I Remember Now. (Another Code - Two Memories (DS))

Member Name: katygriff

Product:	Another Code - Two Memories (DS)
Date:	23/01/06 (1260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Graphics, Story, Game-play, Characters.

Disadvantages: Length.

Ok so I told you about my wonderful Nintendo DS in the previous review so now I guess it is only fair to start reviewing my games that I have. The first up is Another Code: Two Memories which let me tell you I have been addicted to ever since I got the game. I have given it five stars so here let me tell you all of you who are thinking about buying this game why to go ahead and just buy it.

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So what is the game about?

Ashley an innocent vulnerable girl is looking for her father. When she arrives at an Island her Aunt Jessica disappears and with her father nowhere to be seen, Ashley must find her way through puzzle after puzzle and code after code to find them both.

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Things to know:

Price - £29.99 in shops but £24.99 from Amazon.
Certification – Recommended for those aged seven and over.

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Characters and Story:

Ok so this game has a great story and one that will grip you and keep you hanging on until you find out what happens. From the start you are thrown in at the deep end with so many mysteries surrounding the island and Ashley’s father and throughout the game you find so much evidence and even more mysterious artefacts and puzzles that you just get addicted to finding out what happens next. I am never like this with story games and usually get bored but with this one I cared about Ashley and needed to know what was happening.

On that subject the characters are fantastic and you get a lot of back story and insights into how they are feeling so I cared what happened during the game. I wanted to solve the clues for Ashley which is strange seen as she is just a computer character but I actually felt a part of her life as the game gets you involved that much. The other main character ‘D’ the ghost also allows you to really get into his mind and you care about him too. I love the way that the game creators have let you get this involved with the character lives as it makes you want to play the game more.

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Graphics and Sounds:

This game is fantastic for graphics and sounds. First the graphics are very real and although at first it does look like you are going to be playing a Manga game, the actual graphics of the game are not like this. What I mean by this is that as soon as you start the game you are introduced to a few characters and the actual animation of the characters is like looking at a Manga comic strip so as you can imagine they are pretty cool looking. When you get into the game however this changes and your surroundings look as real as anything. The rocks and trees look fantastic and the buildings have very intricate detail. When you do look closer at some objects it does go a bit Manga like again so all in all the game looks pretty cool.

The sounds in this game can be annoying at times, especially when the characters are speaking as it is just like this little clicking sound as you read what they are saying. After a while I got used to them though and the music is quite relaxing so when it suddenly changes you know that something is about to happen.

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Game-play:

Now getting used to the main controls is pretty easy but then you find out you can do more with this game. As you look at certain scenes you can zoom in on specific objects by pressing the ‘A’ button and you can also move certain objects around using the stylus. The funny thing about this game though that I found to be a great idea is that the main character Ashley has a DS in the game but they call it a DAS which I found very funny.

Although the game controls are pretty simple to master the actual game is quite hard at times with so many puzzles to explore and codes to master I found that this game was quite challenging and at parts you did have to really think how to complete them. I like the way the game has been made as the touch screen has been utilised well and Ashley even has a camera so she can take the odd picture.

The top screen of the game shows you what Ashley sees and the bottom touch screen is where you will see her as she moves around the island exploring.

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Verdict:

I love this game and it is unlike me to follow a story line in a game to be honest which shows how interesting this game is. Usually I play a game and skip most of the talking because to be honest I am not a big fan of games that are eighty per cent dialogue and only twenty per cent game play. This game is different though, yes you do have to listen to all of the talking but in this game you have no choice. At first I was quite annoyed that I had to read all of this writing instead of getting into the game but after a while I realised that there are so many clues to some of the puzzles in the dialogue that you have to read carefully. From then on I didn’t mind it in the game and to be honest it has made me think that maybe I would enjoy games if I did pay more attention to the dialogue.

The graphics in this game as I have said are wonderful and the ability to use the touch screen is brilliant and they utilise it to its maximum in this game. I have always liked Manga graphics and the characters look brilliant in the game.

Another code: Two memories is known for being a brilliant game to play and I think that most reviews you will read about this game will all say the same thing, that the game is just way too short. I managed to complete it in just over ten hours which for a game is very short indeed (it does monitor your time every time you save so please don’t think I played it for ten hours straight).

I was reading other reviews for this game before I started to play it and was quite disappointed when people were saying it was just too easy to play and that was why the game was short because people were completing it in about six hours. I have to disagree with these people because I found many things in this game to be quite challenging and at one point I even had to search on a walkthrough on the internet as one part was driving me mad.

In conclusion I think that although this game is quite short and I am quite slow at games so for any normal gamer you could probably complete it in half of the time I did but I do think this game is fantastic and extremely fun to play. I am a big fan of code breaking games anyway so I had high hopes for this game and it did meet my expectations. Five stars from me.

Thanks for reading.

xxx

Summary: Very Addictive Game.