Another Code R: A Journey Into Lost Memories

That’s certainly one heck of a title, we’ll just call it Another Code R for short. It’s the Wii follow-up to a popular Nintendo DS adventure. That was a detective game with some excellent writing that read like a mystery novel, but that same concept doesn’t quite work for Another Code R.

With the DS you have the advantage of being able to use it like a book, but the Wii version plays out more like a conventional puzzle game. Where you usually solve the game by finding clues and talking to characters, Another Code R features item combinations and other puzzles. The writing in Another Code R is definitely not on par with previous titles in the series, reading more like a young adult novel.

It’s a slow moving game as well. The first half is spent oddly, recycling, and having conversations which gradually tease out the game’s plot. The pleasant locations and mostly bland characters don’t add a great deal of urgency to proceedings.

But when it does get going and you start to move further into the game, it becomes quite addictive. Moving between key locations is done in a side-scrolling view, while you explore rooms in 3D. The Wii Remote has been cleverly employed to interact with objects for the puzzles and there are several really impressive ideas.

The problem is that the game is so slow and at times, so boring, that many people will not stick with it, and why would you when other games can offer immediate satisfaction? It’s an interesting and understated game but the pace is far too slow.

Verdict: 68%

There’s an intriguing and clever puzzle game hidden inside here but the pace is so languid that most people will never get that far into it to find out.