PURCHASE OF THE MONTH: Pokémon HeartGold Version

Okay, this is going to need some explanation.

Ever since enjoying the badunkadunk out of Monster Rancher, I’ve always had a soft spot for creature-raising gameplay. It’s addictive, and there’s a sense of fatherly pride upon seeing one’s little critter grow stronger and more powerful. That said, Pokémon has never appealed to me. I will freely admit that I watched the cartoon show now and again back in the day, mostly as background noise, and therefor know some of the basics of the world, but otherwise…I stayed away.

But then I started noticing a lot of gamers falling in love with Pokémon. Some were my age, some were older. Was I missing out on something great just because I scoffed at it as nothing more than a child’s plaything? I’m actually a very open-minded man hobbit, but I wanted a better consensus on the state of things. I asked via Twitter if there were any Pokémon-fashioned games out there for the Nintendo DS worth pursuing? I got two answers: Bakugan Battle Brawlers and Dragon Quest Monsters. Of them, DQM seemed to be a better fit for me so I headed to the local GameStop over the weekend…

…to purchase Chrono Trigger!

See, while browsing, my eyes get real big and I suddenly see a bunch of games I want to play and quickly forget why I journeyed outside that day. So, seeing that Chrono Trigger was a cool $20 and knowing the sad fact that I’ve only ever played an emulation of it and even then gave up pretty early because I loathe playing games on the computer, I marched up to the counter, ready to make a deal. And then it happened:

Clerk: Hmm, I’m really sorry, but I can’t find any copies. We don’t have any more in stock right now.
Me: …
Clerk: Did you know that Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver just came out?
Me: …
Clerk: They’re pretty great.
Me: …tell me…more.

And so, yes, the salesman did his sale thing and got me. In actuality, as silly as it sounds, the Pokéwalker, the pedometer that comes with Pokémon HeartGold, was what intrigued me most. I already enjoy going for walks after work, and now these walks can count double for me: 1) being healthy and 2) leveling up my monsters. Can’t knock a game for trying to get its players to be active.

I’m definitely interested to see if this will get me addicted hard and good, or if I will play for a bit and just find it so-so. I already named one of my fire Pokémon…Balrog, and care for him deeply. So, y’know, that’s good.

Puzzle Quest 2: Electric Boogaloo

After attempting to win over the galaxies, the fun and addictive Bejeweled-to-the-extreme puzzle game is back…with Puzzle Quest 2! Don’t believe me? Well, check out this debut trailer:

As the vid shows, the basics are all there. You will travel around a map–though this one is much more detailed and Diablo-like, fighting monsters via matching gems. Spells get animations, and there’s loot to be earned. Even if they didn’t add new stuff to Puzzle Quest 2, I’d still want to play it. Because I’m a fiend, people. A gem-flopping fiend.

However, try as I might, I’ve yet to beat Lord Bane from Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. Can never get the upper hand on him and his “oh, let me take eight turns in a row and do 79 damage to you, too” tendencies. And now his generic yet profound name finally makes sense.

Watch me flout the Spirit Flute

I’ve progressed further with The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, now ready to tackle the Sand Temple, but man oh man…it’s been a struggle. A struggle to not throw my Nintendo DS across the room out of frustration, that is. See, a lot of reviews have complained about how boring riding the train is versus the shippy freedom of The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass and that traveling between towns and temples is such a chore. It is. But here’s the biggest problem with Link’s latest outing:

Yup, music.

Actually, the music in Spirit Tracks is pretty good. It’s bouncy and bubbly when it needs to be, dark and alarming when enemies show up, and soft and ethereal during Zelda’s many musing moments. The trouble is with the Spirit Flute. This device is used in two ways. The first is to play tiny little riffs that will do a variety of things in-game: awaken statues, call birds, heal yourself, shine a beam of light, and find treasure. The other use is to open up hidden tracks by playing a duet with a Lokomo, which are minions of Satan. Er, not really. They are on our side, I think, but sure make Link work hard for their help.

Anyways, each time you meet a Lokomo, the songs get harder and more complex. You can practice all you want, but there’s no thumbs up/thumbs down to let you know you’re even close to playing it correctly. Do I hold this note longer than the previous one? Is it okay to accidentally hit another colored note? When should I start playing, when the notes light up or after the Lokomo stops? It’s a guessing game in the end.

So, after the eighteenth time of unsuccessfully jamming along with Rael, I had to put Spirit Tracks down and look up a video on YouTube, something I hate to do. Evidently, based on this vid, I was playing the song too well. You need to mess up a bit to get it right, not hold every note, just sputter a bit here, miss a beat there. Ugh.

I really pray that this was the last duet song of the game. My mind and lungs just can’t take any more…

Trouble in the SimCity

Last night, I gave SimCity DS a second chance. I bought it a long, long time ago while on a vacation and itching for something new, and I remember disliking it instantly. It’s based on SimCity 3000, but I really wish it had aimed more for the SNES version because, to me, that game exemplified quality city-building simulation. Sure, graphically, it was pretty bland, and the same can be said about the music, but SimCity for the SNES nailed the formula. It was not too fast-paced or chaotic, and it allowed the player to learn from their mistakes over time instead of constantly punishing them.

However, thirty minutes with SimCity DS just hit home the fact that this game is not made for a portable system, especially one with a tiny screen and stylus controls (though those are optional). Controls are iffy, mostly unreliable, and it seems like a disaster struck my city every few minutes. Besides that, there’s lagging and loading screens and 937 menu screens to sift through.

All in all, not what I wanted.

Anyways, I’m finishing up writing the review for The First Hour. Will let the entire Internet know when it goes live. Unless someone orders a tornado or alien invasion on me, that is…

Not a videogame-heavy weekend

As usual, my weekends are pretty booked up. I rarely spend them in my apartment, meaning I can only travel with my Nintendo DS if there is time to game it up. Alas, most often, there isn’t. Like this past weekend. The fiancée and I went out to visit some family, as well as register more for our wedding in October. Busy, busy, busy.

The most gaming we did together was played some more levels in Amazing Adventures: The Forgotten Ruins, a hidden items game borrowed from my mother’s collection:

It’s pretty straightforward. You have a list, you find the items hidden in the picture, you play a mini-game, you skip the superfluous plot-only text, and you search the new locale. But it’s not the worst thing in the world, and it’s a  fun way to kill thirty minutes.

Then, upon my return to my apartment, I popped in Dragon Age: Origins to…not play it. The server was down? Um, okay. That was odd. I’ve never been locked out of a videogame I purchased for a system I own on a TV I own and so on. Restarted the Xbox 360, and got in just fine the second time around. Weird.

Anyways, I wasn’t actually having much luck combat-wise with the mage so I tried out a new character, completing the Human Noble origin with a dual-wielding rogue. She was fiesty, but still not what I was looking for. So I decided to go for another origin opening, this time with a Dwarf Noble. He specializes in sword and shield attacks and has a cool beard. I’m liking him–and his intro story–very much.

However, I might go and do the origins for everyone else left (Dalish Elf, City Elf, and Dwarf Commoner) and then pick who’d I really like to play the full game with from there. I thought the mage would’ve been great, but all my other teammates rush to their deaths too quickly and he’s just then left in the corner casting Cone of Cold like a goof-head.

However, before any of that, I want to work on whatever my next review for The First Hour will be. XIII? SimCity DS? I really don’t know yet. Hmm…

March 2010’s interesting game releases

Well, not surprisingly, February 2010 flew by, and here we are in good ol’ March. The snow is melting, it’s raining a lot more in New Jersey, and warmer weather is just around the corner. As are some big, big videogame releases. Here’s the ones that interest me the most this month…

Sonic Classic Collection – March 2 (Nintendo DS)

The recent announcement about Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has caused a rift between fans. Or maybe that should be “fans.” I don’t know. These people really hate the project, despite knowing very little of it, and want to boycott the game the moment it comes out. Umm. To me, it looks like classic Sonic with shinier skin for current gen consoles. Not the worst thing in the world. But enough about that. I’m more curious to see how the original Sonic games in Sonic Classic Collection play on a Nintendo DS. Can the framerate keep up? And one would hope there isn’t too much touchscreen integration.

Final Fantasy XIII – March 9 (360, PS3)

I have some love/hate issues with many Final Fantasy games, and the ones I really enjoy are generally not the ones others felt were the best in the series. I’m talking about Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy XII. One was a throwback to olden days with mages and castles, and the other a mix of MMORPG aesthetics and unburdened freedom. This one, however, looks pretty, but is being touted as extremely linear. ActionButton totally ripped it a new one. Still, my curiousity has been itched, and I’m definitely pleased to see it as a multiplatform release.

Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening – March 16 (PC, PS3, 360)

Having only logged about 12 hours in Dragon Age: Origins at the moment, I’m both happy and nervous about more game content. I mean, the original is huge as is, and it’ll be a long time before I see all there is to see. I guess though, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the worst thing in the world, going back to Ferelden for more slaughtering, more persuading, more sexy times. I just won’t be rushing out to pick this up until I’ve exhausted what I’ve got now.

God of War III – March 16 (PS3)

I don’t own a Playstation 3, but that can’t keep me away. If anything, God of War III‘s imminent release has only opened Pandora’s Box and reminded me that I’ve still not beaten God of War, stuck on that final battle against Ares. Sigh. He’s a tough god, I’ll give him that. But a bit cheap. I can only side-roll so many times before he takes me down.

…

Not sure if I’ll ultimately make a purchase this month though as I’ve still got a ton of other games to play, many that I only just started. Ahem, Dragon Age: Origins, ahem ahem, Grand Theft Auto IV ahem. We’ll see…

Nintendo DS and car rides DO NOT MIX

I helped carry stuff in for a baby shower this weekend, and then the plan was to whisk the guys (husbands, fiances, boyfriends, any homeless that wandered in) away from all things baby for pizza and beer until we were allowed to return. To get to where we were going though would take some driving, so I came prepared with my Nintendo DS in my pocket and Spirit Tracks ready to go. It’s not like I was going to talk to anyone.

However, I quickly found that car rides and a touchscreen-only game do not mix. They are not peanut butter and chocolate; they are peanut butter and Crisco shortening. For one, when riding the train around the world map, hearing the music is vital to staying alive. It lets you know when enemies show up, especially the head-tossing snowmen that sometimes materialize behind your train. As the car bounces around, trying to tap the screen with accuracy for firing your cannon is nigh impossible. You will miss. You will lose trainy hearts. And lastly, I looked out the window for a second, got distracted by the fact that it was snowing again in New Jersey, and crashed headfirst into another train.

Game over, maaaaan. Game over.

It was worth a shot though.

And I didn’t even attempt to play the Spirit Flute this time…

DSi XL releasing for $190 on March 28

Nintendo announced today at its Media Summit that the North American release date for its newest (and largest) iteration of the DS, the DSi XL, will be released on March 28 for $189.99. That’s about twenty bucks more than the current DSi. I’m still rocking the DS Lite and feel no immediate tug on my heartstrings to need this version. To me, the point of the DS is that it is small, extremely portable (like front pocket portable).

But don’t worry about what I think. The system will sell fine, it always has. This one is especially locked in for pure gold with the older generation that just can’t squint hard enough at their grandchild’s tiny DS screen. Here, Pop-pop, have a super-sized game system! And don’t forget your meds!

I’m just really scared that developers are eventually going to stop making DS games and only sell DSi XL games, cutting off an entire slice of the market. I wouldn’t think they’d do that, but who knows these days. With portable gaming systems bigger than your head, anything is possible.

Nancy Drew and the Mystery of a Terrible Game

Recently, I borrowed two DS games from my mother’s collection: Hidden Mysteries Titanic: Secrets of the Fateful Voyage and Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society. Both have extremely long titles, and both are terrible abominations that I can’t believe got made and stocked at full price. Anyways, I breezed uninterestedly through the former-mentioned title, but got stuck with Nancy Drew and eventually just gave it back unfinished. Mom plans to trade them in for pennies and nickels.

Still, I have thoughts. Most of these end with question marks, such as “Why couldn’t they give a clearer hint here?” or “Is Nancy Drew really a complete fool?” or “What’s up with that one dude’s beard?”

Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society is evidently the second outing for the young, teenbop sleuth. I missed the first one…thankfully. In this one, she gets a mysterious letter from the shadowy Clue Bender Society, inviting her over for a visit to join their awesome club of super-detectives. Or something like that. Once there, Drew must find a stolen tome that may or may not contain crazy cult secrets powerful enough to destroy the world. I know, pretty heavy stuff there for a Valley Girl who is more at home when finding her lost cell phone.

Generally speaking, it’s a puzzle game. You might be inclined to say the game has puzzles, emphasis on the s. But it doesn’t really. The puzzles are just minigames: time-wasters, space-fillers, extra screens to tap at furiously, call ’em what you will. These minigames don’t even give you basic instructions; you’re thrown into the lion’s den and must tap your way out. Ultimately, there’s very little, hmm, clue bending in Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society.

And the writing…sigh. Having known them to be quite popular, but never reading much of Nancy Drew’s adventures, I expected a solid story with a whodunnit mystery. The writing, right from the get-go, is a trainwreck. Like, derailed and then flipped and then exploded and then anything that didn’t explode melted like that one dude’s face in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. My favorite “writing” moment (quick, turn on your sarcasm meters!) is when Nancy is meeting a friend in a local cafe. The friend gives her a device to pick up fingerprints and tells her to try it out on her coffee cup; Nancy does and then is extremely shocked and surprised to find her friend’s fingerprints on the mug. Like, oh my gawd! What…an…idiot. I almost want to know what Nancy’s SAT scores look like and if they are just a wee higher than my last bowling record.

Everyone meet Nancy's biggest clue-bending challenge: doors.

But there’s no guidance within the game. I’m not talking guided hand-holding, but there could’ve been more hints as to what to do next. Alas, a lot of time is spent going back and forth from room to room in the mansion, hoping you’ll find something new to click on to set things in motion again. You’ll get a bunch of items you may or may not use (e.g., her cell phone). And there’s an unneeded amount of rooms that have nothing in them. Unfortunately, I got stuck on a part of the mansion where every room offered nothing new, and I had no idea what to do next. My quest instructions said, “Find the tome.”

And now she never will. Oh well. Guess then it’s goodbye, world.

GAMES I REGRET PARTING WITH: Uniracers

Uniracers is a quirky if simplistic racing game, but above everything it was fun and fast. You might’ve thought you experienced blinding speed playing F-Zero at the time, but you were most definitely not prepared for this 1994 SNES release. It was, in fact, a glove-slap to SEGA’s speedy Sonic series (say that five times fast!), but Uniracers turned out to be more of a miss than a hit with gamers. A shame as it was a blast to play!

Judging by screenshots alone, the graphics aren’t too impressive…but they work for this kind of game. You control a riderless unicycle and move along multicolored circuit tracks, gaining speed, avoiding obstacles, and nailing as many tricks as possible, which leads to speed boosts and the chance for more trickery. There’s no plot to this madness, and that’s a good thing, but one does have to be careful of obstacles on the course. Hand/eye coordination is key here.

Uniracers offered two player, split-screen action, which was always a hoot, and the ability to minimally customize your cycle was a welcomed addition. What I remember most though is the frenetic music. It was bouncy, it was laden with kooky sound effects, and it was perfect for zooming through corkscrews and doing three backflips in a row.

However, I never did get to race against Anti-Uni, the last challenger for the game’s final circuit. It seems this cycle had a few tricks up its metaphoric sleeve, causing the track to go invisible or the game’s controls to reverse. Sounds like fun!

I doubt we’ll ever see this series reborn, but if so, the Nintendo DS is the perfect spot for it. You could steer the cycle with the D-pad and then manage tricks with the stylist. Wouldn’t be too hard to do actually, but I’m not going to hold my breath on this one.

In the end: Uniracers, I miss you.

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GAMES I REGRET PARTING WITH is a regular feature here at Grinding Down where I reminisce about videogames I either sold or traded in when I was young and dumb. To read up on other games I parted with, follow the tag.