MYST (DS version)

Have you ever played a game and thought to yourself, “Do you know what could only enhance this gameplay experience? Microsoft Power Point”. 

Up until the massive success of the Sims (which has shipped more copies than WoW has subscribers, make of that what you will), MYST was the best selling PC game ever. Which I guess proves that Apple was good for something at one point. Not only did this game sell very very VERY well, it is also attributed to the success of the CD-ROM drive. It has been re-released and ported more than ten times, and there has recently been talk of a motion picture adaptation.

And now the question that you’ve all been bursting to hear answered; why then, is it so shit?

Well, part of the problem is that it’s on the DS. But let’s start with the cover. The box art is fine, but turn it over, and we see a fairly major warning sign; the back blurb is in English AND Dutch. This would be fine, if they were just trying to appeal to broad demographics, but the DS only has options for English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. And then there’s the blurb itself; “All source code has been re-written specifically for the Nintendo DS performance and gameplay”. Wow. How generous. I’d hate to think that I was purchasing a game that had been coded for a pocket calculator and stuck on a DS flashcard. THIS was what you used as the most IMPORTANT feature of your game? That’s not to mention that malarkey with the words “performance and gameplay” seemingly tacked on there for no logical reason.

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to judge a book by its cover. So I’m going to judge it by its manual instead. It’s in greyscale, which is a real pet peeve of mine, especially when big companies like EA and Ubisoft, who so obviously have the money and resources to print in colour do it, but I digress. The content isn’t actually all that bad, it tells you how to use the interface, and even has few hints to get you started (believe me, you NEED them). The only reason I bring it up, is that the content is only about twelve pages long. So, they repeat it all in two other languages. Again, fair enough, this is the European version after all. Except that the languages chosen are Finnish and Swedish. Again, why? I am genuinely asking why those ones? And why not Dutch, since you seem to want to hook them in as much as the English speakers? THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

So, FINALLY, we get on to the game itself. And you know what? It’s not terrible. Yeah, kinda threw a curveball there. MYST is a very good game. It would take quite a bit to ruin it totally. You start out on a mysterious Island, and that’s pretty much all the info your given. By exploring the island and experimenting with the various books and arcane machinery, you can teleport to new areas, to collect special pages which can be put into one of two special books with a person trapped inside, and the plot is gradually revealed as you go along, mostly through inference. There’s surprisingly little exposition, but a TON of backstory. You’ll need to take notes as you go, and by about halfway, I started to find myself writing as though I really were exploring these places, writing down thoughts and feelings about the three characters in the game. But it was very difficult. Because this game should NEVER have been on the DS.

The DS screen is too small for this game, since most of the plot and puzzles are based around information in special books you find. Midway thoughtfully provide a magnifying glass button that lets you read them. VERY slowly. But then there are the machines. It’s very difficult to work out what you can and can’t operate, or indeed if you have done so correctly. This can make the already difficult puzzles just plain infuriating.

And now, onto the Big point I made at the very start, a problem common to almost ALL versions of MYST apart from the original on the Apple computers of the time. Whenever you move, there’s supposed to be a subtle fade from one still image to the next, the idea being that, since all worlds in MYST are contained in books, you are turning the page. I  imagine this would also evoke a more Dreamlike feel to the whole game. Instead, the stills cut from one to the other, with absolutely no transition, which makes everything incredibly disorienting.

So, to some up, MYST is a very good and incredibly immersive game. MYST DS however, is a pale echo of this. I didn’t even finish this game. I finished realMYST, the recent PC version that, rather than using pre-rendered stills, renders all the worlds in real time 3D. And it is stunning. The graphics are a far cry from...well, from Far Cry, but it’s a thousand times better than pre-rendered stills, squashed and distorted to fit the DS screen. Perhaps they should have spent less time on the source code after all.

Review: Pokemon Black and White (Nintendo DS)

Pokemon. Ever since it appeared in the late 90's it has been a favourite of kids and geeks everywhere. Its unique brand of RPG mechanics that expertly combine simplicity with depth, which also succeeds in itching every gamers propensity for collecting things has seen it become wildly popular, with enough merchandise to stretch to the end of the universe coming along with that popularity (OK, I exaggerate, but it often seems that way). Along with the merchandise there has been a steady release of a new generation of paired releases every few years that add a new geographical area to the franchise and also around 100 or so new Pokemon. Black and White is no different in this regard, but developer Game Freak has done wonders making these new games feel much fresher than the description implies, whilst also still keeping to the series rich heritage and gameplay mechanics.

In common with other Pokemon games, your journey begins in a small village in a secluded area of the game's region, Unova, where Pokemon Professor Juniper just happens to be based. Along with some friends, you pledge to journey across the land, searching far and wide to find and understand each Pokemon, cataloging them in a sort of Pokemon encyclopedia, the Pokedex. At the same time, as a trainer, it is your goal to fight and defeat the 8 gym leaders in order to challenge the regions Pokemon League and become Pokemon Champion of Unova! Of course, starting off in a lonely and secluded village means picking one of the three well designed starter Pokemon (Snivy, the grass snake, Tepig, the fire pig and Oshawott, the sea otter Pokemon) and leaving home to begin assembling your awesome team of Pokemon to help carry out this task.

So far so similar. But as you begin to play the game you'll realise that compared to previous iterations, the battles are lightning fast, and for the first time, the Pokemon move in battle as opposed to previous static sprites. As a result of this, battles are more exciting and engaging. Whilst the mechanics of the battle system remain the same as previous entries, Game Freak have added wild double battles and triple battles to spice proceedings up a little. All these innovations combined with infinite use TM's meaning you can tweak and tinker with your Pokemon as you see fit makes the already winning formula battle wise even more compelling.

The 'making things fresh again' mantra has extended to the choice of Pokemon themselves. No longer will going into a cave result in an endless string of Zubats and Geodudes, oh no, because all of the Pokemon featured in the main game are entirely new, and very well designed they are too. This extends beyond aesthetics - long time Pokemon players have derided the sameyness of fighting the same Pokemon time and time again and knowing their quirks and weaknesses. Gone are the days of instantly knowing a Pokemons typing from previous experience - this makes you think again and experience the wonder of learning and finding them for yourself.

Game Freak has also worked hard to improve the aesthetics since the last generation. 3D graphics are used with much more gusto than before, and in certain parts the camera swoops around and shows a true 3D perspective. Seasons also feature - every month the entire look of Unova changes, from green to brown, and from rain to snow. A long time weak point of Pokemon games are confusing, ugly and badly designed menu screens - this has been improved and everything looks cool, and more importantly functions well, which is essential in a game with so much micro-managing to be done.

Connectivity options have also been vastly improved. No longer is internet trading only available in one building - it's integrated into every Pokemon Centre. In fact, for local battling and trading, there's no longer any need to trek to a Pokemon Centre, as thanks to the C-Gear on the touch screen, Infrared can be used to instantly connect to other players and get that battle itch on.

So Black and White is an evolution then, not a revolution. It plays better, looks better and integrates with other players better, but it's still the same old Pokemon underneath the flashy surface. That said, when a game has such a sheer amount of content and plays so well, it's no mystery why millions of people still want to catch them all.

BUY IT