a entirely puzzle-driven experience with little else to do. While there is a great story that drives the plot, there's not a whole lot you can do to actually progress it other than completing puzzles as you find them. However, if you can look past this and enjoy it for the quirky little title that it is, than you will get a lot of enjoyment out of Professor Layton, because it still has a lot to offer.

The game centers around Professor Layton, and his young assistant Luke. Layton and Luke are called to a mysterious island, St. Mystique, to try and solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. The deceased Baron Reinhold left a cipher in his will that whoever uncovers the truth behind the mystery of the Golden Apple will inherit his entire fortune. Lady Dhalia, his widowed spouse, call upon Professor Layton to solve the mystery. However, things start to go foul when a family member is killed without warning. So, this treasure hunt turns into a murder mystery which Professor Layton must solve.

The story is a throwback to Agatha Christie style novels, with a mysterious culprit running amuck in the city as Layton and Luke try to unravel the mystery before he claims his next victim. However, this isn't your straightforward mystery. Expect tons of plot twists that really do keep you guessing until the final scenes of the game, where everything starts to come together. The story is magnificently written, to be sure, and it will keep you interested the whole way through.

So, Layton and Luke set off to solve all the various mysteries that are brought about. The system for solving these mysteries, though, is much different than you might expect. The inhabitants of St. Mystere love puzzles, and so to get any information out of them you must solve the puzzles that are thrown at you.

This is where the game starts to veer from its point and click style of play. While you do maneuver through the town using a point and click interface, you won't be uncovering clues by meticulously scouring over an area. Instead, you will be given a puzzle to solve, and then given a very small bit of information as a reward. While games like Myst and Siberia also capitalize on puzzles, they do not approach them in the same way as Professor Layton, where puzzles are basically the only mode of gameplay. Which, depending on how you look at it, is both a blessing and a curse.

It's a blessing because the puzzles are challenging, rewarding, and incredibly fun. There are 120 puzzles in the main game, increasing in difficulty as you progress through the game. There are also many different varieties of puzzles, from logic puzzles to trick questions to visual puzzles and much more. While some puzzle types are recurring throughout the game, the puzzles never seem to get old.

Puzzles are given a score in "picarats" which is based on the difficulty of the puzzle. Correctly solving a puzzle will earn you that number of picarats. However, guessing incorrectly will cause the number of picarats to drop a bit, meaning less picarats when you do get the correct answer.

If a puzzle seems too hard for you, you can buy hints using "Hint Coins" which are hidden in various places throughout the game. There are three hints to unlock for each puzzle, but not nearly that many hint coins in the game. It is wise to save your hint coins until you come across a very difficult riddle that you just can't seem to get.

If you cannot seem to figure out a puzzle and don't want to waste Hint Coins, you can exit the puzzle and come back at a later time and try again. However, many of the puzzles early in the game are mandatory to progress the plot, so you can't rush through the game without completing any puzzles.

Now, I've talked about why the puzzle system is a blessing, but I haven't touched on why it's a curse. While the puzzles are a lot of fun and offer a lot of challenge, one gripe I had was a lack of depth. Other than trying to find Hint Coins, going around town is really only about searching for puzzles to decipher. Even though the story is so rich, you do not really get the chance to solve the mystery for yourself. Beating certain puzzles (or a certain number of puzzles, in some instances) trigger new events in the plot, like a new mystery to be solved, or leads to Professor Layton solving the mystery. You do not get to do any sleuthing or investigating for yourself, which is pretty disappointing when you are engrossed in the plot like I was.

While this may seem like a big gripe to have with a game of this type, but really it's not that noticeable when you are actually playing through the game. The puzzles and story felt like they were interwoven pretty well as I was playing through the game, and it didn't feel like I was getting the raw end of the deal, but looking back I can see that I didn't have much to do with the solving of the various mysteries.

On top of the puzzles you find in the game, there are also a few bonus puzzles that can choose to do throughout the game. When you solve a puzzle, you may get a gizmo, a piece of furniture, or a painting scrap. These are pieces that you will use in three bonus puzzles. Gizmos can be put together to make a secret robotic figure, furniture can be rearranged between Layton and Luke's rooms until both are completely satisfied, and painting scraps can be put together to produce a piece of artwork found in the game. While these puzzles aren't terribly difficult, they are definitely fun distractions and welcomed additions.

If you manage to complete all of these on top of the 120 in-game puzzles, than you can unlock 15 bonus puzzles. It's a nice easter egg, and it offers up some incentive to beat all of the puzzles offered in the game. These puzzles are actually quite difficult, so only the sharpest of minds will be able to complete all of them.

On top of this is the ability to download puzzles via Nintendo WiFi connection. While new puzzles are no longer being released, you can still download the entire backlog of puzzles available online, which is 26 puzzles in total. This is just another way to squeeze some longevity out of the game.

One thing I've yet to touch on is the graphics. This game uses a cartoonish style, but it is beautiful. Colors are crisp and animations are fluid, and the style of the game is pretty unique. The character design of this game is phenomenal; a few times while I was playing through I laughed out loud at the absurdity of some character's appearances. There was obviously a lot of time spent on getting the style right, and I think it does the game great justice.

At various points in the game there are cutscenes, which are stunning. One that I remember in particular is a scene where Layton and Luke are investigating a ferris wheel and it suddenly breaks. The two are running through the park trying to avoid the ferris wheel before it crushes them. It was a beautiful cutscene, one of many throughout the game.

The audio also fares well. The game features full voice over in the cutscenes, and Simmish style gibberish in game. The voice over work is believable, yet at the same time quirky and befitting of the cartoonish style. The music is simple and pretty good, although it's nothing too special. It's definitely good, but nothing outstanding in my opinion.

So, to wrap all of this up, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a great game. The story is enthralling and full of plot twists and new discoveries, the graphics are fresh and full of style, and the puzzles are fun and challenging. The many unlockables and downloadable puzzles offer lots of different things to do when the main story is over. However, the inability to solve the mystery yourself brings this game down a bit. Overall though, this game is a wonderful experience that will amuse anyone looking for a unique experience.
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