I’ve been a huge fan of the DS ever since I discovered Elite Beat Agents. The compact size means I have the ability to game between classes, when I’m in line, and when I generally am stuck waiting. It’s fantastic to be able to whip out my DS on a moment's notice and suddenly become immersed in a great game.

Most of the games I’ve played on DS so far have been strong, well-constructed games. Fortunately, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is no exception. I was surprised by its simplicity, as it has a pared down item and inventory system, especially compared to the complicated DS version of the RPG Final Fantasy III. The game moves quickly, as most dungeons can easily be beaten in half an hour or less.

Phantom Hourglass’s simplicity should not be mistaken for that of a children’s game. While it is relatively easy in terms of difficulty, it is a very clever, well-designed experience. Objects such as bombs hardly harm you when you accidentally set them off and deadly falls only remove a small portion of your health. This friendly system encourages exploration and doesn’t punish you for mistakes. The controls are primarily based on touch with the stylus, and with the small screen, this makes it easier to mess up than with a console.

Although I am not opposed to difficult games, the ease of Phantom Hourglass makes it a lot of fun for a more casual, portable experience. Its GameCube predecessor, The Wind Waker, had more complicated puzzles and levels, and I sometimes found myself frustrated. I have only been stumped on a couple of occasions in Phantom Hourglass, and most of that was realizing that I had to interact with my DS in an unconventional way (i.e. blowing into the DS microphone to blow out a candle in the game).

For a DS game, Phantom Hourglass is incredibly immersive. The tasks are given out quickly and there is little lag. I feel as if I am part of the story from the very beginning and that I am actively influencing the world. The game lets you do most of the work on your own. Also, the fact that the default name for the main character is my name (the game takes it from your DS) makes it all the more personal. Suddenly, it’s me who’s saving the day, not a group of heroes like in the RPGs I often play.

I have very few complaints about this game, as I feel that the simplicity and stylized drawings create a charming Zelda interpretation. However, my main complaint would be the simplicity of the combat system. There are two basic attacks, made with a stylus slash and a stylus circle. I rarely use the slash, as I have had a hard time making Link slash the enemy instead of running into its attacks. The circle attack is fairly effective, but doing it too many times in a row makes him dizzy (while cute, it limits this attack).

The touch controls can also be a little bit impractical in one other feature: the map-drawing feature. I find it very handy how you can draw and make notes on your map with the touch screen. Unfortunately, many of these maps are very small on the DS screen, so it becomes hard to write anything legibly. I have resorted to little dots and lines mostly, as anything else is pointless. The game is fairly forgiving in terms of marking things, so it is never a huge problem; it’s just slightly inconvenient not to be able to make intelligible notes.

Overall, I fell that Phantom Hourglass is a very strong game. The simple design makes it accessible, even when I could only play it for two minutes at a time. While the touch controls can be a little bit limiting, the idea of making notes on a map is a nice innovation. I have enjoyed the levels I have played so far and look forward to playing it again soon.  

I get scared easily when I play games that involve shooting things and sneaking around. I usually avoid scary games or dystopian future games with creepy soundtracks. Fortunately, I made an exception for Portal and carved out an hour of my time to check it out. I left the computer after dying a few times at the hand of robots, but the next day I felt a pleasant feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time: a video game craving.

Finally, I had found a game that I wanted to play so badly that it began to creep into my daily life. I started to play a different game, but the simple puzzles in that game seemed so trivial compared to Portal. It is so rare that a game invents a new kind of puzzle that allows your mind to think in ways you have never thought before.

Portal is not really a spatial puzzle; it’s more a puzzle of physics. You have to use your knowledge of gravity and momentum and apply it in completely new ways. The game is realistic, and I believe most of its strength comes from the open-ended possibilities of a highly manipulative 3D space.

I had read about a Flash version of Portal, and I decided to check it out. While it utilized the same principles, the game lacked the black humor and the most fun element: utilizing the 3D environment. The real version of Portal completely immerses you in the game, as you have to constantly look around you and see your environment as a resource. While the wall spaces become more limited in later levels, there is still a lot of freedom in the placement of the portals, allowing for multiple solutions.

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of seeing yourself through a portal 20 feet away or looking down into a portal and waiting for the right moment to jump. While Portal isn’t a game that requires objectives be completed in a certain amount of time, there is a lot of timing that comes into play and makes it exciting. Even though you are completely alone in the testing facility, I was fascinated by how easily I became immersed in the game and lost track of time.

I played through the later levels in Portal, and I have to say that I am very relieved. Valve finally allowed itself the freedom for true innovation in game design, and I’m sure game designers will never think of puzzles the same way again.  

It’s no secret that I like rhythm games. It’s hard to imagine that someone could be serious about both music and games without drawing at least some pleasure from titles like Elite Beat Agents and Guitar Hero.

I had heard that Electroplankton was some sort of experimental music game, but I never really knew what to expect. I wasn’t expecting to play it this soon, but GameFly was backed up with Halo 3 rentals and somehow this was sent to me instead of a flashy new title.

Electroplankton is really not much of a game. I saw every level in under an hour. There were about 10-12 different areas, each with little plankton creatures that would manipulate tones in different ways. The spontaneous nature of the music is a lot of fun, but my ears quickly grew tired when there was no melody to follow. I breezed through the levels, and after figuring out what made each one unique, I thought, “Now what?” Well, that was all there was.

Fortunately, one of my friends was around. He took a look at it and played it in an entirely different way. One level is set up with four plankton, each with its own tonal pattern and range. The notes change depending on the lines you draw for them to follow on the DS screen. While I drew straight lines, circles, and spirals, he drew different sorts of lines that were more abstract. Suddenly the tones became something new.

Electroplankton really is a neat experiment – the way players toy with the tones is a mark of individuality. The abstract nature of the game allows for more creativity, which is fantastic. However, the experimental nature of the title makes it less of a game and more of an interactive display. I would not buy this game, and together, my friend and I played the rental copy for less than two hours. While I admire the innovation in this game, it seems like it would work better if incorporated into a more structured game.  

The arrival of Eternal Sonata has meant the end of a phase for me. I played Eternal Sonata for a few hours, and the next day I found that feeling that I had missed so much: video game craving. Just as I had hoped, this game was turning into the type of experience I had been wanting since I finished Okami and Elite Beat Agents earlier this year.

I understand that Eternal Sonata isn’t the type of game that everyone wants to play. For me, it is finally a world that I want to escape to in my free time; unlike the horrific environment of Bioshock or the dangerous Halo, Eternal Sonata makes everything lovely. When I have a stressful school life, I want to spend my free time in a glittering dungeon or a majestic forest. It’s relaxing for me to escape into a world more beautiful than my own.

The combat system in Eternal Sonata appeals to me much more than many other games due its turn-based roots. While there is still a battle timer, the game still gives you time to think through the moves you want each character to use. I enjoy games that give me a little time to strategize. That way, it’s more like a puzzle and less like a test of gut reactions.

I was hoping that Eternal Sonata would be more like an adventure game, with a straightforward plot and puzzles that don’t require too much time. Unfortunately, my friend and I spent a ridiculous amount of time on a puzzle that was almost entirely based on trial and error. Like previous RPGs, I decided to purchase a strategy guide, as the game is full of ridiculously winding pathways and has some tricky puzzles.

I was a little bit upset when, after purchasing a guide with adequate pictures, my friend and I still got lost in a level. The official guide is poorly worded in some parts, and for someone as literal as I am, it can be an issue. I began to realize that part of the reason I enjoyed games like Final Fantasy VIII was the fact that I had a solid guide to help me through it, like a mentor that helped me make the best decisions. I was able to complete many RPGs with strong characters and little frustration due to the help of many well-written guides.

While I still think that I will enjoy playing Eternal Sonata, I am still slightly disappointed in the puzzles. However, most RPGs have some sort of ridiculous puzzle that, in the words of my friend Jettoki, “is made to be so difficult that you have to buy a strategy guide.” I hope that Eternal Sonata can continue to be a relaxing experience for me and that the rest of the game turns out to be as fantastic as its visual design.  

As a female gamer, I often get singled out in my classes and at work. I’ve heard comments such as, “It’ll be great to have a female opinion on this,” “I’m so glad to see that you’re here,” and “What kind of games do girls play?” I have a hard time with the issue of appealing to girls, as I have had a lot of traditionally nerdy male hobbies, from reading comics to collecting action figures.

I was surprised to see this article on Gamastura, claiming that parents are more hesitant to let girls play “hardcore” games (as opposed to casual games). I think that one of the only reasons why I got into games was the influence of my dad, who never had a son. He introduced my sister and me to games and never made us feel like it was odd. For a long time, I knew no other girls who played games, but I was encouraged by my family to follow my passions.

I have begun to wonder if it’s the parents who are keeping the girls from the hardcore games or if it’s the girls themselves that are avoiding games. If all the games I had seen were Halo and Madden on a brother’s console, I probably wouldn’t be too excited to play. Gaming is an expensive hobby, from steep PC requirements to the fact that most consoles cost over $100.

Even as someone who loves gaming, I have had a hard time finding a game that I could really sink my teeth into lately (until the arrival of Eternal Sonata and other great games for the holiday season, it had been a dry spell for me). Aside from the DS, a lot of games require a decent time commitment and knowledge of previous games can give you an incredible advantage. I took a break from gaming in high school, and found that I needed a good few months to reeducate myself before I could call myself a gamer again.

While I do enjoy working in a male-dominated industry, I find it sad that many girls are so averse to gaming. Women’s magazines like Cosmopolitan encourage girlfriends to allow their male companions time for games, even if it’s hard for them to understand it. I hope that someday girls can realize that games can be a great hobby as immersive as a love of fashion or gourmet food. While there are fewer games that appeal specifically to females, I believe that it is only a matter of time before women realize what they’re missing.  

I spent the past summer testing games. I met a lot of interesting people there, including one guy who happily pointed out to me that I look constipated while concentrating on a game. Apparently I don’t look weird the whole time I play; it’s just when I have to think really hard.

This reminds me of a Kotaku post about Milla Jovovich. Blogger Brian Ashcraft wonders if even models can’t look good when they’re genuinely concentrating on a game.

Now, I have seen my fair share of funny faces in my time. Some people look incredibly sad when playing games and others look possessed. So is it games or just concentration in general?

I’d like to think that people look strange when they’re concentrating on other things. I have witnessed many band students scrunching up their faces to stare at tiny notes on a page, but these unattractive faces usually last for just a passing moment. Even other immersive forms of entertainment, such as books, film, and television, tend to give people a more serene expression. Facial reactions to these mediums are often very brief (such as a grimace at a gory sight). Games seem to be unique in their ability to get people to make faces.

What is it about games that changes faces? Games can be incredibly immersive and require more thought than more passive forms of entertainment, such as books and movies. The also allow players to remove themselves from their physical body, since, in the game, their identity is usually embodied in some form of avatar. Whether it’s a custom character or a well-known hero, games are interactive experiences designed to make players feel as if they are making choices. In essence, players become the character and are much more concerned with how their character looks while playing the game.

When players separate themselves from their physical form and become more concerned with the digital avatar on the screen, it seems that they lose a sense of themselves. While people in the surrounding environment would often make people self-conscious, many people play games alone. When people are not alone, they tend to become very immersed in games, as they are often very engaging and require most of a player’s attention. Even if someone is home alone, they may be so immersed in the game that they forget to be conscious of their appearance.

While people may continue to tease each other about the faces they make when gaming, I don’t see it as a real problem. It’s amusing to watch children in restaurants with DSs, as you can read their faces and get and idea of their experiences. I think this face-making issue will really only get worse in the future, as virtual reality will likely develop and take us completely out of our bodies. The only real reason to be concerned is if you choose to play games with a webcam, but why would anyone want to do that? It seems that it is more fun to escape into another world, because forgetting yourself for a while is half the fun.  

Is Kudos a dating sim clone or a truly engaging experience?

Click the link below for Jettoki's and my opinions on another Casual RPG: Kudos.

Casual RPGs, Part II: Kudos  

When someone suggested that I check out casual RPGs, I was a bit skeptical. Could the genre I loved for its immersive qualities succed on a casual level?

Click the link below to read my opinion and that of fellow RPG fan Jettoki.

Casual RPGs, Part I: Dream Chronicles  

Cooking is something I enjoy doing in my spare time, so it was only natural that would play Cooking Mama. While it hadn't gotten the most amazing reviews, it seemed like an interesting use of the Wii. I had seen someone playing it at work and wanted to try it out.

I was excited to play this cooking game to see how a Wiimote could be used to "cook." I began the practice exercises. Some of them felt intuitive, like moving the Wiimote down to cut vegetables. Others were a bit odd, like pulling the trigger to get out chopsticks for stir-frying or shaking the Wiimote to open a can.

One of the most frustrating things about cooking with a Wiimote is the variety of actions required in such a short time. Things like cracking an egg are very pressure sensitive and can be incredibly hard at first. Then, 30 seconds later, you do another task that requires a new move that you just learned. It felt a lot like learning a dance when tired – you know the motions but you can't quite remember how they all fit together.

I was hoping I'd enjoy the idea of having a "mama" to grade my progress. When I was young, my mother taught me everything I knew in the kitchen, and she was very supportive and loving. In Cooking Mama, the mother would make comments as you attempted to complete the tasks. I didn't mind the heavily-accented "Good" or "Excellent," but all the
comments weren't quite as positive. For example, every time I failed to crack an egg, I heard a message in seemingly Japanese-English gibberish. After about 10 times, I finally figured out that this Japanese mother was saying "You're not mine" – she was disowning me. Well, Cooking Mama, you're not mine either.

Maybe my ego is just too easily bruised, but I really enjoy games that have a nice learning curve. In a friendly game like Cooking Mama, shouldn't there be more nurturing and less tough love? I really enjoy cooking in real life, and I believe a lot of that is because many of the manual tasks can be relaxing. It's sad that it didn't translate into this game, which turned into a stressful short-term memory test.