Penny For Your Thoughts

Chances are that if you had a Sega Saturn back in the day you know who the purple androgynous jester to the right of this paragraph is. And if you weren’t lucky enough to own one of Sega’s short-lived CD consoles, then chances are you don’t.

His name is NiGHTS, spelt even in speech in all capitals with a lower-case i. He is a Nightmaren from the world of Nightmare, and can fly. His creator, Wizeman, wants to destroy Nightopia (the world we visit in our dreams), which NiGHTS is not happy with, and so begins our game.
NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams is not so much a sequel to the original but more a reboot; many of the characters return in slightly different guises, and the storyline is essentially the same but with two different children named Will and Helen.

Will and Helen are both experiencing nightmares brought on by difficult times in their real lives, but are able to fight back against the Nightmaren using their Ideya of Courage. In order to stop Nightopia from being destroyed, the must “dualize” with NiGHTS and collect the other four Ideya.

Each area of the game follows the same basic format and is split into five levels. Three of these levels are always the same; a chase mission followed by a boss (as in the first game), a fly-through-the-rings level and a more powerful version of the area’s boss. Most of these are pretty easy to complete, though achieving a C ranking in some of the levels can be a little frustrating, and it doesn’t take long to make it through the first playthrough. Even having played through as both children with all levels complete at C rank and seeing both endings, the game only displays my playtime as around 3 hours. This doesn’t take into account the cutscenes, as far as I can tell, but it’s still pretty poor.

The game is relatively pretty to look at, but the loading times are a nightmare. Each 5 minute level takes a good 30 seconds to load, and after each level you’re presented with another 30 second loading time before you can select the next. Most cutscenes are not pre-rendered, so each of these will be preceded by a black screen and some whirring from your Wii.

With the game being so short and gameplay being pretty repetitive, I’d say that NiGHTS is probably not worth a purchase unless you’re a fan of the franchise. It’s definitely fun to play, though, so it’s one of those titles you’d do well to rent.

Another late review… but until somebody finds a way for me to play games all day and attend lectures at the same time I’m going to have to lag behind.

Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to the Gamecube Zelda game, Windwaker, and so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that they are graphically very similar.

That’s not where the similarities end, either… Like every Zelda game since the dawn of mankind the plot is as follows; you have to save Princess Zelda from evil and forge a sword, collecting a boomerang, some bombs and a hookshot along the way. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily; it may be a little predictable, but it’s a tried and tested formula and doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay.

Zelda makes better use of the DS and its many features than many games I’ve seen previously. The stylus is your main weapon of choice; it’s used to control Link, select his items, navigate menus and leave notes on the game maps, as well as to draw boomerang paths and attack enemies. On top of this, the microphone can be used to yell for help, deafen enemies and blow out flames and the DS will recognise when it has been shut during some “press together” puzzles, but many of the features don’t occur often enough to feel like anything more than a novel distraction.

It probably took me no more than 10 – 15 hours to complete — and it would have taken longer had I collected all of the ship decorations, hidden gems and treasure maps — but what I’d normally consider a “low” playtime figure is actually pretty impressive considering its handheld. Besides the odd timed dungeon, Phantom Hourglass is very very easy to dip in and out of; if you’re on the bus and you only have 15 minutes or so to play then there’s no reason you can’t have another stab at the puzzle you’re struggling with, or sail the seas looking for golden frogs.

I don’t think I ever really expected this game to go wrong at any turn, so I can’t say I’m shocked that it’s so well polished. As with anything, though, there are still a few minor problems… For example, some of the puzzles really given you no hints at all as to what you’re supposed to do, and whilst its nice to have a challenge once and a while, it can be incredibly frustrating to stare at the same stone tablets over and over again trying to decipher what convoluted series of actions the game wants you to take. One boss in particular is similarly frustrating, though more because of bad controls; holding down your L or R button auto-selects whichever item you have equipped, but this instance is the only time in the game where you’re forced to select manually — and with no explanation or prompting.

As far as difficulty is concerned, it’s definitely a little easier than Link’s most recent outing, Twighlight Princess, but only when it comes to combat. The puzzles are definitely where the game shines brightest, and if you want to give your mind a workout without screaming colours and numbers at a floating head, Phantom Hourglass is probably a sensible purchase.

This review is something I’ve been wanting to write for a while now, but with so many good games being released in time for Christmas last year I’m in that awkward position of trying to give every game I received as much time as it deserves.

Assassin’s Creed, if for some reason you haven’t already bought yourself a copy, is nothing short of brilliant. If you took Prince of Persia and Grand Theft Auto and threw them in a blender with a dash of hidden histories and plot twists, this game would be the end result.

You play as Altair (pictured below), an assassin who has recently been reduced to the lowest ranking by his leader for failing to follow the Creed. Well, sort of. You’re actually playing as Desmond, a man in our near future, who is re-living the memories of Altair through a machine called the Animus. This sounds confusing and at first it is, but eventually everything begins to make sense — particularly when you remember that this is only the first of a trilogy.

Your mission is simple; to find and assassinate your targets. Each of these missions, or memories, are then separated into two segments: investigation and assassination. During investigation you get to interrogate, eavesdrop, pickpocket or aid your fellow assassins for information. There are 6 of these investigations available for each target, but only 3 are necessary to progress, meaning the game need only become repetitive if you’re aiming for full completion. The following assassination sees you approach your target using the information you have gathered, strike swiftly and make your escape.

Not only are the graphics some of the best on the 360 at the moment, but it really is great fun to play. Leaping from roof to roof with guards in hot pursuit is enjoyable and the mechanic for doing so is impressive, but there’s nothing in this world quite as satisfying as watching a guard sink to his knees with your blade in his stomach.

Sure, it gets a little same-y if you’re trying to do all of the investigation missions, and it’s probably not a game you would want to sit down and play start-to-finish in one sitting, but the storyline is interesting enough and the achievements hard enough to unlock that Assassin’s Creed is one of those games you’ll dip into time and time again.