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42 All Time Classics (DS)
by claire188
This game does exactly what it says on the tin, no more and no less. There are 42 games to play which range from 'action games' including bowling, topple and soda shake, to board games such as chess, draughts, chinese checkers and backgammon, to single player games such as solitaire and mayjong solitaire. And of course, not forgetting ... the card games. There are three levels of card games which include hearts, cheat, rummy, betting games, pig etc.
These (except the single player games) are all available to play as multiplayer games with as many people as you like, normally up to 8 or against the computer, again as many as you like.
There is also a mission section which requires you to do certain things with the games - such as get so many strikes on bowling or quickly guess the correct words in hangman.
And finally there is the 'stamp' section which requires you to move up in the levels, playing the easier games first and the harder games after. For each game you need to get three stamps - you can get all three by winning the game, two for coming second and one for coming third or fourth.
Once you've done all of the games it can get a bit repetitive but it saves on having to deal out cards and is a simple and effective game.
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Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (DS)
by SWSt
At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, this is a bit of a pointless review. There are so many Lego games now that the chances are you will already have played at least one and the general rule of thumb is if you enjoy one, you will enjoy others.
Still, for what it's worth, this one's based around events in the last few ... Harry Potter novels: The Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Parts 1 &2. Each are presented as stand-alone episodes and made up of several sub-levels
You will certainly get more out of this game if you are a Harry Potter fan. Personally, I think it's over-rated claptrap (cue screams of outrage), so only ever read the first book. As such, I can't comment on how faithful an adaptation this game is. The downside to my woeful lack of Potter knowledge was that when it came to the cut scenes (which are far too numerous and too long), I had no idea what was going on, nor did I recognise any but the most obvious characters or know how they fitted into the plot. Thankfully this doesn't matter, since the basic gameplay remains: smash the Lego blocks, destroy stuff
Oddly, despite being a direct sequel to the Years 1-4 game, a number of gameplay changes have been made (some good, some not so). It's actually probably closer in terms of both presentation and general gameplay to Lego Batman 2.
Graphics are a step up from the previous game. As you would expect from a Lego game, it's bright and colourful and all the Lego characters look good. A big improvement is that it's now much clearer which bits of the scenery can be smashed and which cannot - removing at least one frustration from the earlier title. It's a game that will appeal to kids thanks to its bright presentation but which adults won't be ashamed to be seen playing.
The major disappointment comes with the cut-scenes. Like Lego Batman 2, the quality is appalling - grainy, low resolution images that have clearly been rendered on another (more powerful) console and then squeezed onto a DS cart. They are also too long and too frequent (and, as far as I can tell, there is no way to skip them.
Sound has also made a quantum leap forward. Whilst the sound has always been pretty strong in the Lego games, it has a far more cinematic quality here. Many tunes have been taken directly from the films and sound great. Developer Traveller's Tales have also taken the sensible decision not to use full speech for characters and instead they speak in the familiar grunts and squeaks which suit the style of the game far better.
Of course, none of the Lego titles are exactly challenging, and this is no exception. You get infinite lives and whilst the game is littered with puzzles, none of them are taxing. The game is very much on-rails, so you can't wander into areas you're not meant to be and if you really get stuck, there are clues as to what character or spell you need to solve a particular puzzle. Level design is generally good, limiting the amount of doubling back, although it does become a little tiresome towards the end, with the final levels descending into little more than a series of dull, repetitive duels between various characters. This problem is repeated if you want to complete the game 100% as you are forced to enter the Duelling School to unlock the final few characters, where you simply fight duel after duel after duel. Zzzzzzzzz.
There are lots of characters and abilities to unlock and whilst the game itself is easy to complete, there's a lot of long term appeal in going back and finding everything. Completing Story Mode, unlocks Free Play which allows you to explore hidden areas using the different characters you have unlocked. As ever, Free Play Mode is actually a lot more fun than Story Mode, so it's no chore at all to keep replaying levels until you have found all the hidden goodies. Despite its simplicity, Years 5-7 offers good value for money and provides a lot of entertainment. I'd guess there's about 20-30 hours game time in this title if you look to complete 100%.
Another big improvement is the regularity of Save points. A gripe with previous Lego games was the length of some of the levels, with levels structured in such a way that if you had to exit before you reached the end of a level, you lost all progress. Here, levels are split down into sub-levels and every time you move onto a new sub-level, your progress is saved. Of course, this also makes an already easy game even easier, but it doesn't significantly shorten its lifespan - it just makes it easier to grab a quick game when you only have a short time to spare.
The one big disappointment was the controls which I actually thought were a retrograde step. Potter Years 1-4 had really innovative controls, requiring you to draw spells on the DS touchscreen. Whilst it wasn't without its problems, it was an excellent way of making the game more immersive. Sadly, these have been ditched for the sequel in favour of more traditional controls that use the D-Pad and action buttons. Whilst there's (almost) nothing wrong with the controls, they do feel a lot less innovative.
The one negative aspect is that sometimes controls can be a little finicky, requiring you to stand on exactly the right spot for them to work. Move just a smidgeon too far to the left or right and nothing happens. It wasn't a major issue once you realised the issue, but a little more careful play-testing could have ironed it out.
Despite the fact that I'm a big Batman fan with no interest in Harry Potter, I actually found this a better game than Lego Batman 2. I think the Potter universe translates better to this type of game and whilst the plot passed me by, the game itself kept me entertained. It costs around £12 for a new copy and whether you are a Potter fan or not, it's well worth every penny.
(c) Copyright SWSt 2013
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