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Colour Cross (DS)
by BitterFusion
Colour Cross is essentially a variation on the Japanese puzzle game, Hanjie. And if you're sat there thinking, "What on earth is Hanjie?!", you wouldn't be the first. Hanjie is one of my favourite types of logic puzzle, and whenever I am sat doing a paper version of the game, I am always met by a bewildered look. I have even ... been asked by a curious stranger on a train what it was I was doing. However, this puzzle seems more confusing than it actually is, and when you grasp the concept of it, it's actually quite straightforward. If you're a fan of Sudoku, or other logic puzzles, read on! This could be one for you...
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So, I'm confused...
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Instructions on how to play are given when you create a save file. Basically, you are given a grid with numbers that run horizontally and vertically along the grid sides. The aim of traditional Hanjie is to shade the grid by following the numbers along the sides in order to reveal a picture. So, for example, if you were given a 10x10 grid, the first horizontal line might read: 4 2 2. A gap between numbers denotes at least one square to be left unshaded. You would therefore know that you would need to shade the first four squares, leave a gap, shade the next two, leave a gap, and then shade the last two squares.
However, this game is not traditional Hanjie. At least two colours will be used on every grid, and the amount of colours increase as the difficulty level increases. So, using our previous example, if the 10x10 grid needed to be shaded with red and yellow, we might say that the 4 2 2 example denoted where the red went. The user would then be able to switch to the second colour, yellow, by pressing a paint tube icon on the right hand side of the screen. Once the yellow is chosen, the red squares you shaded on the grid would still be visible on the grid. However, on the line you were working on, the 4 2 2 would be replaced by a 1 1, meaning that two individual squares would need to be shaded in yellow. As you have already filled in 4 2 2 in red, you should be left with only two empty squares anyway. It should therefore be obvious that the yellow would be filled into the two empty squares on that line.
The same is done along the vertical lines as well. As you progress in filling out the grid, completing the puzzle becomes easier, and it will eventually reveal a picture of some sort.
I hope that this is a fairly clear explanation of how to play. However, Hanjie is essentially a visual puzzle, and to fully grasp the concept, picking up a puzzle and playing it for yourself would be far more beneficial than trying to imagine it from the description I gave. I think Colour Cross's tutorial is excellent, as it gives a visual demonstration, as well as a written explanation of how to play, and would allow anyone to pick up the rules quickly.
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Gameplay
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This game includes 10 level packs, each including 15 puzzles. Each level pack is themed (e.g. Fashion, Medieval, Horror) and the pictures revealed at the end of each puzzle are related to the theme. Most levels and level packs are initially locked, and only become unlocked as puzzles are completed. I find that the game is structured oddly as, within each level pack, the levels get harder as they go along. To me, it would have made more sense to have grouped all easy puzzles together, with each level pack gradually getting harder. I think this would have been especially beneficial to brand new players, as they would have an opportunity to build their confidence by completing all the easy puzzles first before trying something a little more difficult.
Gameplay is completely controlled by the stylus, and squares in a grid are shaded by pressing the stylus to the square of choice. The only buttons that you are able to use are the L and R buttons for zooming in and out, and the start button to choose to end a game. The game is very simple to play, which is probably just as well, as getting your head around the rules of the puzzle may seem confusing enough at first. I do, however, feel that giving the player the option to shade the puzzle with the buttons would have been beneficial to the game, as I find that a button mode of entry would have been easier for me. I say this because as the grids get larger with increased difficulty, the squares that need to be shaded become smaller on the screen to accommodate for the size of the grid, making it easier to accidentally hit a wrong, neighbouring square and incur a time penalty.
On the subject of time penalties, puzzles are timed. However, this seems to serve no other purpose than to trial how quickly you are able to complete a puzzle. You might, in the future, choose to try and beat your previous time. Otherwise, the timing of a puzzle is not something that might concern the player.
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Other thoughts
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Quite simply, this game is never going to be a best seller. However, that is not to say that it is a bad game. For those who love logical puzzles, this is the kind of thing that would be right up your street. However, I do have some issues with the game.
Firstly, the music is annoying, and is totally unnecessary to the game. I generally have it switched off, as I find that the excitable, increased tempo of celebration music once a puzzle has been completed, only grates on me and does nothing to add to the overall experience of the game.
Another bugbear of mine is the background when you're trying to complete a grid. For one thing, the developers thought that it would be a good idea to make the background vibrant by making items relevant to the theme float around in the background in a rather distracting manner. However, more annoying is that sometimes the colour of the screen background often blends in to the colour you're using on the grid. This makes it almost impossible to see which squares have been shaded in, and often leads to making a mistake. The background would have benefited infinitely from being a neutral colour, rather than a dynamic, colour changing mess.
Obviously, the graphics are not amazing. However, I don't think this is a hindrance to the game. The important thing for this game was that there were an abundance of puzzles and that they offered plenty of challenge for the user. Although this is true, I found Picross (the traditional version of Hanjie for the DS) to be more challenging, and generally better in terms of its structure and gameplay. By comparison to Picross's clear structure and excellent gameplay, Colour Cross just comes across as messy and trying too hard to make the game look visually interesting.
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Price
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This game can be bought for under £20 new, and from as little as £11 second hand from Amazon. If you're thinking of buying it, it might also be worth keeping a look out to see if you can buy it as a previously owned game from somewhere like GameStation as it might be cheaper again that way.
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Overall
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This is a fairly good game for fans of logic puzzles, and with 150 levels, will certainly offer a substantial number of challenges. However, if you really enjoy Hanjie, I would probably recommend Picross over Colour Cross, as it is a much better game on the whole. That said, if you can buy this cheaply, it wouldn't be the worst investment you've ever made. Definitely not one for those who have little patience with puzzles!
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Rune Factory 2 (DS)
by bluepinkz
Rune Factory 2 is a sequel from the first game Rune Factory .
Same like in the first Rune Factory, we still need to work in the field of a village and socialize with all the villagers, make friends with them, become close with them , and also have a love-relationship with them and also marry with one of them and make a new family. ... But in this version we're not really only work in field, but we have to defeat monster in the "outside world" .
When we play this game, we will be a boy who lost in a village and lost all of his memories, just call him Kyle, he meets a girl call Mana, who offer him to stay in a house and work in a field that has been abandoned. And at last Kyle accept the offer so he stays in that house and run the field and also become a new villager.
When I played this game i didn't feel bored at all, because of the gameplay is so interesting.
When we are in the village, we will be a farmer that kind and diligent. But, when we're outside the village we will be a adventurer that strong and brave, cause we have to defeat monsters to gain exp. We can also make the monster become our pets. Every monster have their advantage, some of them will provide something like apple, milk, egg, wool, etc . Or maybe we can ride them to go faster when going to some place.
The control itself easy to understand, after couple minutes of playing it i bet you will understand it.
There isn't any change when we play as farmer or adventurer, so we will memorize it easily.
We can use L button to do some action in turn based, without doing it manually, so it will make our job in field easier.
The story in this Rune Factory 2 is kinda different with the previous one, the story will be continue with the child, when he/she begins a new live and new story without his/her father (Kyle) . This is the second generation system which is the best feature in this game. And also there is a Quest system that makes this game more interesting, when we become closer with the other villager, we can receive more Quest , so we really need to be close with all of the villager. And also, we can farming outside of our field, but of course this is has a pretty high risk, cause there are so many monsters that cover the area. If you like fishing , you can find so many kind of fishes, which is different in every place and also in different time.
Summary : this game is different with the other Simulation game (like Harvest moon) , in Harvest Moon game we get pretty bored easily, because we have to do everyday routine. You won't find it in Rune Factory 2, because there are so many feature that different with Harvest moon. And also the best feature that Rune Factory 2 has second generation system , i bet you won't get bored to play this game. Because when you finished your first generation story (Kyle), you will have to continue your journey with Kyle's child and see the "outside world".
I recommend this game for all Simulation game lover. Like Harvest Moon one, or the previous Rune Factory.
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