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Ubisoft Nintendo DS Game Reviews
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Hamsterz 2 (DS)
by lizzielou3 this game is great fun. you get to choose your hamsters name and cages and different toys scenarios and settings. very easy to play but only once you know how. easy to pick but does take time to get used to initially and if you dont save it properly your hamsters or items get deleted (not saved) so all your hard work and time is ... wasted. very good for children over 5 years of age and ideal if you cannot give them a pet and no cleaning up to do. not a game to play all the time as can get quite repetitive and boring. good if you have a child with lots of friends with the same game so they can pair up their ds games. overall definitely one to conisder if you like small pets but look around as the prices can vary for this game very greatly. Read the complete review |
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Scrabble 2007 Edition DS
by SWSt I'm sure pretty much everyone the basics of Scrabble, so I won't dwell on it too much. However, just in case you've been living all your life in a cave, it's a board game which sets players the challenge of making words out of randomly selected letters and placing them on the board in such a way that they link up with other words and ... score as many points as possible. Its relative simplicity combined with fun, but challenging (and intellectually stimulating) gameplay has long made it a favourite amongst young and old alike. As you might imagine, this DS version does nothing to rock the boat and is a faithful recreation of the original, with the rules following the official Scrabble one. However, to try and introduce some variety, there are a number of different game modes. Challenge allows you to play a single game against a computer opponent, Career Mode sees you competing in "Scrabble Tournaments" against progressively more difficult computer opponents whom you need to beat before you can progress to the next round. There's also a nice multiplayer option where you can play against a single human opponent (if they don't have their own copy of the game) or several (if they do) so you can have the fun and interaction of playing Scrabble with friends, without having to fiddle around with all those silly tiles! A couple of word-based games (such as anagram challenges) rounds off the package. However many different modes the game throws at you, you can't get away from the fact that pretty much everything is based around Scrabble and this will pretty much decide whether you like this game or not. If you love the board game, you'll love this; if you find it boring, then there's nothing here that will change your mind. If you are playing against the computer, then Career Mode offers the best long-term challenge and gives you a sense of progression and achievement as you beat successively tougher opponents. On the whole, the computer AI is well judged. Early characters have limited vocabularies and low tactical abilities. They will often put in words of just a few letters, or place a word in such a way that it makes a Triple Word Score square available to you. As you progress however, they opponents get smarter and smarter, with vastly expanded vocabularies (often superior to yours) and strong tactical play. Although in many ways these later opponents are a lot more fun to play (since they offer far more of a challenge), they can also be frustrating, since they are also difficult to beat. Very often they will come up with (legitimate) words which you have never heard of, due to their increased AI, which score massively and it's not unusual in some games to find yourself 60-100 points behind early on! Still, this just makes it all the more satisfying when you finally beat them; and, of course, you will learn some new words from them that you yourself can use in other games! Occasionally, there are glitches in the AI. One opponent I came across, for example, kept taking the bizarre decision to pass on his turn and did this for three successive goes. Effectively, this handed me the game before it had even begun. Nor is this an isolated issue, since it has happened on a couple of occasion which makes that game much less of a challenge. Although there are only a relatively low number of opponents to defeat, this does not impact on the long term appeal of the game. By its very nature, every game of Scrabble is different since it depends on the letters you pick up, so this is one game you will keep coming back to. Graphics are not exactly earth-shattering, but then there's no need for them to be. The game board is faithfully recreated using an overhead view (you can also zoom in on specific areas for a closer look) and the tiles, although quite small, are still clear and easy to read. The main downside to the presentation is that the various scoring squares (double/triple words etc.) are represented by colours, unlike the board game which uses both colours and words. This means you have to remember, for example, that a pink square is a double word square or light blue a double letter. This won't be an issue for regular players, but less experienced players might find it a touch frustrating, particularly in the first few games. Graphics might be simple but effective; sadly the sound is simple but horrible. Tunes are hideous and repetitive and play continuously throughout the game - hardly conducive to thinking. Thankfully, the music can be turned off (something I would strongly advise). Other than that sound is limited to the occasional "bing" as you make a word. The crucial areas where Scrabble gets it right is in the implementation of the rules and the controls. The rules follow the official Scrabble ones, and the game prevents any illegal moves, so there's no arguing about what you can and can't do! As far as I can tell, it's a full implementation of the rules too, so you can swap your letters for new ones (in exchange for missing a turn) or elect to miss a turn if you have a great word but can't quite fit it in as the board stands. There's even a built-in dictionary which prevents arguments over whether something is a "real" word or not. A further nice touch is that when a word is played, a definition scrolls across the DS's top screen, so if you play with kids, you can help them expand their vocabulary as you go along. There's also a "junior mode" available, which prevents the playing of rude (but legitimate) words, thus making it safe for kids to play. Controls are logical and make good use of the DS's touchscreen. You can re-arrange letters on your rack simply by dragging them to a new position whilst to place a word on the grid, you simply tap a letter, then drag it to the square it is to be placed on, tapping the Tick icon to confirm the word and end your turn. This simple, but effective interface means the DS version is just as easy to pick up and play as the original board game on which it is based. For such a simple game, Scrabble is surprisingly heavy on battery life. The first time I played, I had 4 bars left on battery indicator - normally enough for a good few hours' game time. Yet after just three games (no more than an hour in total), the low battery light was glowing red and it needed recharging. It seems utterly bizarre that such a simple game drains the battery far quicker than many of the graphically and sonically more complex games I have, but that's the way it is. Any other weaknesses the game might have simply reflect the same frustrations as the board game: finding yourself with a rackful of vowels unable to make a word; seeing your opponent go in the space you were planning on using in your next turn and so on. Sorry, but not even a computer can solve these problems! Despite being relatively old, Scrabble 2007 has held its value better than many DS games and will cost around £10; the updated 2009 edition, costs £15-20 (I've no idea what the difference between them is, since I only have the 2007 version). However, if you are just after a faithful version of Scrabble that you can play when there are no human opponents are available, then the 2007 one is more than adequate. © Copyright SWSt 2011 Read the complete review |
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Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (DS)
by BitterFusion I never had high expectations for this game. Released alongside its PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC counterparts, the Nintendo DS version of 'Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands' was never going to live up to these more powerful consoles' versions of the game. However, armed with a £10 voucher for GameStation, and wanting a new game for my ... DS, I bought a pre-owned version of the game, priced at £12.99, with a vague hope that it might surpass my low expectations and pleasantly surprise me. After all, I enjoyed the PlayStation 2 'Sands of Time' trilogy. Surely I would enjoy this too? Well, no. Some games are just not meant to be released on the DS. ------------ Storyline ------------ The story is supposed to take place between the first Prince of Persia game from The Forgotten Sands series, 'The Sands of Time', and the second, 'Warrior Within'. At the start of the game, it is apparent that the Prince has forgotten all of his memories, and a spirit named Razia guides him to his sword. It is then revealed that Razia is a spirit that lives within the Prince's sword, giving it 'sand powers'. However, Razia has lost her 'sand powers', and explains that this, as well as the Prince's lost memory, is due to a cult having abducted him, with the intention of using the sword to take a blood sacrifice. The cult's ritual managed to release an almighty evil force, and the temple in which the ritual was taking place collapsed, allowing the evil to roam free. After having rescued the Prince's sword, he and Razia set off to defeat the evil that has been unleashed, and to kill the three cult members who performed the ceremony. ------------- Gameplay ------------- The game plays as a side-scroller (i.e. a 2D character that runs left and right across the screen, with only a side camera view of the character) and the Prince has to progress through various levels, collecting gems which can be used to improve his weapons/life bar/clothing. The ultimate intention of completing the levels is to reach and defeat the bosses (the three cult members). Along the way, you will also recover the Prince's sword's 'sand powers' which allow you to rewind time, slow time down, and be able to control sand (usually so that you can climb it... it sounds a bit ridiculous). Levels are completed once you've navigated your way through to the end by jumping over pits/climbing walls/avoiding booby traps/hitting switches etc. The stylus controls all aspects of gameplay including running, jumping, rolling, climbing, attacking and defending, and buttons are totally useless to this game. There is a tutorial to the game, however it is slightly confusing and in places does not seem to make much sense. For example, you can defeat some monsters only by holding a defence posture with your sword by holding the stylus on the Prince. If you try to kill it by swiping at it, nothing will happen. So, holding the defence position, when the monster attacks you, the move is deflected back onto it, and it essentially kills itself. And you are supposed to believe that that is genuinely how it dies. However, you are then shown further on that another monster, which looks exactly the same, can only be killed by actually swiping your sword at it. The inconsistency here is just plain confusing. Whilst playing the game, my frustrations with regard to the fact that the stylus was used to control all aspects of gameplay just continued to amount. Firstly, absolutely no skill is involved in jumping or moving. You simply move the stylus where you want to go, and the Prince will follow. The most challenging thing you get to do when moving is double tap in order to roll. Exciting. However, the stylus only gameplay can also work to your disadvantage. The Prince is not always responsive to where you've located the stylus on the screen, and so, especially if you're trying to jump up a wall, it can take a few attempts on your part before the action can be completed, which wastes time and is frustrating. ---------------- My thoughts ---------------- This game would have benefited infinitely by taking a leaf out of the best-selling side-scroller game for the DS: 'New Super Mario Bros.'. Unlike this game, the developers for 'New Super Mario Bros.' stuck with the tried and tested method of controlling characters with the buttons, instead of trying to make the game gimmicky by using the stylus for all aspects of gameplay. The truth of the matter is, gameplay with the stylus alone is never going to give you the sophisticated control of the character that buttons do. Buttons also make gameplay more interesting, by adding a dimension of skilled playing to the game. For example, if the game was button controlled, rather than only stylus controlled, you would have to time your jumps correctly, rather than being able to just point the stylus in the direction of the jump and make it immediately. On the subject of being gimmicky, the game also tried to add a Camera function to unlock a new challenge. This presents two problems: firstly, for those who have a DS/DS Lite, cameras are not integrated and so this becomes a restricted part of gameplay, never to be accessed. Secondly, even if you have a camera, this function doesn't work! I tried facing the camera at various 'light sources' as the game told me to do so, and found that nothing would unlock this mysterious challenge. I'm not going to lie and say I was disappointed, as I feel it would not have unlocked anything particularly new or exciting. It's just annoying, as I am unable to comment further on this function. A further criticism of mine is that the bosses in the game are ridiculously easy. The cult members which, through the unleashed evil, have become gigantic monsters, present no great challenge to the game. For example, with the first boss, you're supposed to believe that this enormous beast can be defeated by you poking your sword at its hands a few times. This guy must be 10 times your side. Your sword is going to be as effective as a cocktail stick prodding an elephant. And yet this is how you defeat him. Hilarious. Additionally, I find the graphics in the game to be embarrassing. The DS is capable of much greater things visually than is explored in this game. The Prince and his enemies are almost block characters, with no detail to their facial features and little detail to their bodies. The landscapes are not much better, with a generally very pixelated and polygon-like look to them. It feels like (and I would be surprised if I was wrong on this) that this game was produced solely for the intention of being able to release the title 'The Forgotten Sands' across all possible platforms in order to create the greatest amount of revenue, and as such received little love and nurturing to make it into a great game. Similarly, I get the same feeling with the design of the levels in the game. I find them to be very simple and offer little challenge to the player, as though not much thought or effort went into making them. Amongst all this negativity, you might be wondering whether there was actually anything good about this game. The one aspect I did enjoy was a variation on the level, where you are sometimes able to ride a horse and control it to avoid obstacles. However, I did not find these short sessions to be particularly challenging either, and would have liked to have seen more obstacles/difficulty to the challenges. I also quite liked the game's music, as it was similar to the signature music found on the PlayStation 2 games. However, overall this game is a prime example of the utter rubbish that is continually churned out for the DS. I get so annoyed that so few good games have been developed for this console, and that it is obviously viewed as a poor contender in the world of gaming consoles. While I accept that the DS is only a handheld device and was never intended to support the kind of graphics that consoles like that of its cousin, the Wii, was designed to, the DS's potential is underplayed by almost all game manufacturers. As such there is now a tolerance, and an expectation, that most games for the DS will be, at best, mediocre. However, I'm straying off topic, and will now get off my soap box, and return my focus to the game at hand. This is not the worst game I've ever played, but it's not too far off. This game is essentially a disgrace to the great 'Prince of Persia' games that I knew and loved for the PlayStation 2 and if, like me, you have any appreciation of those games, you will stay away from this one like it was the plague. If this game had not been released as a 'Prince of Persia' title, I doubt it would have even made the gaming chart. At the end of the day, I won't lose any sleep over it, as I essentially only spent £3 on it, and its trade-in value is worth more than that. However, it is not a game I would recommend to anyone. Read the complete review |
Ubisoft Nintendo DS Game |
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Genre: Simulation / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / Release Date: 2008-11-28 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Sports - Football / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / Release Date: 2007-10-12 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Simulation / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / Release Date: 2009-03-13 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Simulation - Life / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / Release Date: 2008-02-29 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Sports - American Football / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / ESRB Rating: Rating Pending / Release Date: 2009-03-13 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Arcade & Platform / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / ESRB Rating: Everyone / Release Date: 2005-03-11 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Action & Adventure / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / Release Date: 2007-10-12 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Driving & Racing / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / Release Date: 2006-11-24 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Genre: Education & Reference / Nintendo DS Game / Video Game for Nintendo DS / To Be Announced / ESRB Rating: Rating Pending / Release Date: 2008-11-14 / Published by Ubisoft |
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Publisher: Ubisoft / Nintendo DS Game / Type: Family |
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