R4 Is Hopeless...

Another day and still no hope for the R4 DS flash cart.  It never seemed to be an issue with me, until Nintendo came up with an uber secure with anti-piracy checks game called Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.  I'm a real sucker for RPGs so when I heard of this, I was really waiting for it to make its english appearance.  When it did however, it was unplayable with the R4 cart.  The only time I saw this game actually work was with my friend's DS running an M3 DS Real cart.  If our friends from hack land don't come up with an R4 fix (and I finish beating Mario and Luigi: Partners In Time) I'm strongly considering buying an M3.  I just wish I knew where to get one (I hope I can afford it too)..

I'm Back (again)!

Hey guys! I'm back again after another very long time to give my latest blog. My site has undergone another image (and topic) change but this time I feel like I have finally found my purpose to do a continuous blog. So to begin this new start, I am going to write what I think about one of the games that has me hooked to the Nintendo DS Lite - Geometry Wars: Galaxies.

The reason why I got to like this game is because earlier I was able to download a demo of Super Stardust HD from the Playstation Network. It got me hooked.  Although the demo would only allow you to play for five minutes then halt and tell you to buy it if you like it, I would have another go, and another, and another.  It was so addictive that I wondered if they had this on other platforms. Hmm...

Sure enough there was a similar game on the Nintendo DS called Geometry Wars: Galaxies. Hey, it's no HD game in terms of visuals but it presented loads of shooting fun just the same.

The concept is simple: you pilot a ship equiped with a drone and you shoot everything that stands in your way. Almost everything on screen is presented with lines and shapes of different colors. I even makes you feel like you're playing one of those old PC games on a green screen. Enemies are made to look like pin wheels, diamonds, circles and other kinds of shapes. As the game progresses, the screen tends to get really poplulated and razor sharp reflexes are necessary not to bump into any of those shapes flying towards your ship. The aforementioned drone has different modes to choose from before starting a level. The drone can help you shoot down baddies, act as a shield spinning around you or help you collect geoms from downed enemies. These geoms are later used to unlock drone abilities and other planets for you to blow up.

Controls are spot on although a bit awkward. You control your ship with the directional buttons and your firing direction with the stylus on the touch screen at the bottom. Your DS will tend to slowly slip from your hands as you play though so it is hard to maintain stability especially if you have sweaty palms like me. When things get too crowded onscreen with gazillions of enemies and you need a way out, just press the left or right shoulder buttons to release a bomb that wipes out every enemy ship across the entire area. Nifty.

Unless you own a PS3 and have Super Stardust HD, Geometry Wars: Galaxies  is the best portable alternative and will satisfy any gamer's space shoot-em-up craving. I just wish I knew what those different shapes are called.. I shouldn't have fallen asleep too often during geometry class..

Dude rating: 4 of 5