GBA/NDS games review

[Ben2303]

GBA Games Reviews

	Super Wings		Super Mario Last Quest
	Chocobo World Deluxe

NDS Games Reviews

	LoneWolfDS		Game Melody Oratorio
	Puzl		Scogger 0.2
	ChessNET		Marble Man
	Piztog TD		PongClassicDS 0.5
	Snake Dual Screen		Legion
	Noob Mini Games		Electro
	Star Wars Battle		Ultimate Sliding Familly
	JaPongg		Area Ten
	ASCIIWAR 0.9999		Dice Soldiers
	Dual Shooter

Some infos before you start reading :
- There won't be notes in the first post, I want people to read the whole review, not just a chart with notes.
- If noone think I made a big mistake, I'll leave the reviews like they are now
- The post order nor the menu order reflects any ranking (at least for now)
- I didn't review "Escape for Island" because I made it and I fear I'll over rate it due to the sympahy I have for myself...
- I didn't test NDS Apps yet, that can come if I can find a wifi access point. What ? Only one need wifi ? Hell people do you know how long it took me to write the games reviews ?? Right I'll see what I can do tomorow after painting my computer room...

[Ben2303]

	Super Wings - GBA
8	Presentation Classic shoot'em up with all needed ingredients : different ennemies waves, power-ups, homing missile, special bombs, and of course huge bosses with bullet patterns !
6	Graphics Main ship is a little bland, ennemies are much better, bosses are nice, and did I said they were huge ?. Landscapes are not always good looking, but they do their job.
7.5	Sound Great background musics, nice sound effects.
8.5	Gameplay Awesome ! Plays like old time shooters ! Difficulty is well balanced thanks to well designed ennemy waves and clever power-ups upgrade. Boss battles are very enjoyable !
8.5	Lasting appeal Everything is just well thinked. A great game for shmup fans !! Not many levels yet, but a really enjoyable experience.
9	Overall (not an average) Super Wings is the kind of game I expect in a compo... Silent but surprisingly good ! Side note : This test proudly made no reference to games such as 1943 or Area 88 just to keep eKid away from too much self confidence.

Gallery :

Who said there were a writers strike ?	Can't find the "Insert coins" thing anywhere...
Tanks and trees can be clearly identified.. Good point !	First Boss : Huge Terrifying Tank Prototype (H.T.T.P.)

[Ben2303]

	Super Mario Last Quest
7	Presentation Good old Super Mario, mushrooms, coins, stars, goompas, ... ! Now in new adventures !I think there are several levels, but I couldn't progress much...
8	Graphics Colourfull, just plain Mario.
8	Sound Music is good, Mario actions are making all the sounds you expect !
4	Gameplay Controls are awkwards. Mario is not responding accuratly, and that cripples the experience. That's a shame cos everything is great.
6	Lasting appeal Great sound, great graphics, but awkward gameplay prevents for exploring all the available levels.
5.5	Overall (not an average) What a shame controls don't work... Fix that and you've got one great game !

Gallery :

Looks like many levels to me ! Nice !	"I died... again... Can I blame the controls ? " "Sure, go on !"

[Ben2303]

	Chocobo World Deluxe
5	Presentation Chocobo world. Mog is missing. Chocobo must find Mog. From now, it should look like a RPG, but I'm not chocobosure...
6	Graphics Colorfull Chocobo graphics. Chocobo zooms are chocobo-pixelated.
6	Sound Good chocobo music, but no chocobo sound.
3	Gameplay No chocobo possibility.
5	Lasting appeal No more Chocobo please.
4.5	Overall (not an average) This chocobo is still in its egg, I hope it won't get mad at me when going out for my not that funny comments... I'm sure the game will be ok in a few versions.

Gallery :

I started that fight yesterday. And I still have no idea of what to do...	Oh my God ! Mog has disappeared !! Wait... Who the hell is Mog ?

[Ben2303]

	LoneWolfDS - Flight From The Dark
7	Presentation Role Playing Book adaptation. Who never play those books ? If you never played, go to §235, if you already played, go to §124, else you can draw your weapon and attack some guy looking at you with animosity in §94. This game is one big adventure, and is commercial quality. Only one book in english though.
7.5	Graphics Interface is nice, text clear and sharp, illustrations have style and popup quite often, everything looks good
8	Sound Music is perfect for that kind of game, page sounds are crisp and some light fighting sounds. More would have been too much.
9	Gameplay I played those kind of books when I was a child, and this DS version IS the way they were meant to be played ! Every command is intuitive, and soon you'll be reading and living an adventure forgetting you have a DS in your hands. The only reason it does not have a 10 is that I'm a bad person.
8.5	Lasting appeal It will take you some hours to go through the book. Once you did you can play again taking new paths, trying new disciplines, ... By the way, kids who used to cheat (like "An ennemy, throw a dice !"... "-Whatever, I'm stronger, it's dead"), will be disapointed, here you can't...
8.5	Overall (not an average) Great work, but only in english (for now). I hope many other books will show up, and if possible other than lonewolf, they're far from my favourites in fact...

Gallery (picked on the game thread, couldn't make some myself) :

Hold your DS just like Hotel Room 215 and live the best text adventure you'll find here.

[Ben2303]

	Game Melody Oratorio
8	Presentation This one's pretty original, it's a Virtual Piano Teacher. Select a tune, watch it played on the piano and follow the notes ! Looks great and very pro. Very good music selection imho.
6	Graphics Well, obviously that's a piano, interface is slick.
9	Sound You wouldn't expect less for a piano sim ! Music are great, notes are great, it all sounds good.
7	Gameplay Must be far easier for english people, we don't have your weird notes here in France... Piano is a bit small to fit all the notes too. Except that the learning with colors then with notes name is great, it let's you progress smoothly.
8	Lasting appeal Only 5 songs and a free mode, but great songs you'll want to master ! Once you've done that, go to your local mall for a real session at the piano store !
8.5	Overall (not an average) Now that's original ! And pretty well made, what more do you want ? More songs maybe... But, there's Bubble Bobble for God sake, who needs another song ??

Gallery :

A piano playing by itself... Just like in old saloons...	Bubble Bobble ! Believe it or not, THIS IS my actual cellular ringtone !

[Ben2303]

	Puzl
8	Presentation Jigsaw game with a lot of images, and you can choose the number of pieces, from 12 (super easy) to 128 (super hard). All pics are categorized and I suspect you can add your own pics in the fat part.
8	Graphics Interface is neat and fun, images are mostly excellent, good looking and fitting the jigsaw game.
7	Sound Some good background musics here.
8	Gameplay Excellent jigsaw ! Pieces stick to where they're supposed to go, you can shuffle the unplaced ones to see better, I really appreciate that... No piece rotation though, but I'm not complaining, that would have been too hard for me...
8	Lasting appeal Many puzzles, great gameplay, you'll spend a lot of time on this one !
8.5	Overall (not an average) Great work, great game. You can even play with the puzl folder to add/remove images !. Near commercial quality for this one. You'll never unfinish a jigsaw cos you lost some pieces under the couch again !

Gallery :

This screen has a typo. Can you find it ?	Cool, many images ! What ? That's just categories ??
Medium difficulty. Quite a mess but L and R are your friends.	Damn it !! Anyone saw the last piece ? ? ?

[Ben2303]

	Scogger 0.2
7	Presentation Puzzle game involving a leaping frog. No, that's not Frogger, here you must leap on every single leaf in 10 different levels among 100 availlable (missed that the first time). This is more tricky than it sounds cos the leaves disapear once you leap off them. But your frog is pretty strong, it can make big jumps as easily as small ones. Yeah it's strong but can't jump backward (see gallery).
6.5	Graphics Simple but working good, I like the colors and the ice water effects. Animations are a bit jerky though
6	Sound Repetitive childish music. Damn it, I can't take it out of my head...
7	Gameplay Simple and addictive, everything is working the way it should.
7	Lasting appeal Cool addictive puzzle game, 100 levels are a bit too many when if I'm stuck on level 5 (see gallery for more infos).
7.5	Overall (not an average) Good puzzles, good style, good overall realisation. Nice version, and believe me or not, it HAS many levels, thanx to the people who correct my shamed 10-levels-is-not-enough-comment... +0.5 for DS Motion support.

Gallery :

Now what ? I can't even try to drown me, so I think I'll starve to death here...	Can't you jump on that last leaf ?? Ever heard of Fosbury ??

[Ben2303]

	Chess Net
7	Presentation A multiplayer Chess game that can be played over WIFI.
7	Graphics Interface looks really great ! Board is a litlle more tedious though.
-	Sound Sounds can deconcetrate you. Sounds are not your friend when you play Chess.
8	Gameplay Chess game with move hints, hotseat and WIFI. That's cool.
7	Lasting appeal Couldn't try it online, and didn't find anyone to play against, but I'm sure ther must be lots of chess lovers around. Aren't all geeks or are movies lying to us ?
7	Overall (not an average) Nice design, nice functionnality, even if I'm not a real chess player, I liked it.

Gallery :

No, that's not Pengo... It's a very good looking interface !	Yeah, I'm playing alone. Come on, I HAVE friends, I swear !

[Ben2303]

	Marble Man
7	Presentation Original dextirity game. You must roll the ball over the red squares, which are getting smaller and smaller, to gain playtime. Obstacles will show up, you can smash them if you hit them hard enough. A good DS Motion advertising !
5	Graphics Graphics are simple, the ball is round, walls are squares, and grid is... griddy. A little dull overall.
6	Sound Amiga demo scene like music. Quite dynamic and fitting the game.
7	Gameplay Simple and addictive. Forget about the stylus and play it the way it's meant to be : DS Motion, it works great !
6.5	Lasting appeal Score challenge only, beating your friends can be cool but quite repetitive. Some mazes would have been nice too.
7	Overall (not an average) Nice game to promote DS Motion which is handled nicely. But a little repetitive. +0.5 forDS Motion support.

Gallery :

You're the little orange ball You must roll over red sections.	Why ? Don't ask, just do it !!! And knock those pillars off !!

[Ben2303]

	Piztog Tower Defense
6	Presentation Tower Defense looks quite popular game these days. You must protect your place by setting up and upgrading towers that will shoot ennemies while they follow the path to your home. Of course these towers have different effects, and work best with different ennemies.
5	Graphics Backgrounds are empty and not good looking, so are the towers. Monsters are better.
5	Sound Background music is trying to take your attention away from the so-so graphics. But it fails. I didn't hear any other sounds
6	Gameplay Classic tower defense, but crippled with a small visible area and a messy interface.
6	Lasting appeal This game is hurt by another one on my flashcard : Noda's TD.. At this point there's no challenge. Coming on Noda's territory is brave. Piztog TD does not have the maturity of TD, only one map and an odd style.
6	Overall (not an average) TD mechanisms are well implemented, but the game failed to entertain me.

Gallery :

This pic means you must use your nose to press PLAY.	Too many things in too many places.Maybe I'm too old for this. Or too young, I don't know

[Ben2303]

	Pong Classic DS 0.5
6	Presentation Well pong is pong... Some nice additions though, like Mental Pong controls can change any seconds, switching from stylus to pad, .... DS Motion works good.
5	Graphics Angles are squares, what more do you want ? I would have liked particles effect or stuffs like that in fact...
5	Sound Only music, no "pong" sound. Music is a little aggressive for me.
7.5	Gameplay several difficulty levels, psychedelic additions, it's all pretty good. (Really) Minor collision issues (you can send back the ball with the back of your raquet). DS Motion support is not as fun as it should be. Dunno why...
6	Lasting appeal Additions won't make this pong last on my card. Maybe the music helps too. That's a shame, cos the IA is nice.
6	Overall (not an average) Good work for a pong, but still that's Pong... Give me Arkanoid now !! +0.5 for DS Motion.

Gallery :

Many modes ! But only 2 colors...	Switching from pad to stylus will certainly make you miss.

[Ben2303]

	Snake Dual Screen
7	Presentation You're a snake that grows when eating eggs. You must eat all eggs without eating your own tail (yeah, snakes are not that smart, they can die by touching their own tail.) Kid cartoon design is really nice and fits snake's world perfectly. DS Motion is great for young kids on this one.
6	Graphics Kids will love graphics, adults will be more so-so... At least everything is clear.
6	Sound Music is rather repetitive, but fits the child-audience touch.
7.5	Gameplay Agiain I'll seperate young kids and older people. Youngs will love it, older will find it too slow... Inputs are very accurate, and that's something very important in a snake game.
7	Lasting appeal The game is simple but addictive, so you'll probably play a game once in a while. Don't show it to your younger sister or brother...
6.5	Overall (not an average) A very good game for young kids, controls are neat and DS Motion well implemented (even if console initial position is not the one prefer). Sadly I'm not young enough to rate this one higer, but once again, great game for kids. +0.5 for DS Motion.

Gallery :

You little sister plays that one all the time ? Here you can turn the music off !	Puzzles may look daring, but crisp controls make them easily doable.

[Ben2303]

	Legion
8	Presentation Oh my God !. This game has a scenario !! And dialogs !!! Great design and artworks. You're some kind of brute with a huge gun, and you must shoot bad guys and collect pieces of a talking device. Between Diablo and Fallout one can say.
8	Graphics Artworks are nice, as the main character in game. Levels are not that good looking. Main character runs very smoothly, a real eye pleasure.
7	Sound Nice background music, nice rifles, but ennemies screaming are... awkward... (anyone played Rank Xerox in the old days ?)
4.5	Gameplay Control scheme is good, but the camera is way too close, making impossible to adopt any strategy. Just run in an ennemy to notice it exists... Levels are huge, but feels empty, there's not much to do.
6	Lasting appeal Quite frustrating, great artwork, good work on scenario and dialogs, all that opens your appetite, but the game is not rewarding.
6.5	Overall (not an average) Technically impressive, but gameplay is not that good.

Gallery :

Great work on scenarios and general design.	I told you hundreds of times, look right then left before you cross the street..

[Ben2303]

	Noob Mini Game
6	Presentation Quickspot clone with several images. You must quickly identify differences between 2 pics.
6	Graphics Some images are good, other not so good. Interface is nice. But what is that purple halo around sprites ? Check your magentas.
6	Sound Nice intro music, no music during gameplay but some cool Homer quotes.
6	Gameplay A little ticky sometimes, you have to touch the EXACT spot, otherwise works good.
6	Lasting appeal Game is a little difficult, couldn't find too many pics either.
6	Overall (not an average) Good fist throw ! Correct the minor visual bugs, add a BGM, more approrpiate pics and it will be a great game.

Gallery :

Someone find funny to hide the white line on a mountain road ?	I don't like the way you look at me my friend..