Ever since I moved to London about two years ago my friends and gaming contacts have been building up. The first week I lived in in englands capital I joined the DS London meet. A Meet up for DS gamers which happened once a fortnight in a pub in London where we would drink and play DS.

DS London is a fantastic community of people who are always welcoming new gamers to their community. This week they let me join their monthly Pod Cast where we talk all things Nintendo and DS.

This weeks Podcast talks about our predictions for Nintendo’s September 13th announcement and what we predict will be announced. We also talk about GamesCom, the success (or non success?) of streetpass on the 3DS and the rumours going round about the new thumbstick peripheral and the possible 2012 new model.

So click here and enjoy the DS London Podcast Episode 9 with Chibihobo, E-Clipz, MarkBoss and Garvaos.

If you want to keep up with things all DS London Follow the DSLondon twitter and check out the DSlondon Facebook Group.

Garv

Okamiden is a Capcom RPG for the Nintendo DS. It was released in America on the 15^th March, (and Europe two days later), and is a sequel to the critically acclaimed PS2/Wii title Okami. I won’t say too much about the story so as not to spoil things for those of you intending to play this, but I will say it is set 9 months after the events of the original. It is considered an indirect sequel and, hence, self-contained ; you won’t have needed to play the original at all to enjoy this.

Okamiden sees you controlling Chibiterasu, the adorable son of the original game’s protagonist, the similarly titled Amaterasu. I had Okami for the PS2 and managed to progress a couple of hours in. However during that time I never quite felt like I’d built any kind of bond with Amaterasu, as I may have done playing a Zelda game, the series to which the franchise is most often compared. In contrast, with Okamiden, no sooner than the opening group of cutscenes finished rolling that I was already beginning to feel utterly endeared with Chibiterasu ; his adorable appearance and childish, slightly naïve demeanour melted my heart. With that basis to build on I set off, and discovered that every time I learnt something new about him or his back story my attachment to him grew and grew, and its probably this, more than anything, that kept me coming back to this title.

In terms of depth Okamiden is often referred to as Okami-lite. I honestly haven’t played enough Okami to know whether thats a fair statement, but Okamiden is certainly a lot lighter than the likes of Zelda : Twilight Princess or Shenmué. But it would be wrong to call Okamiden shallow, its got some major revelations about the franchise in it, and there are a couple of big story elements which come together towards the end. By the time its over you’re going to be feeling pretty damn satisfied, if you’re anything like me. That said, one big criticism I have of the way the story is told is that, although it gets off to a great start, the middle section really lags. Its full of scene-setting and the introduction of characters you have yet to form a bond with. Of the handful of people I know who actually play this game I’m the only one who actually bothered to persevere past the game’s boring center. Which is a real shame, because the game’s final chapters are its best ones, and really taught me why this is such a well-loved series.

Through-out the game Chibiterasu is joined in his adventure by partners, of which there are several. These characters, who sit on Chibi’s back, each generate a different play dynamic, For example, when you travel around with the young girl Kagu you have, in addition to your regular moves, the ability to exorcise evil spirits and, later on, the power to warp. The dialogue of the non-playable characters also changes in response to who your current partner is at the time. In Kagu’s case, many of them complement and praise her, for she also happens to be a well-known actress in the Okami universe. The partner system is great because it allows you to view this RPG from a constantly changing perspective, while the endurance of Chibiterasu’s constant presence glues the whole thing together and provides continuity.

Other features of note include the ‘New Game Plus’ feature, a carry-over from the original which allows you to replay the story after finishing it, now enhanced with some of the things you managed to collect first time round, such as extra inkpots, solar energy units and trinkets. You can also unlock some pretty impressive extras if you manage to furfil certain objectives, such as finishing all of Issun’s Masterpieces, but, again, I won’t spoil things by saying what. The New Game Plus really extends the longevity of the game, and increases its value for money, in my opinion.

Other than that you have the battle system, which was fun at times. It felt so good to let loose with the Celestial Brush, it was the only place I really felt I got the opportunity to really do that. That said I think the battle system could have been improved. Apart from on special occasions the arena in which you battle is always the same drab purple affair, which got old really quick. Aside from that I found that I was expected to fight the same enemies over and over, such as the elemental spinny things, which felt like a total drag.

The aforementioned ‘Celestial Brush’ feature is what really sets the Okami series apart, control-wise. For those of you who don’t know, this sees you ‘painting’ strokes or patterns onscreen using a virtual brush, producing a variety effects which can help you manipulate your environment. The Nintendo DS has been heralded as the perfect platform for this system, by The Escapist editor John Funk among others, and I have to say I agree. Trying to draw items using my PS2 controller felt as cumbersome and slow as it did back when I used to play ‘Art Alive’ with my Megadrive controller ; nothing beats the speed, accuracy or ease at which you can jot things down directly onto the screen using your DS stylus.

Okamiden’s graphics are in the same Sumi-e style as the original. Quirky art styles often work really well on the DS, as Hotel Dusk and Scribblenauts demonstrate perfectly, and the same is very much true of Okamiden. Most of the game is played out against very neutral colours, which really help create a homely, earthy feel, saving richer reds and purples for when it needs to make a statement, such as boss battles.

So much has been made of the fact this is graphically inferior to the original, especially by the fans. Its obviously the case that the resolution is a lot lower, with the special effects being much fewer and far between. This problem is compounded by the fact that it is largely only fans of the original that are drawn to Okamiden in the first place. And its really quite unfair. Because judged soley by DS standards Okamiden holds its head high with the very best looking games the format has to offer. Super Mario 64 is still the standard by which 3D DS games are judged, and it would not be stretching the truth by any means to proclaim that Okamiden surpasses it. Its gradients, textures and blends make Mario 64 look positively dated. In addition, I recently reviewed Pokémon Black/White, another DS game, and praised its graphical prowess. But Okamiden is just on another level entirely.

Lastly you have the game’s soundtrack. Like Okamiden’s graphics and story, its music is inspired by ancient Japan. Within the confines of remaining faithful to that traditional base you’ve got an impressive range, from the lovely, relaxing music played during menu screens, to the bouncy, inspiring Shinshu field tune. The music is at times really quite emotional, and  really helps bring the story to life. Great examples of this include the haunting, sweeping ‘Once Upon A Time’ and the bitter-sweet, Zelda-esque ‘Sorrow’

The music isn’t ground-breaking, although it would have been before the likes of Dragonquest 9. It is top-notch, however, and has a few truly memorial numbers that, I must admit, I’ve even considered transferring to my iPod.

In conclusion Okamiden does a brilliant job of taking everything that made the much-loved Okami special, and making it accessible to gamers such as myself. My lack of empathy with  Amaterasu was one significant reason I just never could get into Okami, but there was more to it than that. Games which require you to sit in your room, wired up to your home console and TV screen will always seem more needy to me than portable alternatives, which you can move about with and experience in a variety of environments to your leisure and heart’s content. I also digged the fact that Okamiden was a more basic experience ; I found Okami quite over-whelming, and just couldn’t be bothered with it.

Okamiden has a heart-warming story, eye-popping visuals and a great soundtrack. Its also tied together perfectly, propelled at every stage by its desire to recreate the feeling of Ancient Japan. The Nintendo DS has really surprised me in recent years by delivering some of the best RPGs I’ve ever played. And now I have a new one to add to the list.

Please don’t be put off this if you haven’t played the original, if my experience is anything to go by it’ll probably result in you enjoying it all the more. A brilliant game.

Pros:

+Captivating story

+Celestial Brush works like a charm on the DS

+Possibly the best looking game on the system

+More accessible than the original

+Pleasant soundtrack

+’New Story Plus’ really adds longevity, and has some mighty fine rewards

Cons:

-The story really lags in the middle

-Some of the partners could have been more interesting/likeable

-The battle arenas always look the same, and fighting the same enemies can get really repetitive

Score: 8.5/10 – An RPG I didn’t even think I’d like, but found I couldn’t put down for weeks. Engrossing and amazing.

- Helen Doherty

The Worlds Most Awesome Gaming Keyboard......Apparently

As for me, I am a semi converted FPS fan. Most of you are probably thinking, what the hell do you mean? Well first off I was playing First Person Shooters on the PC. But this was back in the days of Doom, Wolfenstein and Duke 3D. Basically the FPS games that didn’t require you to use the mouse. You could happily go along with the arrow keys seeing as there was no way to look up or down. It wasn’t till the end of my PC FPS game days where Quake 2 implemented the mouse. I couldn’t really get on with it so I just tried it out with the keyboard and somehow made it through the campaign.

With the new control set up for FPS games, I actually feared that my shooting game days were long gone. So I went to the Playstation 1 and 2 for games like WWE wrestling, Tony hawks skate boarding and Devil May Cry. It wasn’t untill I got my original X Box and Halo where I got my FPS gaming back. I then was evermore glued to the console way of FPS gaming. So you could say I have really been playing FPS games the same way all my life, mouse free.

The Perfect Combination Of PC and Console Controllers Perhaps?

But back to the question in hand. What is the best platform for FPS games? If I were to put this question to the Plus XP team I will have a vague idea of who will say what. Leon would say console but then go back to playing God Of War or something similar. Mark will probably say console as well, but then start day dreaming about Jessica Chobot. GuitarGirl’s reaction would probably be ‘does it involve a guitar so I can melt the enemies faces?’. Then there is That Bloke In The Beanie, a hardcore PC gamer who has an X-Box in the corner of his room which he does play every now and again, but I know straight out he will say FPS games are better suited to the PC. This will probably stroke up a heated debate which I will endeavor to post on this site when the time comes.

lately I have revived my original silver clunky DS and have been playing Metroid Prime Hunters. Possibly the best shooter you are ever gong to get on a hand-held ever. Ok so it may cramp up your hands like a bitch but still it utilises the FPS game mechanics perfectly. Possibly not the best platform for FPS gaming by any stretch of the imagination, but defiantly something to look at, using the touch screen as your mouse if you would like, you then use the D pad to strafe and move forward and backward and then use the left bumper button as your trigger finger. Very interesting way at looking at game mechanics indeed.

I feel it is time now to give the Wii an honerable mention. If it were to drop it casual/party game facade that so many people pin down on it these days, I think that this console could be the next big thing for FPS games. Oh c’mon you must have thought at some point that shooting games would have been perfect for the Wii when motion plus came out? Metroid corruption used the Wii controls perfectly, and is today still the game that is making me think about getting a Wii. Red Steel 1 we probably won’t talk about here, just mention it for the sake of mentioning it as it was, quite frankly, a shite game. Red Steel 2 on the other hand looks a lot better with the time I had with it at Eurogamer last year. Then you have games like house of the dead which just turn the console into an arcade cab. But I must say the Will has stunning potential for being the Next FPS platform as you pretty much have a gun in your hand.

So the best platform for FPS gaming? Well I am going to have to hand it to the consoles, A) because I can’t get on with the mouse that well, B) because if it wasn’t for Halo I would have probably never touched an FPS game again, and C) the Wii has so much FPS potential it just makes me a tad sick that it has had this casual gaming marker put on it.

But that’s all my opinion, what do true FPS fans out there think? Feel free to voice your opinion.

Garv.

Sooo Garvaos kindly agreed to let me take a detour from my usual custom of reviewing iPhone apps so that I could bring you this review of what is to perhaps be the last big Nintendo DS release: Pokémon Black/White. For those of you who’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years: Pokémon is a long-running RPG series, which has inspired everything from movies to ice-pops (and a whole host of other crazy merchandise for that matter). Pokémon Black/White represent the first fifth generation Pokémon games and, as with previous generations, this means they bring to the table a whole gaggle of new Pokémon (156 in fact) plus a brand new region to explore: Unova.

Many Pokémon fans were (and are), perhaps understandably, quite sceptical about this release. Many feel worn down by the vast amount of Pokémon games released on the Nintendo DS console; and it is a truism that this is the first time two generations of the series were released on the same console (well, if you consider the Gameboy and Gameboy Colour as two distinctive formats, as I do). So far on the DS we’ve had Pokémon Pearl, Diamond, Platinum, Heart Gold, Soul Silver, and that’s before you even bring games like the Rangers and Pokémon Dash into the equation. These new Pokémon RPGs have to be something seriously outstanding to set it apart from the well-received Heart Gold/Soul Silver games (which had the added bonus of coming bundled with an awesome pedometer accessory: the Pokéwalker). The question is do they live up to that? Are they truly the next generation in Pokémon games, or simply generation 4.5? This review will attempt to answer this question, using my usual format of examining the games’ story/background, graphics and music.

The developers have really stepped up the attention they invest in the games’ plots, something I first noticed during Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Thankfully this trend has very much continued: what you have with Black/White’s story is something that, while still not as deep as the likes of Dragonquest 9, is certainly on its way. The story, which is the darkest yet, sees the new protagonists (who are older than in previous games) pit against a new villain: Team Plasma. Ok, so Team Plasma aren’t exactly a universe away from the Team Rocket of the original games, but they do have distinguishing features, such as their Knights Templar-inspired uniforms. Interestingly, their standpoint, that all Pokémon should be freed from their exploitative trainers, is a great deal more morally ambiguous than Team Rocket’s simple policy of theft for the sake of becoming powerful. At first I was almost tempted to side with them, but I suspected there was more to it than meets the eye, which is a great thing about this game’s plot; it gets you thinking and keeps you guessing.

The choice of Team Plasma leader marks a significant departure in the traditional story-telling of Pokémon games, for the head is no scheming Giovanni nor manipulative Mars, Jupiter or Saturn. No, this time the villainous group is led by a wholly likeable young man called N, a good boy led astray by his evil father. Other elements in the story sphere include the seven sages (of which N’s father is a member) plus much detail of how the new region was created (like in Diamond/Pearl this involved the games’ respective signature legendary Pokémon).

Gameplay is, as expected, very familiar, particularly to players of the earlier DS Pokémon titles. The action is largely controlled using the D-pad and buttons, Gameboy-style, although there is sometimes the option of using the touchscreen (and in some mini-games this is obligatory). There are, however, a host of new features, and these include Seasons (the game cycles through the four seasons, but not in accordance with real life. They change on a monthly basis). Seasonal change is represented in many ways: how the environment is presented, the likelihood of catching certain Pokémon, and, in some areas, even the music. It also slightly affects accessibility, for example on Serebii.net it tells how in winter a snowfall in Iccirus City makes it possible to access a cliffside otherwise off-limits. Other new elements include, but are not limited to, Triple and Rotation Battles, the Dream world (where you sync your game with the Pokémon Global Link website and access a range of features) and the Entralink, which lets you visit a friend’s game. Players playing the game on a DSi or 3DS also have the additional benefit of being able to take part in video calls through the Xtransceiver function. So lots of new things for players to get stuck into!

As for the graphics, its true they fall far short of the full 3D players have been crying out for since the Advance generation, and in my opinion that’s a shame. I think it’s a step the developers really need to take to convince old fans that these newer games are not just money-spinners, but the good news is that they are certainly a marked improvement on the earlier DS outings. While the Pokémon and characters themselves are still 2D sprites, they are now presented in a setting in a kind of 3D reminiscent of such DS games as Animal Crossing and GTA : Chinatown Wars. The landscape in some parts of the game is truly beautiful; trees, rivers and bridges scattered across what feels like endless verdant plains. The more rustic towns, too, share this quaint beauty, but the more modern metropolises like Castelia City somehow don’t look quite as good. I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s because they were a little over-ambitious in their inception?

The battle arenas too now have a higher res 3D look to them, and the Pokémon, despite still being sprites have many more frames of animation to them than previous games which I feel allows their individual characters to be expressed in greater depth than ever before. For example, Shelmet will taunt your character with a kissy gesture a couple of times before retreating into his helmet shell and bouncing a few times. And when my Zekrom is in battle he moves slightly back and forth as if breathing, but will sometimes lunge forward further, which really creates the impression of my Pokémon being an organic (and random) organism. If you don’t enter a command the camera will pan across the arena, changing the angles of the bases the Pokémon stand on, which also looks pretty damn cool. Other than that, it’s the little things, like the slick animation of a 3D bird picking you up when you use Fly (as opposed to Heart Gold’s static, low res sprite) that really do leave me with a very good impression of this game’s visuals.

Now I’m not much of a fan of cut scenes myself as in-game graphics always take precedence in my heart, but it really does need to be said that this game really uses cut scenes well. When you boot up you are treated to a beautifully painted set of animé stills, depicting N’s coronation and featuring a Darmanitan, one of the new Pokémon. Aside from that there are many mini cut scenes which have functions in game, for example there is a short movie when you ride the ferris wheel that shows your character and a partner travelling high over endless trees. And when you take part in the Musical an adorable little cut scene is generated demonstrating your Pokémon, dressed up in a set of clothes you choose, doing a dance with a group of others.

A final word on the graphics front has to be said about the new Pokémon’s designs. This is always something that comes under fire with each successive generation, with the usual criticisms of the designers being lazy and using old designs twice, and of some of the Pokémon just looking plain stupid. Apart from an assortment of gems (and there are a fair few gems!), on a personal level I don’t rate the Unova Pokédex (a way to collectively describe the new Pokémon) as I would Kanto or Sinnoh’s. Although I haven’t agreed when this charge was made about previous Pokémons, I have to say that some of the Pokémon here do just look plain crap, with the worst offenders including: Litwick (a daft looking candle that’s supposed to be the new Ghastly, but really isn’t), Cofagrigus (an extremely tacky Pharaoh coffin with eyes and arms) and the aforementioned Shelmet. Then you have the unoriginal: Ferroseed looks like a bad Forrestress clone (like the first one wasn’t bad enough) and Watchog, who’s basically a creepy looking Floatzel, except Normal type instead of Water. While not one of my favourite generations in terms of Pokémon, I must admit I still immensely enjoyed roaming around Unova discovering them. There were, as always, plenty of “ohh, ahh” moments and it did have its fair share of lovely surprises, from the seriously cute, like as the mystical pink pig-like Audino, to the badass, like the polar bear Beartic.

Gamefreak really pulled out all the stops music-wise, indeed I’d go so far as to say Pokémon White/Black has the best soundtrack of any of the games; Old tunes have been given brilliant remixes, from the subtle to the markedly different. My favourite example is the track played when your health falls into a critical condition, your HP in the red, they’ve taken that oh-too familiar beeping noise, and given it a housey mix that just sounds so good I almost feel like I’m being rewarded when battle goes badly!

Aside from that you have a lot of variety, and there are heart breaking orchestral pieces in the mix too, such as that heard in N’s castle and a fair share of the cutesy and the quaint tunes, like that heard on Village Bridge. Then you have upbeat numbers with the Oriental-sounding Driftveil City tune which sounds like something out of a Goemon game, and the jubilant new bicycle theme.
Sound effects are largely unchanged from recent outings. To bring up yet another bone of contention I can confirm that the Pokémon’s calls are still merely sound effects, the critters still can’t say their own names like they can in the animé, something else fans have been crying out for for umpteen years. But given the DS’ relatively low memory capacity this was largely to be expected and in my opinion is forgivable.

To conclude, I’ll go back to the question I posed in the introduction: is this game truly worthy of being classed a whole generation beyond Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/Heart Gold and Soul Silver? In terms of the way the Pokémon generations appear to be classified; with each generation representing a new region and new batch of Pokémon, it would be impossible to argue that it did not, but that’s not what this review was concerning itself with. Graphically, plot-wise and in terms of development in general this game is definitely an evolution on that what’s gone before. Pokémon’s looking better, sounding better and heck, playing better than it ever did before. However, I don’t think there’s a big enough jump here for it to be considered a whole new generation when you look back and look at the amount of differences that occurred between the other generations. Take the first generation and second for example, I found it near impossible to go back and play Pokémon Red after playing Gold because it just added so much sophistication, customisation and novelty to the game, with its introduction of genders, eggs, shinnies, night/day difference and so on. I wish I felt that way about the 4th gen having played White/Black but there just isn’t that level of difference, and my original suggestion of 4.5 seems to me to be a fair assessment.

Having said that, does it honestly matter that Pokémon White/Black isn’t completely revolutionary? Sure it’s the same old formula, but it really is so refined now it literally oozes shine! Pokémon Pokémon Pearl/Diamond and Heart Gold/Soul Silver were damn good games on a damn good console, what’s wrong with revisiting that road now it’s had a clean? We Pokémon fans spend so much time talking about what the Pokémon games aren’t doing right that half the time we’re not even paying attention of what they are. I tell you I honestly had so much fun playing Black/White, a darn sight more than I expected (and this is from someone who rinsed the earlier DS Pokémon games and really didn’t think I could stomach another). Give your DS one last epic adventure; you won’t regret picking this game up.

Pros:
+Best looking Pokémon game to date
+Awesome soundtrack
+Well thought-out/intriguing plot
+Heaps of new functions greatly extend the game’s longevity

Cons:
-Still falls short of the full 3D experience/critters still don’t say their own names
-The new Pokémon don’t look as good or as original as some past generations

Score: 9/10 – Brilliant little RPG that sees the DS end its life on a dazzling high. Essential purchase.

Recently, Nintendo held a preview event to allow people to trial the 3DS before it’s release to the general public at the end of March. I was lucky enough to be able to go along and experience it, and so I’ve been trying to cover as much as I can in as far as what I saw and what I witnessed.

For the final part I’ll be looking at the First Party games that were on display; Pilotwings Resort, Nintendogs+cats, Steel Diver, Kid Icarus and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Pilotwings Resort:

This was the first first-party game that I played at the event, but I have to admit that it didn’t particularly blow me away. It was however, a great load of fun in the short time I had. Pilotwings, for the unitiated is a game that allows you to fly around and try to earn aviation licenses; allowing you to fly planes, use hangliders and rocket belts to earn them. Pilotwings Resort will also the be the first to allow you to use your Miis, as I discovered when starting the demo I was asked to pick a Mii to fly as. Opting to simply have a free ride so I wasn’t particularly tasked with anything I flew around Wuhu Island, the island that Nintendo have previously claimed they’re trying to make a character of it’s own. It’ll be the island’s third appearancein a game after Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort, so the prominence of the Miis as the main characters will be explained by this.

Taking to the skies is actually relatively simple and easy, with it possible for you to use nothing but the analogue slider to control the aircraft which is a lot more precise than I’m making it out to be. This is also a game where the 3D does actually add to the experience, but not entirely in a vital way. Flicking the 3D slider up to full allows you to more greatly appreciate the expanses of land you’re flying around and allows you to get a better idea of where approaching objects will come up, allowing you to avoid them or reach them more precisely.

I didn’t get to spend much time on Pilotwings, admittedly, but I enjoyed the calmness of the free flight and remarked it may be quite fun to try out when I need to relax. I may also have cackled with laughter slightly too loudly when in the last 10 seconds I crashed the plane into the Lighthouse. Of course inNintendo family friendly fashion, nothing really happened, ruining my plans to destroy the island’s shipping trade by destroying the lighthouse. Clearly, Nintendo aren’t catering to the evil genius/terrorist crowd with this game and they should think twice before trying this game out.
Pilotwings Resort will be a launch title for the 3DS.

Kid Icarus: Uprising:

I also managed to get time with the first game shown off for the 3DS at E3 last year; Kid Icarus: Uprising. It may have been the first game revealed for the console, but importantly, it’s also one of the games that takes the most advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS as well. It may start with some slightly hammy dialogue that also makes reference to his long departure from the gaming scene (His first line of dialogue is “Sorry to keep you waiting!” and later comments that it’s been 24 years since he was last fought the villain of the demo), but the game manages to combine on rails shooting and combat with slight insanity and a gorgeous look that hooked me in pretty quickly.

Think something like the recent Sin and Punishment sequel for the Wii but with Kid Icarus, and you’re partway there in terms of what I played. Except Sin and Punishment (to my knowledge at least) didn’t have you fighting a flaming hell-beast with two heads within 5 minutes of turning the game on. The on-rails shooting is something that’s massively improved by the 3D; allowing you to aim more effectively as you’re more easily able the line of fire and where it’ll end up, meaning more precision; something that is majorly needed in a game like this when you’re attempting to go for the bigger scores.

The demo I played was insane, tightly packed (the demo would time out at 5 minutes – how long the Goddess could guide Kid Icarus before his wings melted) and utterly amazing. You can tell that Nintendo were doing what they could to help better the arrival of Kid Icarus after such a long disappearing act from the realm of videogames, and it’s going to be a comeback worth remembering when it’s released soon after the 3DS’s launch.

Steel Diver:

I’m just going to throw this out there, but I don’t really see any real appeal to Steel Diver. While I tried it out, it didn’t make itself clear at all as to what to do. It also didn’t really look that great and was quite confusing, as activating things on the touch screen didn’t work as soon as you took your finger/stylus off the touch screen. Case in point, I submerged the submarine, then upon taking my finger off the screen, the submarine started rising again. Though I will concede I didn’t really get it, and couldn’t get the submarine to move beyond diving. By the time I realised the game was probably controlled by the gyroscopes I was busy playing something else. Whoops.

Animal Crossing & Mario Kart:
Hold your horses, they sadly weren’t properly there, but displayed in video form advertising their future releases. Annoyingly though the videos didn’t really seem to betray anything desperately pressing or new about either games, so there’s not much I can impart knowledge wise for them, kind of making writing this part of the entry pointless.
Whoops.

Nintendogs+cats:

Another returning franchise that may appeal to some more than others is the return of Nintendogs. However, this time there’s a twist: there will also be cats.The demo I had featured a Siberian Husky, bringing back memories of my old husky Link, whom I had grown dearly attached to until a year after owning him, when I reluctantly had to take him out back Old Yeller style and erase him.

To those who haven’t played Nintendogs, Nintendogs+Cats will be a fun simulation that allows you to keep pets in your pockets without the RSPCA getting involved. To those who have played the original on the DS, I can tell you from the time I had on the demo that there is a massive, shocking addition to the gameplay in that you can also raise cats. Sadly, I couldn’t make them fight each other, so Nintendo are once again missing out on the sorely-misrepresented animal-fight loving demographic with their family friendliness, but unless you desperately wanted to raise virtual cats as a reaction to being single and lonely, you may be fine with the original.

nintendogs+cats will be available for the 3DS at launch in three varieties:
Golden Retriever & New Friends, French Bulldog & New Friends and Toy Poodle & New Friends.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:
I’m a bit of a Legend of Zelda fiend, let’s be clear about that from the offset. It’s my favourite franchise of games and several of the entries factor in my favourite games of all time, with the clear winner being Ocarina of Time. Now I get to be reunited with my greatest love in the form of the 3DS remake, and there were almost tears. Though that may have been me dying inside a little when the assistant thought Link was Zelda.

Now, I could simply just use this opportunity to go on about what is essentially my favourite game of all time, but we’d be here forever. However, the game looks fantastic in motion; it upgrades the look and makes everything look almost eye-poppingly beautiful. It controls fantastically as well and the menu system and HUD has had an overhaul to allow you to trawl through the menus more easily, which could effectively eliminate the frequent trips to the menu that plagued the Water Temple.

The demo had three parts; Kokiri Village, Inside the Deku Tree, and the boss fight with Gohma, and it not only looks more amazing and plays just as well, there are also some extra features thrown in to improve the gameplay, such as the touch screen allowing you to change weapons more easily and the gyroscopes that allow you to look around as well as aim and fire your slingshot/bow and arrows. Just, I need to sit down and calm down because I ended up getting emotional just watching the opening with Link riding around Hyrule. I just love this game, okay? You’re doing yourself a disservice if you’ve never played it.

While I’ll be picking this up as soon as it’s released with any luck. If they threw in the Master Quest too, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS could be one of the most complete experiences in my life, and I’d never need another game. Though this is coming from an obsessive Nintendo/Zelda fanboy, so take this with a truckload of salt.

So there we have it. That’s the 3DS coverage. Hope you enjoyed!

-Jokesound

Yes, I’m a shameless and relentless Nintendo-kid, but that doesn’t really affect many of my issues with the current PSP. In fact, I want to help Sony sell their next portable. To me. I mean, it’s all well and good telling them how to sell it to millions, but they have entire marketing divisions for that. They don’t have anyone telling them how to sell it to me, so I’m going to do it for them. So here’s what Sony’d have to do to sell me their next handheld. At least until there’s more information on it, and a clear idea of the library and features.

-Whatever format you try to use for the system, try not to force it on everyone, and if you do, don’t make it so expensive. What was the point in buying a UMD for a console which didn’t have enough battery life when playing movies to watch a Lord of the Rings film? Why should I have then paid £20 for the priviledge when the DVD would have been half the price and worked on home consoles too? No wonder everyone ended up shoving movies onto a memory stick and watching them that way. It’s not that it was a bad idea, but the cost made the whole thing come across as arrogant when the only thing those discs worked on was a PSP.

- I know it had a lot of processing power for the time, but the battery life genuinely sucked. Sure, there was a strong enough library despite me not personally finding a lot of appeal in it, but surely, the point of a portable console is the portability. So I’ll find a stronger battery much more appealing to the proceedings and then maybe I’ll be more willing to actually take it out of my house.

- With Nintendo missing a trick by being so archaic with their online modes, how else are you going to appeal to me than with better online capabilities? Embrace it like Microsoft did with the Xbox, just obviously not to the point where single players get shafted in the name of multiplayers people will abandon after 3 weeks.

- Keep the games to the console. Sure, it seems like a nice idea to have them later come out on the PSN, and while I like that idea to an extent that it allows people to be able to experience the games without necessarily having the console, it doesn’t provide people an incentive to actually buy the console. Again, as much as that ability is actually really good and makes the games more accessible, why should people have bought a PSP when most of the best games came out on the PS2 or PSN later? It just doesn’t give a real incentive for a purchase and it doesn’t communicate how unique it is if the games can just be lifted so easily elsewhere for a cheaper price point.

It wanted to be a PSP2...

-Learn the mistakes from the PSPGo. You can’t just have a download-only system. Neither can you keep the costs for games at ridiculous prices, frequently higher than the physical retail copies. You need to give the consumers an incentive to buy the games digitally without loads of DRM ruining the experience. Choice is something that is easily appreciated, but gamers need incentives to buy one way or the other. Frequent deals and extra features on one version or the other. Don’t send whatever it is out to die for marketing purposes. Make sure the games are available both digitially and physically, and don’t promise a load of stuff you’ll then have to take back.

- Don’t just copy the competition. No matter how you put it, putting in motion controls after Nintendo did, rumble after everyone else did, and trophies after Achievements just looks really suspicious. Don’t just haphazardly add in things to the PSP2 after you see what Nintendo do with the 3DS and try and claim you have more stuff or you do their stuff better. You’re not fooling anyone and it looks really arrogant. I’ll actually admire you a lot more and want a PSP2 if you didn’t worry about the competition, and set out to make something fun and innovative without shoving the innovation in everyone’s faces. Look at Nintendo: They managed to create two fun and innovative consoles in the DS and Wii without caring about what the competition was doing. How do you get ahead of your competitors when you’re always trying to match them? Go for broke on something different to the competition and fun, without having all those features forced on us in the early games.

This is how not to do it.

- Embrace Homebrew. This sounds a bit ludicrous at first, but the PSP was loved for homebrew, and what they could do with the machine. Plus, that kind of stuff breeds loads of creativity and gets a good buzz going around. By all means, keep the pirates out because they don’t deserve the games, but if people want to mess around with homebrew, you’ll look a lot better if you openly embrace it and let them at it. Especially if Nintendo deny homebrew. Be more like Sega in the old days, and do what Nintendon’t. Just don’t focus on it all the time like in your marketing for Move.

-Get rid of Marcus Rivers and learn how to market your goddamn consoles properly. You know who’s awesome? Kevin Butler, as long as you don’t run him into the ground. In fact, he’s been one of the only good marketing runs you’ve done since the PSP and PS3 were unveiled. I could be here all day with all the horrendous, arrogant marketing campaigns you’ve done before, Marcus being one of them. Stop being so goddamn arrogant when trying to sell your consoles, actually have a series of good, non-controversial campaigns for the PSP2 when it eventually comes out. Ones that people can enjoy without wanting to rip you a new one and shoving Mr Rivers into the new hole.

- Like everyone else, I’m more than happy to go back on most of what I’ve said before and sell out my principles and beliefs in the name of money. Just send me over a lot of money and I’ll be more than happy to buy a PSP2. Also free games. And loads of other neat stuff. Maybe a monkey. Or any money. Any money at all.

Please.

I’m so hungry.

Summer was almost over and my lone surviving Chili plant christened Stephen was not doing so well. Despite daily waterings, several hasty relocations and an inspiring word of encouragement or two only a single Chili remained; and even that was beginning to look weary. As is usual in these type of situations several ‘Helpful’ friends offered various chipper solutions to my botanical problem. Often when standing over the bedraggled Stephen I was met with a chorus of “Re-pot it with new compost”, “Take it out of the direct sunlight”, “Give it more sunlight” and “Find a bigger pot”. All valid suggestions perhaps, but in central London? For a start my modest (Ok cheap…) flat only has one sunny windowsill and I seriously doubted weather any of my friends had actually ever tried to find a garden center in central London. Not easy. I thought hard about creative alternatives but in the end I didn’t really think the council would appreciate me digging up their flower-beds for compost and lets face it I can’t really run that fast. There had to be a better alternative,an easier alternative, a cheaper alternative, a virtual alternative.

Having long been a fan of the Cooking Mama series I was hopeful that Gardening Mama would be able to solve my city gardening problem once and for all. No longer would my plants wither and die before me, no longer would my efforts be fruitless. However as always the question remained. Could virtual gardening live up to actual gardening? Would Mama be able to satisfy my thirst for gardening as she had for cookery? It was time to pick up my virtual trowel don my virtual wellies and find out…

Like the highly popular Cooking mama series (505 games) Gardening Mama is comprised of a series of simple yet addictive mini games. The basic concept is easy enough. Use a combination of tapping, blowing, rubbing and drawing to guide a variety of gardening tools to complete a number of varied gardening themed tasks. Armed with your trowel, fertilizer, seeds, pots and hose you must navigate your way through a series of gardening challenges battling with the elements to ensure the survival of your growing’s. Oh and its also very cute, did I mention cute?

Though similar in theme to the Cooking mama series, it would seem that a lot of effort has gone into Grading Mama to ensure that it is not simply the same old mini games re-branded. Gardening mama instead has a wealth of new mini games to explore, many of which I found more complex and challenging than the Cooking Mama series. One of my favorite new additions had to be using the trowel to measure out exact amounts of compost either onto a scale. Though this task appeared very simple it actually proved quite tricky and I am not ashamed to say that on several occasions Mama had to fix it. I must clarify that when I say words such as “challenging” and “tricky” I do not mean impossible. This game is partially aimed at children and thus almost impossible to fail. I do however mean that if you are a perfectionist like me you may find it hard to get gold medals, and lets face it its all about the gold. If you are a fan of the Cooking Mama mini games then don’t worry. As well as the wealth of new additions a couple of Cooking Mama classics have been relocated from the kitchen into the great outdoors. Whereas Cooking Mama asked you to use a tap to add water to a pot of rice, Gardening Mama asks you to use a tap to add water to a beaker and mix to make fertilizer. How is that for transferrable skills? Nice. Overall though the mini games have become more advanced, more creative and more touch sensitive.

Unlike the simple menu based Cooking Mama game, Gardening Mama allows you to walk freely within your colorful virtual gardens viewing their progress. This not also provides you with your opportunities to grow new produce but also gives you the chance to customize your surroundings making your garden truly your own. Starting in the flower garden the game encourages you to first plant, and then nurture your garden until your plants are booming and your work can be judged. Once you have found your green fingers in the flower garden the game encourages you to explore a total of 5 gardens including the Flower garden, Fruit orchard, Veggie garden, Rose garden and finally the mysterious Special garden. These various gardens allow you to grow a variety of different flowers, fruits and vegetables the success of which can be seen at any point by looking at the gardens various signposts or when visiting the harvest shed where your produce is stored. Most exciting of all if you have Cooking Mama 3  you can also transfer your home grown produce into the kitchen and make a tasty virtual dinner for yourself. Mmmmm.

As a new gardener you are not expected to undertake your work alone. You are joined in the garden not only by Mama but also a variety of other family members all full of helpful advice to get you started. If you heed their advice and do particularly well your efforts will be rewarded with new garden items, clothing and even rare plant fertilizers which can have surprising effects. It would seem a lot of effort has gone into making this game as customizable as possible, and though dressing mama up in a bright green T-Shirt with massive flower earrings and a beret may not have much impact on your gardening skill it can be quite fun.

To add depth to the game Gardening mama not only required the initial action of planting your plants, but also requires you to complete additional tasks to keep your growings in good health. For example once you have planted the seeds the game will often call you back from the main menu telling you that your plants are wilting and need attention. You must then complete a variety of maintenance tasks from watering to re-potting and pest control in order to keep your plants alive and gain higher scores. If at this point you choose to neglect your plants they will eventually wither and die. Ah… thats probably where I went wrong with Stephen.  Anyway I found that this process added to the structure of the game, making it less of a collection of mini games and more of a story. Definitely a welcome improvement from the extremely charming but undeniably linear offering of Cooking Mama.

As with most games Gardening mama does come with a couple of disadvantages. The biggest annoyance to me was the speed at which your successful plants died. As with a real garden your plants don’t last forever, and I found that by the time I had reached the final garden nearly all of the plants in my flower garden were gone. Now I know this is what happens in nature, but this is not nature, its a game. Why couldn’t my plants just stay alive and give me the option to re-grow if I wanted to? This made me sad. As for the rest of the game I found few faults. Aside from the quite repetitive music (easily muted) and the fact that Gardening Mama can’t say the word “flowers” this was an enjoyable and fun game. A welcome title for anyone who enjoyed the Cooking Mama series.

Yes, this is Stephen

So is Gardening Mama better than growing an actual garden? Well aside from taking up less space it also proved easier, more colorful and less costly than the real thing. There is also less chance of wasp stings. Just as cute and noticeably more detailed than Cooking mama, Gardening Mama is compelling and addictive whilst at the same time being accessible to many ages and abilities. Of course the disadvantage of virtual gardening is and always will be the lack of fresh air, fresh garden scent and daylight. To truly replicate that green fingered outdoor feeling I suggest taking your Ds on an outing to the park. Play the game whilst surrounded by the sights, sounds and scents of nature. Sure you wont get to eat your own home grown produce at the end of the game but hey, isnt that what farmers markets are for?

Until next time,

24

x

Gardening Mama is out now for the Nintendo DS

505 Games

The Worlds Most Awesome Gaming Keyboard......Apparently

As for me, I am a semi converted FPS fan. Most of you are probably thinking, what the hell do you mean? Well first off I was playing First Person Shooters on the PC. But this was back in the days of Doom, Wolfenstein and Duke 3D. Basically the FPS games that didn’t require you to use the mouse. You could happily go along with the arrow keys seeing as there was no way to look up or down. It wasn’t till the end of my PC FPS game days where Quake 2 implemented the mouse. I couldn’t really get on with it so I just tried it out with the keyboard and somehow made it through the campaign.

With the new control set up for FPS games, I actually feared that my shooting game days were long gone. So I went to the Playstation 1 and 2 for games like WWE wrestling, Tony hawks skate boarding and Devil May Cry. It wasn’t untill I got my original X Box and Halo where I got my FPS gaming back. I then was evermore glued to the console way of FPS gaming. So you could say I have really been playing FPS games the same way all my life, mouse free.

The Perfect Combination Of PC and Console Controllers Perhaps?

But back to the question in hand. What is the best platform for FPS games? If I were to put this question to the Plus XP team I will have a vague idea of who will say what. Leon would say console but then go back to playing God Of War or something similar. Mark will probably say console as well, but then start day dreaming about Jessica Chobot. GuitarGirl’s reaction would probably be ‘does it involve a guitar so I can melt the enemies faces?’. Then there is That Bloke In The Beanie, a hardcore PC gamer who has an X-Box in the corner of his room which he does play every now and again, but I know straight out he will say FPS games are better suited to the PC. This will probably stroke up a heated debate which I will endeavor to post on this site when the time comes.

lately I have revived my original silver clunky DS and have been playing Metroid Prime Hunters. Possibly the best shooter you are ever gong to get on a hand-held ever. Ok so it may cramp up your hands like a bitch but still it utilises the FPS game mechanics perfectly. Possibly not the best platform for FPS gaming by any stretch of the imagination, but defiantly something to look at, using the touch screen as your mouse if you would like, you then use the D pad to strafe and move forward and backward and then use the left bumper button as your trigger finger. Very interesting way at looking at game mechanics indeed.

I feel it is time now to give the Wii an honerable mention. If it were to drop it casual/party game facade that so many people pin down on it these days, I think that this console could be the next big thing for FPS games. Oh c’mon you must have thought at some point that shooting games would have been perfect for the Wii when motion plus came out? Metroid corruption used the Wii controls perfectly, and is today still the game that is making me think about getting a Wii. Red Steel 1 we probably won’t talk about here, just mention it for the sake of mentioning it as it was, quite frankly, a shite game. Red Steel 2 on the other hand looks a lot better with the time I had with it at Eurogamer last year. Then you have games like house of the dead which just turn the console into an arcade cab. But I must say the Will has stunning potential for being the Next FPS platform as you pretty much have a gun in your hand.

So the best platform for FPS gaming? Well I am going to have to hand it to the consoles, A) because I can’t get on with the mouse that well, B) because if it wasn’t for Halo I would have probably never touched an FPS game again, and C) the Wii has so much FPS potential it just makes me a tad sick that it has had this casual gaming marker put on it.

But that’s all my opinion, what do true FPS fans out there think? Feel free to voice your opinion.

Garv.

However, not much later we would see a new idea enter the market – moving from cartridges to CDs which were a much more standard media type; for the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast and perhaps most importantly, the PlayStation. The release of the PlayStation 2 gave a new aspect to the home console – backward compatibility. Having grown up a bit and developed a greater passion for gaming – with a growing collection to boot – the PS2 allowed for gamers like me to upgrade to the new model, whilst allowing me to continue playing my (still growing) collection of PS1 games – while I fell in love with Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy X, I was still able to bask in the glory of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night without needing two PlayStation consoles set up at a time.

On the handheld side of things, Nintendo had dominated the market with their Game Boy, eventually releasing the Pocket and Color models which improved the console’s build whilst keeping the Game Boy game format. When it came around to releasing the next completely rehauled handheld console, the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo acknowledged that people would be upgrading, and therefore made it possible to play original GB titles on the GBA system.

A GBA SP with a Gameboy Color cartridge

So at the end of last generation we had the PS2, which was compatible with all PlayStation games released thus far, Nintendo moved onto miniature discs with its conversion from cartridges with the GameCube (soon to be followed up by the backward-compatible Wii), the new Microsoft Xbox crept onto the scene with its own DVD-format discs. It was looking as though data formats were being standardised, and as consoles all moved to disc it seemed likely that we’d be able to see backward compatibility in the future, with consoles all using game formats that would be physically compatible with the new versions – the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 would again use discs, and the Wii would incorporate full size discs while still being able to accept the GameCube titles.

However, I find myself in a different situation altogether. Whereas the rare, initial version of the PS3 (albeit high-priced) was able to do such a thing – being able to play games from all three generations of the Playstation consoles - this was soon scrapped for the new, cheaper model of PS3, and the following Slim version, looking to be lost forever. Although the PS3 is still compatible with PS1 titles (yay for Final Fantasy 1-9!), the console lost access to what is perhaps one of the largest console libraries ever – the PS2 being one of the most successful consoles ever made, personally making up a good third (if not more) of my entire gaming collection. But due to this change, my PS3 console is severely flawed in that it cannot play Devil May Cry 1-3, Onimusha, Final Fantasy X+XII, Capcom Vs SNK 2, God of War I&II, Kingdom Hearts and Shadow of the Colossus among many, many others, while my little PS2 slim sits still triumphant underneath my TV. Don’t get me wrong – I love my PS3, and its fast becoming my favourite console of the generation – but do I really want two PlayStations set up at all times?

Sure, the graphics are looking a little dated, but if you haven't played this - you're missing out

The Xbox 360 had a similar situation – although the original Xbox wasn’t nearly as successful as the PS2, it still had some worthwhile games. However, instead of simply being compatible or incompatible with the previous titles, it has a select set of titles which are possible to emulate via online patches (of which the database is never updated). Obviously this is fine for mainstream games like Halo 2, but upon foolishly purchasing a copy of Dino Crisis 3 I found myself with a disc I couldn’t use. This was far too complicated, so I didn’t bother getting any more original Xbox games – but I think if the original console had as vast a library, this selective system would be awful. I can imagine that a few owners of the original system got screwed when half of their old games weren’t compatible with the new system. Especially when Microsoft then follow-up by releasing the old Xbox games for digital download on Xbox Live. I’d much rather look after a disc than have Fable eating up my hard-disk space for the 99.9% of the time I’m not using it.

The Wii, however, is the only one of the three latest consoles that is successfully and completely backward compatible with the previous console (strangely being the one with the most difference in the new and old hardware – with its change in disc size and controller rehaul). However, I have a bone to pick with Nintendo in the handheld area of things…

Now, the Nintendo DS is a good console with some great titles, such as the Ace Attorney series and Castlevania titles. By including a GBA slot, it’s library was vastly improved, my DS game collection consisting of about a 3:1 ratio of GBA games to DS titles – with series’ such as Castlevania, Megaman Battle Network, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Metroid and others providing very solid gameplay, which has aged very well and still looks great on the DS – I mean, it was a shame they ditched the original Game Boy functionality, but to be honest they haven’t aged so well, and I don’t miss any of the titles – with perhaps the best titles such as Pokemon having sequels and (good) remakes on the GBA format regardless.

Now you may say… that’s not a complaint, surely? Well – although the GBA functionality is a blessing for the DS, it’s not perfect. Since a good few of the GBA title’s use a Link Cable for various functions (such as trading in Pokemon), sometimes even being necessary for 100% completion, the DS does a terrible job by failing to have a link cable port, or incorporating a link cable emulation system using the DS’s wi-fi capabilities. This isn’t too big a deal, but having to find out a couple of old GBAs and a working link cable can be a mountainous task. This isn’t my main issue, though.

No. Introducing the DSi. Look at it, on the left, with its slim design, in-built camera and well-lit screen. One could say it’s a perfected version of the original DS. But oh, what’s that – WHERE’S THE FRICKIN’ GBA PORT!? That’s right. Believing that today’s market isn’t interested in the GBA (which is probably true, with Nintendo aiming at the casual market), they ditched the GBA functionality and just quartered the selection of great games the console has to offer. Well done, Nintendo. I’ll stick to my fat DS thanks (which incidentally fits in my pocket regardless). The Slim was a great rehaul, but the DSi should hang its head in shame. Where’s the respect for elders and all that?

Now, I understand that technology can be expensive, and perhaps it’s more cost-effective to produce consoles that aren’t backward compatible. But in this day and age, where technology moves so fast, I think the old media is being dropped far too fast. I play GBA titles and PS2 games far too often for them to be classed as obsolete. I’d much rather pay a bit more in order for my PS3 and DS to fully incorporate what the previous consoles could do, as I’m far more likely to be playing Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow in the long-term than I am Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training. And yes, one day I would like to be able to play the entire Devil May Cry quadrilogy on the same console. We already know it’s possible – just give us the chance. With technology today, I’m sure both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are powerful enough to handle true backward compatibility. I for one would pay an extra £50-£100 for a PS2-incorporating edition of the PS3/Slim – why not just let us choose whether to pay the extra or not?

-Leon

A game that really drew me to this year’s Eurogamer expo was Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. My attention span is not my greatest quality; I much prefer a good handheld game that I can play at my convenience, rather than a long RPG which can have some gamers hooked for hours on end (no names mentioned…). However, much to my surprise this game introduced me to a new small-scale version of an RPG on a handheld. This originality tweaked my interest as to whether I could enjoy an RPG style game on a handheld console.

The game switches between three characters: Mario and Luigi are found together inside Bowser’s body for the first part of the game, exploring a 2-D platform-style environment. However, battles are still turn based, and are initiated by touching the enemies on-screen. Bowser explores the Mushroom Kingdom in a 3/4 overhead-view world, much like the previous Mario & Luigi games, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

However, further into the game, Mario & Luigi can leave Bowser’s body to explore the Kingdom as well. From this point onwards, they can then use pipes to go back inside Bowser’s body if they wish.

The plot of the game revolves around a mysterious infection called “The Blorbs” which is taking over the Kingdom. The infection makes the Toads grow in size, and causes them to roll around against their will. The Mario brothers, as part of a council, are called in to discuss what needs to be done – the apparent cause some strange item called a “Blorb Shroom”. However, the meeting is disturbed by Bowser, who is up to his usual tricks and trying to kidnap Princess Peach. But Mario, Peach’s permanent knight in shining armour once again fights him and defeats him and saves the fair maiden.

Bowser later finds himself in a strange forest, where a dodgy figure offers him a “Lucky Mushroom”, promising him that it will grant him power to finally defeat Mario. However, it causes Bowser to go ballistic and inhale everything in his path, including everyone in the council meeting before collapsing. Mario and co., as well as the council, are shrunk to tiny proportions and find themselves inside Bowser’s body. The mysterious figure takes over both Peach’s and Bowser’s Castle. When Bowser awakens, he tries to reclaim his castle; meanwhile, Mario and Luigi, their friends, and the rest of the inhaled Toads must work alongside Bowser from within in order to find an exit, stop the bad guy, and rescue Princess Peach (yet again, trouble must be her middle name!).

The battle system is a continuation of that from the previous Mario and Luigi titles, and this time Bowser is also a playable character. Bowser’s battle system is much like Mario and Luigi’s, although fights alone, much stronger than the italian plumbers. He can also gain the ability to purposely inhale his enemies later on, enabling Mario and Luigi to fight the enemy inside Bowser, in a strange sort of Bowser-Mario co-operation.

The game is controlled via the X,Y,A,B buttons – with Mario and Luigi each being assigned two of the buttons. In the platform areas, you control both of their directions with the D-pad, but must press their individual jump buttons for the platforming elements – although I found this a little odd, I’m sure it’s something you’d get used to. Similarly, battle commands for the brothers are also performed with their respective buttons, many of the attacks being performed like mini-games – such as timing button presses to kick a shell back and forth off of an enemy to string up a combo and increase the damage of the attack.

What makes this game different to the previous two installments is the introduction of the ranking system, where players increase their rank as they level up. By earning ranks, the characters are able to equip more items, buy more equipment, and maybe earn a new item. In the game, there are 6 ranks for Mario and Luigi and 4 ranks for Bowser.

A great feature of this game is the minigames. Being quite the avid fan of minigames (possibly as result of low attention span or indeed the cause of it??) it was great to learn that this game has introduced more minigames than the previous two games which only featured one. The minigames within the game revolve around the parts of Bowser’s body including strengthening his arms and legs (each an independent minigame) as well as helping Bowser digest his food. One of the minigames even results in Bowser being made into a giant, which allows the player to enter a new battle system where the DS is held open like a book, and the stylus and microphone are used to control the attacks rather than the A, B, X or Y buttons, for example blowing the microphone results in Bowser breathing fire. 

 In this game, you gain Skill Points (SP) which work in the same way as Bros. Points (BP) from the previous games, however with the introduction of Bowser they needed to be renamed. Further to this, you can also acquire items by collecting 10 “Attack Parts”. Once all ten parts of an item have been collected, the player can then repeatedly use the completed item, but, using it requires set amounts of skill points, much like MP in traditional RPGs. Bowser works in a slightly different way, he can also gain special attacks, but in order to do so he must free his minions or collecting Blitties which he can give to Broque Monsieur. Furthermore, in comparison to Mario and Luigi who require the directional pad to perform special attacks, all of Bowser’s attacks use the touch screen to function. 

Overall, I found this an enjoyable game which uses all elements of the DS controls. At times, I found controlling both Mario and Luigi simultaneously a little tricky but this is more than likely due to my lack of hand-eye coordination rather than a technical issue. I am sure with a bit of practice I will soon get the hang of it. The game is graphically similar to the previous Mario RPG with a more traditional battle system, Paper Mario. The game also keeps to its classic platforming roots with level similar to the classic Mario style that we all know and love. However, this game does shows clear progression with a more enhanced RPG style battle system which will able to those gamers who want an RPG that is not some time-consuming as the ones on the PS3 and Xbox which can end up consuming your life.  

-Sam