"A creative endeavor that doesn't travel far enough"

Being one of the first DS games that actually utilised its unique function, Trace Memory (AKA Another Code: Two Memories) deserves some credit. It brings to the plate a clean presentation, an intriguing mystery, nice music and some creative new ideas. However, the overall product seems somewhat incomplete, and as soon as you're sucked into the twists & turns, the ride is already over.

GRAPHICS
I like how the game is presented: the bottom screen displaying a 3D bird's eye view of the surroundings, and the top showing 2D stills of areas of importance around our main protagonist Ashley. Nothing amazing here, but it works well.

SOUND
The BGM is kinda catchy and changes to suit the situation accordingly. The sound effects are pretty decent themselves too. The disappointing thing is the lack of variety, but I guess the overall short length of the game factors into this as well. Good for what there is.

GAMEPLAY
The DS looks like a system made for old-style adventure games. Trace Memory is one of the first of a new-style interactive adventure game. The whole dual screen setup is well used, with puzzles occurring over both screens with a nice variety of different applications; I was surprised at how creative the developers (Cing) got with some of them, but it's quite mind-bending to solve some of them especially in chapter 3..

The touchscreen interface is solid, with the game working out to be similar to that of Phoenix Wright's detective escapades. However, the way you navigate through conversations leaves little room for deviation, and as such the whole experience is extremely linear. Sure there is some exploration when trying to find clues/objects, but overall it seems you're totally led by a leash.

Which leads to the disappointing shortness: I finished this game in 5 hours, which may seem pretty decent to some, but that includes 1 hour for sifting through the story texts and another for being stumped in chapters 2 & 3. So really it's only 3 hours of gameplay. The scenario starts off interestingly enough, with bits of information being revealed slowly as you progress. But once you reach chapter 5, the revelations come flying at you like Metal Gear Solid 2 on speed (exaggeration), after which you're not actually playing anymore, you're just reading off the conclusion from a fancy electronic book!

STORY
Which brings me to the core component of these type of games. The whole story pans out well throughout the game leading up to the final moments. It is an interesting mystery which seems rushed towards the end, and not enough closure for D's storyline is given, but I like this in how you really have to think some more after finishing it, just like some great movies out there.

OVERALL
I liked this game. The ingenious solutions to the puzzles, the great presentation, the suspense. All these kept me going at it. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but it seems to me like this is more of a experiment of ideas for what could work on the DS. Well, Cing, it does work. And while this is a nice, brief foray into the adventure-game realm, it's a lite version for sure. Here's
hoping that with their next effort, Hotel Dusk, we get more of the same.. much more!

6/10 - Fair Game

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/06