PlayMagazine writes: "I've always liked the idea of the Atelier series, even if I've found crafting in RPGs to be hit and miss. The problem is, when the ability to create new items, weapons, and other trinkets for yourself exists as a smaller sub-portion of an RPG, it can come across as an activity that isn't well fleshed out, feels unnecessary, or is overly complicated without a lot of really good documentation. (I think back to my time with crafting in Star Ocean 3, and how it pretty much had to be done in tandem with GameFaqs.)"
Last year was a good year for Nintendo’s well known handheld system. While there’s always a handful of unmemorable games like “Petz Pony: Beauty Pageant” which most game enthusiasts would never consider touching, 2009 also brought a surprisingly good variety of fun games. In no particular order, here’s my favorite Nintendo DS games from 2009...
The graphics are quite good an the characters move smoothly. The controls are intuitive and easily controlled by both the buttons and stylus. Blogcritics likes that you can do one or the other and not required to use both. There is a lot of dialogue that is almost entirely pointless, and is a typically rudimentary translation from Japanese; luckily it is easy to skim the dialogue and get through it fast. If you are an RPG fan, this game will probably bore you, as it is really almost a sim, but if you are ready to graduate from Pokemon, this is a good stepping stone.
OXG talks about this week's game releases. Highlights include Coro Pata (DS import), Darius Burst (PSP import), Lina no Atelier: Strahl no Renkinjutsushi (DS import), Simple 2500 Series: Akuma Hunters – Exorsister (PSP import), and Metal Slug XX (PSP import).
