Posts tagged nintendo

Omg this game is amazing! Its the best game ever! I love it I love it I love it! Okayy now I’ve got that burst of excitement out the way lets get on too a proper review. Professor Layton and the Last Specter is the final game to be released on the DS and the first of the prequel trilogy. The story goes back to Professor Laytons first real interaction with Luke, he knew him as a baby but that doesn’t really count now does it. It introduces character Emmy Altava whom you may know from the film Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. A film already reviewed for the site so if you have yet to read it, I highly recommend you do. Emmy Altava accompanies the Professor on a trip to Misthallery, after being summoned there by Luke Triton. A specter is terrorising the town and Luke asks his father’s close friend to help unravel the mystery.

The game also introduces Jean Descole the villain for this game and may I just say what an excellent villain. The voice acting for Descole, performed by Tim Curry, is so well done. You get tingles when you here his voice. He sounds evil, but not in a way so commonly used by actors. He sounds sophisticated and knowledgable whereas many villains can just come off as quite butch. You don’t want to cross him because you know how clever and cunning he is. Jean Descole is an amazing antagonist for the series. Descole is a clear antitihesis to Don Paulo, villain of the earlier games. Don Paulo is a bit of a joke, his character is humorous, he’s a very shall I say camp villain. Descole on the otherhand appears to be an actual threat. So yeah I’m very pleased with Descole as a character.

Emmy Altava is a nice addition and much more enjoyable as a character than Flora. Don’t get me wrong Flora is a nice character however Emmy has a more engaging personality. Maybe it’s because there is more of a mystery to Emmy, little is known about her or how she came to be the character she is. She has a high level of combat skills, clearly intelligent and she has this past with Layton that we wish to learn more about. Within the game there is a feature called episodes in the trunk which displays cut scenes not experienced within the game but gives us an insight to events that have occurred to the characters. One cut-scene involves Emmy showing her first meeting of the professor however it left me on edge to find out more, to discover how that meeting effected her life and decisions. Obviously it did as when she was asked to work alongside Layton, by Dean Delmona, she took the opportunity straight away. She is such an intriguing character and I look forward to seeing her presence in the upcoming games.

Next thing to discuss is Layton and Lukes first mystery. This is essentially an origins story of the beloved pair. This origins story is conceived so brilliantly. Luke’s naivety really shines through but so does his eagerness to learn. Layton becomes a surrogate father figure for Luke, as his own father is much too busy dealing with other events and issues. The foundations of their bond are strongly placed within this game.

Anyway I think that is enough discussion of the characters, let us discuss the puzzles. Now I’ve heard many reviews of the game series make comments about the puzzles. This game seeks to rectify some of those comments. Some of the puzzles in this game are directly linked with the narrative of the game. One such example is where Emmy is required to cut a wire to disable a machine. So essentially the puzzle is which wire do you cut, however it is directly linked to the game as it is imperative that Emmy disables the machine. I really enjoyed those puzzles, not because the puzzles themselves where spectacular but due to the way they interacted with the story. It made getting the puzzle correct more important than answering the puzzles have been before. I truly worried that if I got the puzzle wrong it would be game over. It made me that little bit more anxious and on edge for the correct answer. So the puzzles themselves become more thrilling and slightly less relaxed than before. The game series traditionally has Layton revealing every last detail of the mystery however this game makes you more aware and consider the mystery in the narrative that little bit more. Sequences within the game depict Layton go to reveal the mystery but then you have to make the choice, between three options, the answer to the mystery. One such example I could give is Layton asks Luke how the sound of the Flute travelled across the city, you as the player had to answer that question from as mentioned three different choices. So anyone who dares to complain that the games narrative and the puzzles are totally separate from each other, really needs to play this game again because that clearly is not the case.

The music within this game is again spectacular, I love the music from the Layton series, it reminds me of film music. In that sometimes you don’t overtly notice its presence but the effect that music has on you is clear. I loved how the music intensity would heighten as situations became more intense and dangerous. It truly moved me and the music of the flute was again well composed. The attention to detail within these games is what perfects them.

Everything about this game is an improvement on the earlier three. Granted I love love love future Luke aka Clive from the third game series and I thought the narrative itself was superb. This game improves on it only by offering something different. Had this been set after the events of the third game I somehow feel it would not have been as good. This latest instalment offers something new in how it introduces the beginnings of Professor Layton. The characters we know, Luke and Layton, gain a stronger definition of the personality through this new addition to the series. I applaud the people who worked on this game for the efforts they have put in. If the Layton series continues to grow and develop like they appear to be doing so then I honestly don’t see Layton ever becoming, a dull, tired series. I seriously recommend people to play this game because it really is something special.

So I’m uploading this review because I have recently been playing the fourth Professor Layton game in the series. So in anticipation of that review I decided it would be unprofessional to not have a review up for the third game Professor Layton and the Lost Future. As you may have established from my previous reviews I am the biggest fan of these games and so it is really hard to review them with an objective opinion. This is so far my favourite game in the series, I think the narrative is amazingly clever and for those who might think the Layton games are growing tired well they obviously have not played this game. This game just excelled beyond the others I’m amazed at how well drawn in I was. Now for many people who play the games you may argue well how you believe the story in Layton it’s clearly not physically possible, well you annoying nerds how about getting an imagination and believing in the impossible. I love the game even though I know the narrative seems wild and unattainable, I can believe in it. Stop doubting narratives that aren’t realistic enough, how about having fun and getting lost in the world of the game because I know that’s the best way to enjoy games!

So I’ve blathered on about the narrative so maybe I best explain it meaning Spoiler Alert. Though frankly it shouldn’t be because if your reading this review you really should have played the games already. So basically Professor Layton and Luke Triton, Laytons number 1 apprentice if you didn’t know, receive a letter from the future. Not only from the future but future Luke himself! This letter arrives mere days after an incident Layton had attended, whereby Dimitri Allen a scientist conducts a time travelling experiment. The experiment appears to go badly wrong and The Prime Minister who was first to test Dimitri’s machine suddenly disappears. This is not the only strange occurrence, many scientist have also been declared as missing over the past few weeks. The letter instructs Layton to visit a clock store on the outskirts off London. Layton does as the letter instructs and ends up getting sent through time to a future London. In this future London everyone fears a man in a tall hat very familiar to Laytons own. Of course a true gentleman does not take off his hat and Layton carries on to wear it despite what some of London’s inhabitants may warn him. Eventually Layton and Lukes paths cross with Future Luke. Layton sets off to unravel the mysteries of this future London. So that’s about it for the story now of course those who have played the game would know that Layton is not in a future London but merely a replica London built underneath the real city of London. So it’s very good story and obviously that means Future Luke is not in fact Future Luke but a strange closely resembling lookalike.

I loved the story for this game and the cutscenes where so intriguing I was gripped when I played this game, I needed to solve the mystery there and then. So I hardly put this game down, heck if I didn’t have university at the time or had to sleep and eat I probably wouldn’t have put it down. By far the best story, there was so much more mystery surrounding the story so much more compelling than the previous games.

Like the previous games before the music within this game was beyond excellent. A lot of people may find the music repetitive yet I find that not to be the case. The music when solving puzzles really encourages my thought, it feels like the music is in sync with my thought process. The music in other areas of the game are truly brilliant. I feel the music in the Professor Layton games is really one of its strong points, then again I would struggle to find a bad point within this game series. The animation within the game is also excellent. I love the art style to these games and I’m always amazed at how much emotion and personality comes across. I often see animated characters which seem very two-dimensional and I really think that is not the case for those in the Layton series. This game was so emotional and the bonds really strengthened between me as a player and the characters within the game. In fact it was so hard for me to hold back tears at the end of the game. Anyone who doesn’t think this ending is amazingly sad and moving has a heart of stone, that would be the only explanation for it.

This game returns with similar style puzzles as the two previous instalments and throws in a few new styles for good measure. There are new additional activities to complete within Layton’s trunk which are again exceedingly enjoyable, and provide an additional challenge for those who have to complete a game fully much like myself. I love the puzzles within the game series as a whole some are very challenging whilst others more of a breeze, it all depends on what you excel at. I struggle with maths a lot therefore the visual or worded poems are more my area. However I can still complete this game and if your reading this review it means you somehow have access to the internet and a quick google search should get you past any of those incredibly tricky ones you get stuck on. I am actually as part of my next mission attempting to complete the game without the help of guide, so hopefully some of those puzzles won’t keep me stuck for too long. I love the challenge you get from games like Professor Layton. So many games are mindless, require little skill and they can be good don’t get me wrong but I love a game that can make me think.

Professor Layton the Lost Future is an exceptional game and in my opinion by far the best in the series, obviously excluding the more recent game as I’ve yet too fully complete it. It seems like this game improved in every aspect even the tiny details. If you have not played this game you really should. I don’t see what’s stopping you. If you’ve enjoyed the previous games or have not played of the games you really should play this game. If I used a rating system, something other members of the stars team are encouraging me to use, this would break that system because it would go so far beyond that. I really can’t praise this game enough. So go out and buy it, if you have the game go and play it!

This is a game I’ve been looking forward to for a while, mainly because there hasn’t been many good games on the 3DS so far. I’ve finally got a little hands on time with it, so here’s my first impressions.

Graphically it looked very similar to the ps2 original. All the action takes place on the top screen. With the bottom screen displaying weapons, items and such. Although I’m not the biggest fan of the graphics of the third metal gear solid I thought it looked really good for a portable game. I played with the 3D on briefly and it looked ok, I still probably wouldn’t play the game with it on but thats just because I don’t like 3D very much

Gameplay wise metal gear solid 3D enhances the gameplay of MGS3 with a lot of the little additions that the new games have. So you can move crouched and aim in third person with crosshairs. It feels very much like peace walker, the camera controls are handled on the face buttons with the movement mapped to the circle pad. I don’t know if there will be different control schemes like in peace walker but if there isn’t it wont bother me because this was the control scheme I used in peace walker. One problem with the controls is that switching weapons and crouching is all done on the d-pad, like peace walker. The problem is that on the psp reaching the d-pad from the analog nub is easy but on the 3DS it’s a bit more awkward. I never tried it out, but I imagine you can probably do these actions on the touch screen, if this is the case then that would be a much easier option. There was also a motion control section in which you have to keep a bridge balanced why you walk across it. This felt a bit tacked on and I hope motion controls are optional. 

So overall I don’t really have many complaints about metal gear solid 3D. I’ll probably be buying it when it comes out and I would recommend you do the same. If you enjoyed snake eater you’ll enjoy this game. 

The successor to the DS has been a bit slow out the gate. This doesn’t mean it’s sold badly but why haven’t all the people who own a DS ran out and bought a 3DS? Some would attribute it to the price or the lack-luster launch line-up. While this may have contributed in some way I personally think theres more to this than meets the eye. For starters the ipad has proved that people will spend stupid amounts of money on gadgets that arn’t worth it and in comparison to an ipad the 3DS is quite affordable. But anyway we’ll forget about the price for a second while I talk about the launch line-up. It sucked, you know it and I know it. The casual player, however, don’t. They had nintendogs and the built in software to entertain them and the casual player was the main market of the original DS. Now that I’ve addressed those points, let’s move onto my main point.

I think that there’s three key factors that have stopped the 3DS from having the launch that nintendo hoped. The first being that nintendo focused on the 3D way too much. The 3D on the 3DS is cool, it works. But considering how you need to be in such an exact spot for the 3D to work, it’s very inconvenient for actual gameplay. Despite this nintendo made the 3D the main focus. I don’t this this helped them win very many sales. First of all people were (and still are) sceptical about glasses-free 3D, so you’re not going to shell out all that money for a system you don’t believe will work as described. Back when the 3DS was announced my girlfriend, who hates 3D, asked me why nintendo don’t just put out a cheaper version that doesn’t have 3D. At the time I thought it didn’t make sense for them to do that because you can just turn the 3D off anytime you want on the 3DS. Now I’m not so sure, nintendo talk about the 3D constantly but they never say “but hey! if you don’t like 3D you can always turn it off!”. So let’s say there was a non-3d 3DS, it would be cheaper and everyone who was skeptical about the tech or didn’t like 3D wouldn’t be lost sales. Unfortunately this won’t happen because nintendo are in too deep with the 3D aspect so they won’t be back pedalling.

So what else held the 3DS back? Well it’s another thing related to the 3D and that is the health concerns. For a while before the 3DS there were stories about the 3D in the 3DS being bad for your eyes, especially if your a young child. It’s pretty simple really, a lot of parents won’t buy their kids a toy that’s going to make them blind (I know it won’t actually do this). This could have also been avoided with a non-3d version, because when parents got scared they could just buy their kids the “safe” non-3D console. Now that the 3DS has been out a while the health concern panic has pretty much gone away. I guess people realised their eyes won’t drop out from playing video games.

Finally the factor that has probably held the 3DS back the most is the name. It’s too similar to DS. I know its a combination of 3D and DS but it just creates consumer confusion. Think about it, there are loads of variations of the DS. How is the average consumer supposed to know that the 3DS is a completely different console to the DS and not just a hardware revision like the DSi. Nintendo really should have either dropped the DS all together or I made it a lot more clear that the 3DS is a successor and not just your DSi in 3D. Even if it was called the DS 2 then it would be clear that this is the second iteration of the DS. I’m not stupid I know why nintendo kept the DS in their console name. Obviously they wanted to keep all the brand awareness they’ve built up over the years. I just think the name they ended up with negatively effects the brand.

So thats what I think has held the 3DS back from reaching it’s true potential. Who knows what will happen in the future, the 3DS could overcome these problems and sell even more than it’s predecessor, only time will tell. Thats it for my rant, thanks for reading

Nintendo just announced an brand new console, but here’s why you won’t care

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