Games I'm Currently Playing - June 12th, 2006

Pardon the continuing hiatus of the series of posts on realism, but I figured this past weekend was a special weekend, and so today deserved an appropriate post topic to go alongside it: the U.S. Launch of the DS Lite.

I picked up one of these puppies this past weekend and, well, once you go Lite, you can't ever go back they say. It's definitely true. While the DS Lite isn't particularly smaller than the original (it is, but not by a significant amount), the thing is sure damned brighter. It is quite a thing of beauty. Derek Daniels showed me his import DS Lite a few weeks back and, after seeing his, my DS Heavy just was so depressing to look at. So I am now happy to be the proud owner of my own DS Lite, and I too can now be baked in the radioactive goodness of a brighter screen.

So I figured it would be appropriate to give you the second edition of my ongoing "Games I'm Currently Playing" posts. I call this the DS Edition, and provide a bunch of DS games with some fairly short reviews.

And don't forget: just 'cause I reviewed a game before, doesn't mean I won't review it again. As I mentioned in my maiden "Games I'm Currently Playing" post, I believe all games must be reviewed at varying phases of its play cycle, as one's opinion of a game can drastically change during the course of a game.

Name: New Super Mario Bros.
System: Nintendo DS (DS)
Stage: Heavy Rotation

In my original review for the game, I noted that I hated two things: 1) the way Mario moved and 2) the saving system. I will say this much: I have gotten more used to the way Mario moves and, after beating the game, being allowed to save at any point in time has increased my enjoyment of the game immensely. I will still admit I have difficulties moving Mario, and I still find myself falling into pits I don't think I should have. And I swear I still want to put myself out of my misery every time I run into a swimming stage. The inability to turn around quickly while swimming is the worst gameplay decision since making you use Raiden for most of Metal Gear Solid 2.

And the mere fact that the game is 10x brighter than it was before, thanks to the DS Lite, seems to make me feel happier when I play it. But despite all of these things, I still can't quite find my groove with the game. I'm not sure if I'm just getting old and impatient, but the game seems to be very good at making me frustrated. Whenever I die and have to re-obtain large coins that I had already obtained before, it drives me mad. Now, this isn't really any different than most games, so I don't know why it makes me so angry in this one. As I keep playing, they have some really interesting and neat obstacles, but most of it just doesn't feel like it has a natural flow like with so many past Mario games. Maybe it's just the fact that the music isn't even 1/10th as catchy as the music from past Mario games. I have no clue what it is. I just have not yet been able to find my zone with the game.

And I will have to say the power-ups are the worst power-ups ever created. The Mini Mushroom, the Blue Shell, and the Mega Mushroom have to be the most ill-conceived collection of power-ups ever created for a Mario game or any other platforming game for that matter. I avoid these items like the plague, except for when I need them to find a hidden passage. But otherwise, I never want to use them. They provide so many disadvantages to the player that they are a hindrance more than a help. It feels so much like they were an afterthought that was added just to give the game something new. I think the game would have been better off without them entirely.

I still want to believe, and I am having enough fun to fully play through the entire game. I guess I was just hoping to be completely blown away by the game, and it hasn't even come close to that.

Name: Brain Age
Platform: Nintendo DS (DS)
Stage: Heavy Rotation

I'm about to move this to the "Currently Put on Hold" state because I haven't played the game in a while. I just find it interest that Nintendo has decided to make every one of their new "non-games" make you feel guilty for not playing them. At first, it was the guilt of making your dog starve. Now, the Doctor yells at you since he hasn't seen you in a while.

I will have to admit that Brain Age worked for me while I was playing it. I found it very inventive, and I actually strived very hard to improve my Brain Age (though after I got to 20 rather quickly, I never wanted to test myself again). I found the exercises fun to play and I really enjoyed the fact that I could pop the game in, play for 15 minutes, and stop (I didn't have to take my dog for a walk that lasted waaaaay too long). Plus, my experience with the interface has been more successful than others. My biggest problem has been having the game recognize my "8," since, thanks to the game, I've discovered I write my 8's backwards.

But if Nintendo is trying to use this game as a flagship for promoting their non-games and trying to appeal to casual gamers, I have to say they are actually doing a good job. This game intrigues my non-gamers friends, and most people I've shown it to want to try it themselves. It's a great example of thinking outside of the box, and although I can't honestly say I'll pick up every game of this series, I encourage them to keep up with this concept.

Name: Tetris DS
Platform: Nintendo (DS)
Stage: Heavy Rotation

Okay, this review is probably a bit biased (I am Mr. Biased after all, remember?). I love Tetris. I've always loved Tetris. I am more addicted to Tetris than any other game I think I've ever played. Tetris has been such a strong part of my gaming life that it even helped me break some insomnia problems I've had in the past. Picturing falling Tetriminos in your head does far greater wonders than counting sheep any day.

So naturally I would love Tetris DS. It has rekindled my love affair with Tetris. Every time I turn on this game, I have trouble turning it off. But is there really any reason to pick up this version over the millions of other version of this game, particularly when most of the other ones are free?

Well, let's look at the additions to this version. They've added 5 extra games: Catch, Mission, Puzzle, Touch, and Push. Most of these additions feel like attempts to add worth to the game. Mission, Puzzle, and Touch are all mini-games that, once you pass, you'll never play again. Push is actually a fun multi-player game, but there is no reason to ever play it against the CPU. And for Catch, it really depends on the person trying it. I do not find anything enjoyable about this mode, but I've read some other people claiming that they love it.

So in the end, I really just play the original mode. And even there, there are some interesting decisions made by the makers of the game. Tetris has always been about getting more and more difficult, to the point where you are overwhelmed by the falling blocks that you can't handle them anymore. But now that all officially made Tetris games need to follow the same rules, this version included, the difficulty feels sapped from the game. Once you get accustomed to this version of Tetris, you simply cannot lose anymore. The ability to rotate pieces or slide pieces infinitely to prevent it from snapping into place has taken away so much from the difficulty of the game. Add to that the ability to hold and swap pieces and the fact that you can see, at all times, the next 6 pieces coming up and it's really just not a challenge anymore. That screen shot above is actually my high score that I had to abort just so I could stop playing the game. It really takes a lot away from a high score as I can imagine most expert Tetris players can achieve level 999 if they just had the patience.

But how about online play? Really, the strength of this game is the online play. I've played a good number of games online, and it's quite a blast. The only problems are not the fault of the game but the fault of Nintendo's limited online matching system. But I have had some really intense matches online, and it's a lot of fun to play. And playing against local friends is also a lot of fun as well. The ability to play with just one cart is a tremendous boost to the game's value.

I can't help it. Even though the difficulty isn't there anymore, it's still just a rush to play the game.

Name: The Rub Rabbits
Platform: Nintendo DS (DS)
Stage: Completed

I can't say much about the game. If you enjoyed the first game (Feel the Magic), you'll probably enjoy this game. This game definitely came up with better mini-games and I felt that it was a very nice touch that some games involved you holding the DS in different orientations. I even went back and messed with the original Feel the Magic for a bit, and I really noticed a marked improvement with the level of fun in the newer game. And, fairly obvious for those who have read my previous posts, I definitely applaud the game's style and presentation. And I am embarrassed to admit that I probably got a little too addicted with trying to design different dress patterns for the female character of the game.

But overall, I think the game was pretty good, but not as addictive as it probably should have been. It's fun enough to keep you going through it, but once completed there is little temptation to go back and replay each of the games to unlock everything. It's definitely a fun diversion, though, and worth a play through since it is not particularly long either.

Name: Super Princess Peach
Platform: Nintendo DS (DS)
Stage: Completed

I was really surprised by this game. Even though it is obviously designed for beginning gamers, the game played well. The difficulty of the game, being on the easy side, made the game a surprisingly fun way to give yourself a good diversion for a short period of time. They really did come up with some creative platforming and, at first, it really does do a good job of keeping your attention. The fact that you could stop and save the game at any given time added to that quick-diversion factor.

However, after playing the game for a while, its simplicity does come back to bite it. By the time you get to the later worlds, it is apparent that you've done just about everything the game has to offer, and you start to grow fairly bored. You really do feel like you are going through the motions at the end. Plus, after completing the game, the game adds even more stages to play and makes you re-play all of the old stages to finish unlocking everything. And by that point, the drive to go through all the stages again just isn't there anymore.

Definitely not for the hardcore. Play it if you really just want a nice little game to play on the side and if you aren't embarrassed that you own Super Princess Peach.

- James