Like a good bedtime story, this game puts you right to sleep. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=17787 Is insomnia getting you down? Prescriptions drugs can be expensive. Inkheart for the DS is far cheaper, and works just as well! Inkheart is a point-and-tap adventure game based on the recent Brendan Fraser movie that, in turn, is adapted from a childrenÂ’s book. In the story, FrasierÂ’s character can make objects and people from books come to life just by reading them aloud. If he wanted to, he could make Jurassic Park a reality. YouÂ’d think that would make for a pretty kick-ass video game, but youÂ’d be very wrong. IÂ’ve reviewed
pure, unadulterated crap before, but itÂ’s only sent me into a violent rage. Inkheart does the opposite: it numbs the palate until you fall into a waking slumber.
The game involves a menagerie of boring characters being kidnapped, and Brendan Frasier is being forced to call up a dark ruler from another world against his will. In order to avoid disaster, you must endlessly point and tap. The majority of the gameplay involves wandering through a 2D backdrop (not unlike in the old King's Quest games) using the stylus, and tapping various pieces of scenery in the hopes it contains a clue. Because the environments are hopelessly low-res and the clues arenÂ’t right out in front of you like in Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, to discern what you can investigate you must press the A button to make every clickable object in the room twinkle. Often, you must tap something multiple times: for a medicine cabinet in the game, you must tap to notice the cabinet itself, again to open it, and then once more to take out some sleeping pills. Just as often, you must wander the same backdrops over and over again, because a single backdrop will contain four or five similar goals (find X, then Y, then Z). Once in a great while, youÂ’ll be treated to a very simple, brief mini-game such as riding a sled through traffic, tracing a line on the touch screen, or tapping circles when they turn green. After you complete them in the adventure, mini-games are saved to the main menu. All of the mini-games are more fun than the main game, which apart from tapping things, involves endless reading. This is apt, considering you hold your DS like a book while playing. Unfortunately, the writing is boring and utterly fails to excite and hold sway as, say, the Phoenix Wright series does.
Character sprites are hilariously horrible. In fact, theyÂ’re not even really sprites. TheyÂ’re more like hideous collections of largish pixels which do not so much mimic as parody human movement. They look like something drawn on the Apple IIGS, or DOS, only without the quality of Number Munchers.
Inkheart does offers two-player wireless play (mini-games only), assuming both players have a copy of the game, which is kind of insulting. I really canÂ’t, in good conscience, recommend this DS game to any but my worst enemies.
Pros:
Minigames are far more fun than the main game Control is spot-on, though it's hard to screw up tapping things Cons: Devoid of engaging or meaningful gameplay Insultingly primitive sprites Backdrops are boring and low-res An early puzzle assumes player knowledge of fairy tales I could do this all day
Graphics: 3.0
If the Fiji Mermaid were real, you would only believe it if you saw it. The graphics in this game are akin to the Fiji Mermaid—they’re so bad, you have to see them to believe it. Now, I will mention that the DS’ other screen displays still character portraits. They are of reasonable quality.
Sound: 3.0
The music is of fair quality, but, again, induces drowsiness, and loops too often.
Control: 9.0
If you are having a difficult time tapping things with the stylus, itÂ’s user error or faulty hardware. Having to constantly press A when investigating is a chore, though.
Gameplay: 2.0
Your characterÂ’s sprite moves with all the speed and grace of an injured sea cucumber, which makes the constant backtracking and thing-finding absolutely mind-numbing. Minigames are great, but they are far too few and in-between.
Lastability: 1.0
The main game is so boring that youÂ’ll stop very quickly. Multiplayer is available, but good luck finding another person with the game. As an alternative to the game itself, you could play a different game with Inkheart: see how long you can stay awake. The record currently stands at 20 minutes.
Final: 2.0
This is a terrible game. If Brendan Fraser could summon little 8 lb., 5 oz. Baby Jesus, Inkheart would make him cry.
Topic: REVIEWS: Inkheart (Read 2114 times)
