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good RPG/puzzle-solving game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 36 / 39
Date: November 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought "Contact" based on positive hype, without knowing much about it at all. I'm not disappointed. "Contact" has proven to be a very enjoyable distraction for me ever since it came out.

The premise of the game is that you are helping a boy called Terry who is moored on a deserted island with a wacky professor. You are communicating with the professor via your DS and guiding Terry's movements (although he doesn't know you're there).

Terry's mission is to help the professor find his ship's fuel cells while solving mysteries and puzzles, fighting bad guys, and gaining skills. In this sense, the game is just like most RPGs, but I believe that the level of gameplay is more sophisticated than your typical Final Fantasy or Zelda-type venture. Many elements of the game are borrowed from those successful series, but they are also combined with puzzle game elements and even "life simulation" elements such as those of Harvest Moon. Terry recharges energy by eating food he finds -- there are many different sorts -- sleeping in his bed, or taking a warm bath. He can fight enemies using weapons he picks up. And he can find and interact with items and clues that help him complete his quest and go back home. One of the cutest features is that he can acquire and change into outfits that enable him to use skills like cooking.

It's not difficult to get used to the intuitive game play, especially after a brief read through the instructions. You can be at home equally using the stylus or the console buttons. What was interesting to me is that Terry can collect and stick on different decals that produce various effects, and you even peel the decals off their backings, like in real life, although using the stylus.

Overall, this is a very interesting kind of game, and one that makes full use of the DS's unique capabilities such as dual screens. If you're a fan of any of the genres mentioned above, you won't be disappointed by "Contact."

Rented it, liked it, gonna buy it!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 24 / 32
Date: October 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I rented Contact from GameFly, and played it for a few days before deciding that I am going to purchase it in the not-too-distant future.

Unfortunately, GameFly does not rent games along with instruction manuals, so I had to learn everything in game by trial and error. Even so, I was doing pretty well if I do say so myself, and had to stop myself from playing anymore so I wouldn't waste the purchase later. :)

It reminded me of other RPG-type games I've played in the past, such as NES' original Zelda. If you liked Zelda, you'll probably like this game. But buy it, or borrow from a friend who'll loan you the manual too! To have that help may make all the difference! :)

Nothing spectacular

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 24 / 37
Date: November 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Contact for the DS is a weird little RPG that had some hype surrounding it, but disregard anything good you might have heard. Looking like a bastard offspring of Earthbound for the Super Nintendo, Contact offers some nice dungeon type areas, quirky characters, and nice side quests, but the rest of it feels as if we've seen all this before, and seen it done better to boot. What really hurts Contact is the incredibly boring and repetitive combat, in which each side trades hits until one goes down. The combat alone makes Contact suffer, not to mention the bland graphics, tacked on touch screen controls and features, and a surprisingly short main quest for an RPG. There's some Wi-Fi capabilities as well, allowing you to obtain some special items via trades with other players, and that's about all that Contact has to offer. The game has a unique charm to it, and it's not necessarily a hard game to get into, but there's nothing here that brings it to the level of say, Final Fantasy III. All in all, Contact isn't a bad game one bit, but it's far from being anything spectacular.

Contact is made, but a little off the mark...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: December 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Contact is a greatly hyped game by Atlus Inc. You (the player) have made contact with an enigmatic professor who is being chased by an unknown group. The ship is damaged, and while on the ground abducts a teenager named Terry.

The game claims that it is like nothing ever seen before, but to be honest a lot of what you see in this game is fairly cliché. That's intentional actually; the game takes great pleasure in mocking gaming stereotypes: the villains (inter-galactic space terrorists) hide their identities as an underground rock group, and the government has a cloning program in the works (warning: one of the clones has escaped, codenamed Snake!)

That said, Contact plays fairly well. Combat is pretty hands-off, as you direct Terry to attack an enemy, and then sit back and watch him go at it. You have the option of changing Terry's costume, and recieve bonuses or penalties based on the outfit you are wearing. Some are more physical in nature and others give you magical abilities.

My major issues with the game is how under the radar it is. You have to have a good knowledge of current events and fads in order to understand the in game jokes (The professor in one scene mocks the Riiiiiiiiiidge Racer! comment from E3.) Without this knowledge, a good portion of the game's humor goes right over your head. Also the game is extremely short---maybe 10 hours in length. That's a real shame, because the game does have many memorable and original scenes. Unfortuneately, many of the games side-quests are hidden meaning you have to do most of the game main story to unlock them. To top it off, the ending is rather dissapointing.

That said, Contact is a great game that really needed some more adventure. It also really needs a sequel, but if Atlus delivers, it's likely to suffer from many of the same flaws.

freedom to explore

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: November 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I love the way this game gives you the freedom to walk around everywhere. You can have over 15 different weapons which makes the gameplay far more interesting than I'd ever imagined.

You can change into different clothes which actually is important in helping you progress through the game. It's not a normal style of gameplay, but an interesting one to say the least.

While it's hardly the best game you can find on the market, it's certainly unique.

Too much hype...nothing interesting delivered...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: November 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After all the Hype about this game I bought it...well in my opinion it just felt flat on its face. The game simply is not very intersting and the storyline can be plain boring. There are other RPGs out there that are better and you simply get immersed in the story line quickly. The battles get boring extremely quickly since all you do is kinda point and tap the same guys over and over. The "costumes" and "decals" are kinda stupid. Many said this was the next EARTHBOUND, well is NOT and not even close. The Nintendo DS has so much potential and this game does not deliver in graphics, sound , game play and fun. dont get me wrong the game is not horrible by any means but defitnetly not that good either. check out some reviews out there before you buy it.

Contact Koopa, He Write Review

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: June 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Contact is an interesting DS game. Interesting, interesting...

I don't read many gaming magazines, because unless I found an online offer for a free year's subscription, I dont think I would ever pay for one. I generally don't read online previews to games either, so I have very little idea about games that are about to be released.

Compared to many other DS games, Contact did have slightly more exposure than other games that were being released around the same time. October of 2006 was a hectic month, with Touch Detective an all these other interesting looking game covers splattered all over GameCrazys, GameStops, EB Games etc. all over.

So I bought Contact the day it came out, and I passed up on Point Blank DS, a game I picked up later anyway. Contact lends itself to be an interesting RPG, like none other I had played before. Of course, be not being a console gamer, I have no idea if there's other games like this one, but I'm sure there are.

Contact is very nitpicky on the gameplay. You have to wear certain outfits to perform certain tasks. This can get tedious, as you need to go all the way back to your base (some floating ship or UFO, I forget) to equip a Chef's outfit (to cook), a Fisherman's outfit (to fly... just kidding), etc. Your inventory slots also have an allotted amount of spaces, which allows the player to know exactly how many items can be obtained in the course of the game, much unlike the Final Fantasy series, which you need a guide to figure out the master item/weapon list.

The story is thick, unique. Once again, you have to associate "DS + Atlus = Unique". It's a very interesting, (somewhat unsuccessful in my opinion) implementation of the user (you) in the game.

I won't be a spoiler, so let's get to the point. Contact is tedious, and can get very very redundant. But let's be honest here .. aren't RPG's supposed to be redundant? Aren't you supposed to fight monsters to gain EXP and MONEY to buy things and buff your characte up so you can go on to do much more of the same throughout the later stages of the game?

So it is with Contact. It is an active fighting RPG, so there's no magic moves or special abilities (save a few), much like Zelda. I think most users will agree that that's what makes the game eventually boring

It's a DS, users can't complain about not getting the full RPG experience as was readily available in PS2-like RPGs. DS RPGs will stick to the redundant nature of the SNES RPG that we all once loved so much a long time ago. Gamers have been spoiled by newer, flashier RPGs and expect too much from the DS. Even Final Fantasy III fell short of my expectations, but I quickly came to realize it would be this way with DS RPGs for a while. (Etrian Odyssey is a nice, fresh RPG that's actually fun. Thanks Atlus)

Still, it's not the greatest game in the world, but a decent pickup, as are most DS titles. Contact was $29.99 retail when first released, and I don't think it's strayed too far from the original price, although used it can be picked up for a good price. Contact is a very time consuming game, and if the value of the game is determined by the length of it, then you got yourself a gold mine here.

Contact Provides Hours of Fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is great for the RPG gamer who enjoys all aspects of life. Reminds me a lot of a mix between earth bound and animal crossing.

The only thing I hate is that it is very hard to do multi player (which is required to fully complete the game.) The other person has to have the game cartridge and have to both be able to connect to Wi Fi.

A piece of advice to those planning to share this game with family or friends: Get a separate game for each of you, otherwise you may never get to play again. It is quite addicting.

play it, collect it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I love Atlus games. This particular title had me smiling from the start with its unique story line, interactivity, and lush graphic concepts. If you like trying out unusual games that push the envelope a bit and make us rethink what games are all about, then buy this title.

Another flawed offering from Atlus

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Great graphics and novel storyline cannot breath life into what is otherwise a aggravating experience point grind. Do yourself a favor and play Pokemon if you're into this type of thing.

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