Release Archives: WEEK OF NOVEMBER 23, 200411.23.2004 There's not much in the way of notable consoles releases this week (unless you adore motorcycles), so be satisfied with Tom's DS write-ups. Feel the Magic: XY/XX *Pick of the Week* Dev. Sega Pub. Sega MSRP: $29.99 Not surprisingly, the title with the silliest name is the one that offers the most original gameplay experience. Using an art style that looks like the iPod's ad campaign, you play a young boy who has a crush on a beautiful girl. As you are far too shy to actually approach her, the only way you can get her attention is by performing various heroic acts in front of her. The game is essentially a take off of the fantastic Wario Ware series, but the minigames in this make use of the microphone and touch screen. Maybe helping an unfortunate man retrieve goldfish from his own belly doesn't appeal to every gamer out there, but this title seems fun and original enough to at least make most people stop and have a look. Asphalt: Urban GT Dev. Gameloft Pub.: Ubi Soft MSRP: $29.99 Tell me if you've heard this one before: a racing title with over 20 licensed cars that you can customize any way you see fit and a wide variety of tracks to compete on. A: UGT seems like a generic title and, from all accounts, it clearly is. The second screen in this game is merely used to show the map, a feature I cannot imagine will add much to the game. And that's it as far as utilizing the DS's unique abilities. There is no touch screen support during gameplay and there is no use for a microphone. Though A: UGT is one of the best-looking titles for the DS (thus far, which isn't saying much), Ridge Racer DS is coming out in December and, with it's touch-screen driving controls, looks to offer a much more original driving experience. Madden NFL 2005 Pub. EA Dev. EA MSRP: $29.99 Even though we're currently in the heart of the NFL season, I find it hard to believe that anyone who really wants a football title didn't already purchase one back in September. Madden DS, for the most part, attempts to stay true to its console brothers. For the first time on a handheld, the graphics are actually 3D; so, if you've played any of the current Madden titles, you'll know what to expect here. This game does add a few DS-exclusive features, though. First, the second screen is used to show the play selected at all times. More interesting than that, the touch screen is used to control your kicking in a feature that is very similar to the Tiger Woods Golf series. If you really like football and need it on the go, this should be a good representation of the sport (and is your only choice on the DS for the time being). Spider-Man 2 Dev. Vicarious Visions Pub. Activision MSRP: $29.99 You know that a launch lineup is weak when a licensed title is considered one of the best available. Spider-Man 2 does seem like a fun game, though. You obviously play as Spider-Man, kicking butt in the name of justice and teenage angst. The game uses 3D graphics but is fought on a 2D plain. While the combat is fairly standard, the game does try to mix things up by offering a ton of different moves you can easily select using the touch screen. Also, there are a number of puzzles that must be completed using the touch screen. If the movie and hundreds of tie-ins weren't enough to satisfy your Spider-Man hunger, you could do much worse than buying this title. Super Mario 64 DS Dev. Nintendo Pub. Nintendo MSRP: $29.99 Once again, Nintendo is launching a new system with Mario firmly in the driver's seat. It remains to be seen just how popular a remake of an 8 year old title will be, though. Nintendo has tried to spruce up the aging platformer some – perhaps most notably by adding 3 more playable characters – but much of the game remains unchanged. While this was considered one of the best games ever when it first came out, I have my doubts about controlling Mario on such a small screen without the help of an analog stick. I'm sure this will still be quite fun, I just wish they would have released the new 2D Mario game they're working instead as a launch title. Urbz: Sims in the City Dev. Griptonite Games Pub. EA MSRP: $29.99 For those who have never heard of the Sims before, first of all let me say I envy you. This game is essentially a life simulator. You create a tiny human and act out their meaningless lives for them. This differs from the PC original by letting players directly control their little Sim. In the past, you had to click on the fridge to get them to walk over there – now you can simply hold that direction on the D-pad until they reach their destination. Sadly, this is merely a port of the GBA version using the same 2D graphics and much of the same gamplay. There are a few 'touch screen'-enabled mini-games thrown in for good measure, such as extracting mosquitoes from a piece of amber (are there dinosaurs in this game?), but this is certainly a been there, done that experience for anyone remotely familiar with the series. - Tom |
