The Nintendo DS; hot water bottle, giver of hugs, forgotten friend

Whether you’re hung over, sick, or just plain depressed, video games are always going to be there to make you feel better. But normally when you’re feeling crook the very last thing you wanna do is get out of bed, or off your comfy couch. The other day when I was feeling sick I found myself missing my DS. I haven’t picked up that console since I ran out of things to do on Pokemon Soul Silver and currently it’s sitting on my bedside table collecting dust. It makes me feel bad, because my DS and I have had some good memories.

The DS is the perfect console to play when you’re sick, because it’s the only one that can give you a hug (well, it can sorta close itself around your wrist… which is more comforting than nothing at all). It also has such a wide variety of games on it that no matter what sort of sick you’re feeling, there’s always gonna be something to aid you.

When I’m ill I turn to puzzle games. I even bought myself a little puzzle book before I realised that I’m a 21st century kid, and should be doing everything electronically. Simple games like CrossworDS are good to play, as they stimulate your brain just enough to stop it from turning into mush, but not enough to overwork it and make it leak out your ears.

A puzzle game with a bit of a twist is Scribblenauts. I thought this was the most amazing thing ever invented until I got absolutely stuck on a level (which I still haven’t beaten to this day). In this game, you’re placed in a level with the aim of reaching the star at the end. To reach it, all you have to do is enter words into the game to conjure objects to aid you.
For example, if there are enemies in the way of the star, you can type ‘gun’ and blow them away. Or you can type ‘boulder’ and stick them between a rock and a hard place. Or like the picture, lure cops away with donuts (the circular doughy goodness is always a fail safe plan). There’s almost no limits to what you can do, though you get points based on how creative you are, so try to think outside the box.
Playing this game when you’re feeling like crap will probably make you feel a lot better, as there are a fair few laughs to be had. However if you get stuck, it might be better to take a break than persist with it. Throwing a temper tantrum when you’ve got no energy doesn’t sound like the fast track to recovery to me.

Keeping your brain alive isn’t always what people wanna do when they’re sick… or healthy for that matter. For these sorts of people, perhaps one of the RPG games on the DS is more your style. Nothing shuts off your brain better than immersing yourself in a world that isn’t your own. Your sniffly nose and sore stomach cease to matter when you’re searching for the king in Dragon Quest, or battling against the elite four in Pokemon. RPG’s are also massive time sinks. I know I invested well over 100 hours into Final Fantasy Tactics A-2, so chances are if you start up one of these games you’ll be better before you finish it. So just play it really fast!

The Nintendo DS is something of an underrated console, but I’ve never been more grateful for it than when I’ve been sick. And the multiplayer modes for some of the games are hilariously fun, so once you’re better, you can go harass your friends to pick their DS’s back up again too. Or just dump it back in the drawer you found it in until you fall ill again. Either way.

You can't kill me, we're on the same team!

At some point in our lives, we’ve all experiences the social side of game playing. Whether it was scattering the Monopoly board in a fit of rage on family game night, kicking a sibling’s ass in a fighting game, or exploring a dungeon with a group of people, 21st century kids are no strangers to the concept of games bringing people together.

Playing a game co-operatively with someone you know can definitely be a fun experience. However, it can also be the most frustrating, annoying and aggravating few hours you’ve ever had.
Not everybody plays nice, and unfortunately I am one of those people. My temper is short and my patience is almost non-existent. When I play a game I expect to win, which makes me a pretty crappy team player. Every time I try to play a co-op game with someone, it ends up going a little something like this:

The game is Little Big Planet. I’m playing with a friend of mine, and we’re doing the level where you ride a skateboard down a really long hill to set a high score.

Me: Grab on!
Friend: *pushes the skateboard to the slope of the hill and fails to grab on before it picks up speed*
Me: Omg! What is wrong with you! GRAB ON!
Friend: I had to push you! It’s not my fault
Me: It is SO your fault. Do you see anybody else NOT HOLDING ON TO THE SKATEBOARD?!

We tried again

Me: Make sure you GRAB ON this time
Friend: *grabs on*
Skateboard starts flying down the hill
Friend: *Begins to pull the skateboard in the opposite direction to which we’re travelling, slowing us down*
Me: What the hell is wrong with you? You’re making us lose!
Friend: I’m balancing it out so we don’t flip over
Me: YOU’RE RUINING EVERYTHING
Friend: *Stands his sack boy next to mine and punches smacks my character in the face, sending her flying off the skateboard.*
The skateboard carries on flying down the hill, leaving my character off screen. I can’t run up to the skateboard fast enough, and my character times out and is removed from the game

You can probably imagine the tirade of obscenities that were hurled at my friend after that.

However, not everybody out there is like me. Some people have the ability to control their temper, and patience that lasts for more than .3 of a second. And when you get to play a game with one of these people, the gameplay often becomes a lot better. Missions get done quicker, enemies go down easier and you have a ton of fun in the process. Although the experience points you receive are also split, as is reward money, and good quality items are often fought over.

For these reasons, lots of people prefer single player games. Not only do you reap all your own rewards, but you also don’t run the risk of playing with a bunch of douchebags.
A single player experience can also be a much more immersive one. Nothing wrecks the mood of the game more than some idiot who keeps shooting you in the back of the head. Although glitches that put NPC’s half in and half out of the floor can be just as atmosphere destroying...though hilarious.

At the end of the day it’s all about personal preference. So which are you? I personally know there’d never be a game where I’d choose to play single player over co-op. Despite my short temper and inability to hold my tongue when someone makes me die, I’d always choose playing with people over playing alone…. Even if I do end up ramming the controller down their throat.

Guitar Heroes; the newer, more musically talented super heroes

What I’m Playing This Week: Guitar Hero 5

Guitar Hero is something that needs no explaining. This popular franchise has been around for long enough now that everybody knows it’s the go-to game when you wanna feel like a rock star.
But just in case you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll describe it for you. You pick up your wireless guitar. It has no strings, only coloured buttons on the fret board, a whammy bar, and a strumming bar. You put your game in and turn the volume up as loud as it can go. Next step is choosing a song, preferably one that you know (it’ll just be easier.) Finally you step out onto the stage, stare out at the crowd…and tap those buttons in time with the music.

Ok so it doesn’t sound much like being a rock star, and if you’re watching people play it, they certainly don’t look like rock stars, but what’s important is that you feel like one. Plus it’s a load of fun, especially when you’re playing with other people.

What I like:
Song Choice: If you like rock music (which I’m presuming you do, or you wouldn’t be aspiring to be a rock star) then the song choices in Guitar Hero 5 will impress you. Partly because there are so many of them, and partly because they’re just great songs. They range from new to old, hard rock to indie, easy to insanely difficult. There’s a wide enough variety in the one genre that it should please almost everybody, even if rock music isn’t exactly your cup of tea.


Star Cameos: As you’re going through the game, you’ll occasionally have the honour of having someone famous come and play with your band. A few of the people I’ve bumped into so far have been Shirley Manson (Garbage) Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) and Carlos Santana (Santana). Playing on the same stage as these rock greats makes the experience that much more fun. And it’s hilarious when the song is so hard that you fail, and get to watch this famous person get thrown off the stage. Not that that happens often. Because I don’t suck.
Really!

What I don’t like:
Lag: Sometimes the input lag can get quite heavy, which means in the middle of a song the game will suddenly stop registering that you’re actually pushing the correct buttons at the correct time. This can be solved with a quick re-calibration, but once you pause the game in the middle of a song, it throws you right off tune for the next few moments, screwing up your score.

Frustrating: As you continue on, the songs get harder and harder, and though the difficulty level can be turned down at any point, it’s not as fulfilling completing songs on easy as it is doing them on medium or hard. What’s most annoying about it though, is that you can’t blame the game. If you can’t hit the notes, it’s simply because your hands aren’t moving quick enough, or you’re not co-ordinated enough to swap from chord to chord.

Guitar Hero is extremely fun, although you can’t play it for long periods of time without your hand cramping into a freaky looking claw. It’s a lot more fun if you have a friend to play it with, but still enjoyable on your own. So close your doors, crank the volume, stand up on your coffee table and let your inner rock star loose.


Will I still be playing it next week: Yes.