Stephen and I are in the process of moving overseas (we’re moving to Toronto, Canada, via the Trans-Mongolian Railway), so in the flurry of packing everything we own into boxes or bags, I haven’t had any time for Middle Earth. I have, however, been arranging my entertainment for the trip, which I thought y’all might be interested in.
I am a big traveller – I’ve been out of the country every year since I graduated, and I’ve been to some fantastic places and done some brilliant things. But the thing about travel is, for every great moment there are at least three (probably more) boring ones. Waiting for planes, trains and buses, travelling on them, hanging around in the hostel or hotel at night – there are plenty of times when the country you’re visiting can’t entertain you.
Meet my Nintendo DS. We’ve travelled around the world together – he doesn’t get any love while we’re at home, but as soon as it’s time to head off, he’s always spoiled with new games.
This trip, I’m looking for a couple of new games to supplement the Super Mario and Pokemon staples that I always take (Pokemon is hands-down the best time wasting game ever). Because I only buy new games when I travel, I tend to miss a lot of games, so I take the opportunity to troll the review sites for weeks in advance, hunting for what I’ve missed. This trip, there are two new games and two fairly old ones that have made my list.
This was only released a couple of months ago, and is getting rave reviews all over the shop. The basic premise of the Lego tie-in games (they exist for Batman, Indiana Jones and Star Wars too) is that they build the entire world out of Lego, simplify the story a bit, and throw in some platforming and some puzzles for good measure. They’re fantastic fun - I’ve played previous Lego games and loved them, and I’m a big fan of Harry Potter, so I’m really looking forward to playing this one.
This one’s a couple of years old – I’ve never actually played a Zelda game, but I was looking for something adventure RPG-esque, so I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
My understanding of Zelda games is that they involve some puzzles, some easy-mode killing of things, and a trip to rescue the Princess. Ramp tells me that Zelda games involve a lot of travelling, so it might be art imitating life, playing it on the road. Either way I’m excited to see how it plays out.
This one was released last year, and I never picked it up either, but it’s also got some great reviews. I’ve played other GTA games, and they’re always great fun – stealing cars, completing missions and playing through the story. Supposedly this version is specialised for and only available on the handhelds (DS, iPhone, PSP), so I’m interested to see what sort of concessions they have to make for the smaller low-res screens and clumsy controls.
This one looked interesting, but I’m having trouble working out whether it’s aimed at kids or adults. The review suggested that it was mainly a puzzle-based story game, and I like those, but the graphic style suggests it might be aimed a bit young. Nevertheless, I think I might pick it up, just for something a bit different.
I’m pretty sure that should be enough to keep me busy not only on the planes, trains and buses, but until we get internet in our new Toronto home as well. Best of all – the games should be pretty much free! I’m planning on trading in a bunch of old DS games, plus my Wii and all of its games, so I’m hoping that will cover most of this list. Here’s hoping!
Are there any other DS gamers out there? I’d be interested in your recommendations 
* Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
ReplyDelete* Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
* Scribblenauts
* New Super Mario Bros
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is garbage, I couldn't get into it, but I couldn't put the other two down, especially OoE.
Zelda and GTA are brilliant too. GTA might turn you away at first because the controls feel awkward, but stick with it.
Mario Kart is decent, but doesn't really last.