Camping with dad

It was really necessary, it is appropriate to say. In the midst of the many casual games, mundane action games, sports of all kinds and genres, hit and run experiences that represent most of the offer on the Nintendo Wii, it was time for an intriguing, challenging old-fashioned adventure to arrive. , full of twists and involving from start to finish. Too bad that to see it we will have to wait a little longer since Another Code: R could have been all these things, but in reality it is clear that unfortunately the Cing programmers have, this time, decidedly failed.



I preferred the other code

Probably fans of the genre will have had the opportunity to appreciate the previous works of the Japanese team, which has collected the greatest successes on the Nintendo DS with Hotel Dusk and Another Code: Two Memories. In both cases it was a question of solving mysterious cases, narrated in a lively way, and above all with a sufficiently compelling rhythm. And right here is the first and serious weak point of the debut on Wii, linked to the focal element of an adventure: the narration. Far from the levels to which Cing had accustomed us, in Another Code: R the adjective that comes closest to describing its qualities is, simply, soporific. The endless and wordy dialogues would not actually be a big problem, since the synthesis has never been among the qualities of the Japanese team's productions.

Camping with dad

But what is missing is the content, the common thread capable of pushing us to continue with the curiosity to see what happens next. It takes at least 3 or 4 hours to get the best of a prologue in which practically nothing happens, and then move on to something concrete and sensible for playful purposes; and even overcoming this obstacle, what follows is a rose water plot that will certainly not remain etched in the hearts of the players. The events still see the Japanese-American Ashley, now sixteen, as the protagonist; two years after the first adventure in which he tried to shed light on the premature death of his mother, in this chapter the father is at the center of the story, which was born and developed in a campsite on the shores of an elusive Lake Juliet. A not very electrifying location, which in fact does not lend itself to getting the narrative off the ground; analogous and equally serious speech for the characters who, except in rare cases, are characterized by a totally flat and anonymous characterization, devoid of facets that can offer different interpretations. The dialogues then really arrived at exaggerated levels of length, talkative even on the most useless and negligible aspects; the clear feeling is that they become a way of artificially extending the total length of the game rather than offering something substantial. The continuous pressure of the A key to continue in the exchange of words is only rarely interrupted by the need to make choices which, however, in reality, are practically never decisive since the script does not foresee crossroads or variations. It is therefore more than evident how Nintendo wanted to lower the target audience with this chapter of Another Code, trying to create what should have been an ABC of adventures for adolescent players, preferably female. But to achieve this goal, the wrong path has been taken, the one that translates accessibility into simplification and trivialization.



Sleeping pill on DVD?

What makes Another Code: R a disappointment is precisely the awareness of Cing's previous exploits, a team more than capable of creating products of different thicknesses. However, it would be unfair to evaluate the Nintendo production as a failure, in the face of aspects that, however, allow us to glimpse in a more or less evident way the capabilities and potential of the game. Above all, the graphic design, particularly apt and pleasant, which adopts the solution of cel shading for the characters inserted in environments that mix 3d and hand drawing, with a use of color that allows you to associate the final result with a kind of illustrated book .

Camping with dad

And also as regards the puzzles, flashes of light can be glimpsed, especially for the use of the Wiimote that finally frees itself from the role of pure cursor management on such occasions; on DS Cing he was amazed by the innovative solutions introduced, and also with this chapter the team tried to keep on similar levels, which, however, despite the effort, were not fully achieved. The reason? obviously the (nth) simplification that has also touched the depth and difficulty of the same puzzles, but despite this you can still find pleasant puzzles especially from the middle of the story onwards. The interface, on the other hand, is very valid, thanks to an intuitive method of interacting with the environments flanked by a convincing inventory management; also pleasant is the return of the DAS, a sort of handyman computer with the appearance of a DSi and essential on several occasions. On the other hand, the discourse relating to the control of the protagonist within the environments is questionable; its movements are in fact limited by a sort of tracks to be traveled in a two-dimensional way without freedom of exploration. The player has only the possibility to make Ashley move forward or backward, and eventually make her change "track" on the occasion of the crossroads exactly as on a railway exchange. Lastly, longevity is expected between 12 and 15 hours.



Comment

Resources4Gaming.com

5.8


Readers (25)

8.1

Your vote

Another Code: R is unfortunately not the product we would have expected. Nintendo and Cing have in fact chosen to reduce its complexity in every respect, and the result is a rose water adventure with a plot that almost never takes off, sunk by a prolixity of the dialogues that are obviously out of control. A kind of adolescent book to be read more than a game, therefore, with a pace so staid and watered down that it really requires an effort to be able to continue until you reach the end. Despite the hints of interest in reality there is no lack, starting with a more than pleasant technical component, the overall picture forces us to recommend the game only to a young and novice audience with a great propensity for reading.


PRO

  • Excellent technical component
  • Valid interface
  • Good longevity
AGAINST
  • Soporific progression
  • Dialogues to say the least lengthy
  • Too simple in everything
Camping with dad
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