Self-Conscious Gaming?

Self-Conscious Gaming?

Repercussions of Nintendo's Re-Branding.

Like most of my generation, my first console was purchased in the Nineties and was manufactured by a certain Japanese company known as Nintendo. As my introduction to the magical world of video games, I've always had a soft spot for Nintendo and everything that comes with it. Years and hundreds of hours of Mario, Samus, and Donkey Kong later, my love of the company has diminished, but, while I was puzzled by the Gamecube and cringed for the Wii, I've still held high hopes for the future of “hardcore” gamers with Nintendo consoles. With the announcement of 3DS details and the launch of the system looming on the horizon, though, I've been doing some thinking about Nintendo and more specifically on the question, “Why don't I want to play DS in public?”

I'd like to think that I'm a well-versed gamer: I've played my share of most genres, and I'm comfortable with my nerdy trivia knowledge of games past and present. If I play DS in public, though, I feel like I've got to show the screen to everyone around me just to try to convince them that I'm not playing one of the many movie tie-ins or kids' games that have been released for the handheld. Perhaps the very fact that my youth was punctuated by the Gameboy chime makes me think feel slightly childish while playing, and it doesn't help when games require me to pull out the stylus or blow into the mircophone. In the self-conscious world we live in, Nintendo seems to have fallen from the cool side to the less than cool side.

When you look at the sales numbers, the DS won the handheld console war with no questions asked, but while those numbers don't lie about the total sales, one has to wonder how many of those were sold to “actual” gamers. How many soccer moms and grandparents were lured in by Brain Training or Crossword DS? How many bright pink systems were sold to gradeschool-aged girls? If I had a nickle for every seven-year-old walking around with a DS, I might be a rich man. Nintendo has made millions by appealing to a new audience, but they've diluted their customer base to the point that there's no way that they can make everyone happy. The problem is that when the casual gamers don't see something interesting in the new system, they melt back into the teeming masses of non-gamers, while the unhappy hardcore will grumble as they play their Kid Icarus and assortment of remakes. Nintendo knows where the big money is, and they're going to go after it whenever they can.

It will be hard for me to pass up the 3DS when it comes out in a few months, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Nintendo is slowly but steadily moving toward the casual market, and those of us on the fringe are going to have to start moving one way or another. We'll either have to start playing those Brain Training games, or we'll have to move on to bigger and brighter things. It should be interesting to see how Nintendo will respond to Sony's announcement of the NGP, or what amounts to the PSP 2. Will Nintendo take this as the chance to win gamers back over with an experience that puts them back into competition with Sony's software support. I never though I would say this, but Nintendo has some catching up to do.

--Tom

Picross 3D - Review

Picross 3D
An Extra Dimension and Another Success

The DS has always had a strong stable of puzzle games in its library, and featuring prominently in that pantheon since its release in 2007, has been a little game called Picross DS. Based on a from of logic puzzle known as nonograms and striking a balance between Sudoku and Minesweeper, Picross DS was hailed as innovative and addictive by the video game press, but puzzle games are not particularly prone to spawning sequels that make changes in gameplay, which makes the recent release of Picross 3D somewhat surprising. As might be deduced from the title, Picross 3D shakes up the gameplay by adding depth to the height and width in the original Picross formula. The new, 3D puzzles not only look more intricate and daunting, but makes an interesting new twist to the game.

I didn't start off appreciating the additions, though. After the first couple hours of gameplay, I found myself losing interest in the game and wishing that I could just go back and play the original. There's always the possibility that a puzzle game will become tiring, and I'm afraid that this holds true for Picross 3D. You may pick it up for a little while, complete a few puzzles, and then put it down again. It's much better in small doses. Of course, this means that you might not be able to rely on Picross 3D holding your attention for a long plane ride or car trip.

The game is a slow burner: gradually, as I played more and more, I started to realize that I was liking the game more and more. The controls work well, moving and rotating the camera with the stylus and then using the X and Y buttons to mark and destroy blocks as you slowly reveal the shape in the center of each puzzle. The music wont blow you away, but it sports a fairly competent variety. In the end, I just turned down the volume and listened to the radio. There's nothing wrong with the sound effects or music, but you won't miss them if they go away.

If you're worried about content, let me put your fears to rest: Picross 3D boast hundreds of puzzles that will take you quite a while to complete. You might be able to easily complete the first few difficulties, but the puzzles to increase in difficulty, and you'll have quite a job to do if you want to get a perfect score on all the puzzles. A star system that rates your performance on each puzzle encourages you to play through each one two or three times to get the maximum possible score. In addition, even if you're able to make it through all of the challenges offered with this game, you can download additional puzzles through the Nintendo WiFi Connection. You can also create and share your own puzzles and share them with friends or upload them to the internet for other players to download. The puzzle creation tool is remarkably easy to use, and you'll have no difficulty making complicated challenges in no time.

As previously mentioned, the game takes a while to get into, and this is partially the fault of the fact that you have to play through all the tutorial levels before you can get on to anything remotely challenging. This is not to say that the tutorials aren't helpful, you will probably need to use them to get a grasp of the basic changes that have been made in the Picross formula, but forcing you to go through all the learning levels and then through all of the ridiculously easy beginner levels, just adds more time to the experience, not more enjoyment.

Overall, Picross isn't the sort of game that pulls you in for hours on end, but over the course of the last week, I've found that I've played it quite a bit. A minute here and a minute there really starts to add up, and looking back on the time I've spent with it, I've got to say that I did enjoy playing. So, despite first impressions to the contrary, I can find no reason not to recommend Picross 3D as one of the best puzzle games for the DS. Give the game some time and you might find that you'll come to agree with me.

--Tom