[Review] Pet Zombies (3DS)

Pet simulators, like famous Japanese robotic dog AIBO, are really only enjoyable if players can’t own the actual pet. Once I got my own dog, Nintendogs immediately began to gather dust. When the imaginary pet in question is a bit more exotic, obviously the real life alternative is out of the question. A different take on the recent zombie trend, Pet Zombies doesn’t let players blast zombies, but raise them as the name would imply.

In the game’s world, apparently the zombie outbreak has been somewhat controlled, because zombies are openly for sale as pets. From the get-go, players will be able to select one of several zombie archetypes, ranging from jocks to scientists. Afterwards, players will be able to customize them, but most of the customization options are shallow, only allowing players to change their skin or clothing color. In the beginning, the variety in archetypes may be exciting, perhaps allowing players to live out fantasies of raising a fallen friend or torturing those high school enemies, but there also seems to be little differences between the zombies aside from the occasional gestures.

As with any other pet, zombies need food and entertainment. However, the way the game is designed doesn’t need players to actually care for their pets that much. There are two spectrums toward which players can take their zombies: nurture or torture. It sounds fun at first, especially given that most pet simulators discourage mistreating pets, but players will eventually find that it makes little difference how they choose to raise the zombies. The game doesn’t even keep track of time; zombies never suffer from starvation or separation anxiety, but only notice that they would like a snack or some playtime when players are actively playing Pet Zombies.

While playing with zombies, players will soon find that they need in-game currency for additional toys and food. To get these, they’ll have to play through some of the minigames. Compared to the actual zombie raising, this segment is much more fun, though that might not be saying much. These are usually just endurance trials, the player’s ability to catch coins flung from trash bins or floating throughout the airspace. As a time killer, these are sufficient but are unlikely to keep anybody’s attention more than for one or two tries at a time. Thankfully, that is enough to help players stock up or buy a precious toy they’ve just unlocked through raising their zombies.

It’s always interesting to see a game that takes a trend and turns it on its head. Upon seeing the game, I couldn’t help but think of Shawn of the Dead, yet the game fails to be a fulfilling comedic or immersive experience. Conceptually, it could have been fun. As a pet simulator, however, it creates too large a disconnect between the game and player to ever create the illusion of raising a pet. Players who always wanted to abuse their pets in Nintendogs or Petz might want to take a stab at Pet Zombies, but it will have little keeping power beyond that.

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Majesco Games; Developer: 1st Playable Portables; Players: 1; Released: November 16, 2011; ESRB: Teen; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Review] Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic (3DS)

Though it only joined us in the last generation ofportables, the Cooking Mama serieshas already become an imminent release for Nintendo’s portables. A release onthe 3DS on the question also begs the question of what the game could have tobenefit from the system’s capabilities, considering that the game takes placemostly on the touch screen. The answer: not much, but Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magicstill keeps all of its charm and base audience with the its new outing.Unfortunately, the problems that have plagued older games in the series stillremain as well.

 Stereoscopic 3D, the3DS’s most outstanding function, is hardly used. At most, items may pop up fromthe bottom screen to the top, either foretelling an incoming ingredient thatmust be grasped or punishment for throwing ingredients in a blender at thewrong time. Visually, the game still has improvements over its predecessorsthough and the finished products can actually look quite tempting. Otherwise,the visual style for Kitchen Magicstays true to the series with few differences to the 2D art – so much so thatplayers may confuse it for a preceding title.

For the most part, the gameplay also remains unchanged.There’s a healthy amount of new cooking methods, most of which revolve aroundtiming your actions. The 3DS’s gyroscope is also put to use, allowing certainminigames to be completed by wiggling the system around rather than using thetouchscreen. However, the game doesn’t really inform players when a gyroscopecan be used and it’s rather imprecise compared to the touchscreen, making it a trivialaddition.

Any veteran chef will look at the game as a joke thatfeatures unrealistic and excessively complex ways to get the same job done.It’s doubtful that any cook will actually choose to squeeze falling bananas outof their peel rather than doing so the generic way.  Minor bickering about the game’s lack ofrealism aside, these do provide a healthy amount of challenge. Players willhave no trouble finishing recipes in a matter of minutes due to the game’stolerance for mistakes, even rewarding players with a gold coin despitemistakes, and its mostly short recipes. It will take practice, however, tofinish certain challenges in a timely fashion and be awarded with stars thatbuild towards new accessories and kitchenware for Mama.

After the first ten or so recipes, repetition will kick in. Thishas been a longtime issue for the series and rears its ugly head again with Kitchen Magic. Beyond just crackingendless eggs and mixing countless ingredients together, even the combination minigamesreek of repetition; no matter what condiment players are putting onto their riceor soba, the minigame will be the same. Multiplayer options largely revolvearound the same gameplay as the single player, hardly providing a remedy.

For kids and family road trips, Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic may be ideal with its short bursts ofcooking fun. Those who have However, anyone looking for a deep experience willbe disappointed by the repeats in preparation and lack of improvements from thepast formulas. Any visual upgrades made were minor at best and it’s hard to recommendplayers to pick this up over its past, and probably cheaper, counterparts.

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Majesco Games; Developer: Cooking Mama Limited; Players: 1 - 4; Released: November 16, 2011; ESRB: Everyone; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Review] Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (3DS)

Flight combat not only takes strength of the mind, butstrength of the body; as a result, it is perhaps best reserved for those withthe right stuff. After all, hitting speeds of Mach 1.6 and flying at 40,000feet in an F-16 isn’t for everyone. With stereoscopic 3D, the experience couldbe recreated more truly, providing both the sense of speed and distance fromthe ground that’s needed. Ace Combat:Assault Horizon Legacy not only provides that, but an exciting gameplayexperience as well.

Players star as Phoenix, a member of the Allied Forces whoare tasked with taking down the rebels on the continent of Usea. They’ll besent on a variety of missions that include defending bases, attackingsquadrons, and others. Even in the air, AssaultHorizon Legacy manages to provide both variety and a challenge, whether itbe stalling in high altitudes or finding a balance between hitting targets andnot buildings at lower altitudes. Unfortunately, there was no multiplayerexperience to go along with the game, which really killed any lasting appeal itmay have beyond the single player mode.

While many missions have players assaulting ground units orplanes that are otherwise incapable of keeping up with them in speed, almostall missions also include faster planes and dogfights. With aerial combat gamesbeing somewhat of a niche, the game does a good enough job of introducingplayers to the controls. Beginners may take a while to adapt to the upside downy axis and the sluggishness of a fighter jet, but the aerial maneuvers easilyremedy the problem for newcomers to the genre.

Aerial maneuvers take players behind enemies at the touch ofa button or easily dodge an incoming attack. It may sound as though these takethe challenge out of dogfights, but players will still have to make an effortin order to make use of these. The attack maneuver requires players to havefollowed a target for a set amount of time first without being attacked orusing evasive maneuvers, meaning that strategic positioning is definitely key. Evasivemaneuvers on the other hand have fewer requirements; however, players stuck ina cluster of enemy fighters will find themselves evading endlessly, hardly evengiven a chance to shoot off a missile.

Although HorizonAssault Legacy is obviously visually inferior to its console counterpart,the stereoscopic 3D is impressive. It only makes the aerial maneuvers look allthe better. The visuals give the sense of height that 2D visuals just can’t. Whennot preoccupied with shooting down enemy pilots, I was more concerned withenjoying the view from above than I was with the next mission objective. Fromfar away, the landscapes impress, but quickly lose their magic once playersclose in. On the other hand, the fighter jets themselves are renderedsurprisingly well, making for a pleasing viewing experience during anydogfight.  

As an introductory game to flight combat, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy isperfect. It combines the difficulty of flying at high speeds while providingattack and evasive maneuvers so that everyone can join in on the fun and be anace pilot. The visuals are naturally enhanced by the system’s 3D capabilities, whichshould usher in even the most skeptical pilots to give it a try. 

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Namco Bandai Games; Developer: Project Aces; Players: 1; Released: November 15, 2011; ESRB: Teen; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.