Game Review: Simcity DS

Game: Simcity DS
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Aki Corp.
Release Date: 19th June 2007

While there are many games in the SimCity series, for the most part they can easily be divided into 2D and 3D games where the 3D instalments take a far more complex approach to city building compared to the fairly simple setup and zoning featured in the 2D games. SimCity DS is somewhere between these categories however, with a 2D graphical approach and fairly simple building options mixing with a few of the more complex features from later games such as water distribution and requests from individual citizens on behalf of particular demographics.

As a city building game, the goal of the main mode is to increase your population to the point where no more people can physically live in your city, whilst keeping the general happiness level high through a variety of factors. Information can be accessed regarding the quality of life, crime rate, amount of waste, power, fire risk, pollution and transport options in each area of the map.While there's no data for overall happiness, I can only assume it's an aggregation of the factors on each datasheet which is represented by the amount of people moving or away from the city.

In the main mode, a civic advisor offers insight into what needs to be done in order to expand the city, though this is only basic tips rather than a detailed plan of action. There's a choice of advisors, but for the most part they'll compliment whatever decisions are made. The build mode is accessed by tapping a small icon on the main game screen, and pauses the flow of time until exited. Within the build mode it's possible to place new zones, buildings, roads and other features with a fairly intuitive system of control.

Once build mode has been closed there's very little players can do, save for watching their city expand and waiting for citizens to petition them for new buildings and services. As such, much of the game is spent waiting for enough expansion to take place to warrant new zones and building. Often players will also need to wait for their bank balance to go up sufficiently to be able to afford to build.
While this is a problem with SimCity games in general, very few of the other instalments insist on the game being paused for building to take place.

Unfortunately the game doesn't feature enough depth to give an organic feel to the growth of the player's city. There's a constant cycle in place of building residential zones for people to move into, a little more industrial to give them jobs, some commercial for them to relax and spend their money and maybe a few parks and libraries for their free time before starting over again. It's only once a city reaches 50,000 or so in population that things become a little less simple. I found myself giving up on my city after reaching a population of 70,000, as a fire devastated one area, accidentally severing power to much of my city causing 40,000 people to leave. Despite my every attempt, I couldn't get the population back up to the level it had been at, so I decided to call it a day.

In addition to the main Build-A-City mode which is freeform for the most part, there's also a Save The City mode in which players take on cities in crisis and attempt to fix whatever problems exist. Usually these problems focus on a singular aspect such as traffic jams, the economy or the crime rate. This mode is a refreshing break from building your own city, and can be more of a challenge as much of the time, players will be directly in control of the traffic/crime rate etc. in their own cities.

Graphically the game isn't particularly bad for being on a handheld, and I'm definitely glad that the developers didn't take the cartoonish route, but when zoomed in the map details are pretty fuzzy and low quality. The musical accompaniment to the game can get fairly annoying as there aren't that many tracks and one of them has a repeating note which sounds like a warning alarm.

Overall Simcity DS isn't the worst it could have been on the console; it plays quite a bit like the original SimCity for SNES, with a couple of upgrades in detail and the use of the bottom screen comes in handy much of the time. In terms of being able to compete with more modern PC and console versions of SimCity however, there's really no contest as this version of the game lacks complexity. Once you've built one city, you've pretty much experienced all the game has to offer, save for the scenario modes.

Rating: 71/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Game: Professor Layton and The Curious Village
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Level-5
Release Date: 7th November 2008

Professor Layton games in general seem older to me than having started only 7 years ago, but I suppose the puzzle concept is a fairly simple one that all of the games tend to have in common, though they feature different stories and other extras. Professor Layton and the Curious Village is the first game in the series, and one which I have been playing for a very long time, albeit never to completion, until just before the time of writing this review.

Previously I had considered it a glorified set of puzzles, having only got a little way into the storyline but upon completion of the game this seems like an unfair judgement. While many puzzle games exist, especially for the handheld market, very few of them feature the depth of story and characters as well as the extra features and finishing touches of Professor Layton games.

Gameplay is fairly simple as players watch cutscenes explaining story details, and read various conversations between Professor Layton and the inhabitants of the village of St. Mystere. Inbetween these cutscenes and conversations, players must explore the village and solve puzzles to gain information and progress. Players are allowed not to solve puzzles, should they prove too hard, and puzzles which have been skipped can be attempted again from a location within the village. The only time that puzzle solving will have been necessary as far as I can see is to gain access to the tower, at the very end of the game (players must have completed a certain number of puzzles throughout the course of the game to enter).

The story of the game is told well and adds a lot of interest to the puzzling. The characters are generally well rounded and likeable, and the voiced cutscenes which play during major moments give a sense of continuity and bring the world of the game to life. Obviously those who don't enjoy puzzles or the storytelling aspect of games won't be well suited to the Professor Layton series, but that's pretty obvious already.

In terms of the overall puzzle difficulty in the game, it depends on which puzzles players are already skilled at tackling and have come across before, though there is a distinct difficulty curve towards the end of the game. Unless you're a puzzling master though, there's bound to be at least one puzzle that is new to you, if not quite a few.

When solving puzzles, players are able to draw and do working out on the touchscreen in most cases, and can have several attempts at getting a correct answer. It's a slight shame that more use isn't made of the touchscreen in this instalment as there are plenty of puzzles which could make use of a little rotation or exploration via the bottom screen.

Graphically the game has a consistent and enjoyable visual style which helps to add character to the experience as a whole. As well versed creators of video games and anime, Level-5 are able to depict the characters in a quaint and simple way that embodies who Professor Layton is, at least for me. Musically too there are some enjoyable tunes which characterise the village of St. Mystere and build tension in the final parts of the game and its cutscenes.

Overall Professor Layton and the Curious Village isn't a game that everyone will enjoy; it's slow pace and story based gameplay may well put some gamers off, but those who are able to settle into the mystery and story of the game will find that it offers more than simple puzzles for solving. It may well be that the other games in the series are somewhat summarized by this review. If that's the case, then I'll add their information and scores below this instead of writing a new review, but for now that's all!

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game Review: The Rub Rabbits!

Game: The Rub Rabbits!
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Sonic Team
Release Date: 13th February 2006

As the sequel to Project Rub, 'The Rub Rabbits!' does a lot of things similarly to its predecessor. There's a story told through many different minigames and 4-koma style comic panels, there are games which use the microphone as well as ones which use the stylus and a couple of the games featured are variants of games already seen in Project Rub. The gameplay and progression through the game is almost exactly the same, and the visual style is also continued.

There are some differences however; the game is longer in terms of the number of minigames featured, but shorter in play time thanks to a far lower overall difficulty level. Many more of the games require one playthrough rather than several, although there still are a considerable number which have 5 parts. Once the game has been completed, an additional story is unlocked which consists of a few minigames from the main storyline, but no original content.

Another new feature of this game is that some games require the DS to be held sideways or even upside-down. The games which make use of different orientations are usually slightly more inventive and fun to play. Unfortunately the overall range and variation in games and gameplay feels as if it has diminished; without counting repeats of some games, there were still quite a few instances of similar concepts within the game's 40(ish) story mode stages.

While there's an abundance of extra features and modes in the game, none of them really have much depth. There's a multiplayer game which involves passing the DS whilst holding onto various buttons, a mode for two players to make a baby and check their compatibility (which seems like a fairly random addition to the game), a dress up mode for the female lead character and challenge modes where story mode stages can be replayed for high scores.

The plot of the game is slightly more sensible than the first game, though not by too much; after falling for the game's female lead, the player character must chase her, win her over and then attempt to protect her from the 'genius girl next door''s plot to kidnap and woo him. Each stage deals with a small part of the story and sometimes there are huge leaps between locations and events, but I doubt many players are into playing for the plot of this particular title. 

Once story mode is complete, players are able to play through it again in Hard and Hell modes. While these provide much needed challenge to the scenes, the game has low replay value due to the nature of the plot and minigames. It's possible to complete the game in a few hours, after which there's very little to do, and I'd imagine that another run through story mode isn't top of most people's list after beating the game. 

Graphically the game is very similar to Project Rub, with silhouette characters only distinguishable by their clothes and hair colour. Items and locations are nicely stylised and presented, and minigames are usually intuitive and easy to understand by design. Musically the title features many remixes of famous classical tunes, sung by a chorus of voices. These fit the mood of the game well, but are also likely to annoy players after a while.

Overall 'The Rub Rabbits!' feels incredibly close to the experience of the first game in the series; perhaps a little too much so. The low replay value and repeating of some minigames through the course of story mode contributes to its 'one-off' appeal, meaning that most players will run through the game once and never play again. If minigames are your thing however, and you enjoyed Project Rub and want more of the same, then this is the game for you!

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Game: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 11th January 2011

Listen to music from the game as you read!

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is one of the most interesting games I've played this year, for a number of reasons. Firstly its use of the DS touchscreen is innovative, fully necessary, and works well to define the character of the game. Secondly it has an engaging and interesting story which unfolds at a consistent pace throughout the game's 18 chapters. Lastly the gameplay is fun, challenging and some of the most unique puzzling I've seen in a title from a large publisher in this decade.

If that didn't convince you, then maybe going into a little more detail will; Gameplay is made up of puzzling sections, interspersed with story and cutscenes which develop once you've solved the puzzle at hand. Players control "Sissel", a soul searching for his identity and trying to figure out why he was killed, and by whom. Taking control of his "core" to possess inanimate objects and briefly animate them, or to talk to other recently departed souls, Sissel is also able to travel back to 4 minutes before the death of souls he comes across.

Most levels involve trying to stop a particular event, or series of events from happening by possessing various objects in order to make a path to that which you want to change. While in the "ghost world", time pauses so that it's easy to switch between objects that are near one another, however if you want to animate an object using a ghost trick, then time must be unpaused. This leads to some situations where timing is critical later on in the game.

There's a set amount of time in which you must complete each level, as once the timer runs out, the event you're attempting to prevent happens, and the future will not play out as you'd like. While messing around with time in this way does sound quite complicated, the game does well to provide a somewhat continuous flow of time through its chapters on the whole.

While there's not many details of the story that I can reveal without giving away spoilers, it features a good deal of mystery, plot twists and character development, especially for a game which is set over the course of one evening (for the most part). Without the storytelling power of the game, it'd be a series of fairly disconnected puzzles, but that just goes to show how well the events of the game tie everything together. The cutscenes and dialogue sections of the game are just as interesting as the gameplay.

A consistent feature of the game is its humour which ranges from sarcastic to slapstick with many other stops inbetween. Every character you meet and interact with has their own mannerisms and style, which goes a long way towards giving the game its unique feel. The pacing is near perfect, as I never felt that the game was moving too fast or slow for my liking, and the only indication that the end was almost upon me was given by dialogue and the events of the game, rather than the progress chart style of other games.

Graphically the game has a nice 3D foreground on a 2D background feel to most of the gameplay, with cartoon style sprites representing important characters when they are in conversation. As always the image quality isn't exactly helped by the size of the DS screen, but it's on par with most of the other games for the system. The music for the game is fitting, enjoyable and incredibly catchy. Its ambient electronic style enhances the mood of gameplay and stays with you even after completing the game.

Overall Ghost Trick is a game that I'd highly recommend if you're looking for a handheld game which is just as engaging as console titles, a good puzzle/adventure game, a well told and unpredictable storyline, or all of the above. Even when I couldn't figure out a certain puzzle, the game was so good that I was encouraged to carry on (some are challenging but never illogical or impossible). My only criticism of the game is that it ended, because I've been yearning to play again since completion.

Rating: 88/100
Grade: A

Game Review: Elite Beat Agents

Game: Elite Beat Agents
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: iNiS
Release Date: 6th November 2006

As a fan of rhythm games I was pretty sure that I'd like Elite Beat Agents, it has all the right components for my approval at least; a decent soundtrack of songs (all covers, but good ones nonetheless), good humour and light hearted stories to link the gameplay with the player. Songs are accessed through a map screen and are unlocked in sets as more songs are completed.

Once a song has been selected to play, a short story will flash up in a comic book style (which can be skipped if desired), before the music begins. Numbered circles appear on the touchscreen and indicate the correct timing and order of each rhythmic tap. A meter at the top of the touchscreen keeps track of progress and moves between Yes and No to determine the outcome of in-song cutscenes where more of the story is told. If the meter is in the Yes section then the story will go well, and if it's in the No section then things will go badly, but the player won't fail the song unless the meter goes past the No section and drains entirely.

There are 15 regular songs in total, as well as 3 bonus songs which cover the genres of Pop, Pop Punk and Disco mainly. Most of the songs are fast paced and provide a good rhythm to tap along to. While the routines aren't ever out of time as such, it can be hard for fans of games such as Rhythm Heaven to get the hang of the game at first, since the player's tapping can follow the vocal line, instrumental line or rhythm at any given time. I found myself doing far better at songs I knew outside of the game, since the routine usually follows the vocal line.

There are three different types of movement on the touchscreen that are featured in songs; the first is Hit Markers; simply tapping on circles at the correct moment (sometimes there are two on top of one another), the second is Phrase Markers; tapping once on a circle and then dragging a ball to a second circle (and sometimes back again), and the last is Spin Markers; a circle which must be rotated by quick circular motions on the touchscreen until lights at the side of the screen illuminate.

Points are scored for accurate timing and maintaining a combo throughout songs, and players are graded at the end of a song on their performance. There are two difficulty levels to choose from in the game although they play as separate modes, so songs cleared on one difficulty won't be cleared on the other. One star difficulty starts out as laughably easy and even has a guide pointer for the first few songs, but ends up fairly challenging. Two star difficulty begins at a reasonable difficulty level before escalating beyond a level that I could manage.

The humour throughout the game is well placed and unintrusive; the odd change of scene or clothes can provide quite a laugh at unexpected times. I enjoyed the comic before each song, and the game's character comes shines through with its presentation as a whole. With 15 songs making up the total storyline, it's not particularly a long game and the only replayability comes from trying songs at a harder difficulty.

Graphically the game is presented nicely, with a fun style in both the comic sections and general gameplay. The Hit Markers for tapping in rhythm are clear and easy to see, although the circles system could have been improved for when there's a lot of them on screen. There's a good choice of songs included in the game, and although all of them are cover versions, most are well performed. The only issue I found with the sound in the game was the the songs sounded compressed and tinny both through headphones and the speakers of the DS itself.

Overall Elite Beat Agents is a charming and fun rhythm game which features a good selection of covers songs to tap along to, allowing the player to help characters and see their actions as the Elite Beat Agents positively affect their situations. While the game is short and there's a steep difficulty curve, particularly at two star difficulty I'd recommend giving it a go as a rainy day distraction.

Rating: 76/100
Grade: B

Series Review: Mario Kart

To take me past 250 games reviewed in total, I thought I'd play an incredibly popular series that has both classic and modern instalments and is still going to this day. With a game from the series on nearly every Nintendo console since 1993 and almost 100 million sales in total, the Super Mario Kart series stands 16th on a list of all time best selling franchises.

Game: Super Mario Kart
Console: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 21st January 1993

The earliest independently successful spin-off from the Mario platforming series and pioneer of the Kart Racing game genre, Super Mario Kart took Mario, his friends, and some enemies and allowed them to vent their frustrations through vehicular mayhem. The game features 8 different characters, racing on 20 unique tracks which are based off Super Mario World locations, with 9 items used to gain some sort of advantage over other players.

The player can choose to race in GP mode which consists of five laps, on five different circuits with points awarded for finishing in the top 4 positions. If players finish below this, they must retry the race until they attain at least 4th place and have a limited number of lives to do so. With 3 difficulty levels (50, 100 and 150cc), and 4 cups per difficulty level, there's a good amount of replayability for such a seemingly basic racing game.

When racing in one player mode, the screen is split into two halves; the top showing the racer's viewpoint of the circuit and the bottom showing more of an overview. In two player modes, the bottom screen is replaced by the view of the second player. The coins that a player has collected are shown in the bottom right and these make the kart go faster, up to a total of 10. The player's remaining lives and current position are shown alongside the number of coins.

The driving itself feels looser than in later Mario games; it's definitely a good idea to take your foot off the gas pedal if you're cornering (unless you plan to drift around corners). Overall it fits well with the age of the game and feels a lot easier to control than F-Zero on SNES, perhaps due to reduced speed. Players are able to jump over obstacles with the L and R buttons, as well as using them to initiate a drift.

There's a choice of two player modes; players can choose to race each other in both time trial and cup modes as well as battling to pop balloons in specially designed levels. The tracks featured in the game are imaginative and do a good job of evoking the feel of Super Mario World. Toward the end of the game there are some devilishly difficult tracks, including the first incarnation of the infamous Rainbow Road.

The items are what give competitive racing the edge over most racing games of the time; using green and red shells to slow your opponents down is incredibly satisfying and although the item selection is only small in this game, the core ideas are present. A lot of the features we see in Mario Kart games of the present day originated in this game.

Graphically the game is fairly impressive for the time, using Mode 7 graphics to emulate a 3D feel with only 2D components. The problem with this, however is that in some levels (particularly ice and lava levels) it's difficult to recognise items on the floor, as they appear flat. There's nothing more infuriating that being in the lead and crashing into a surface that doesn't appear to be in your way. The music of the game is generally enjoyable although not particularly notable.

Overall Super Mario Kart was a great start to the spin-off series, featuring enjoyable gameplay and ideas combining with good use of the technology of the time to produce a fast, fun and competitive experience. 100cc and 150cc difficulties can be fairly hard to win races on, and laps on most tracks are incredibly short, but other than these minor points, there's some good racing to be had.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Kart 64
Console: Nintendo 64
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 24th June 1997

Four years after the first game in the series, Mario Kart 64 provided an updated look and feel for the games which is much closer to what we're used to from modern instalments. With fully 3D tracks came the ability to have changes in elevation, proper jumps and more complex obstacles such as walls and pits, even though the pre-rendered character sprites and items were still only in 2D. The game still featured 8 racers, replacing Koopa Troopa and Donkey Kong Jr. with Wario and Donkey Kong.

Making a change from Grand Prix races being 5 laps of a very short track, players now complete 3 laps of slightly longer tracks (although in some cases, the tracks are incredibly long). There are also 4 tracks per Grand Prix instead of 5. The 50, 100 and 150cc difficulty levels are retained, with an added Extra difficulty mode which allows players to race on mirrored tracks. Up to 4 players can compete in multiplayer modes, up from Super Mario Kart's 2 and Battle mode re-appears with many of the same ideas.

Driving definitely feels a little different from Super Mario Kart with more of a sliding dynamic to cornering and less places where it's necessary to take your finger off the A button. While this style of control is less precise, it works well with the analog stick of the Nintendo 64 and the 3D graphics of this instalment. The players view whilst playing the game in one player modes is slightly changed, as the map no longer takes up a whole half of the screen.

Grand Prix Mode is fairly easy on 50cc difficulty, 100cc can be challenging on the harder tracks and 150cc cranks the rubberband AI up to a level which is very hard to beat. On all levels of difficulty, the AI's programming means that they'll catch up with your kart quickly, even from shell and banana attacks. Another factor that increases the difficulty is the way that the character who is first (or second if you're first) in the ranking table after Race 1 of each Grand Prix will be your toughest competitor in the next rounds, securing victory in the Grand Prix overall for the AI unless you win at least 3 races and place well in the other race.

Most of the items from Super Mario Kart make a return in 64, with only the coins and feather taken away, and the Boo item re-purposed to steal an item from another player rather than turning the player invisible. New items that appear in Mario Kart 64 include the blue shell, which travels along the floor to halt the progress of the player in pole position (although not as devastatingly as in later installments), fake item boxes and multiples of pre-existing items such as bananas, green shells, red shells and mushrooms.

Battle mode is fun and arguably better than in the original, with the use of the new items and 4 player capabilities. There's 4 courses to battle on, as well as the ability to race without any AI players against other human players on any track from the main game. This is the first point in the series where the games feel geared towards the multiplayer experience as one player mode is plagued by the rubberbanding AI and hugely varied difficulty levels.

Graphically the game's tracks are impressive for the most part, and even the 2D character and item sprites are bearable. It's an improvement on the Super Mario Kart's ground based obstacles which were hard to see and thus avoid. The game also is better musically with some memorable themes which are remixed for stages in later games; particularly the theme for Rainbow Road.

Overall Mario Kart 64 is an enjoyable racer, just like its predecessor; there's good competitive action most of the time, and excellent multiplayer modes. Although there's less laps in this installment, some races last far too long, especially on Wario's Stadium and Rainbow Road, with the latter's 3 laps lasting around 8 and a half minutes. The difficulty is also a bit off with 50cc mode being far too easy, and 100cc mode a bit too challenging when the rubberband AI is factored in. It's a small improvement on the SNES version in my opinion.

Rating: 76/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Kart Super Circuit
Console: Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 14th September 2001

The first handheld instalment of the Mario Kart series, Super Circuit plays like an updated version of Super Mario Kart featuring the same sort of 2D graphics for the tracks, with features of the game more akin to Mario Kart 64. With 20 new tracks as well as all 20 original tracks from Super Mario Kart as unlockables, it has the most playable tracks of any Mario Kart game. The same 8 racers return from the previous instalment and no new characters have been added.

The tracks, sprites and items are all in 2D, although there are some nice scenery and background effects which give the game an edge over the original. The items featured in the game are the same as those in Mario Kart 64, with the Golden Mushroom removed. Single player mode features Mario GP, Time Trial and Quick Play modes, and 2 Player is achieved through a Link cable. Surprisingly, Super Circuit can be played with others who don't own the game, and is one of only a few Game Boy Advance games to make use of this, although it's a stripped down version due to memory limitations.

Driving in this game feels like a mixture of both preceding games; the controls are fairly tight and it's less drifty than Mario Kart 64, but the circuits have a little more influence from the later game. It handles well on the whole and the difficulty issue with previous games has been fixed. 50, 100 and 150cc races are all potentially winnable, but with each rise in difficulty there's a steady rise in challenge also.

The tracks themselves could be a little more original; some of the new ones are based on courses from Mario Kart 64, and the game features all of the courses from Super Mario Kart. That said, it's still a lot of fun and  later games have indulged in classic cup features also. The game retains the 4th or better to continue dynamic in GP races, for the last time in the series, as well as the 9, 6, 3, 1 point scoring structure.

Graphically the game doesn't look great when inspected up close, but on the Game Boy Advance's small screen, there's not a whole lot wrong with it; in fact it can look pretty nice at times. There's a marked musical improvement also with funky basslines and some enjoyable music to race to. The voice clips are very similar if not identical to those used in Mario Kart 64, but with the same roster it's to be expected.

Overall Mario Kart Super Circuit is a great mix of features from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 which offers a whole host of new gameplay as well as all of the tracks from the original game. While I couldn't play the 2 player modes due to lack of a link cable I'm sure there's a lot to offer, and the ability to play others who don't own the cartridge themself is a bonus.

Rating: 79/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Kart: Double Dash
Console: Nintendo Gamecube
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 13th November 2003

Double Dash, the first truly 3D instalment of the Mario Kart also changed up the formula and gameplay significantly. In this game two racers are in each kart; one to drive and the other to use items, the points system has been revised to reward the first 7 finishers rather than just the first 4, and players no longer need to retry races if they finish below 4th. There's a choice of 20 characters to play as, and a larger and more dynamic choice of karts, representing racer's individual styles and colours.

As with previous instalments of the series, the main GP mode features 50, 100 and 150cc difficulties as well as a mirror mode once all championships have been won. Players can choose to race as a team or competitively with up to 4 players (or even 8 with a LAN cable for Gamecube). Multiplayer Battle mode also returns with new courses and modes. Although all of the normal items which feature in the game were in Mario Kart 64, there are new special items which are individual to specific characters and are a good addition.

The controls for racing and using items are fairly similar to those in previous instalments, although they can now be separated out when playing co-operatively. There's an improved drift mechanic and the ability to shift the kart left or right when playing with a friend on your team. Driving in this game feels pretty tight, and the option to drift around sharp corners is an advantage. The difficulty is similar to other games in the series, with 50cc being incredibly easy, 100cc presenting a small challenge, and 150cc being willing to cheat you out of entire championships with items and AI finishing positions.

There's a real focus on multiplayer in this instalment of the series, even more so than before. I'd certainly recommend the Mario Kart games for parties and hanging out with friends than as a single player experience but if you can deal with AI that's geared towards beating you and using items to stop you from winning at all costs and take racing as a fun arcade experience then there's enjoyment to be had.

Graphically the game is huge improvement on everything before it in the series, with fully 3D tracks and karts which are more detailed than before. Musically too it's impressive and features some enjoyable track themes. Although there aren't too many new features in the game as a whole, the 2 person per kart dynamic works well and expands the two player gameplay.

Overall Double Dash is another slight improvement on past instalments, upgrading parts of the game like graphics and drifting, whilst removing the ability to hold items behind you in a game that's set the AI to target you above all other competitors. It's definitely better as a multiplayer experience but 100cc races in single player are also good fun.

Rating: 80/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Kart DS
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 25th November 2005

The 3rd best selling game for the Nintendo DS, Mario Kart DS introduced several features such as a single player mission mode, Retro Grand Prix, a Bullet Bill item and a Wi-Fi connected multiplayer mode. There are 12 playable characters, each with their own themed kart and a personalised version of the simple kart. The other available gameplay modes remain largely the same, with Grand Prix, Time Trial and Battle modes.

Grand Prix mode now contains 8 championships, with the addition of 4 Retro sets featuring remade courses from the previous games in the series. All of these are available at 50, 100 and 150cc difficulties. Completing a set of 4 Grand Prix at any difficulty will unlock different playable characters, karts and mirror mode, depending on which Grand Prix is completed. Players are also able to compete online via Nintendo WFC but I was unable to use this on my DS for some reason.

With the addition of the second screen, players have a slightly different view of the race, with the classic 3rd person rear viewpoint on the top screen and an overhead view displaying simple face sprites to represent players, but also highlighting upcoming items and hazards, and showing what items other players have aquired. It's possible to race whilst looking at either screen, although a combination of the two with more focus on the top tends to work best.

The racing is similar to that of Double Dash with a slight change in that players are able to hold items behind them for protection once again, and the D-pad is used to control the kart as there are no analog sticks on the DS. While the difficulty is also similar, 50cc mode is insultingly easy at times, but the other two difficulties are made harder by items more than the AI. In 100cc races, I was averaging 2-3 blue shells per race whilst leading which seems excessive.

Battle mode has been improved with 6 courses available from the beginning as well as 2 to unlock. There's also the option to play against AI opponents in Balloon Battle and Shine Sprite modes. The new inclusion of Mission Mode adds challenges for players to complete over 7 difficulty levels with a boss at the end of each. This adds some inventive single player gameplay outside of the Grand Prix mode, which the series was in need of.

One thing that the game does seem to be a little obsessed with is grading your performance. In every Grand Prix, you'll receive a grade from 3 stars to F for the time it took you to complete, regardless of your finishing position. In Mission Mode you're also graded on the time you take, irrespective of the fact that you've completed the objective. While there's no need to get the best grades to complete the game, it might annoy completionists that the standards for the best grades are very high.

Graphically Mario Kart DS doesn't look as sharp as Double Dash due to being confined to the small screen of the DS, but it's not far behind. I did manage to mistake a Goomba for a mushroom powerup at one point but that might say more about my eyesight than the graphics. The music of this game is almost exactly what you'd expect from having heard the soundtracks from the rest of the series. It's never mind blowing but it gets the job done.

Overall Mario Kart DS introduces some good ideas such as the new Mission mode and Wi-Fi based multiplayer, but can suffer at times from item induced difficulty with blue shells being far more common than in previous instalments. The inclusion of a retro Grand Prix makes for a good look back on the series, and makes for a large roster of well designed tracks. Also R.O.B the robot is included as the final unlockable, which made me smile.

Rating: 83/100
Grade: B

Game: Mario Kart Wii
Console: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 11th April 2008

The final instalment of the series that I'll be reviewing is Mario Kart Wii, which has the largest roster of any Mario Kart game, with 24 characters in total as well as 32 tracks, 3 new items, 6 new battle stages and 5 karts and bikes for each driver weight class. Looking back to the first Mario Kart game, this is a huge expansion of options whilst keeping many of the same gameplay ideas.

The modes remain much the same as on the DS version of the game, with the exception of Mission mode, which has been removed; Grand Prix is the main single player event with 4 Grand Prix on all new tracks and 4 Retro Grand Prix which take stages from all previous instalments. Time Trial, Online races and Battle mode can also be played in single player with AI making up the rest of your team as well as your opponents, or with friends as an alternative to multiplayer Grand Prix and VS Race mode.

The biggest change in racing terms is the inclusion of bikes in the game; 50cc races are competed with only karts allowed, 100cc allows only bikes, and 150cc and Mirror Mode allow both karts and bikes. Players can control their kart with either the Wiimote, used like a steering wheel, Wiimote and nunchuk (using the nunchuk to steer and the Wiimote for accelerating) or a Gamecube controller to make things more similar to Double Dash (although the buttons are slightly different). Using just the Wiimote on its own can be a little imprecise, but the other two control methods both work well to give the player a choice of at least 2 ways to race.

Three new items have been added since Mario Kart DS; the first is a large mushroom, from New Super Mario Bros. which makes the users kart much larger and faster for a short while, the second is a POW! block from Super Mario Bros. 2 which causes all other racers to spin out and lose all speed, and the last new item is a Raincloud which makes the receiver small via a bolt of lightning after a short time, unless they manage to pass it onto another racer.

Another difference from previous versions is that races now consist of 12 competitors instead of 8, which makes for a slightly more chaotic experience. Items seem to dominate the racing more than the previous rubberbanding of the AI, and although the amount of times blue shells are used per race seems to have fallen from Mario Kart DS, there's plenty of use of the POW! blocks and lightning items. All of the difficulties in Grand Prix mode seem to have got a little easier, with 150cc and Mirror Mode being difficult but not impossible to come first on.

Online Mode makes for the most difficult challenge with a busy and alive scene even today, 6 years after the game's release. I was able to find a game with 11 other players within around 10 seconds and there was a mixed standard of ability. Players start with 5000 race points to their name and gain/lose points for doing well/badly in races. Due to Mario Kart's chaotic multiplayer nature, it almost feels as if this is what the series had been heading towards. I rarely won races online but they were all fun and tightly contested.

In addition to the online multiplayer, there's also local multiplayer for up to 4 players, with racing, balloon and coin battle modes. These are mainly team based, but the AI will fill any empty slots. With a good selection of battle courses and all of the circuits featured in the main game to race on, this makes for a rich local multiplayer experience to match the online and single player modes. Any of the battle modes can also be played purely against AI opponents in single player mode also.

Unlockables in Mario Kart Wii are slightly different to other games; some require staff time trial laps to be beaten, whilst others need specific star ratings in all Grand Prix of a certain difficulty. This means that players have to work hard to unlock every character, but does give the game some replay value. Whilst R.O.B the Robot isn't included in this instalment, there's plenty of new additions to the roster to give new choice to players.

Graphically Mario Kart Wii is the nicest looking of the games I've reviewed in the series, with crisp stylised locations, characters and karts in full 3D, with bright and vibrant colours. There's a good sense of speed throughout the game which adds to the feeling of chaos within races. The soundtrack is enjoyable also, with many new tunes as well as remixes for the Retro Grand Prix stages. Voice clips and other sounds are good and help to add a sense of personality to the racers, especially those who haven't been in the series before.

Overall Mario Kart Wii is in my opinion the best game of the series so far as it expands the racing experience to 12 players at a time, has a great online experience and single player offline Grand Prix, and loses the blatant rubberbanding AI of previous instalments to make way for a more balanced approach. While races can get chaotic with the use of many items one after another and the new items being fairly powerful, I think this is the way Mario Kart was intended to be.

Rating: 87/100
Grade: B

As you can see from the fact that I've given every Mario Kart game in this review some kind of B grade, all of the series titles are enjoyable 'pick up and play' racing games with an element of luck as well as skill. Whilst the idea of rewarding those in later positions with better items may not seem appealing to hardcore racing game fans, it's a nice way to even up the stakes when playing with friends or anyone who hasn't played the games before.

As for the difficulty of each title in the series, many people seem to have their own opinions on which is hardest. Having played each of the games in succession, I'd say that this order is about right for difficulty of winning the 150cc Grand Prix races with any ranking;

Mario Kart 64  (most difficult)
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Super Mario Kart
Mario Kart DS
Mario Kart Super Circuit
Mario Kart Wii  (easiest)

With so many games sold across the entire series, it's safe to say that most people have played at least one of the titles. Just like discussion of which is hardest, an intense debate rages over which game is the best, which begs the question; which is your favourite Mario Kart game, and why?

Game Review: Project Rub

Game: Project Rub
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 16th November 2004

Project Rub, or "Feel the Magic: XX/XY" as its known in America is a minigame collection released by Sega which tells the story of a main character who falls in love with a girl and resigns himself to making her notice him, asking her on a date and then saving her from a crazy kidnapper multiple times. Each scene of the story has 1-3 minigames that must be completed in order to progress, with heart points awarded for winning and taken away for failure. Once the correct amount of heart points has been attained, players can move onto the next scene.

The story of the game is fairly surreal and humourous with many of the minigames depicting crazy situations, including removing goldfish from a man's stomach, playing a few frames of 10 pin bowling with people at a bus stop as the pins and distracting security guards with cats while you sneak into a secret base. Each of the minigames must be completed a number of times before progressing; the more complex ones require just one try but other games take up to 5 repeats of increasing difficulty to pass.

Between each scene, the story is laid out in a 4-koma style comic detailing the rough idea of each situation. While the plot isn't something that stands out as brilliant, these fit well with the surreal minigames and go a little way towards explaining why we're doing what we're asked to. Tapping in the correct place on the comics will reveal a "rub rabbit" and unlock new outfits for the female love interest.

The game makes heavy use of the touchscreen on the DS as well as a having few games which are based around the microphone feature. There's good variation between touchscreen games; requiring players to tap, rub, steer, and paint their way to success, although with each game needing to be repeated a number of times, you could argue that Warioware Touched! has a better variation for a minigame collection on the DS.

The touchscreen games are well made and work very well, with responsive controls and enjoyable gameplay elements. I only had trouble with one boss battle where letting go of the screen and touching it again caused the main character to lose a life from walking into part of the boss. The microphone based games are a little less responsive; at one point the game was on full volume and heard itself, thus failing the level for me. There's also a level where you're asked to make as much noise as you can which seems impractical when you consider that the game is on a handheld console. If you're in any public place, the last thing you'll be wanting to do is shout at your DS.

The final few levels seemed to be a little out of sequence with a "last" boss battle showcasing some of the most difficult gameplay of the game, followed by an incredibly easy "final" battle where you rub the screen quickly for a while, followed by a touchscreen/microphone combination game which is fairly difficult but nowhere near as the "last boss" battle. In this way the game seems to fade out rather than going out with a bang.

Graphically Project Rub is fairly simple and uses shadowed figures of characters without any facial detail to represent its characters. The environment and other objects are fairly nicely drawn and overall the game retains a comic style. In terms of music, there's only a few tunes featured in the game but they fit well with the style and are quite enjoyable if a little repetitive.

Overall Project Rub is a refreshingly quirky minigame collection that makes good use of the features of the Nintendo DS, but can become repetitive when you're asked to repeat games on increasing difficulties. There's not a whole lot of replay value despite "Hard" and "Hell" modes being included, as it's exactly the same games, but harder and the entire game can be beaten on normal difficulty within 3-5 hours depending on your skill level. It's definitely worth a play but there's also better minigame collections for the DS in Warioware Touched, or Rhythm Heaven.

Rating: 78/100
Grade: B

Game Review: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Game: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Console: Nintendo DS
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 31st March 2006

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a visual novel which follows rookie defence attorney Phoenix Wright through his first five cases. Originally released as a Game Boy Advance title in Japan, Phoenix Wright: Attorney on the DS features an extra case in addition to the four from the Japanese version, as well as adding touch screen and microphone functionality. Although it's fairly easy to tell that the original game wasn't designed to use all of the DS's functions to their full potential, the final case makes far more use of the device's capabilities.

As the game is a visual novel I won't be looking too deeply into the details of the cases featured, as this would potentially spoil parts of the game for those who haven't played it. Each case begins with a defendant who seems to be almost certainly guilty of a crime and you're then tasked with collecting evidence relating to the crime and cross-examining witnesses to prove your client's innocence. The cases featured get more complex and last longer as the player continues through the game.

Of course the trial system has been somewhat simplified for use in the game; set a little way in the future, trials in Japan now have a limit of 3 days before a verdict must be reached, to prevent lengthy court proceedings from clogging the justice system. At times this can mean that events are a little harder to believe and that you'll need incontrovertible evidence to get your client off the hook but since the game basically provides you with it, it's not really a problem.

Most trials run for their full three day length and gameplay alternates between sections where you're collecting evidence and information on the case, and courtroom sections where you use the evidence you've collected to disprove testimonies made by witnesses. Controls for both parts are simple and mostly touchscreen based; when collecting evidence players can examine their current location, move between locations, talk to characters who happen to be at their current location and present evidence to them. When in court players scroll through the current testimony and can either press the witness on their statements or present evidence to show contradictions.

The timeline of events for each case slowly unravels as the trials progress and at times you'll feel more like a detective than a defence attorney. A lot of the time it's unclear what exactly has happened with regards to the crime until the case is almost over, but all plot twists are plausible and generally well written. There are some intertwining plotlines in the first four cases which form the original game's overarching story, as well as a hugely complex final bonus case which stands alone in terms of story.

One of the game's best features is its eccentric cast of characters; lawyers, witnesses, defendants and even minor characters all have interesting ways of expressing themselves and really bring the game alive. Watching a witness's demeanour change from calm to disbelief in court brings a sense of achievement in your own deductive skills despite the game's fairly linear progression.

The controls translate well from the Game Boy Advance original game to the DS; there's a choice between using the buttons and the touch screen most of the time, and while its easy to see how the controls were mapped on the original version, some things do feel easier with the touch screen function. As the final case was a DS extra, there's a lot more use of the touchscreen to rotate pieces of evidence, uncover fingerprints and undertake other forensic tests, as well as more use of the microphone which was previously only used as an alternate way to declare an objection or press witnesses.

Although there was no graphical update from the Game Boy Advance game, Ace Attorney still manages to look impressive with stylised visuals and detailed character models. Musically the game uses certain themes for specific parts of each case, but it's generally enjoyable and suitable for the situation. The only real criticisms I can find with the game are small aspects like attempting to navigate between locations in complex cases.

Overall as with most visual novels, Phoenix Wright emphasises story over most other gaming elements but manages to pull its complex and twisting cases off well. Only the most seasoned of visual novel haters could find a reason not to play this.

Rating: 84/100
Grade: B