I usually write a one paragraph review of any movie I watch or video game I play.

In the interest of making this obsessive compulsive behavior productive, I’m starting a feature called Lightning Round Reviews. It will be bursts of short but deadly pixel critiques.

Kirby: Canvas Curse

Nintendo, 2006
Okay, so, the obvious selling point of Canvas Curse is the method with which you control Kirby. In what passes for a storyline in a Kirby game, Kirby has lost his extremities and, now being basically a ball, is stuck in an eternal roll. You use the DS’ stylus to draw rainbow bridges to alter his course and tap on him to attack. That’s a really cute idea, and the reason this game is consistently rated as one of the DS’ best.

I had a hard time with the game at first. Maybe that was personal though; I like to take my time and look around in a video game, and the controls in Canvas Curse dictate that Kirby never stops moving… ever. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, and gives the game a steep learning curve.

Once you get over the novelty of the controls, you’re left with a fairly standard (if not slightly below par) platformer. Only once is the fun concept of this game used playfully; one of the final levels takes place in a zero gravity environment and you have to guide Kirby from the orbit of one tiny planet to another. Had this type of inventive thinking been more prevalent in the game, it could have been a classic. Extra points off for extremely unappealing artwork.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (Director’s Cut)

Ubisoft, 2009
The DS “Director’s Cut” of the classic “Golden Era of Adventure Gaming” game Broken Sword is above and beyond a mere port, as the lengthy title implies. It had a lot of new material created for it. This new material, mostly consisting of the opening portion of the game, is absurdly superior to the material ported over from the game’s original 1996 release.

From the dialogue to the puzzle design, and especially the great animated artwork by Dave Gibbons, I wish the whole game could have been remade. The rest of the game is still okay, but the characters lack personality and the story is flat. It’s a bit too long, and I found myself getting bored and referring to the walkthough towards the end just to be done with it and get myself through some of the oblique later puzzles.

The Dig

LucasArts, 1995
The Dig is a great example of the type of immersive, atmospheric and subtle storytelling that video games are capable of, but rarely venture into. It takes place in a rich world consisting an absorbing setting and great sound design. Unfortunately, it’s just too slow. I understand what they were going for; A slow burn mystery that gradually gets deeper as you move along. The developments just take too long to unpack themselves. This pace might have worked if it were a book or a movie, but as a video game it was too much effort and time with not enough result. I lost interest and stopped playing.

Pokemon Diamond Version

Nintendo, 2007
Playing Pokemon is like slipping into a mild, pleasant coma. Everything about it is so enjoyable, from the adorable design to it’s RPG-lite setup, that it’s easy to get completely lost in it’s alarmingly large and detailed world. Of course, when you wake up you wonder how you could possibly spend so much time doing something so pointless. As far as guilty pleasures go it couldn’t be better.

Little Wheel

OneClickDog.com, 2009
As a browser based adventure game, Little Wheel is a sight to behold. Visually, it’s a simple but effective strategy; Three dimensional models flattened into black shapes combined with lighting effects to create a visual landscape that your imagination is just as responsible for as the designers.

Not to say that that the game is lightly designed. The character design, colors and music all work together to create a pleasant atmosphere for the short run time of the game (which clocks in at about twenty minutes). The actual game design however is a bore. White circles tell you what to click on, making the gameplay basically a paint by numbers affair. If you’re likely to be entertained by a tech and visual demo from a promising small game company (and there’s nothing wrong with that), this is a must play. But if you’re looking for an engaging game experience, look elsewhere.

Tags: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, Kirby: Canvas Curse, Little Wheel, Pokemon Diamond, The Dig

This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 5:00 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.