Couple Gaming

“No, you got Twitter on my DS!”

The two things I am so addicted to that when I say I “unplug for the weekend”, these are 2 things I leave out as more necessary than an oxygen tank. That’s right my Nintendo DS & Twitter are getting together and making a little DSTwitter baby, and I couldn’t be happier than if my own daughter had programmed it.

Sure, it’s made for DS2.0, and it’s currently in spanish.. but that’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from getting @feliciaday messages while playing Lost in Blue.   Oh, I’m so happy, I could cry.

I’d better start investing in little Twitterette cigars.

 http://kotaku.com/5038733/say-mucho-gust…

Anyone that has been on this site long enough to hear a podcast knows that I am a fan of the DS, particularly the types of games where there is a mystery to be solved.  I’d say my favorite games for the DS are Ace Attorney and Room 214.

With that kind of a background, know that I went in to this game CRAVING it.  I needed it more than an American Idol addict.  Phoenix, Maya, Mia, Pearly, and the other characters broke my hearts more times than the Whedoniverse cancellations.

So first, I need to warn everyone that has been an addict of this series:  The creators are re-doing it.

Now don’t be scared.  They had to redo it - Phoenix Wright was made more for the Gameboy than to really take advantage of the Touch Screen.   Take a deep breath, and make it through all the way to the end.  I promise you will not regret it.

It has been over 7 years since the last game “Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations”.  The premise of the game is that you are Apollo Justice, a brand-spanking-new defense attorney.   Your first case?  You have been asked for specifically by Phoenix Wright to defend him (yet again) for a murder case.  As Apollo Justice, you are going to gather evidence, question witnesses, present said evidence, and make your case before the judge.  Same as before… with a few new twists.

Like I said, the game has been revamped a little for the DS. We can now examine the evidence, turn it over different ways, and if there is something quirky about it, we can zoom in and discuss it.  We can also, when prompted, dust for prints, look for chemicals, and even get plasters of shoe prints.  This actually adds a much-needed element to the game that the DS seems perfect for.   Of course, the “being prompted” does decrease the difficulty of the game, and disappoints some of us.

A new aspect of the game, for those of us familiar with Maya/Phoenix’s “Psyche-Lock” game, is to “Perceive” when a suspect is lying.  To “Perceive” something, a bracelet will become useable on the screen during a specific witness statement.  We then must know about which segment they are lying about, and then “Perceive” their nervous twitch.  This aspect is explained FAR more thoroughly than the magic Magatama, and I am incredibly impressed by how much thought was put into the explanation.  Now, if only they could incorporate this “usable during a specific span” idea for the fingerprinting and other Touch-related aspects.

The character list is terrifying at first to anyone that has played the previous — No Mia, no Maya, no Pearly, no Edgeworth, none of the prosecutors we’ve seen so far, and Detective Gumshoe only makes a small cameo.  Apollo does a pretty good job of filling in for the Phoenix we know and love, and Trucy Wright, Phonix’s 15 yo daughter (?? I know … and yes, it explains it by the end)  does a fairly good job of filling in for Maya.  The prosecutor is much more fun than Edgeworth was by the end, and everyone is very well fleshed out, just like in the past Ace Attorneys.  They become people you know and adore, even if you didn’t know them the previous week.

The end is something any Phoenix Wright fan will love.  You feel like you have been pulled through the 7 years and plopped into a reality you couldn’t entirely control, but have made the best with what you could.  Every loose end is suddenly tied up so tight, you can’t help but be completely gratified.  I squealed or yelled or moaned or pouted numerous times through out that ending.. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so emotionally pulled so many different ways by a game in my life.

So.. final review?  As a personal game, it’s 5 stars, 2 thumbs up, please sir may I have another.  As a Couple Game, it is not nearly as co-operative as many others, with only 1 save spot and no interactive play.

In the future, I hope to see closure to some of our other beloved characters, Phoenix being a more central character, and some more freedom in presenting things to sway how the game goes.

Of course, I have heard that this is not at all the way things are going to go.. I hear the next game, we’re the Prosecutor!  NOo0ooooooOOooooo!!!!!!

I am always intrigued by DS games with non-mario-looking graphics, so when the 10-foot posters started going up for Professor Layton and the Curious Village, I was definitely intrigued.

Unfortunately, I then followed up the intrigue by checking out Nintendo.coms response to intrigued viewers.. where Nintendo failed miserably.  For whatever reason, they decided to use a brain-age-like puzzle for their web page to show people what the game was like.

So.. I’m here to tell you that if you were turned off by Nintendo.. Try Again!!

I’ve been addicted.. no.. Obsessed with Professor Layton for the last 2 weeks.  Yes, it is a puzzle game, and a little bit brain-age-ey.  However, the puzzles are redeemed by not only not being repetitive, but having a reason beyond “because it’s there” to solve it! The game is propelled by interesting characters, fabulous sub-plot mysteries, and even mini-movies to propel it!

You play as Professor Layton and his side-kick, invited into a city to find a Golden Apple for a client.  This city is full of characters that enjoy giving you puzzles.. and for every one you solve, you get a piece of a different puzzle or mystery.

The puzzles are a wide variety of common puzzles (the water jug puzzle from “Die Hard” is in there), as well as new ones (Anyone enjoy the Chocolate-text-message puzzle?).  They are written to appeal to a wealth of different thinking, from out-of-the-box to math nerds (like me), and are usually just fun to solve.  The puzzles can be amazingly difficult, and there is no “just tell me the answer” button.  There are “clue coins” to use on hints, which are found via a further click-randomly-to-find  game, but the hints are useless over half the time.

The mysteries are really solved for you if you solve so many puzzles, but for the most part, they are easy to solve before the plot catches up.

As a Couple Gaming choice, I vote a definite yes.  Sure, the greatest part of the game (the plot & mysteries) are single player, but many of the puzzles require a lot of thinking, and it is fun to get your spouse involved on the ones you’re stuck on.  Just don’t beat your spouse with the closest blunt object when they solve something you couldn’t;  assume they’re cheating.

Alright, I have been seriously neglecting my Reviewing duties.. but for good reason! I have been really trying to finish Touch Detective 2 and 1/2 and Contact, both Nintendo DS games. As of this review, I have not finished either of them. Yeah, I’m awful at this whole review thing… But, here we go anyway.

First, Touch Detective 2 and 1/2. This is probably one of the best detective-ish games I have played, and is applicable for all members of the family. The detective (a 9-ish year old girl) solves non-violent crimes against a man dressed as corn, and involves the same 20 characters through about 6 scripted and 20-ish unscripted “cases”. The detective work is creative and outside-the-box, the writing and characters are witty and charming, and the colors are rich and truly enjoyable. Yes, there are a few “can’t do _this_ until you do _this specific thing_”. that can get annoying, but it the flow is, for the most part, intuitive. Probably the most innovative, as well as the most frustrating, was the “free roam” section, where you wander around the town helping people with things (such as getting into the “guy club” and finding a way to pet an evil cat, or finding a new “touch”). This part is actually where I gave up on the game, as ou have to just wander & talk to people in order to find the next case; there are times you wander around the town 4 times before finding your next case. Seriously, a hint somewhere wouldn’t kill them… not that I’m bitter.

So.. Touch Detective 2 and 1/2, I definite suggest… especially if everyone in the family has a DS… just let the most gamer-related member play first, to help the others when they get stuck on something.

Contact is an interesting premise, but does not deliver everything it could. You, as the gamer, have contacted another world via your DS. Neat idea, huh? You poke the scientist, he asks you some personal questions, and you think “awesome! interaction with an AI!”

No, that’s where the AI ends. After that you direct a bitmap character around various dungeons, caves, cities, and buildings, leveling up your character, collecting stuff that you probably won’t use.

It continuously teases you with innovative ideas… Secrets to wear “outfits” to change who you are (mole outfit, chefs outfit, etc). “Great!” you think, “I can cook up some raw meat now!” No, you only change clothes when you are at the base, which only happens when you die.

After a few dungeons, you realize this is another 8-bit hack-and-slash, level-die-level-win-level-die stream, and I tell ya, Unemployed Ninja was more fun about it than this is.

Overall, Contact is like a slutty prom date … offering up so many possibilities, but leaves you at the door step, realizing your imagination and a video will be more satisfying than the $60 you just spent for a handshake.

Long story short: Touch Detective: YES YES YES!! Contact: NO!

Next time: Imagination: Fashion Garbage and Picrossxxxoodamnit!

As a general rule, I try to stay far, far away from all games involving virtual animals as pets, and that replace all S’s with Z’s.  That is usually left for my daughter to review (thank Jeebas I’ll never be reviewing Hamsterz). 

In this case, I was bored enough while waiting for Ymiris’ flight to land that I grabbed whatever was close.. and was pleasantly surprised to find myself engaged, even addicted.

Dolphinz premise is that you’re a teen sent to help your Uncle on a tropical island for the summer.  Your uncle owns the island, and is putting in an aquatic animal park, which you now are going to help take care of.

You start by feeding the animals, then cleaning their pools, then giving them their medicines, and lastly training the dolphins or orcas.  While this is a limit of 4 minigames that you play over, and over, and over, and over.. (with 2 of those games being almost identical), by the 4th or 5th day, you realize you’re hooked.  Over the minutes that you play, the animals get hungry or sick, the pools get dirty, and you are required to take care of more & more animals & pools. 

While this premise alone feels rather redundant and unrewarding, the complications that each day brings, and the rewards you get for finishing the days, are quite the reward some of us are looking for.  taking care up to so many points gets you a new pool, or enough points to move to the next day, or another animal in a pool you already have.  Or you could get an Informational sheet on one of your animals, or an underwater camera to watch your favorite animals (I loved watching the Rays myself).

The biggest downfall of the game would have to be the Training exercise.  You are given a specific design (a line, a curl, or a squiggle usually), and you must trace that design perfectly.  If you do it quickly, you get a “great!”.  The problem is if your DS is a little older, it doesn’t recognize some of the pen marks as being right on, and you fail.  Depending on how well you trace that design, the dolphin or orca will do some trick, and this is really where it fails.  You don’t get to pick what trick it should do when, you just trace, and the game does the trick for you.  How hard would it have been to have taught you what shape tells the animal to do what trick, and let YOU decide what order to do it in, in order to wow the crowd?  And would it really have been that difficult to put you in an actual arena to do these tricks, instead of doing them in the same pool you’ve taken care of them in?

The storyline alternates between rewarding and annoying.  The personal storylines of stale jokes and strange offshoots can be skipped easily, but the animal storylines make you feel like you’re making a difference, as strange as that is.  I actually felt like I had accomplished something when I was able to save some whales that had lost their way & were caught in a cove, or once I had all 8 penguins (I hate those penguins now). 

The most rewarding is an underlying storyline with 2 surprise twists in the last few days.    I won’t give it away, but I’ve told Ymiris that it’s worth finishing just for those last few days.  If you really want to know what the 2 twists are, post below & I’ll e-mail them to you. 

 Now for the Couple Gaming part of this review…

The game allows for 3 save spots, thus 3 people to play at different times.  My daughter got to day 4 and stopped playing, Ymiris has played up to day 30, and I finished the game (45 days).  While very few DS games actually allow you to play together, per se, I still consider this a great “couple game”, as it’s fun to see who can finish first, and the different ways we take care of our animals.  Ymiris is thorough & makes sure everything has 5 stars… whereas by day 20, I was only fixing things that were 3 stars or less.  Granted, I had 1 day I had to redo over 15 times because of that, but I still stand by my timing (especially because I finished long before he has). 

It has a little bit of everything for everyone… so if you find it in the discount bin (which I’m sure you will within days), I say pick it up.  it’s a good few weeks worth of easy entertainment in 5-minute intervals. 

Oh, do be careful with your intervals, though.  The game only saves when you move on to the next day (not good when someone else sees the DS laying around & stops your game to start theirs), and either the game or my DS is quite buggy, as a few times I’d close the DS and find it has turned itself off. 

So, you quit World of Warcraft because you don’t have the time to play, but now you and the SO have nothing else to play together during those last few hours of the night before bed, and the thought of loading up Hellgate London is almost as bad as going back to WoW.  I said almost.

Enter Jewel Quest, available on the DS or XboxLive Arcade.  Jewel quest may sound like just another match the 3 gems puzzle game, but when you first load it up you will realize it’s not.  You have 4 classes to chose from, Druid, Warrior, Wizard and Knight.  Each class has different abilities which may minipulate the gems, cause your foe direct damage, or make them lose a turn.  Your character gains experience and thus levels during each fight, opening new abilities.  You allocate points as you see fit into different areas, which changes things like the amount of mana you gain from a certain color gems, or your luck on gaining a free turn etc.

There is a story line mode and a multiplayer mode, via system link, Live or local.  Ophilye and I were able to spend 4 hours of playing via the local MP option without noticing it, and we hadn’t even touched Story mode, which is actually really fun! The story is good, with real plot twist and turns, and the battles are fun and addicting, as each new foe has different abilities that you need to adjust to and the story keeps you wanting to move forward to find out what happens.

If you ever felt most Live arcade games lacked any real playability, take a look at jewel quest, one of the best games for couple found in the arcade!

There were 52 video games released this week. I’m not kidding. 52!!! how do you know what your friends actually want, and what will get you removed from their 360 friends list?

We’ve done a little research… Try finding one of these when you’re out at the stores at 5am tomorrow. Remember, if it’s “Couple Gaming” approved, you can claim it’s for your friend AND their spouse! One less present to buy!

COUPLE GAMINGS CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

Mario Party DS (DS)

This game looks like it was made for the DS. Sure, Single-player Mario Party isn’t as much fun as with friends, but it has always been a put-down-pick-up-when-bored kind of game… and why else do people have DS’s? But it does offer multiplay with other DS’s, and if you have a friend who has a DS, they don’t need to buy the game to play with you!

Rock Band (All Game Consoles)

See Pre-Review.

Guitar Hero III (All consoles)

If your friends do not have this yet, it is your duty as a friend to give it to them.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS)

OK, so this is traditionally a non-couple-oriented game. But I know FAR too many people that viewed the Fatalities as “easter eggs” and were truly rewarded when viewing the unique way of disemboweling your opponent. Add that feeling to the new puzzle-inclusions, and I’m betting this is going to be enjoyed if both spouses have a DS. It looks like you’re also able to play online wirelessly.. so maybe I’ll have something else to do while I’m cooking…errr.. okay, watching Ymiris cook.

Mario Galaxy (Wii)

It seems everyone has been looking forward to this game; so much so, we’re pretty sure there will be bad reviews for months. Still, it’s worth trying..

Scene It (360)

Just like the normal Scene It that your nephew got you 3 years ago and you played only when they came over, there is now one that comes with cool controllers… so you don’t have to hunt around for the DVD Remote to play. But, no online play.. so if you want to play, make sure they live close, and you like going over there. And that they have a large liquor cabinet…

SimCity Societies (PC)

See Ymiris’ Post

The Orange Box (All Consoles)

Sure, this is mostly non-couple-oriented.. HL2 & Team Fortress 2 definitely can cause one spouse to become bored and nauseous while the other plays… but the Portal inclusion means it’s spouse-approved, with both members trying to solve the puzzles.

Bargain Bin Gifts

If you’re out wandering around and happen to see one of those “buy 3 get 2 free” boxes, shuffle around in them a little. If you see any of the following, snatch it up like a tickle-me-elmo doll & hide it in the bottom of your basket. These ones are pure gold!

Ghost Master (PC)
It’s like the sims, only you’re scaring people. Ahhh, I miss this game so much.

Phoenix Wrights (DS)
I will never have enough of it. NEVER!!!!

Movies (PC)
It’s like the sims, only you create your own movies. I loved the movies I made.. with the fires and the heartache and the horrible acting… back when all I had was a western bar set, and I wrote it myself. I want it back!!!

Alien vs predator (PC)
Even though this is more a single-player game, I remember Ophilye screaming with glee after being killed, and of course vomiting from the motion sickness. Good times! (When is the new one coming out!?)

EQ (PC)
yes I know, its still there, and we can’t go back to it now, but you always remember your first! We fired up EQ II the other day. It just isn’t the same.

Warcraft 2 / Starcraft (PC)
Another first for me, and something I spent many a mountain dew indulged night with!  This is always a good game to network and play for hours.

Ymiris Wish List:

It’s just not a list without Ymiris throwing in things that he’s been investigating.  This won’t get you bonus points as being something both members of a spouse will enjoy, but you will be thought of as someone on top of the latest hotness.

Assassin Creed (360)

Remember how much fun thief was? Well think of it made better and updated graphics! Only thing missing is Multiplay. We used to play theif as a couple way back when, and we’re pretty sure we’ll get the same kick out of this one. *Update*  We’ve now been receiving word that this is nothing like thief… more the openness of GTA, but the feeling of

Mass Effect (360)

It’s out, and if you aren’t playing it maybe you need to buy yourself and early gift eh?  If not, pick it up for a friend and plan on “borrowing it” the day after they beat it.

Spore (PC)

This is on a lot of peoples wish list, but without a release date announced this could be on their list next year as well!

OphilyesWish List

Pfft, if Ymiris is going to have a list, I damn well am!

Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends (DS)

No this game isn’t fun because girls like to cook.. cuz I don’t. It’s fun because.. well.. because it isn’t actually cooking. And because cutting things up is fun. Oh, I’m so ashamed for loving this game… and I know about 5 guys that feel the same way. Which means in about a month, you get to catch your male friends playing it & taunt them mercilessly. Ahhh, now that’s the Christmas present that just keeps on giving.

Childrens Wish List

Games that you buy for your child, but you’re okay playing with them after they go to bed…

Petz 2 games (DS)

Catz, horsez, dogz, and evidently dolphinz now. (DS, Wii)

Clue/Mousetrap/Perfection/Aggravation Compilation (DS)

Build-A-Bear (DS)

Hannah Montana World Tour (Wii) -
Okay, so maybe I want this a little too. Okay, a lot.

What about you? What are you writing to Santa for? What are you getting your friends? What do you miss?

For those of us that are addicted to Phoenix Wright, the third installment (Trials and Tribulations) is a like coming home on a snowy day to a warm fire, spiked egg nog, surrounded by old friends as you remember them. Aaaahhhhh. Delicious.

If you’ll recall correctly, the last game ended on a sour note .. almost a wistful embrace as a lost soul boards a plane. Like any good book, we’re left wanting more, and missing friends.

And, as with any good book, you begin this one getting in touch with friends in an unexpected way. You play as Mia, back when she was alive and first starting off as a Defense Lawyer under the tutelage of Marvin Grossberg. You find out she has been out of the courtroom for a year because of a bad case, and this is her second case to defend. She has asked for it specifically, in fact. We get to muddle through Mias learning and unknown anger, and we see the moment she met Phoenix Wright. The case is mostly predictable, easy to get through, good for people that have never played before.

In the next case, you fast forward to Phoenix Wright and you start seeing the regulars. Maya, Pearls, Gumshoe, Larry Butz, Adrian Andrews, a nod to Wendy Oldbag .. and even the famous “I AM” vase from the last game. Of course, you also have a new Prosecutor. (Seriously, Phoenix goes through prosecutors like most people go through girlfriends… with about as much attachment & heartache). This is Godot, a guy that believes Coffee is akin to a fine wine. This story becomes increasingly interesting, as we go from defending someone, to proving he did actually do it. It’s great fun, and I loved every moment of it.

The third case we see Maggey Byrde again! We find a few characters to enjoy, such as the Tiger and Viola Cadaverini, and a few that make our stomach turn, like Victor Kudo. I do love the Palindrome names though.. and interrogating the Tiger was by far the most fun. The case is rather easy to see through, though… so enjoy it for the characters.

The fourth case takes us to Mias very first case, but it feels like it was written by an amateur. I was highly disappointed, and some of the “contradictions” were really stretching. If I could have, I would have skipped this, and just read the dossier.

The fifth case so far, as I am not done with it yet, is the most exciting, and definitely makes up for the 4^th. I’m giggling like a mad woman every night. I really can’t tell you more than that without spoiling it.

Anyway.. 5 stars, or whatever. Definitely suggested, especially for those that have played 1 & 2. So many inside jokes, but you won’t know you’re missing anything if you start here.

Mmmm.. Now I must go. Maya needs me…

OK, so I really wanted to toss aside The Unemployed Ninja (which isn’t it’s full name, I know, but I can’t think and I should be working)… But, unfortunately, It sucked me in.

Here’s the basics:

You are a ninja with a group of ninjas. You arrive at a town and are wandering around and decide to steal a shiny object. This angers the gods & they cast spells on the towns people, including your ninja family. So, you go into dungeons and wander lower and lower until you meet the god & fight him.

Fighting is turn-based, much like WoW (I hit, you hit, I move, you move)… and you level up after defeating so many things… Which is all fine and well, but you start at lvl 1 and the mobs are lvl 10… so you are going to die A LOT when you first start doing the dungeon.

Also, every time you die in a dungeon, you lose everything you’ve found.

This gets incredibly frustrated until you realize that dying is just part of the game, and you are goingto be able to collect a lot the next time you go in. You’re really just increasing your level until you’re high enough to defeat the boss.

You can only hold about 40 things anyway.

Then you realize the interesting things.. you pick up arm-armour (defense), swords (attack), and claws (def & attk) .. and then you pick up pieces of paper to combine with the items you have picked up… and the pieces can only handle so much of these paper talismen (SP) .. and if you put a talisman on it with too high of an SP value, it breaks the item.

It becomes very interesting…balancing your equipment with your own SP, as you can not only use the talismen with equipment, but also use them on the room to do various things (transport you to another part of the room, Area-Effect burninating, etc)

Of course, you also pick up other things, some of which are useless. Healing orbs, pictures that restore SP, throwing stars, bombs, pills, etc.

So yes.. it’s addicting and you die so much, it can be done in between any other task.