| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Digimon World: Dusk
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
The ESRB says:
Mild Cartoon Violence: GamerDad made monsters trade blows and magic blasts with each other, but no actual violence was shown. Alcohol Reference: If there is one in this game, it's a small obscure one that you'll only find if you don't blink. I couldn't find it. Crude Humor: Some of the Digimon attacks have names like "Random Poop." When a popular franchise like Pokemon hits the big time, it's only natural that imitators will show up, trying to cash in on the success. One of the most prolific Poke-clones is Digimon, from the makers of the Tamagotchi virtual pet keychain games. And like Pokemon, this Digimon World DS game comes in two versions: Dusk and Dawn. Aside from starting you off with different monster teams and critters exclusive to each game, it's essentially the same playing experience no matter which version you get. In the digital world, people and digital monsters, called Digimon, live and work together in peace. But when an evil virus starts wreaking havoc in the digital world, it's up to you as a Digimon tamer to save the day. Start off with a team of three Digimon and delve into dungeons to defeat evil monsters and collect items and more Digimon to add to your party.  Back at home base, create new Digimon from data scanned from battles. Collected Digimon live on an island you create called Farm Island. Customize your island with different types of terrain and items for your Digimon to enjoy, and you can always view your island critters on the top DS screen. When your monsters get enough experience from defeating other monsters, you can 'digivolve' them into more powerful fighters. Or combine Digimon to make totally new creatures. Battles are typical turn-based RPG fare. Monsters trade blows and have weaknesses to different kinds of attacks. Strategy comes into play later as the battlefield is divided into sections, and some attacks can fill up more than one square. Digimon trainers can even go online via Nintendo's WiFi service and battle, trade, and combine Digimon with other players who have shared friend codes with them. One of the only problems with Dusk and Dawn is the frequent, unseen random battles in the isometrically viewed dungeons can get a little tiresome. Plus the text translation isn't up to par. Sentences are stilted and the font is too small and squished to read easily. But die-hard fans of Pokemon's game design won't mind Digimon World's faults too much, and will still probably dig Digimon.  
Kids who love the collecting, battling, and trading aspects of Pokemon will enjoy doing it again in Digimon World Dusk and Dawn. But things here are a little more complex and the learning curve is a bit steeper, so older players would be best suited for this one. Violence is only minimal. While you have monsters fighting other monsters, you don't even see them doing anything to each other. A splash of light graphics and a flinching monster is all that's seen. Reading skill is necessary as everything is text based, and that's really the only way kids will see any of the crude humor is by reading it. You can save anywhere in the game, which is a plus, but you can only have one save file at a time, unfortunately. Going online with Digimon is relatively safe, as you need to have consent with another player through friend codes to do anything in the game online. But as with all online activities,
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Digimon World: Dusk |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
