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August 20, 2006 | 7:28 PM PST
by: Stephen Smith
We enter the maze, and walk out a bit shocked.
I recently had a chance to play with the final build of Deep Labyrinth for the Nintendo DS. A game set not in the vast mythos of ancient Crete like the name might suggest, but a vast fairy tale like world.
The story centers around a young lad named Shawn. Don't confuse him with our very own Shawn Sinclaire (Smith), though, as he's had enough trauma as it is. Anyway, he is riding with his family to some unspecified location when suddenly their car blows a tire, so his parents set out to find some help. While waiting, Shawn’s dog decides to run off. After awhile, he decides to find out what happened -- he gets out of the car, follows the path that his parents took, and then finds an old deserted mansion. Shockingly -- and certainly not what I would've done -- Shawn decides to venture inside. Once he sets foot in the mansion, he is instantly transported to a mysterious land called Eden.
The design of Deep Labyrinth is at its most basic level a 3D dungeon crawler. You will take up arms and cast spells to fight monsters that dwell in the numerous maze-like levels. There are also bosses to defeat as you progress.
With a structure that feels a little generic, the implementation of Deep Labyrinth is thankfully unique. You move around the 3D world of Eden with the plus pad, which leaves the touch screen to handle the combat. A simple movement of the stylus across the touch screen will mimic a weapon attack. To cast a spell, you draw symbols on the screen.
What makes Deep Labyrinth a cut above the rest in the rpg genre is its inclusion of two complete adventures. One is intended for beginners, while the other features a far more difficult quest. These two modes are complete and separate games, but there is very little difference in them as far as the story is concerned.
Are these gardens really confortable?
I was initially struck with a little deja-vu when playing Deep Labyrinth for the first time. The design seems to remind me so much of those classic pc adventure games from the late 80s -- you know, the pre-Doom era. However, Deep Labyrinth does bring some new game implentations to the Nintendo DS, and even if some of these could be considered hit or miss, the end result is very compelling. Our final verdict, you ask? Stay tuned.
-- Stephen Smith
I recently had a chance to play with the final build of Deep Labyrinth for the Nintendo DS. A game set not in the vast mythos of ancient Crete like the name might suggest, but a vast fairy tale like world.
The story centers around a young lad named Shawn. Don't confuse him with our very own Shawn Sinclaire (Smith), though, as he's had enough trauma as it is. Anyway, he is riding with his family to some unspecified location when suddenly their car blows a tire, so his parents set out to find some help. While waiting, Shawn’s dog decides to run off. After awhile, he decides to find out what happened -- he gets out of the car, follows the path that his parents took, and then finds an old deserted mansion. Shockingly -- and certainly not what I would've done -- Shawn decides to venture inside. Once he sets foot in the mansion, he is instantly transported to a mysterious land called Eden.
The design of Deep Labyrinth is at its most basic level a 3D dungeon crawler. You will take up arms and cast spells to fight monsters that dwell in the numerous maze-like levels. There are also bosses to defeat as you progress.
With a structure that feels a little generic, the implementation of Deep Labyrinth is thankfully unique. You move around the 3D world of Eden with the plus pad, which leaves the touch screen to handle the combat. A simple movement of the stylus across the touch screen will mimic a weapon attack. To cast a spell, you draw symbols on the screen.
What makes Deep Labyrinth a cut above the rest in the rpg genre is its inclusion of two complete adventures. One is intended for beginners, while the other features a far more difficult quest. These two modes are complete and separate games, but there is very little difference in them as far as the story is concerned.
Are these gardens really confortable?
I was initially struck with a little deja-vu when playing Deep Labyrinth for the first time. The design seems to remind me so much of those classic pc adventure games from the late 80s -- you know, the pre-Doom era. However, Deep Labyrinth does bring some new game implentations to the Nintendo DS, and even if some of these could be considered hit or miss, the end result is very compelling. Our final verdict, you ask? Stay tuned.
-- Stephen Smith
November 20, 2009
