Spot It! Mean Machines (DSiWare) Review

Our first review of November is a downloadable title for the DSiWare service. It also works on the Nintendo 3DS. If you are a fan of finding objects within a picture, then this first game I am reviewing this month will no doubt suit your fancy. It's Spot It! Mean Machines by Big John Games.

Seek and ye shall find.

As a kid in the early 90s I loved running to the mailbox and hoping that the latest issue of Highlights magazine came in the mail. It wasn't because I found enjoyment from reading the articles, seeing what new crafts I could create, or taking a look at what Goofus and Gallant were up to. No, I was most interested in finding that black and white hidden picture puzzle placed within the contents of every issue where objects were cleverly hidden within a picture and the reader had to find them all.

Along those lines, here comes Spot It! Mean Machines. It's very similar in concept to those old Highlights puzzles except it's more of a game. You get a puzzle full of objects and ambiance that can be scrolled through via the d-pad, stylus, or a combination of the two. The game starts by asking you to find a specific item. The catch is that you have a limited time to find it and tap it with the stylus before it is locked out and no longer available (A clock is shown next to each item on the top screen to indicate how long you have). As more objects are found and in a quick fashion to boot, the more points you earn.

The game ends when twenty objects have been found or locked, or when a certain number of items have been locked. This number depends entirely on which of the three difficulties you are playing on. Not only does the difficulty affect how many items can be locked total without getting a game over, but it also determines how much time you have to find a given object or item. Locked objects can be blown up by finding an object that has a bomb next to it on the top screen. Discovering the hiding place of that object will destroy one locked object on your list. It's very handy, especially in more arduous difficulties.

In the multiplayer mode (which offers play for up to four people) the number of objects that can be found is cut in half to ten. Players take turns finding ten items as fast as possible before passing the DS or 3DS onto the next person who then has to find the same ten items. The player with the most points at the conclusion of every player's turn wins.

There are ten puzzles total in Spot It! Mean Machines, and you have to unlock each one. This generally just forces you to play through a puzzle and complete it to unlock the next. There are a plethora of objects to seek out and find -- bats, bears, bunnies, batteries, saws, scissors, sheep, letters of the alphabet, wagons, wheels, crickets, frogs, toilets, eyes, tarantulas, cookies, carrots, moon rovers, among many others. Even though the order of objects and which ones you have to find are random each time you play a puzzle, the placement of the objects always remains the same. You can get to the point within the game where you can simply memorize the general area of where an object is and find it swiftly to get the most points. To an extent, it almost feels like cheating. This lowers the replay value of the game, as does the lack of any kind of online leaderboards to compare point scores with fellow Mean Machines players.

This title has a relatively simple presentation to it. Puzzles look like real life photos only with many more jaggies than expected. Sometimes objects can blend in or blur easily with the background, causing some confusion and frustration in trying to find them. The menus themselves are also relatively simple, but they're easy to navigate which is much more important than making someone drool at their sophistication. Every puzzle possesses the same musical theme. This can become tedious to the ears, but the piece of music is actually rather catchy.

Spot It! Mean Machines is a good buy considering the amount of content and options available to it. It won't be a game that players will invest dozens of hours into, but it will be one that is superb for those with pick-up-and-play sensibilities. That's because a given puzzle only lasts about five minutes, if even that. If you're looking for a game to make use of that eagle eye of yours, then it makes sense to try Spot It! Mean Machines.

[SuperPhillip Says: 7.0/10]

SuperPhillip Interviews: Ken Patterson (Big John Games)

Last Thursday I kicked off reviews for the month of October with a look at Kart Krashers, a DSiWare title by Big John Games. Speaking of which, I recently had the chance to speak with Ken Patterson, the founder of the studio. We talked about their latest game in Kart Krashers, Nintendo's game acceptance policy (how easy or hard it is to get a game accepted on their marketplace), how a developer receives a Wii U developer kit, and so much more.

SuperPhillip (SP): How did Big John Games come into fruition? When was it founded?

Ken Patterson (KP): I founded Big John Games after winding down my first studio "Window Painters" in 2001. While I was at the helm of Window Painters we did a lot of work for Disney Interactive. We developed the "Print Studio" creativity game series for Disney. We we were the developers of the critically acclaimed PC video game "Nightmare Ned", check out the funny video of it on You Tube.. At Window Painters we also developed two popular fishing game series, "Zebco 3D Fishing" and the "FLW Tournament" fishing series.

My focus for Big John Games was to get into console development, and move away from PC "work for hire" development. Our first console game was a reboot of "Trophy Bass" for the XBOX, that game turned out very well. We then had the opportunity to start developing for the DS and created "Spitfire Heroes" and "Plushees" for DS retail.

We noted some struggles at retail and our next two DS projects (Thorium Wars and Working Dawgs) had trouble finding retail partners so we kind of dipped our toe into DSiWare publishing with Thorium Wars. Thorium Wars did well as digital download for us so we made a commitment to DSiWare and WiiWare as our way to release games.

The BJG Team

SP: How does your studio distinguish itself from other downloadable game developers, especially those making games on the marketplaces (e.g. WiiWare, DSiWare, 3DS eShop) you folks do?

KP: That's a really good question. Having come from a history of retail game development, we try hard to put out a game that has retail value applied to it. We have a nice blend of people like myself with over 20 years experience in this industry, and young talented, passionate developers that bring in new ideas and excitement to our game development process. The team's are very tight and committed to building a game experience that will resonate with the player.

We build games that appeal to us as gamers. Hopefully the players of our games feel that when they play our games.

SP: Your latest game, Kart Krashers, recently released for DSiWare. Where did the inspiration to make the game a collecting-based game rather than a standard kart racer come from?

Kart Krashers (DSiWare)

KP: It came from an internal game that we had been working on. Basically it was a delivery style game like "Crazy Taxi" but the game never hit the excitement and fun threshold we wanted. So that project was put aside for awhile. I came back to it last summer, and I drove around and smashed into everything, and had a blast. I then realized that I did the opposite of the rules for the "Crazy Taxi" style game where you needed to avoid these objects. Thus the idea light came on.

We made a quick prototype of the hit objects for points game play, and we enjoyed it very much, it had the fun level we were looking for. So we went forward with full production of the game.

SP: How long did it take to develop Kart Krashers?

KP: It took nine months to develop.

SP: What are you hoping players experience with the game? Is there anything you wish to tell them?

KP: We hope the players experience a great sense of speed, and also develop strategies for collecting the stars to boost the multiplier and reach the highest point level possible. There are many ways to score points and approach high scores. We had fun with competitions on reaching high scores here at the studio.

SP: One of the criticisms in my review of Kart Krashers was the lack of an online leaderboard for friends to compare scores across the web. Was such a feature not included because it was simply not feasible for a studio of your size?

KP: Yep, online scoreboards would have been a great addition. There were some issues with that we just did not have time to deal with. You will see in future versions of Kart Krashers a much stronger online and multi player approach.

SP: What can you tell my readers about the game certification process for putting new games on Nintendo's various marketplaces? Does it take too long, or is it satisfactory in how long it takes? Has the experience improved since you started?

KP: We cut our teeth on the Lot Check process with the earlier retail games. So we already had a process and mindset to make sure our games will follow the Lot Check guidelines.

Thorium Wars (DSiWare)

Making the sure the game play is correct and the game does not crash is something our QA process is responsible for. Properly dealing with DSi specific issues is what Lot Check looks for. These are important to the user experience with the DSi so we take it seriously and follow the guidelines provided. Lot Check typically takes about 4 weeks for us, which we think is completely reasonable.

Over time our we have developed a code base that conforms to Lot Check guidelines so this helps. Lot Check is continually adding guidelines as users find issues that may effect there game play experience with the DSi system. This is great, we all want happy players.

SP: Do you think you get enough promotion from Nintendo on the company's various marketplaces currently?

KP: Of course not. I wish Nintendo would drop everything and just focus on only BJG's games. OK, so that is not going to happen.


Nintendo is working to promote all of the games it offers for downloads. There are certain games that get a little more promotion, that is because they offer something the the player that Nintendo values. Typically games that get a little extra promotion, offer what Nintendo thinks is a quality experience for its players. This is a good way to inspire developers to bring valuable experiences to its players.

This is a good thing. It raises the bar, so that we as developers work to make a quality experience and we may get a little extra promotion out of Nintendo.

Ultimately promotion of the game is the responsibility of the developer / digital publisher. You just can not stop at developing the game, you have to make an effort to let the players out there know your game is available. Blog sites like yours are very important in getting the word out. Yes we developers have to nurture and work with our marketing sides at times.

SP: You have on your homepage that you are a certified Nintendo 3DS game developer. Is your studio thinking of creating a game that is exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS's eShop?

KP: We are currently finishing our first 3DS game, Coaster Creator 3D. It is a really cool way to design, edit and ride roller coasters and ride them using the 3DS 3D. We use a spline based system for forming the coaster tracks. You use the stylus to pull and twist your track. We also have wizards for loops and twists. It's a very new way to create coaster and works extremely well on the 3DS.

SP: You are not currently listed as a developer for the Wii U, but are you currently in the process of attempting to be one? How does that process work (i.e. how does one become a developer for a new platform)?

KP: We will be developing Wii U products starting next year.

Studios can submit project concepts to Nintendo, and if Nintendo likes these concepts you can get access to Wii U dev kits. Nintendo will also seek out studio's that they have identified as having content that they would like to get onto there systems. It's about getting the most relevant content to the players that Nintendo will use as it's guide for seeding new console development.

We have some cool concepts for Wii U and will submit them early next year. In the mean time we have a few more DSiWare games we will be releasing and we will also be bringing more 3DS native games to the eShop.

SP: Is there anything else you would like to tell my readers?

KP: Thank you, for supporting Nintendo digital products. Nintendo digital stores are getting much better, and attracting more consumers. This makes for a vibrant marketplace which is exciting to us developer / publishers and the players.

I hope your readers will give Kart Krashers a try. We really worked hard to build a unique, fun, and entertaining game.

I firmly believe, that the most innovating products are coming out as Nintendo digital offerings.

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It was once again a pleasure to interview someone within the gaming industry, seeing the viewpoint of someone that I normally would not get to look at, and learning new things about a developer's design process among other neat tidbits. If you are interested in Kart Krashers and you own a Nintendo 3DS or DSi system, you can go onto the online store and pick up the game for $4.99. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this interview, and I cannot thank Ken Patterson of Big John Games enough for his time.

Kart Krashers (DSiWare) Review

We are nearly halfway through the month of October, yet we have no reviews to show for it. That is going to change really soon. And by really soon, I mean now. The first review of the month comes from Big John Games' Kart Krashers for DSiWare (also available on the Nintendo eShop for 3DS). The game released late last month, so let's see if this kart game's kooky enough for my tastes.

Not Even Close to a Kart-astrophe.

The kart genre is no stranger to zany and colorful games. When you think of games with karts, you most likely think of races around wacky circuits a la Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing. The newest effort by Big John Games forgoes such a formula and creates its own unique DSiWare entry with Kart Krashers. With a price tag of five bucks, is Kart Krashers a party worth "krashing?"

Kart Krashers starts off by interjecting a loose plot into things to give players a feeling of motivation to engage in the game. It really isn't necessary as the title is worthy of playing on its own merits without the need of a story. All you need to know is there is a Kart Krashing competition that will award the winner with a myriad of money, and one of the participants wants a pony. There you go; the plot in a nutshell. The game introduces new characters at a consistent pace, even allowing you to play as five of them as the story grows, each with their own kart and attributes.

There are ten levels to be played within Kart Krashers, each with three events. Levels are opened up on the world map one at a time, and through collecting enough Golden Wheels, new levels are unlocked for play. Across the Kart Krashing competition, you will speed, bash, and "krash" through malls, Mayan temples, twilight hour cities, junkyards, and even the moon.

As I said, Kart Krashers does not do the typical racing experience that you might expect with a kart game. Instead, Kart Krashers is all about collecting, and to be more specific, collecting stars. Strewn about the various levels and events are multicolored stars, each worth a significant amount of points. As you collect stars, your score multiplier goes up. You need to keep moving in an agile manner or else the multiplier will begin to decrease and fall little by little. You can continue your multiplier by collecting another star, so it is not a lost cause once your multiplier begins descending; You can still get it back. Outside of collecting stars are rings that are worth a substantial amount of points, but they require a bit more skill and driving finesse to reach. There are also enemies that can be defeated that also deal out points.

Each event (three in each of the ten levels) has three Golden Wheels to attain, earned by scoring a set amount of points within a given event. Through gaining four Golden Wheels within a level, the next opens up for you to engage. I seldom found myself having a rough go of getting all three Golden Wheels in most of the events, as there are a generous amount of point opportunities to be found. Sure, an occasional event will trip you up, but for the majority of the game I had little problem. That is not to say the game is immensely easy. Your mileage will vary on how much of a breeze or how much of a challenge you have. Regardless, a level ends when all stars have been collected, time runs out, or your kart loses all of its health.

The levels themselves are pretty much nicely designed. Stars are generally laid out in a smart enough way where there is usually a right racing line to grab them for the most amount of points in the fastest available fashion. Levels have plenty of ramps and paths to drive across, as well as hazards to worry about. The Cityscape level, for instance, is occupied not only by your standard alien menace, but there are also UFOs that will pick you up and knock you aside, taking out part of your kart's health.

Losing health is not much of a problem early on because the hazards are not as plentiful as they are later in the game. And even if your wheels do take some damage, you can drive into a first-aid kit to restore some health. That is not the only type of power-up available in Kart Krashers. There are rockets that allow you to boost across chasms and to speed up steep slopes, there are shields that can temporarily defend you against hazards as well as enabling you to take out enemies and boulders, there are magnets that grab hard-to-reach stars, and there are brushes that increase the reach of your kart, allowing it to collect more items and defeat more enemies more easily.

As for the actual driving mechanics, Kart Krashers offers a relatively tight experience, though you'll seldom want to put the pedal to the metal all the time. Usually I found myself easing on and off the accelerator to be steadier in my driving to collect stars. With the R shoulder button, you can use the handbrake to peel around corners in a single speedy action, something I hardly had to utilize, but it is nice to have for more hardcore players.

Nonetheless, to go along with all the things that are right with Kart Krashers, there are some problems. For one, the physics of the game are not always perfect. You'll come to careen on an edge and no matter how hard you fight to stay on, you will always fall off; no matter if the majority of your kart is on solid ground or not. Then there is the problem with when your kart is upside down or on its side. It is incredibly frustrating trying to flip your car back on its wheels (attempted via pressing the Y button). This is especially aggravating when you are being locked on by missiles and are being attacked and you just flop around like a goldfish out of its fishbowl. One time it took a full fifteen seconds for my kart to actually regain its bearings and get back on its wheels. Unbelievable and immensely irritating.

On the presentation side, Kart Krashers shows that you do not need an overwhelming budget to make a competent and capable looking game. The visuals are quite good, especially for a DSiWare game, though darker areas look a bit muddy. The kart models look pleasing, too, as does the user interface of the game. Sound-wise, things are about as much as you could hope for. The music does not grate on the ears, and it can actually be catchy at times. Good luck hearing it clearly, however, when it is competing with the roar of your kart's engine 100% of the time. However, all is not well with the sound. One particular sound effect when you switch selections on the main menu is cringe-inducing in its badness.

Kart Krashers presents an atypical arcade kart game for any gamer on a budget. It won't last a significant amount of time -- perhaps a few hours to get all Golden Wheels and to obtain every achievement the game has to offer, but it is an entertaining title for the brief amount of time it can be played to full completion. Nonetheless, I can only help but think how online leaderboards for players across the globe or country to compete for the top scores on each level would have helped the longevity of the game. Along with that thought of what might have been, as well as the control issues and physics problems aside, Kart Krashers managed to exceed my expectations greatly. If you're looking for a relatively cheap and really engaging DSiWare game, introduce and acquaint yourself with Big John Games' Kart Krashers.

[SuperPhillip Says: 7.25/10]

Report Card - Nintendo DS

My Report Card segment took an extended holiday, but it has returned. This time we are examining the Nintendo DS line of handhelds. One of the best-selling systems of all time, did the DS deserve all of its sales? Let's find out by looking at the hardware, software, features, and online-- but not in that order.

Hardware

There have been four major models of the DS: the original bulky DS, the DS Lite, the DSi, and the DSi XL. The original DS wasn't very pleasing to the eyes, and the power button was in a precarious location. With the DS Lite (which will now be initialed as DSL), turning on or off the system was moved to the right side. You just moved the slider to turn it on or off (with you needing to push the slider for a longer time to turn it off). The start and select buttons moved from over the face buttons to underneath them and near the lower right side of the touch screen. Instead of being rectangular in shape, they were circular in shape. One of the things I really love about the DSL and its future successors was that the system had a matte finish on the inside. This meant that fingerprints wouldn't show up and make your handheld's insides look absolutely messy. This is something I am flabbergasted that the Nintendo 3DS does not have. Regardless, all isn't well with the DSL. Many models of the system had issues with the hinges where they could crack, leaving the portable unplayable. I haven't encountered this manufacturing fault myself, but it is important to make note of.

Meanwhile, the DSi once again moved the power button, but this time to the lower left side of the bottom screen. A low resolution camera was added for friends and family to take pictures, but as stated, the quality of the photos left much to be desired. With the advent of the DSi XL, the whole build of the system was increased in size to show off a bigger screen and for use for people with bigger hands. The hinge problem that plagued the DSL seemed to have gone away. If not for the hinge chaos, the hardware would be graded higher than a...

Grade: B

Features

Depending on which build of the DS you get, you have different features at your disposal. I personally enjoy the features provided by the original DS and DSL the most. All models give you Pictochat, a fun drawing/messaging app that is for local players with two or more DS systems, as well as the ability to perform Download Play, allowing two or more players with their own systems to dabble in multiplayer with one another. Some games require all players to have a game card while others like Mario Party DS only need one game card and up to four DS systems.

The main draw for me of the vanilla DS and DSL is the backwards compatibility with Game Boy Advance games. There is a slot on the bottom of the DS and DSL to play every GBA game under the sun. That boosts the library available to DS and DSL owners sevenfold.

Meanwhile, for DSi (XL) owners, you have an entire shop filled with downloadable games of varying prices at your every aching whim. You have games like Pictobits, Aura Aura Climber, Bomberman Blitz, Cave Story, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, Rayman, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, UNO, Metal Torrent, Mighty Flip Champs! and many more to choose from. DSi (XL) owners also get to play around with the built-in camera to take photos of friends, family, nature, and other oddities. If only the DSi and DSi XL offered the option of being able to play GBA games, it would be the ultimate handheld.

Grade: B

Online

The DS was Nintendo's first try with online... and it most definitely shows. Each game required players to acquire a much dreaded twelve digit friend code to share with other players if they wanted to enter a match with them. You can't add a friend unless they have added you in return, and there is no easy way to tell if they've added you except for hopping online and hoping. With Nintendo's poor online this meant that patches were impossible to implement (patches wouldn't show up until Nintendo's next mainline handheld, the 3DS), so hackers who glitched games and cheated were free to run amok. Combine these problems with occasionally atrocious netcode, and you have a losing formula in the online space. You can tell that Nintendo went in kicking and screaming towards online. Thankfully, Nintendo has greatly improved in the online arena, and the Wii U should show what they have learned. That said, the DS' online gets a...

Grade: F

First-party Exclusives

Nintendo brought a fair majority of their biggest IPs to their ultra-popular portable. For traditional 2D platforming you had games like the return to form of Mario in New Super Mario Bros., the sequel to the SNES classic Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island in Yoshi's Island DS, for the first time in the West, The Legendary Starfy, multiple Kirby games like the innovative Kirby Canvas Curse, Kirby: Squeak Squad, Kirby Super Star Ultra, and Kirby Mass Attack, and for the first time ever in a starring role, Princess Peach in Super Princess Peach. Other series got their due time such as Metroid Prime Hunters, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, WarioWare: D.I.Y. and Touched, Pokemon Black/White, Mario Kart DS (the best in the series), Tetris DS, Star Fox Command, Advance Wars: Dual Strike and Days of Ruin, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, a new Fire Emblem and Golden Sun, and many more. Nintendo even brought forth some new franchises to stimulate the casual market like a publishing deal with Level 5 for Professor Layton, Brain Age, Picross 3D and Picross DS, Planet Puzzle League, Elite Beat Agents, Clubhouse Games, 100 Classic Books, and Nintendogs. Nintendo created new gaming experiences with old and new IPs that really utilized the features of the DS with terrific success.

Grade: A

Third-party Exclusives

Third-parties spent a lot of their time slowly warming up to the Nintendo DS. The support was at a snail's pace at the beginning of the system's life, but as the handheld took off in Japan and then shortly thereafter in other parts of the world, third-parties jumped onto the bandwagon and began producing, publishing, and developing some stellar hits. We had three Castlevanias of the classic so-called "Metroidvania" design, two Sonic games in Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure, multiple Dragon Quest remakes and a huge exclusive in Dragon Quest IX (which sent message boards in a terrible tizzy), a load of Final Fantasy games such as remakes of III and IV, Contra 4, Phantasy Star 0, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, a port of Chrono Trigger, Okamiden-- the sequel to the brilliant Okami, several Mega Man games, and two original Kingdom Hearts entries. There were even new IPs such as Radiant Historia, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter, Jump Superstars, Soul Bubbles, The World Ends With You, Meteos (from the mind of Masahiro Sakurai of Smash Bros. fame) Nanostray and its sequel, and Drawn to Life. Japan supported the platform more than the West, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better lineup of third-party offerings on any other handheld.

Grade: A

Overall

My Nintendo DS Lite still holds a special place in my closet, and unlike when people say they've placed a system in their closet, I still play my DS Lite. How else can I play Game Boy Advance classics without hooking up the ol' GameCube and Game Boy Player? That notwithstanding, even without the GBA backwards compatibility, there is an abundance of tremendous titles awaiting any DS owner, and now with the 3DS that can play most DS games, the library gets another chance to shine. It is not only one of the best handheld libraries in gaming history (it might even be considered the best), but it is one of the best libraries handheld or console in gaming history. Design flaws aside, the system is one of my favorites which I will always have numerous cherished memories of.

Overall Grade: A-
(not an average)

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What would your grades of the Nintendo DS family of systems be? Did you enjoy this edition of Report Card? I hope you did as I enjoyed writing it. Share your thoughts and memories of the DS in the comments section.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition (DSiWare) Review

Time to review another downloadable title. This go around we'll be examining the free and available until February 2012 game of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, just in time for the series's 25th birthday. Is this free download worth taking up space on your precious handheld of choice?

Do More Links Equal More Fun?

Back in late 2002, a port of one of my favorite titles from The Legend of Zelda series, A Link to the Past, was released on the Game Boy Advance. Not only did it possess new features in the solo campaign, but it additionally had a completely new multi-player adventure known as Four Swords. The only downside to this fresh journey was that one couldn't play this part of the game alone. One needed at least another friend with a GBA and link cable. For my younger self this was easier said than done. Now, nearly a decade later, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition strikes and slashes onto DSiWare for free and for a limited time (February 2012). With a single-player piece as well as the multi-player mode that fans have grown to love, is this celebration of Zelda's 25th anniversary worth your time?

Our story begins with Zelda taking our hero in the form of Link to the Four Sword Shrine. It's here where an ungodly beast awakens from the Four Sword known as Vaati. The monster grabs hold of Zelda and plans nothing more than to marry her. Talk about a match made in Hell! Link, with guidance from faeries, pulls the Four Sword from its mantle, splitting up into four colored Links: one green, one red, one blue, and one purple. It's time to once again rescue the always in trouble Zelda and restore order to the land of Hyrule.

Players start out in a tutorial level where they can access various zones which have Link specializing in a specific weapon or item depending on the room chosen. One room might have to do with bombs while another contains puzzles all surrounding the Gnat Hat which shrinks Link to the size of an insect to fit through small holes and ride little platforms otherwise too tiny for Link to hitch a ride on. Other items include the Magnetic Gloves which can be used to push and pull Links across gaps and chasms and the Bow and Arrows. Each Link in your party can only hold one special item at a time, so a bit of strategy is involved when playing Four Swords.

After the tutorial stage is completed, the land of Hyrule opens up to the player or players. One can select between three areas: The Sea of Trees (a forest), Talus Cave (an icy cavern), and Death Mountain (a red hot volcano). Each area is divided up between three expansive rooms filled with treasure, rupees, and sub-rooms to explore and solve simplistic puzzles in. The main goal of the game is to get through to the final room of the area to face off against the boss, but there is a competition aspect to Four Swords. For instance, rupees infest levels like locusts. They're everywhere from chests to secret rooms that spawn dozens of Hyrule's currency, and dropped by the myriad of monsters lurking about the lands. The player with the most rupees at the end of each area is declared the victor. However, one can't just attempt to mess one another out of rupees. Teamwork is required in the way of stepping on buttons at the same time, taking out rooms of enemies, and pushing or lifting heavy blocks out of the way. Each area ends with a set of portals and a heart container to increase the vitality of the Links. Depending on how quickly the brigade of heroes pass through a given room, a substantial rupee bonus is awarded. It can be anywhere from a mere fifty to a mighty thousand rupees.

There's a cavalcade of enemies to contend with in Four Swords from spear or bow and arrow-wielding Moblins to bone-throwing Stalfos to slimy Chu-Chus. Each enemy has a weakness. One needs a sole Link to hit it once to make it stationery, then another Link to grab it on one side while another Link pulls it from the other to defeat the tricky foe. Rooms where monsters spawn repeatedly and where a player or players must beat them all to a pulp before being allowed to move on are commonplace in Four Swords. Things get especially tricky in later stages where one is not only worrying about the baddies, but they're also combating them atop an icy platform surrounded by holes.

The third room in The Sea of Trees, Talus Cave, and Death Mountain contains a boss to battle against. Again, teamwork is key here. One boss has you using the Pegasus Boots to ram into the big bad against a sheet of ice, freezing it. Then the Links rush swords first into the frozen boss. Another has the Links deflecting a colored orb back and forth between themselves. The color of the ball signals which Link should attack it.

There's approximately twenty-six rooms in total to visit and explore in Four Swords Anniversary Edition. Rooms in The Sea of Trees, Talus Cave, and Death Mountain are oftentimes randomized, so one seldom has the same playing experience. After playing through the game and defeating the wind mage Vaati, a new challenge appears, the Realm of Memories. This is a three part area that is Four Swords gone retro. It takes place in the realms of A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, and the original Legend of Zelda. Completing this unlocks the Master Sword and a beam attack when a player has full health. Once 30,000 rupees have been accumulated in total, a new trial opens up, the Hero's Trial, an ultra-difficult three room area that puts all players' skills to the ultimate test.

Even with all areas completed, there's still the matter of keys to collect. Depending on how many rupees every Link gathers, they'll be awarded with either a Silver, Golden, or Hero key. One must earn a Silver key before they can achieve a Golden key and so forth. These keys unlock new rooms to Vaati's floating palace, adding even more longevity to this seemingly and deceptively meatless game. In fact, six hours in, and I've still not experience everything the anniversary edition of Four Swords has to offer. That's mighty impressive for a free download!

Besides the new levels added that refer back to Zelda games past, the newest addition to the game is the ability to play it solo. A player can control two Links at once, press R to select one at a time, and switch between the two at their leisure. One Link can chuck another to the opposite side of a chasm, two can use differing items, and one Link uses AI when it's necessary (such as when a foe needs to be pulled by two heroes to be vanquished). Both Links share the same health meter, but when a Link is not being controlled, they are invincible while the other moves around. If one has a friend with a Nintendo DSi or 3DS (they're cross-compatible), they can join in for some multi-player fun. These maps are completely changed from the single-player experience.

Presentation-wise, Four Swords Anniversary Edition looks simply the same as it did in 2002. Of course, the new areas are totally different in that they appear like their SNES, Game Boy, and NES counterparts. Even with numerous bad guys and Links on screen there's nary a bit of slowdown to be found. On the sound side of the spectrum, Link's grunts as he swipes and slashes with his sword can get grating after a while, but it isn't too terribly annoying. Additionally, the soundtrack is your standard Zelda fare. It fits the areas of the game well, and my personal favorite song would have to be the boss battle theme. All-in-all and for a downloadable title, one couldn't ask for anything more. Four Swords Anniversary Edition delivers and delivers in spades.

Without a doubt if one has a DSi or 3DS and they're on the fence about downloading The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition, I'd ask them what they were waiting for. It's not as if they'd lose anything but space on their handheld as the game is absolutely free. There's plenty of fun to be had whether one is playing alone or with a group of buddies, taunting each other as they rummage for rupees and the outright lead. While not better than the Gamecube's Four Swords Adventures, this downloadable delight is still worthy of any action-adventure fan's attention. Suit up, get well-equipped, and be ready to take down the villainous Vaati!

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.25/10]

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition (DSiWare, eShop) Trailer

Starting in late September and ending in mid-February, DSi and 3DS owners can download The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition for free. What makes this edition so special is that it isn't just a port. It features a single-player adventure this go around, so those without buddies with a DSi or 3DS can play the game by themselves with a pair of Links. Pretty cool deal.

Direct Link Here

Ivy the Kiwi (Wii, DS, Wiiware, DSiware) First Trailer

Ivy the Kiwi is the newest mascot from the mind of Yuji Naka, creator of such iconic mascots as Sonic the Hedgehog and Billy Hatcher. Ivy the Kiwi plays almost like Kirby Canvas Curse where you draw lines to interact with the titular character, slingshotting the hero through weakened blocks, using lines as defense against hazards, and more. Here's the DS trailer of the game.

Direct Link Here