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'Boktai' Is Sun-Sensitive Gameboy Saga
| Good [+1]Toggle ReplyLink» lakester replied on Thu Oct 23, 2003 @ 1:29pm |
 Coolness: 60360 | [ story.news.yahoo.com ]
Keep the sunscreen and sunglasses handy if you're going to play "Boktai," the new GameBoy Advance adventure from Konami. You'll need real-life sunlight to recharge the weapons that the hero uses during the game. A solar cell embedded in the cartridge tells the program how strong the sunlight is. It's the most interesting video game gimmick I've seen in a long time. It also carries a real-life risk, but more about that in a minute. Formally known as "Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand," the $35 game is the story of a boy who has taken over the mission of his vampire-hunting father, who was recently killed in the line of duty. The player -- I was alternately dubbed Sun Boy and DjangoGene -- must do the undead in by dragging their coffins outdoors to a solar-powered device known as the Pile Driver. If you can keep the Pile Driver working long enough (once again, strong sunlight is necessary), it will "free" the creature inside. Before the game begins, you must calibrate the solar cell in direct sunlight and shade. The program also asks for your location, the date and time -- and even whether it's daylight savings. Those settings ultimately influence what you can do and what you can see when you play the game at night and during the day. Being a night owl, I tried to circumvent the solar system, but found that even holding the GameBoy Advance unit close to a bright spotlight in my study didn't provide enough light to recharge my weapon. Neither did early-evening sunlight. But in the middle of the day, I could quickly restore my power by pressing the "A" button even when I was sitting in the shade. A meter in the bottom right hand corner of the screen gauges the strength of the sunlight. Konami has said players need to be outdoors because window glass filters out the wavelengths that register on the solar cell. Yet I found that exposing the game to the midday sun, even through a window, allowed the gun to recharge, which is fortunate if you're playing in a car or in regions like mine, where winter temperatures often make it impractical to play outside. The solar power feature of "Boktai" has an interesting influence on strategy. Many portions can be played at night, but it may be unwise to pick up the game then because the vampires tend to be stronger. Also, some areas of the screen may be in shadow, making it difficult to see lurking enemies. Sunlight doesn't help at other times, such as when you're in a dungeon maze. Even if your GameBoy is in the blazing sun, you can't recharge your gun. "Boktai's" graphics and music are well above average for the GameBoy Advance products I've seen. As you move through the land, thin clouds drift overhead. The fidelity of the score isn't great, but it's a far cry from some of the rinky-tink music of other games. On the screen, Solar Boy barely looks human, but that's not unusual because only so much detail can be crammed into a GameBoy screen. I loved the way the coffin starts inching its way back to its original resting place if you release the chain you've been using the drag it to the Pile Driver. Nonetheless, I have serious concerns about playing this game in direct sunlight. The screen on the original GameBoy Advance has always been hard to see, so players have to tilt it in bright light to get a good viewing angle. But in direct sunlight, the game can become "Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Eyes" if the sun reflects off the screen. This becomes increasingly likely when playing in a moving car, which a lot of kids do. The game, which is rated for everyone, warns consumers not to play in the sun too long, but I think that has more to do with sunburn issues than concerns about damaging the eyes. To rework an old line, "Boktai" may require sunlight, but it's made for the shade. |
'Boktai' Is Sun-Sensitive Gameboy Saga
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