Hotel Dusk

Review – Lunar Knights

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Because Lunar Knights is such a solid little game, I had hoped the gameworld would be fleshed out; I hoped that I’d have enough new levels to allow me to upgrade all my weapons without returning to the same stages over and over. I wanted the many mechanics to continue to build on each other and each to be fully realized. Hell, while playing it I designed my own game (usually I charge to see my ace designs, but for the sake of this review I am willing to go hungry):
Multiple high quality CG movies in a DS game? Yes, please.

Imagine Zelda in one expertly designed dungeon that has many facets closed off at any given point. As you progress you gain control over the weather but cannot change it at will, you must decide on the climate before descending into the dungeon, so choose well. →  Read the rest

65 reasons to own a DS

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Recently, PSP Fanboy began a series of articles called “60 Reasons to own a PSP.” They may only be up to reason 45 despite the series beginning a month ago, but today we are showing you everything we’ve got. Yes, 65 reasons to own a DS, but here’s the catch — they’re all games.

PSP fans (we have some at this site) and savvy readers may be quick to point out that PSP Fanboy could have taken the same approach. Forget that it’s debatable the PSP has 65 good games because that’s not the point. The PSP crowd may like games, but we believe the PSP Fanboy article shows what is important to that fanbase.

Features, a lot of features. Nubs, wireless, movies, browsers, messengers, waffle irons. Games are number one on their list, but they still get one sixtieth of the list, like free VoIP (in Britain only) and adjustable screen brightness. →  Read the rest

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Review – Hotel Dusk

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Before I jump into this review, I would like to offer some insights into my reviewing habits. When I play games to review them, I try to see if the development team was successful in whatever they were trying to do with the game. For example: have they made an exciting action/adventure game or a plausible horror game? I basically become a high school English teacher and grade a student’s essay. Did they prove their point with supporting examples? It does not matter if I disagree with what they are saying. Unless they screw up with their grammar or examples, can I blatantly say they are wrong?

Why am I telling you this, you ask? I’m just trying to give you a little background info on how I’m going to review Hotel Dusk: Room 215, for the DS. →  Read the rest

Color Me Tickled Pink

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It’s becoming readily apparent to me that I need games with a lot of color in them. I’ve been putting a lot of time into Hotel Dusk, and with the black and white nature of the sprites, as well as the browns and grays found in the actual hotel, it’s making it hard for me to willingly jump into the game.

Right now I have the choice of playing either Hotel Dusk or Lumines II, and I always seem to go to the PSP game. It’s sad to say, but the realistic color palette is what kills me about Hotel Dusk. It’s all stylistic and definitely awesome and unique, but I guess my ADD or whatever flairs up, and it takes awhile for me to enjoy myself with the title. Both are amazing games, mind you, but my mind robotically draws to the one with the wider color spectrum, and Lumines has that front covered. →  Read the rest

Is Wii screwed?

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Amidst all the recent articles on how the Wii is creating gamers out of grandmas and still out of stock around the nation, there are murmurs of doubt. Few people doubt the control scheme; it works well and is a lot of fun. But it remains unclear if Nintendo will be able to satisfy either their hardcore fans or their new casual gamer audience. Detractors are already labeling the Wii a repeat of the Gamecube; a platform for Nintendo games but little else.

As expected, the Wii will have a solid lineup of first party games:

Animal Crossing
Battalion Wars 2*
Big Brain Academy
Disaster: Day of Crisis*
DK Bongo Blast*
Fire Emblem
Mario Kart (not officially announced)
Mario Party 8
Mario Strikers Charged*
Metroid Prime 3*
Kirby
Pokemon Battle Revolution
Project HAMMER
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Paper Mario
Super Smash Brother Brawl

* Published but not developed by Nintendo

This move looks unfair.

 →  Read the rest

Adventure Games on the Rebound? We Can Only Hope

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It’s official. I’ve been bitten by the adventure gaming bug. Yes, I know, I’m about ten years too late, but in the month of January, we have seen not one, but TWO adventure games come out for the DS. You have the awesome Phoenix Wright: Justice for All, and the excellent noir crime-drama Hotel Dusk: Room 215 from Cing. I bought them both and have been thoroughly enjoying myself.

And I think the bug has bitten another gamer on the net: a journalist by the name of Scott Nixon of Gamasutra. He has even written an article on the subject, asking for a rebirth of the once great genre, with an update to some of its outdated gameplay conventions (enough pixel-hunting!). It’s a great read for fans of the nearly dead genre, and I humbly suggest checking it out, courtesy of Gamasutra. →  Read the rest

What we hope to see in 2007

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With a new year comes new hope and a new opportunity to have our dreams crushed.

Stefan —
Saturn Games on the Virtual Console: I know, there are significant disk space problems – seeing as a single game could use up the entire internal memory of the Wii. But if a way can be found, I’m holding out hope for Shining Force III and a NiGHTS re-release with a _real_ 3D Controller.

Panzer Dragoon Saga with motion sensing controls Second coming of Christ

Sony opening the PS3 Graphics hardware to Linux users: This is another one that’s not likely to happen. And by not likely, I mean no way in hell. Allowing direct access to the graphics chipset would essentially let anyone circumvent the price of their dev kit – and would deprive them of licensing fees for game sales. →  Read the rest

Trace Memory: Worth the Effort

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After reading some of the reviews for Cing’s DS adventure game, I was a little hesitant about picking it up. I love adventure games, but the puzzles were cited as being a pain in the ass. So, I did the next best thing. I put it on my GameFly Game Q.

Having finished it, I’ve to come to the realization that reviewers have no idea what makes a game good. This was a great adventure game, and I easily recommend trying it. It is very short (it only took me 5 hours to beat), but for the low price of $15 at GameStop, you make out on the deal.

I won’t divulge any of the story, only because that’s the main reason for playing adventure games, and I won’t be the bad guy and spoil it for you. →  Read the rest