N.U.D.E.@ Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment

"Great Language Learning Program, Bad name."

Introduction - First off, this is a voice-activated Japanese game. It is a great language learning tool. There are no hentai, perverted, or nude scenes. Your job is to raise a very dumb robot into a useful robot that can handle household chores, as well as adapting to your personality. The FAQ already posted here in GameFAQs by tanoshimi provides an invaluable tool for english speakers. There are 5 phases in the game. Each phase is about 3 days. In phase 1 you teach PASS (your robot) how to recognize the items around the house. You basically teach her how to say "telephone", "window", etc. In phase 2, you teach her how to use the items. She'll learn how to turn on the TV, open the window, etc. In phase 3 she'll cook for you, read a magazine for you, and other advanced interaction. In phase 4 she gets a virus. Phase 5 is open. You can play and experiment with new words and mini games. The end of the game is when you don't play it for a while. It's a quite open-ended game that would be even more fun if I knew Japanese.

Gameplay - It's fun, if you're ready for something different. If you had your fill of fragging and MMORPG's, this is a welcome change. Sometimes it's boring if you meet the requirements for the next phase after only an hour or two. You then need to wait 3 days for the next phase. It goes by the system clock, so you need to pay attention to your PASS. If you ignore her for too long, the game is over. During the wait periods between phases, I just play for a few minutes, then wait another day. If I knew Japanese, I could really experiment with her reactions and adaptation to personalities. If you tell her she's cute, she'll eventually act cute. To me, it's motivation to learn more Japanese. It would be cool if I could learn to teach her to act seductive or comical. Again, it's a Japanese game targeted for Japan. Most Americans don't buy games like this. If you can get past the slow pace and language barrier, it's an interesting game.

Story - Not much. Ark Corporation has a new robot that they would like you to BETA test. If I knew the language, there would probably be more here. During the Game, you get Emails from Ark Corp, friends, and websites. I'm sure they advance the story, but I can't read them.

Graphics/Sound - Not spectacular and not bad. The room looks bland. After a while, you feel like you have no legs and can't move beyond the table in front of you. You just spin in circles telling your subservant robot what to do. A little freedom of movement would work wonders in this game. Since the robot's voice is based on your voice, my robot speaks very low. I guess it's because I usually play in early AM when I don't want to wake anyone. Although, it is pretty cool to talk crap to your robot and nobody else knows what you're saying. Your robot can also play CD tracks for you, from your personal playlist on the Xbox hard drive. Just ask her!

Play Time/Replayability - One game is about 2 weeks (Phase 1 to Phase 5). All phases can be completed with only 4 to 8 hours of actual play time, if you only pass requirements and check in for a few minutes each day. If you just pass phases and wait 3 days for the next phase, you can spend very little time with this game. I'll surely play it at least one or two more times. The more Japanese you know, the more replayability. I want to learn more Japanese, so I'll play it over again to learn more words and play with her reactions and personality. If I see a wide variety of personalities, I'll play it many times and surely learn much more Japanese. It's a heck of alot more fun than grammar and vocabulary drills.

Final Recommendation - It depends on your taste. I'd give it a 7/10. The graphics weren't that impressive, but the underlying game is interesting. An average Xbox game (given my limited language skills), but one of the best language learning programs I've ever seen.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/04