Fishing resort offers more then just a fishing experience.  You arrive on an island resort where, although you are indeed focused on fishing, there are many other things to do to enhance your experience.   The game is somewhat open ended as each virtual day that goes by allows you to do other things such as mini games, tasks, quests, and of course fishing.   You will also interact with other guests at the resort.

As I mentioned, you’ll find yourself completing various quests throughout the game.  Although these are a great way to add to the gameplay, there is reasoning behind the madness as many of these quests allow you to earn in-game points.  These points are Fishing Resort’s currency that allows you to buy various items, such as new rods, reels, and even a boat.  You will complete many of these quests from an activity board.  I have to say that some of them are strange in such that you are handsomely rewarded for simple things.  For example, you’ll end up spending 20 points to rent a bike, but then you are rewarded with 1,000 points for doing so.  Most of these quests are not too challenging, especially in the early going.  Also worth noting is that some of these quests can chain together, so as you are completing one quest you may be tasked to do something else within that quest, making it a 2 for 1 so to speak.

I for one somewhat enjoyed the fact that there was the inclusion of these quests, and it gives the game a very light RPG feel to it.  These quests take away from the mundane feeling of just having to fish all game, and they add a slight bit of spice to the overall experience.  Of course all of the extracurricular activities do have rewards, and these rewards are crucial in your Fishing Resort experience given that you do need to buy new equipment as you progress through the game.

Fishing Resort starts you off with the most basic of fishing gear, which allows you to catch the smaller fish in the water.  Being able to catch the bigger and more lucrative fish takes much more expensive gear and better bait.  I found that upgrading my gear took sometime, and I had to be very cognizant of where I was fishing, what gear I was using, and what bait I was trying to get the fish to bite.  Some may find it a bit of a grind to get the better gear, given that you do have to earn the points to purchase it, and it can indeed be such, but in the end it is somewhat rewarding to get that certain number of points to buy that new rod, reel, lure or line.

Even though Fishing Resort has some RPG elements to it (e.g. quests, items, talking to NPC’s, etc.), it is a fishing game at heart, and the fishing mechanics employed are pretty darn good.  Even with my lack of interest for fishing in the real world, I was able to appreciate what the game offered.  It actually gave me a bit of insight into the basics/differences of bait and lure fishing, including what type of rods I could and could not use.  In terms of how the Wii’s control works, the Wii Remote is your rod, and the Nunchuk is your reel.  You can use them as you would when holding them in your hands, or you can purchase Fishing Resort with a special controller that turns the Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup into that of a fishing rod (check out the last picture in the screenshots below for what this looks like).  Regardless of what you choose, the controls are pretty intuitive.  There are even on-screen prompts that assist in your efforts to bring the big one in.

Although I am not a huge fishing fan, I have spent a day or two down by our local river fishing in the past, and I spent a lot of time as a youth hanging out with my father fishing, as he didn’t mind it at all.  So I have enough insight to understand what needs to be done to reel a fish in, and after playing Fishing Resort, I have to say that the motion controls do a fairly good job of affecting how you reel your fish in.  When your virtual fish puts up a fight, you actually have to angle the Wii Remote in order to try to counter the actions of the fish.  Most of this has you lining up the Wii Remote in a specific direction, which is displayed on the screen.  Should you miscalculate, or just do something wrong, your fish may have that chance to break the line, or get off the hook, causing your potential reward to swim away.  When you finally do catch your fish they are rated from E, which is the lowest rating, to S, which is the highest rating you can get.  Of course the higher the rating the more points you are rewarded.

There is also a bit of multiplayer added should you want to play with a friend.  It’s not ground breaking, just a chance for you to compete in some mini-games designed in the world of Fishing Resort.  I nice treat indeed.

One of the biggest issues I had with Fishing Resort is the same issue I have with fishing in real life; it is the waiting for the fish to bite.  Sure, it is not as long in-game as it is in real life, but given the instant gratification I want in videogames, I had issues waiting in Fishing Resort.  Now, maybe it is the ADHD in me, but I just hate waiting period.  Regardless, I think that this may turn off other people as well, given that having to wait for that one fish to bite may prove to let one’s attention wane.  With this in mind however, the title on the game box is Fishing Resort, and fishing is the main stable here, so I guess in many ways that this is to be expected, but my fear is that those periods of waiting may just turn some people off.

Visually, Fishing Resort is a pretty good looking game.  I have to say that the visuals really matched the game’s overall feel.  Sure, the developers were hampered by the limitations of the Wii hardware, but overall you’ll find lots to enjoy.  From the various fishing locations to the resort where you call home, there is a lot more variety here than I had expected.  What really caught my eye were the various fishing areas, from dense jungles or forests, to open lakes and beachside shores, there are a lot of nice looking areas to throw in your line and hope for a bite.  The water effects were pretty cool with reflections of the surrounding landscapes, sun, or clouds in the sky.  Characters take a very cartoonish look to them, and match what you would expect for a Wii game.  As for the fish, they look pretty good too, especially after you have pulled them up and display them proudly on screen when you get them out of the water.   Overall the visuals do a good job and are more then I hoped for given this is such an affordable game.

In regards to the sound, like the visuals, I was pleasantly surprised.  The game has a lot of music to help set the tone.  You’ll find different tunes for when you are walking around, sitting in your boat or on the shore waiting for a fish to bite, to when you are trying to reel in the big one.  Each tone varies for each particular scene.  The music is much calmer when you are waiting for that elusive fish and then when you do get that bite the music ramps up and becomes more exciting as you try to reel the fish in.  There is no voice work in Fishing Resort, so be prepared to read a lot given any interactions with other people are text based.  Finally, the rest of the sound effects are serviceable, from the sound of your boat to the sound of your rod’s reel as it spins away, it all helps to communicate the on-screen action.

At the end of the day I really don’t have a problem recommending Fishing Resort for you to buy, especially for the budget price, it is just that you have to be fully aware of what you are purchasing.  This game is a fishing game first and foremost, so expectations must be kept as such.  That being said, Fishing Resort adds some nice RPG elements to the game to make it more than just sitting and trying to catch a fish all game.  Add to the mix some decent graphics and sound, and you have one surprising fishing title that definitely has it’s moments.

Presentation

The designers of the game have carried on with the great cartoon styling of the Professor Layton series that I both enjoy and come to expect from this title.  The game features some rich and vibrant cinematic graphics during the game opener and the beginnings of each chapter with the rest of the game design comprised of abundantly detailed background images that contain a few moving features to give the scene life such as the town citizens, an animal or two running across the screen or possibly a water feature etc.

The puzzle graphics are simplistic and don’t offer the same richness as the gameplay or cut scene graphics.  They are usually basic drawings that allow you to visualize the problem at hand. For example, they can be maps for puzzles where you have to find the shortest route or an image of a clock for a clock puzzle.  At times they can be interactive where some features can be moved, such as the puzzle where you have to get the animals across the water without certain combinations being left together.  The animals can be moved onto the raft, the raft moves across the water and the animals will run away or chase one another if you have made a mistake.  All in all, there really wasn’t a need to make the images overly complicated and with too much detail because in the end they certainly do their job.

The sound department for the game is well rounded with strong voice acting through the cut scenes that add a special charm to the game as it is like listening to an audio book with the story being read aloud and with feeling.  The music and sound effects add to the fullness of the audio component of the game and are found throughout, providing a nice and steady background to the gameplay.  The background music though a little gloomy and ominous at time is fitting to the mood of the game and truly captures the feel of the investigation.

Gameplay

Upon receiving a strange letter asking for help from an old friend, Clark Triton,  Professor Layton accompanied by his new assistant Emmy Altava rush to Misthallery to investigate.  Once in Misthallery, Professor Layton meets up with Clark and discovers it is actually his son Luke Triton who has sent the letter.  After hearing Luke’s information about the Specter, its strange history with the town and Luke’s uncanny ability to predict the appearance and location of the Specter, Professor Layton invites Luke to take part in the investigation and so the story begins.

To investigate the origins of the mysterious Specter you will need to move around the town of Misthallery.  This is accomplished by tapping on the shoe icon and selecting the direction of travel.  The top screen will show you a map identifying your current location and the direction of your current objective.  When you come to a new location it is important to thoroughly search the area to gather information that will help you progress through the story.  You may need to return to areas in the game that you have already searched as things may have changed in these locations as the story progresses.

Puzzles are everywhere throughout the game.  The main puzzles are story line puzzles which you come across through your investigation by speaking with the citizens of Misthallery.  The citizens may have information for you only if you can solve their puzzle or they might just want to see if you are as good at puzzle solving as you say you are.  Other puzzles can be hidden throughout each location and others may come up as you investigate an object that triggers a memory of a puzzle for Professor Layton, Luke or Emmy.   The puzzles range from brain teasers to logic problems and also vary in difficulty.  The harder the puzzle the more picarats (points) they will be worth.  If you answer successfully on your first try you will get the full value of the picarats.  Each time you get a wrong answer the number of picarats will decrease.  Ultimately solving the puzzle on the first attempt is the goal but earning as many picarats as possible will allow you to unlock more bonus content at the end of the game.

The game provides a few features that will help you through difficult puzzles including hint coins and a memo option on the puzzle screen that lets you work out possible solutions above the problems image.  The memo screen really comes in handy for puzzles that require calculations or also visual puzzles that require you to mark out shortest routes or even where you would draw lines to separate items into particular groups.  Hint coins are hidden throughout the locations that you will visit.  Making sure you tap everywhere with the stylus helps ensure you will collect as many hint coins as possible.  If you are completely stumped with the puzzle you can spend a hint coin to obtain a hint or guidance with a puzzle.  The hints for the most part are helpful in solving the puzzle, however, sometimes they can be similar to the free hint that you get when you get a puzzle wrong for the first time, which was a little frustrating as hint coins are limited in the game and you want to use them sparingly.

Throughout the game you may miss or skip some puzzles in certain areas but still have moved on to the next chapter of the story.  In order to keep the storyline moving, your missed puzzles are stored away with Keats the cat, keeper of puzzles. When you are ready to attempt these puzzles, you need only find Keats and they will be retrieved for you.

As you progress through the story you will also unlock additional puzzle games that can be accessed through Professor Layton’s Trunk.  These include Toy Train, Fish and Puppet Theatre.  During gameplay you will collect tracks, new fish tanks and lost script words for the puppet theatre.  The toy train game requires you to lay down tracks in a certain arrangement to allow the train to travel from point A to point B without running out of fuel.  The fish game asks you to lay down bubbles around the tank.  If the bubbles have been put in the right places the fish will swim until they bounce off of the bubbles and be propelled in a new direction until they hit another surface or collect all the coins in the tank in a specified amount of time.  Lastly, in the puppet theatre game, you will direct the puppets on stage by filling in the missing gaps of their script with the words you have collected.

The title also offers a standalone game London Life.  In London Life, you play a character that has just arrived to a new town Little London to stay.   The whole premise of the game revolves around helping your fellow citizens with tasks, finding employment, earning money and using these funds to upgrade your wardrobe as well as your homes furnishings.  You will need to complete some tasks in order such as working up job by job in the corporate ladder and in this game the clothes you wear do make a difference (some establishments will only grant you access once you have the right clothing on).  Overall, the game is simplistic in nature, but is a lot of fun and I found myself lost in the game for a few hours at a time.

The addition of the bonus games and London Life was a nice touch as it gave you alternative play options if you get stuck in the game or if you just wanted a change of pace.

Conclusion

This title is jammed pack with features that will keep you playing long into the night including an exciting and captivating storyline, a variety of mind boggling puzzles, bonus puzzle games that entice you to keep playing to collect the required items and of course the addition of London Life a game that stands on its own.  Thus making this game a fantastic title for the puzzle enthusiast in your family.

Presentation

Graphically this game seems like a nice mix of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker.  The character modeling and physical feel is very much like Twilight Princess and the overall controls and feel of the game are similar as well.  On the flip side the color pallet, shade and smaller animations remind me of Wind Waker.  There are more pastel colors and the shading is more of a cartoon style like that of Wind Waker.  Some of the smaller animations like bomb explosions are also very stylized.  Overall, I am very happy with the way this game looks but some things just seemed a little off.  The Rupees are huge, I don’t mean they tower over Link but they seem bloated for lack of a better word.  Most of the other pickups seem to be of relative size but the Rupees are definitely oversized.

One thing that did bother me was the character modeling and movement on Link.  When I was sitting normally, as I would be playing a Wii game, Link was running around with his arm and sword outstretched.  In all honestly, it looked stupid to be running around looking like that.  Do it, stick your right arm straight out and up a little and walk around like that for any length of time and you’ll see what I mean.

The sounds and voices are exactly what I would expect form a Zelda game.  The “Voice Overs” are still mostly grunts, groans and laughs that get the emotion of the message across, while the actual words are still text.  But I am actually ok with that, it is almost a trade mark of Zelda games and I think it would lose something if it were full voice overs.

Needless to say however the music in this Zelda game is by far some of the best game music I have heard in a Zelda game or any other.  Zelda always puts top effort into their scores and it shows.  Yes, there are the expected chest opening ditties and such but the themes and area music is superb.

Gameplay

Yet again Nintendo has provided another great Zelda title that is a fun and well laid out game.  Like in all Zelda titles you play the adventurous youth who is called upon to save the world, yeah no pressure, and in doing so saves the girl you care for Zelda.

The controls themselves are good and offer a different way to interact with objects and enemies.  The application of the Wii motion + system does offer much more precise control on Links right arm and makes things like fighting monsters easier.  The monsters now block your attacks so you need to swing in the right directions in order to get through their defenses.  Similarly, you use the new control method to confuse enemies, split logs, and control in game systems.  This system does have its down sides, I find at times you have to point the remote far beyond your TV in order to get to the extremes of some menus.  This also makes the remote feel heavy or bogged down and the controls sometimes feel sluggish.

Like in other Zelda games you get a multitude of additional tools and weapons to help you along.  The standard slingshot, bombs and arrows are expected and they have added some new ones that take advantage of the new control system.   One of the first things you get is a remote control flying beetle used to cut grass and trigger out of sight switches.  The uses for the flying beetle increases as the game progresses.  New to this Zelda series is a collection of secondary equipment that you can swap in and out of updatable pouches and a storage locker.  This is the first time in a Zelda game where you had to pick and choose your equipment when leaving your central town.

Another new aspect to the game is playing around the air space surrounding Skyloft.  This is very similar to Windwaker.  There are a bunch of floating islands that contain chests and upgrades and small game shops and this adds a nice exploration aspect to the game because otherwise it is fairly linear.  Also new to the game is that now most of your equipment is upgradable.  You need to find items throughout the world to use as upgrade components.  Most items have 3 levels of upgrades available increasing one main aspect of the item either durability, speed or range.

All in all this is a good game but it seemed simpler then any other Zelda game I have played.  The dungeons are simpler and more liner and you only need to find the map and big key now, there is no more compass.  The bosses are what I expect from Zelda games but to get to them is much easier.

Conclusion

The Legend of Zelda the Skyward Sword is an excellent addition to the Zelda series and offers a great addition to the lore and story of Zelda.  Unfortunately, the game as a whole did not soar as high as the creators may have hoped for as it contained a lot of small short comings making the game slightly less than I expected.    All this being said, I still have to admit I did love this game, being a true Zelda fan to the end.

First Mario Game for Nintendo 3DS Hand-Held System Launches Nov. 13

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Nov. 9, 2011 – The timeless platforming fun of the Super Mario^™ video game franchise expands into a new dimension this holiday season with the Nov. 13 launch of the Super Mario 3D Land^™ game. Created exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS^™ hand-held system, this new game places Mario^™ and his friends in immersive environments that players can enjoy in true 3D without the need for special glasses. Also introducing power-ups, enemies and the return of Tanooki Mario, Super Mario 3D Land promises to satisfy series fans, newcomers and holiday gift seekers at a suggested retail price of $39.99 in Canada.

The game’s remarkable 3D visuals make it easy for players to judge depth and distance as they run through levels, collecting coins and bumping question blocks in search of interesting power-ups. Abilities such as rolling somersaults and high-speed dash moves add to players’ strategic options. Players also can play as Tanooki Mario, using his tail to hover or perform floating jumps and attacks. The game’s level design makes use of the Nintendo 3DS system’s 3D capabilities; some levels require players to progress from top to bottom, while others challenge them to move forward into the spatial depths of an environment. This is truly the next evolution in Mario game play.

“Mario fans from every generation will love experiencing the Super Mario franchise in true 3D,” said Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada’s vice-president and general manager. “Making your way through the Mushroom Kingdom has never been so immersive, and Nintendo 3DS lets players dive into the action anytime, anywhere. The game is sure to put smiles on lots of faces this holiday season.”

New characters in the game include enemy Goombas with tails and Piranha Plants that can spit ink to obscure players’ view. In addition to familiar special items such as Fire Flowers and Super Mushrooms, players will find Propeller Blocks that let Mario reach high places and a Boomerang Flower that changes him into Boomerang Mario and enables him to throw boomerangs. Additionally, players can examine parts of some levels by using the Nintendo 3DS system’s built-in gyro sensor to pan and explore.

Another unique feature can give players a helping hand when they’re having trouble with a tricky level. If a player loses too many lives in a row, an invincible White Tanooki Mario or P-Wing can be activated, giving the player a chance to complete the level without enemy threats. Players can also choose to skip ahead to the end of a tricky stage if they prefer to simply move on. These features are completely optional ­for gamers who prefer to play through levels without help.

Remember that Nintendo 3DS features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

For more information about Super Mario 3D Land, visit http://supermario3dland.nintendo.com.

Presentation

Like most Kinect games your character is powered by your avatar and takes on the same shape and likeness of your creation.  Throughout the game you select suits for your avatar which in turn gives your avatar some pretty cool power. The avatar’s heads seem a bit larger which makes it a tad easier to see facial expressions throughout the battles.

The overall feel of the game is a cross between a comic book and a cartoon show in the vein of Ben 10 or Dragon Ball Z. Like the cartoons the game looks slick and everything is exactly where it is supposed to be to enhance the world the heroes battle in, ultimately creating the perfect atmosphere for heroes to battle in.  The animations throughout the game are exactly what I expected to be in a hero fighting game where special aerial moves or lightning based attacks are quite electrifying.(pun intended).

Overall, the graphics although cartoonish in nature and not the best that modern day consoles can produce. However, the intended comic book/animation style that was intended comes strikingly through and really does set up the right visual tone.

Maybe it is because I am becoming older that the sound and music in games that I play don’t really matter as much to me as long as there is some and it doesn’t sound horrible. In the case of PowerUp Heroes I get the same feeling again of an adequate, but barely noticeable soundtrack and limited, but purposeful sound effects.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong in the sound department for the game it does its job admirably but aside from the well-known “Fight” at the beginning of the match with a few appropriate sound effects for power moves and battle actions you are not left with a whole lot to wow you.

Gameplay

When Kinect released with the tag line of, “You are the controller.” It evoked plenty of different images of players doing things that haven’t been done before and one of those is actually jumping into a game and battling it in over top awesome battles. Other fighting titles have attempted to do this so far which mainly has resulted in more arm flailing and random kicks thrown in than something a bit more structured.

Along comes PowerUp Heroes where you get to don some suits that give you powers that you can easily perform with some very basic motions that are displayed on the screen, Moves like punching from a distance will launch projectiles at your opponent, where raising your knee in the air will launch yourself into a sliding kick attack that will get you in nice and close to perform some melee attacks. Up close and personal you can kick and punch or use some of your power moves to get some devastating attacks in against your opponent.

Performing these power moves are easily done by mimicking the on screen animations and respond much better than I anticipated to the point where my five year old son could easily jump into the game and participate as well. When an enemy attacks you it initiates a mini-game where you have to use your hands and legs to defend against attacks, which unfortunately compared to the offensive moves not as easy to do.

Before battling your opponent you get to select two suits, with each suit having its own powers to use. This comes in handy because you can use a stunning move on one suit and in mid-battle switch to another suit to perform an attack which leads you into a combo where you can really pound some punishment into your target.  This adds a bit of variety to the combat, but in the heat of the battle as I witnessed with my son you tend to forget there is another suit to use when setting up a combo.  Along the way though you do get to unlock a few things to modify your character that increase damage, decrease charge times and even adds elemental attacks into the mix as well.

Overall, the combat system is quite simple which is great for the younger audience the title is intended for, but it would have been nice to have a harder difficulty to challenge adult gamers who want to be a superhero for the night as well.

The story is not remarkable, but sets up the playing field for our budding heroes. An evil alien has come to earth to destroy the planet and you power it up to take on this baddy and save the world from impending doom. Once you get through the story you are left with some multiplayer locally with up to three other players and via split screen. Online is 1 on 1 battles against other gamers via Xbox Live. Essentially both multiplayer options work exactly the same as the campaign battles, but this time you’re going up against a human being rather than a computer.

PowerUp Heroes satisfies the need to jump in and be a super hero without the limitation of a controller for kids and for the kids at heart. Where the younger gamers may be able to play this title for hours, older gamers may find the gameplay repetitive and boring after an hour or two and lacks the depth to make the game truly amazing.

Conclusion

PowerUp Heroes makes a great Kinect title for young gamers, but falls short from being a robust title that will entertain for hours upon hours. With the great motion controls and the comic book style visuals  gamers will be able to become their childhood heroes and in some cases re-live the good old days of backyard shenanigans.

Check out the complete review at Canadian Online Gamers.

Recreational Rating: 7/10

The Just Dance franchise has seen some success of the Nintendo Wii, so it comes as no surprise that a sequel has arrived for the Xbox 360 Kinect.  Dance Central stands as arguably the best dance game on the Kinect, so in my view Just Dance 3 had a tough act to follow.  Well, after some time spent with Just Dance 3, or rather after some time spent taking notes while watching my daughter and her buddy play the game, I am certainly impressed.  More importantly the kids had a blast playing it.  That being said, Just Dance 3 is a somewhat shallow experience and one best left for those with a hankering for dancing with friends in their gaming room.

Check out the complete review at Canadian Online Gamers

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Buoyed by glowing endorsements from the Toys”R”Us “Holiday Hot Toy List,” the Toy Insider “Hot 20 List,” and Time to Play’s “Power Ups” holiday toy list, Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is proud to announce that Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is available now at retailers worldwide. The Starter Pack includes the game, three Skylanders action figures, the Portal of Power™ peripheral, a poster and trading cards — everything consumers need to experience the highly anticipated mingling of digital and physical play that only Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure can deliver.

“Everyone at Activision and Toys for Bob has poured a tremendous amount of passion, imagination and love into creating Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “And while it’s certainly gratifying to receive recognition from the likes of Toy Insider and Time to Play, we are most excited to share Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure with the most important audience of all, young gamers everywhere.”

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is the first game to deliver a cross-platform experience that allows kids to bring toys to life in a magical world via the Portal of Power. And because the toys remember their experiences, they can travel seamlessly — from your house to a friend’s and from one platform to another, including the Nintendo Wii™, Nintendo 3DS™, the Xbox 360™ game and entertainment system, the PlayStation®3 Computer entertainment system, PCs and Macs, as well as on the web with Skylanders Spyro’s Universe(SM). Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure‘s boundless multi-modal, cross-platform play is a watershed for both the toy and videogame industries, and for young gamers seeking genuinely innovative and exciting digital adventure. Kids can collect more than 30 characters, each with their own powers and personality; and each expands the gameplay experience. The sinister Portal Master Kaos has cast them out of the Skylands and banished them to earth, where they are frozen and appear to look like toys.  But they are very much alive on the inside and only young gamers can free them by placing them on the Portal of Power so they can return to the Skylands and defeat Kaos.

Activision united in-house talent with top Hollywood talent to create Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure’s unique world.  The game and technology were developed by Activision’s Novato, California studio, Toys for Bob, led by creative director and studio head Paul Reiche. The adventure-driven story was penned by Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, two of the Academy Award-nominated writers of the original Toy Story movie, Academy Award-winning composer, Hans Zimmer, created the game’s theme song and Lorne Balfe composed the score.

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure includes a vast single player adventure, co-op gameplay, battle modes, puzzle solving and treasure hunts.  The result is a line of highly collectible characters, an engaging story and an unparalleled interactive entertainment experience.  The game is rated E10+ by the ESRB.  For more information, visit http://www.skylanders.com/

Minneapolis, MN- October 17, 2011-

Get a new look at Pillow Pets™ characters exploring Dreamland when you download these brand new game screenshots:

Based on the beloved children’s line of plush pillows from CJ Products that easily transform into snuggly companions, the Pillow Pets™ game for Nintendo DS invites you to jump, fly, buzz and explore Dreamland, the imaginative world where the Pillow Pets™ characters thrive. Get to know your charming pet’s personality as you customize him or her with hats, glasses and more! When your favorite pal goes missing, you must set out on a journey to bring your lost pet home safely. But don’t fret! Along the way you’ll meet cuddly friends and uncover tokens and rewards that will make for an unforgettable experience! Whether playing alone or side by side with friends, the Pillow Pets™ game for Nintendo DS creates a nurturing and fantasy-filled adventure that can be enjoyed by boys and girls of all ages.

Developed by First Playable, the Pillow Pets™ game for Nintendo DS is rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB.  For additional information about GameMill’s line of products, please visit: www.game-mill.com.

Recreational Rating:  8/10

Having played quite a few Dragon Quest games over my gaming career, along with reviewing a couple over the past few years, I have come to appreciate the story, the art, and the loveable, although often hated, monsters that you battle throughout the games. In the Dragon Quest Monsters series you take control of these Monsters and set out to do battle from their perspective, and with a second title, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 (DQM2 for short) being released, I eagerly waited to see what my monsters could do.

Presentation

Akira Toriyama’s art style is prominent throughout the game. Fans of Dragon Quest will know that Toriyama has worked on the Dragon Quest series since the beginning while other people may know him more for the popular Dragon Ball Japanese anime that he has created in the past. With such an acclaimed artist working with Dragon Quest over the years, the artistic inspiration and animations are quite a pleasure to view.

The monsters are quite diverse throughout DQM2. You’ll find classic, but simple slime monsters, a platypunk (a playtypus with a spiky hair cut), or even a killerpillar (deadly caterpillar) to name a few, and these along with other monsters based on the various environments that they call home will populate the screen. As you can tell, some of the creatures have a crafty naming convention, often taking real words and throwing in a spin with something related to the monster itself, which often leads to how the monster looks.

Something I found new in the Dragon Quest series is the ability to take two monsters and use the Monster Synthesis to create a brand new monster that will take on characteristics of the “parent” monsters. The end result is something entirely new and much more powerful. Taking some of the tried and true monsters throughout the series and bringing forth some new baddies using the Monster Synthesis is a great touch and adds more depth to the monsters available, visually speaking.

Rounding out the graphical display is the island where the game takes place. You’ll find your atypical environments, such as forest, desert, caves, swamps and your broken down air ship, make up the setting for DQM2. Walking around the island you come across some nice scenery such as mountains, trees, water basins, rivers and oceans that have all been used to create a wonderful world with rich detail. Within this word, which is ruled by monsters, you will also come across some interesting areas, unique monsters, and even a village or two that might surprise you a bit (editor’s note: no spoilers here).

The sound of DQM2 is split into sound effects and music; unfortunately there is no voice acting present in this game, which I felt could have been a new element to the series. The sound effects create a diverse and rich experience, which includes the many attack sounds from weapons like swords, staves, or magical attacks. You’ll also hear the distinct sound such as when you receive a hit or when a monster is defeated. Each moment receives its own unique sound effect that adds to the rich sound effects throughout the game.

The music is typical with this genre of game. It is instrumental and differs depending on which type of area you are exploring. When entering a village you are usually greeted with a cheery, fast paced melody that welcomes you. In contrast, dark, dank caves provide you the opposite feeling with slower more monotone music that gives the impression of possible death. During battles the music switches it up to a fast paced type of harmony. And as one would expect, the tempo really picks up when you face boss creatures throughout the game, which helps to communicate that desperate and on the edge of your seat feel. Overall, the great variety of music matched up with the right situation creates a great musical experience.

Gameplay

Dragon Quest Monsters 2 plays like a traditional turn based RPG where you control the actions your monsters perform, with the enemies returning the same deadly attacks and spells back at you. Turn based combat keeps on bringing fans back time and time again and I am definitely one of those fans that enjoy the adventure of taking my heroes, or in this case my monsters, into battle and fulfilling the story set before me.

DQM2 follows the story of a young man who sneaks onto an Airship Albatross so he can enter into a monster trainer contest. En route to the contest he gets discovered and forced into employment on the ship as punishment for stowing away. As it turns out the ship hits some trouble in the skies and crashes onto an uncharted island chock full of different monsters. With the crew and other passengers scattered throughout the island it becomes your job to explore the island, rescue the crew & passengers while strengthening your monsters. Overall, the story is a classic RPG that leads you from area to area, and dungeon to dungeon, in an epic quest to save everyone.

The gameplay is not that complicated and is very easy to pick up and play, especially if you are a veteran of the RPG genre. Typically, you’ll explore the areas and by communicating with the citizens (in this case, monsters) you’ll find out who needs help, and of course as a hero, you’ll rush off to the rescue. Along the way you will encounter monsters that you can train and bring into your party; however, you can also just battle them, or if they are just too much for you you can high tail it out of there as fast you can.

Leveling your monsters increases their overall stats, but you also level up their skills, which varies from monster to monster. The skills each monster has can range from magic (healing, offensive, defensive) attacks and stat increases to health, defense, attacks, etc. These skills also come in handy after you synthesize a new monster.

The new Monster Synthesis feature has you simply taking two level 10 or higher monsters, one with a positive charge and one with negative charge, combining them and viola, you create a new monster. This new monster will inherit skills from the two original monsters you combined, so you will want to keep this in mind when you are allocating skills as you level up. Monster Synthesis does add more depth to the monsters available in the game, but with the combinations pre-determined there isn’t much to the creation process. Adding in the ability to design your own monsters would have been nice touch to customize the creation process even more.

DQM2 does feature some multi-card wireless functionality where you can battle and trade your monsters via the DS’s wireless communications. The battle portion is straightforward where you put your monsters head to head, or through a tournament where 2-8 players can battle it out to see who comes out on top. Monster Exchange is simple as well, granting the ability for players to trade monsters to expand their monster library or beef up their team for future battles.

There is also some Nintendo Wi-Fi gameplay where you can play in a World Monster Championship (WMC). The WMC matches you up against five teams that are around your level, and you battle against them. Your team will essentially compete against other players throughout the world. The great thing about the WMC is that you don’t have to connect at the same time to compete in your battles as they are downloaded/uploaded to the WMC and the results are compiled at the end of the day and the rankings updated accordingly. This adds a huge value to the game for those you like to find out how they rank up against the world in their gaming abilities.

Conclusion

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 has a wonderful story where you guide your monsters through plenty of quests while offering a myriad of puzzles for you to solve. All of this keeps you quite busy. Add to this top notch graphics accompanied by great music and sound effects and you have great recipe for a well-rounded package. Overall this title offers a lot in single player and multi-player area and does the RPG dynasty justice keeping fans happy and busy until a new Dragon Quest title comes along.