Professor Layton and Pandora's Box

Spoiler Alert! The video below shows the completed mini-games found in the Professor's Trunk.




If you are still stumped by the formidable challenges then head over to the Gameov3r Forum for some assistance

Professor Layton

I've been getting right into Professor Layton and the Curious Village over the last few weeks. It's been a great game to dip in and out of. Solve a puzzle or two and then put my DS away or play something else. For a game that's simply a collection of puzzles hung together by story it's surprisingly addictive and fun even if some of the "That reminds me of a puzzle!" moments are decidedly cringe worthy.

Despite the Prof having an "E" for Everybody rating I think he should have a far higher warning. Perhaps a "W" for weird happenings should be applied.

Rather strangely, after playing PFatCV I have a mystery of my own to solve. I played this game just before lights out on Thursday last week. When I'd finished playing I switched my DS off and put it on my bedside table. When I went to collect my DS the next morning it has now vanished and I haven't seen or heard from it since.

Has anyone got a Mii Business card for Prof Layton? I need his help!

Sleuth required! Apply HERE

Exploding DS's and Wii's

Just look at that! This is going to be so GREAT! One of my all time favourite 8 bit classics is coming to my DS AND Wii. Melbourne House and Krome Studios have finally seen the sense in re-releasing the best fighting game ever!

Both versions will have updated visuals, including some fantastic new animation - more on that in a moment, and sound while leaving the classic feel of the game untouched. If that sinks your retro boat don't worry as the original will, of course, be bundled along with a hybrid of the two styles.

Online capabilities? You bet there are. Remember FIST+? Well, online FIST+ style multiplayer is going to be great, a huge plus you could say, but it doesn't stop at FIST+. This is more like FIST +++++++! 6 fighters high, flying and sweep kicking across the screen. [doubt]Let's hope Nintendo WiFi is up to it. [/doubt]

Possibly as exciting as the online fighting is the new animation. Exploding Fist Wii and DS has Mortal Kombat style death moves!! Spine ripping, leg snapping, dismemberment and the all new, ACME-esque, TNT Punch that causes your opponents head to explode all in 8 bit style gory glory! I can't wait!!

The Wii version won't be a WiiWare or a C64 download either. It'll be a full on, budget, retail game and should be priced, along with the DS version, at £19.99.

Get those gaming black belts out and lets get ready to rumble .. sorry, wrong sport ... ready to bow and break limbs! Got something to say? Gameov3r FORUM for you then! Oh, ok, leave a smart arse reply instead.

Scouting for Orcs

Orcs are the scum of any fantasy world and when you come across one you should kill it first and ask questions later. Orcs usually carry weapons, are heavily armoured, ugly and always stink. They live only to drain the blood from anyone or anything that fights for light and good. I have put many Orcs to the sword this week thanks to the DS game Orcs and Elves from id Software.

Orcs and Elves places you in the green pixie boots of a half-elf, called Eol. Playing as Eol you find yourself in the middle of a war in the mountain citadel of Zharrkarag, King Brahms’s massive Dwarven fortress. You’re accompanied in your adventure by a talking wand, Ellon, who likes to comment on your swordplay and interact with characters that you meet. You use Ellon to deal doom, in the form or killer spells, to the Orcs, Vampire Rats, Slime things, Wraiths and all manner of other evil creatures that have invaded the fortress. You’re also equipped with a sword, armour, a map, a quest log, a bag for items, rings that give you different powers, potions and some ale. Mustn’t forget to mention the ale.

O&E is a pretty standard action and adventure RPG game. You collect items, buy and level up weapons and magic enabling you to take on the tougher enemies as you progress through the dungeons. There's nothing particularly new but don't let that fool you. The physical puzzles are well thought out, if not too challenging, and the action based combat system is involving and fun. The grid based gameplay feels old school but perfectly suited to the D&D style of the game and adds to the overall experience.

The game looks old school too and is not too far removed from the look of Doom or Wolfenstein 3D. The 3D environment in O&E is well crafted, detailed and solid looking, Carmack has clearly been at work here, with nice use of dynamic lighting. The characters and monsters you meet are all sprite based and, although they would look at home on the Commodore Amiga, add to the atmosphere and charm of the game.

I've played through the game once at the normal difficulty level and it took about 10 hours. I did try to explore as much as I could of the 12 levels so O&E isn’t a particularly long game. There are two more difficulty levels and I’m sure "Nightmare" will present a stiffer challenge and take me bit more time to get through.

To me it's obvious that Orcs and Elves, despite the short development time - John Carmack states 6 months, is a labour of love. Carmack has been a fan of Dungeons and Dragons since before the days of Doom so there is probably no one more committed to releasing quality D&D titles.

So although Orcs and Elves isn’t perfect it is far more than just the sum of its various parts. It’s a lot of fun to play, has a charm all of it's own and it will keep you coming back for more. There's nothing else like it on the DS.

Elvish isn’t dead.

Evil Shapes

The Geometry Wars:Galaxies thread, on the Gameov3r FORUM, has rumbled along since September 2007 and has been generating quite a lot of excitement amongst the DS and Wii faithful as they impatiently waited for the release date and the chance to see what 360 owners have been going on about.

I had a few spare minutes earlier today, how these "spare" minutes occurred is for another time as it would take up a whole other blog entry, and as luck would have it I had the DS version of Galaxies and my DS to hand. Opportunity if ever there was one to find out how one of my favourite XBLA games has translated to Nintendo's DS. I only had time for a quick play but I tried out both Galaxies and the DS version of the XBLA classic Evolved which is included.

I should say before continuing that I am a big fan Geometry Wars Evolved on the 360, despite being rubbish at it, and my anticipation and expectation was running high.

Straight into Galaxies then and it's noticeable that the difficulty has been toned down in the earlier stages compared to Evolved on XBLA. This is not really a bad thing for me and helped me make progress quickly and not feel like I was going to see the gameov3r screen every couple of minutes. In fact I'd blasted past my Evolved XBLA score of around 220k by racking up 340k on my first go and after a few more tries I blasted my way to 850k. The enemy geometric shapes are considerably slower on the DS making them easier to avoid or obliterate. Easier, yes. Still not easy though. This is still a pretty stern test once your score get over 150-200k and it'll keep you playing for quite a while.

Galaxies tinkers with and expands upon the fabulous Evolved formula and whilst this is always a risky business it's safe to say that the changes here have had a positive effect and really do make Geometry Wars a more rewarding game. There's a sense of progression and of being on a mission rather than simply high score chasing. Changing size and shape of the play area adds variety, forcing the player to alter their tactics, and the appearance of the evil geometric shapes is staggered throughout the levels creating an excellent learning/difficulty curve so that Galaxies presents a consistent and solid challenge as you get further with every go. Something else I like about this game is that when you die, and you WILL die a lot to begin with, it's your fault. It's your fault every time. No mistake. There is no blaming the game for cheating with Geometry Wars.

The graphics are obviously not up to the 360's utterly gorgeous, eye meltingly retro-futuristic neon and there's some slow down when the screen fills up. Personally I actually found the DS graphics to be a bit too small making focusing a bit difficult for prolonged gaming. Remember the Gameboy Magnifier and light? Well forget that and just get me magnifier! My eyes felt like they were about two sizes to small for my head and could implode at any moment after 30 minutes! Even so I played on for another 40 minutes which is testament to the addictive qualities of the game and my lack of regard for the health of my eyesight. Perhaps it was just the bright lights where I was sitting and nothing to do with the graphics or my vision. I hope so. I think I'll play some more Galaxies when I'm tucked up in bed tonight. With all the lights off and a cup of cocoa. All For experimental purposes of course.

So far I think the XBLA Geometry Wars still has the crown but I've yet to play the Wii version of Galaxies, which links up your DS version unlocking a whole new galaxy, and I have a feeling that it could take over as the ultimate Geometry Wars game so far.

What do you do with the lights out? Perhaps your light's never on. Allow Gameov3r to counsel you on the FORUM. Discussion about Geometry Wars: Galaxies is also permitted.

My Sonic Adventures

G'day sport! I've mentioned the difficulty I have in appreciating the Sonic games before but having read so many positive reviews for Sonic Rush Adventure on the DS I had to give him another try.

I almost gave up before I even got to play anything due to the never ending dialogue featuring an annoying woodland Australian creature. I mean strewth! It just goes on and on and on and it's such inane drivel. Stick with it I did though and I did read it all only because I thought I might miss something I actually needed to know. For the benefit of anyone thinking the same, there isn't.

Once I finally started playing I remembered all the other reasons I don't get on with Sonic. I know his whole character is based around speed but playing this feels more like pinball than a platform game. I'm looping the loop, bouncing off... bouncy things and desperately trying to feel like I'm in control but I rarely do. Fair dinkum I guess in time the levels get more familiar but I can't find the motivation to learn them. I actually had more fun playing the little jet ski mini game. Maybe my creaking 34 year old brain just isn't quick enough anymore or maybe I've just got a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock?

Something makes me keep giving Sonic games a burl though and I think it's because I feel I must be missing something. So many people enjoy them, so many reviews keep telling me how ripper they are but I just can't get into them.

If you can help me with my Sonic troubles come on over to the GAMEOV3R Forum and throw us another shrimp on the barbie while you're at it. Bonzer!

Guitar Hero DS Style

Guitar Hero is coming to a Nintendo DS near you! Annnnnnnd it might not be using the stylus...

So what will we be using to rock out on then? Well it's anyones guess at the moment but it's said to be a brand new peripheral! The final design isn't erm... final yet, but imagine the sales if they made a range like this!
Surely a licence to print money if ever I saw one. I'm wasted in this job I really am! You could whip out your Flying V for Hanger 18, or your Gibson SG for Back in Black, I'm serious!

Whatever it ends up being like apparently we're going to "absolutely love it". It's also said that the visuals will be kept consistent with the other games in the Guitar Hero series.

Share your thoughts on Guitar Hero DS on the GAMEOV3R Forum

When's The Wedding?

Recently I've started playing Harvest Moon Rune Factory on the DS. The game revolves around farming a plot of land, dealing with monsters, selling crops, collecting wood to extend your house so it's big enough for you and your wife. HOLD IT THERE! Did you say wife? What sort of crazy idea of a game is this?!

Soon enough though I found myself eyeing up potential mates. The strange girl in the woods? A little scarey and a tad pale too, potential vampire I reckon, nah. The maid in the big mansion? Down to earth, sweet even but she just doesn't do it for me, another no. I was giving up on the whole idea and then, in a shop, there she was. She seemed to be having a bit of an argument with a guy but 'she's the one', I thought. I don't yet know who this other guy is or how she feels about him but, she will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine.

Suddenly she ended the 'argument' and without even a glance ran straight past me and out of the door. I quickly rummaged through my inventory for a gift to give to her as a token of my love. I was woefully unprepared and had to settle... for a log (give me some credit here, I'd been busy ploughing a field all day I'd hardly had time to get chocolates and flowers had I?!). I hurried out of the shop door but the street was empty. Holding the 'R' button as hard as I could I frantically ran from left to right in the hope I'd find her, but she was no where to be seen. It was no good. She was gone. For good? I don't yet know, but from now on when I go to sleep to save my game, her face is the last thing I see.

To be continued...

Ever fallen for a game character? Invite us all to the wedding on the Forum