Trace Memory

The Good
Another Code is a charming little adventure game that suits the DS very well, even integrating the console into the game world. It tells the story of Ashley, a thirteen year old girl who near her fourteenth birthday is sent a device which looks uncannily like a first generation DS. The package comes from her estranged father who she's not seen since she was three, when her mother died. Her father is on the remote Blood Edward Island, so she goes off in search of him to unravel the family mystery.

The game looks and plays like a cross between a graphic adventure and a top-down RPG. The lower screen gives the top down view of Ashley as she follows the stylus to walk around a 3D island. The game world is very linear and whenever she comes to anything significant a pre-rendered first-person perspective image appears in the top screen. All interaction is carried out with the stylus and it's pretty simple to use which lets the game flow quite easily. If any dramatic events occur, the game instantly switches to conversation mode, with the characters talking in the top screen and options in the lower.

It's an adventure game and contains puzzles which must be overcome for progression. These are all fairly simple, and some are DS specific, requiring rubbing, blowing or other system only actions to complete. They are good in that they never interfere with the story by stumping you and allow you to experience the story.

The story is one of the excellent features of the game. I found it compelling and convoluted as it was teased out of the game. It unfolds in a fairly discreet and natural manner, despite the slightly stilted 'house of puzzles' set-up. Another good feature is the dual storyline in which you help to unfold the mystery behind a companion you meet on the way. The story genuinely had me addicted.

The graphics have a charming sketchbook style to them and make good use of the DS graphical limits.

The Bad
Whilst I loved the story the ending seemed pretty protracted to me. Much in the same way as Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, what seemed like the ending was false, and the game carried on quite a way after. The story is also told in the Japanese style of many, many conversations which means a lot of tapping to get to the next sentence.

The plot allows for a multiple ending of sorts, although it does clearly hint that you haven't completed certain elements. I found this a shame as it's not so clear whilst playing that you're heading down a certain path, and skipping certain things, and would have been nicer to include a more equal ending, granting you your different playing style.

The Bottom Line
Overall Another Code is a great game for the DS and has a light but addictive quality. It reminds me of playing older point and click adventures but with a more flowing control style. It's also short and never outstays it's welcome, and has a great story, rare for any game.

The Good
Adventure games is a strange genre. We don't have many games, but the games that we have are always brilliant. Trace Memory or Another Code is an adventure game featuring puzzles, a deep story and nothing more. It's good enough to become a cult game soon. The game has a similar system used in the games of The Adventure Company, but you can use all the features of the Nintendo DS to solve the puzzles during your adventure.

Stylus is used to move Ashley, but you can do it with the classic control system too. Some puzzles requires the stylus, as well as the use of mic. Puzzles aren't difficult, but you have to remember where the things are because Ashley won't pick anything that is not useful until she knows that it could be useful. It means that you won't have an infinite inventory, just some concrete things picked to solve concrete problems.

Story is as attractive as it sounds from the beginning. Anyway, nothing unpredictable happens, but the story is good. You have to deal with two main stories, one for yourself and another one for your ghost partner who will be with you the most part of the game.

There's no doubt that the most remarkable thing on this game is the story, because puzzles aren't so difficult and you'll finish the game really soon. It's like a movie or something, you'll spend a lot of time watching them talk and nothing more, but it's interesting! Pay attention to the story and you won't be confused anytime. Ashley will do a mind exercise every time that you finish a chapter, it helps to remember important things of the main story, and that's good for the player.

The game is not as "mature" as many other adventure graphics made. You should not expect a game like Syberia or Still Life, it's a different feeling, but the essence is the same. It's just an adventure game.

The Bad
The game is really short, you could finish it in just one day (if you play a lot, that's true). Most of the time they're talking and it's like watching a movie, so, it could be tedious for some players. The story is attractive, right, but we're talking about video-games, not movies, and it's something important. Sometimes you walk just a few steps and they start talking again and again. There are a few puzzles, and just two or three are difficult. Sound is good, music suits with the game, it's ambient and mysterious.

The story, as I said many times before, is good but it's easy to predict. If you pay attention to the story from the beginning you will know what's going to happen before it does. No surprises during the game, and that's not good for a game of this genre. Anyway, they managed to do a good game with a good story.

Some puzzles requires the use of stylus, but it looks like it doesn't response as it should. When you have to move things the stylus is really imprecise. It's not an important mistake because the game uses it a few times, but it's annoying for the player.

When you finish the game, it's possible that you try to finish it again because sometimes you have to choose an answer for some questions. There's always only one correct answer, and you can't change the storyline with your answers, so, no different endings are available. The only reason to do that is to keep the attention of the player in the story, but nothing more. It's a pity because it could be useful to make different storylines. When you finish the game, you don't have to do it again because nothing different will happen.

The Bottom Line
A short game with a deep story (which is easy to predict), a nice main character with charisma, a bunch of interesting puzzles which aren't difficult and a different game from the others available for the DS. If a game like that is done for a system like PC, it would be a mediocre game, but due to the limited number of games of this genre for the DS is a good option without any doubt.

The Good
I like games that require a bit of hunting, pecking and puzzle-decoding, not just hundreds of bullets and obvious objectives.

And that's the best part of Trace Memory - wandering around an abandoned house/laboratory, searching for you dad and unraveling a story about the past as well.

The story lines aren't the strongest, but they are intriguing nonetheless. It's pretty funny how quickly the female protagonist accepts the company of a ghost she meets.

Puzzles make good use of the touch-pad on the DS. They range from really simple to somewhat difficult. Only one puzzle, where you essentially use the DS as a mirror, gave me trouble.

The music sets a ominous atmosphere, which is nice. You can control your character using the sylus or D-pad.

The graphics are good - animated characters in pre-rendered backgrounds. Each room is individually decorated.

Toward the end, you make choices that influence the outcome of the game, adding to the game's replayability.

The Bad
I didn't like that in order to accomplish some of the puzzles you are required to return to rooms to pick up items that were not pick up-able the first time around. This is clearly done to pad the game's length, which is a modest 4 to 5 hours.

Some parts of the story were laughable as well, but to me that's part of the charm. I laughed out loud at a scene that was supposed to be serious. The ghost says to the female protagonist out of the blue, "You miss your mom, don't you?"

That kind of soap-opera sappiness kills me.

The Bottom Line
Trace Memory is a modest adventure mystery that has a lot of clever and fun puzzles, a decent story and adequate graphics. Really what makes it a standout game is that there are not a lot like it in gamedom. When a lot of games seem to be sequels or generic rehashes, it's nice to see a game that's unique, slow-paced, dialoge heavy and has an actual story to tell. It's not perfect, but it's fun while it lasts.