As you know, the DSi is a big step
up from the previous DS versions. The active camera is more than a gimmick and
the potential has firmly been shoved in front of us with this title. Using the
camera to manipulate the actual environment you are occupying is an interesting
idea. Forcing the player to move around in order to hunt down enemies is a new
and exciting prospect and today’s game can always hold its head up high as the
first title released in the U.S. to pioneer this new gameplay.
System Flaw, in a nutshell, is a
first-person shooter. Only you are more active in this title than in, literally,
any other FPS. Boot up the game in your DS and instantly you will be viewing
your house through the DSi’s onboard camera. Nothing new here, but what’s this?
Aliens are all over, and you need to shoot them. A small blue critter that looks
kind of like the moon men from Aqua Teen Hunger Force initially causes problems
as you spin around and up and down looking for your prey. It’s then officially
on as aliens seem to pop up everywhere and you get to blast them by tapping them
on the touch screen.
"If Parliment falls, we’re all doomed!!!"
So the controls are the big question
mark, but moving around is surprisingly intuitive and the camera does a pretty
good job of making the game exactly what it is – an interactive shooter of
sorts. I had my worries about the title’s controls, but for a first effort, it
isn’t too bad.
I can tell you that the game’s
graphics are photo-realistic, (sarcasm). The aliens themselves look a little
cheesy to me but not horrible. There are different aliens to contend with, but
not too many models, and they are used in excess. Tapping the screen fires your
little laser and you can see the tiny explosion occur when you destroy them. Not
too much in the way of A.I. as the aliens are clearly an ignorant advanced race.
The upper screen shows an in-game radar that provides the location of the
offending aliens, the radar is a more traditionally designed graphic and does
provide some help, especially when you can’t find that last alien.
The game really only has two modes
of play, Patrol and Survival. In survival, you have to take on all comers. It’s
not too involved and the game provides no story or background on the happenings
that are occurring. Just shoot and try to survive. In Patrol, you must go on
two-minute patrols where you must kill all enemies. In essence, they are the
same thing so the two modes of play are really just one.
A pretty bleak example of sound
effects with a looping musical score and annoying laser effects.
This may be a short review, but
there simply isn’t anything else to talk about,. System FLAW is a very simple
game with very little content in it.
Gameplay: 6.2
It gets along well enough, but there isn’t too much to get along with. Shooting
and moving is fine, but there is no challenge and no real "vision" to the game.
Graphics: 6.5
How does your couch look? It’s a moving camera with little alien sprites that
irritate you.
Sound: 4.5
It sounds like so many other titles, and you will turn it down.
Difficulty: Easy
It is a very easy title to control and play … too easy.
Concept: 8.0
The concept is great, so good it should have been a better game. I’m hoping the
next one will involve hunting ghosts, that would be cool (I thought of it first,
I get the royalties!).
Overall: 4.8
The game itself is pretty boring, the developers had a good idea and did not run
with it at all. So much potential wasted; no backstory, nothing to get you
interested or fired up – it may be the first, but the bar has not been set very
high.
