Archive for the ‘Nintendo DS’ Category
Pirates: Duels on the High Seas
Posted by Ian | Filed under Nintendo DS, Portfolio, Preview
Recently I had the opportunity to preview one of the latest games coming out of Oxygen Studios. This game is one of two in a brand new franchise called Pirates, both will be released very shortly, one of the Nintendo DS and the other will exclusively be available via the WiiWare system. Pirates: Duel on the High Seas is the DS game that I managed to get my hands on, and it’s shaping up incredibly well.
The aim of the game is for the player, as a pirate, to fend of the British Navy, other vessels and monsters in the effort to find treasure and save the Captain and crew from a nasty curse that’s been set upon them. This top down action game for the most part takes place on water and the player controls the pirate-ship and not the characters themselves. This is done with a unique control scheme in which the shoulder buttons (the L and R buttons) on the DS are used to move forward and backward, whilst the D-pad is used to turn the boat in circles. This may sound a little more complex than just pushing right or up on the D-Pad but in fact; this control scheme is incredibly easy to use.
Naturally there are enemies between the Pirates and the Loot, but for a DS game there is a vast amount of enemies. These range from other vessels, such as the top of the British Navy, to various other monsters from a little see monster, to the Kraken and then there are fire-breathing sea dragons to consider! Not to mention other famous Pirates as well! With this in mind, it’s important to select the difficulty correctly, yes, there’s no “one size fits all” with Duel on the High Seas. The player can choose between various difficulties, and depending on the setting depends on what sort of boat the player will get.
Duel on the High Seas also utilises the touch screen technology well, and not just in a gimmicky way either. The top screen is where most of the action takes place, and the 3D models are all there with good graphics, whilst the bottom screen is used as a “map” and the player can see where they’re going and where they have been. It also allows the player to select which area of the ship they want to give a boost.
In between the in-game scenes there is some truly brilliant artwork as well. This artwork isn’t animated per-say but the screens do change, which is similar to forms of early animation and will remind many of comic strips, personally they remind me of old silent movies. That aside, the graphics on these story development areas are stunning and the artwork is very unique.
The main game session’s graphics aren’t of the same standard as the cut-scenes, but they are still of a good quality and do not hinder the game in any way.
Multiplayer fans will be glad to know that Duel on the High Seas will come with a multiplayer mode, which will be online and against your friends on the full build. The preview version didn’t have this quite working yet, but with 35 multiplayer modes, this is sure to be a great multiplayer game.
Pirates: Duel on the High Seas will be out in the UK on the DS in the 22nd of August, and will be available at all good retail stores and the WiiWare version of this game is already out! Be sure to check out our interview with the developers as well.
Panzer Tactics DS
Posted by Ian | Filed under Nintendo DS, Preview
Panzer Tactics DS is the only of its type currently in development for the Nintendo DS a: turn-based WWII strategy game. Panzer Tactics DS follows true to the course of history very carefully. Of course, there is a little deviance to allow for more interesting game-play, but on the whole, the path of history runs true.
Choosing to play as the Allies, the Axis or the Russians, the player is able to embark in the many campaigns that occurred throughout the Second World War. There are multiple difficulty levels; however, each of those have been adjusted to suit the campaign’s military history. Therefore some campaigns are harder than others, regardless of the difficulty setting.
The hexadecimal style of battle is familiar and comfortable, especially after playing games such as Age of Empires and Advance Wars; the only major difference is the difficulty in distinguishing between the units at first glance. Naturally, some planes in the Second World War looked similar to other planes, and this ambiguity has been transferred across to the DS platform as well. The only way of being absolutely certain of which unit has been selected is by checking the vital statistics of the unit. These are fortunately located on the top DS screen, as is most of the information throughout the game.
Aside from the ambiguity of the characters, the actual graphics themselves are shaping up very well. There are few instances of pixel graphics, even though that’s clearly what’s being used for the game. Further, the textures of the ground and the ocean don’t feel repeated like many lesser DS games, and older SNES and NES games. At the start of most of the training missions and campaigns there will be some pixel art characters next to the substantive text, and every character has a degree of individuality and the edges are smooth and a pleasure to look at.
The touch screen is used to great effect with the title at the moment. All of the menus are selected with the touch screen, although the option of using the D Pad is also there as well. Equally all of the units in game are moved using the touch screen, but again with the option of using the D Pad. The touch screen has been implemented well as although you may move units using the touch screen, all information is delivered on the top DS screen. Not to mention the fact that the touch screen is incredibly accurate with this title.
The audio quality of Panzer Tactics DS is good, although throughout most of the game it’s just basic war sounds. The menus and all other aspects of off game-mode sounds unique, it’s not just the cut and paste job of many other games in similar genres. The music does not sound tinny through the DS speakers and sounds even better through personal headphones.
The biggest problem with the title is the ridiculously steep learning curve. Although there are tutorials offered, the curve is still too high. Each tutorial seems basic enough when you select them, then there’s a very hefty amount of text to read through with a few basic maneuvers of units on the screen. There are ten different tutorials to get through first of all, with an option of a glossary in case the information the tutorials deliver is lost to the ether.
Whilst trying to digest the information that’s provided in the tutorial, playing the game can become incredibly confusing at first. After a few attempts at playing some of the campaigns, it becomes a lot easier to understand what’s going on. Despite this, it takes far too long to understand how to destroy enemies and take over their bases.
Aside from the learning curve, Panzer Tactics DS is looking like it’s going to be a strong game, and we should hopefully see a release date very soon.
Tags: Nintendo DS, Preview, Zentendo