"Superb Concept, let down by developer's opinions"

When I first heard of Another Code (European title of Trace Memory), I was truly excited. The concept looked good and after having played through such point & click adventures as Broken Sword, the Tex Murphy adventures and the Zork series on the PC years ago, I was truly looking forward to playing it on my hand-held.

The story is interesting and the game does a good job in immersing you into a truly suspenseful and mysterious atmosphere. The puzzles utilise the DS' advanced features to a great extent, producing some truly innovative brain-teasers. The graphics too, remain faithful to the Japanese style, with beautifully drawn still images of the small, yet perfectly sized cast of characters.

Well, I seem to have praised the game considerably, so why the somewhat lower than expected score? Well, I can can summarise it in 5 words: Game Length and Plot Holes.

If you were hoping to spend a considerable amount of time exploring an entire island, forget it. The game is unbelievably short for a puzzle adventure and many may be able to complete the game in 6-7 hours, even on first time if they think about it.

According to an article I recently read in Nintendo Official magazine in the UK, the reason for this is because its producers wanted a casual game that did not last for very long time to complete, and to try and give people time to truly explore the game. Well, if that just involves us pointing at every piece of furniture and locating hidden DAS cards, I am not too impressed. Point & Click adventures are not the genre that deserves such short game-play, especially after I coughed up £26 for it. Another reason it should be long, is cos you ae not gonna bother playing it a again for quite a while, in order to give you time to forget some of the puzzles. If you know all the puzzles, some people may be able to beat it in around 3-4 hours.

On a second note, the game ends somewhat prematurely. Whilst your character, Ashely, very much learns about her past, your friend D, remains very much unknown at the end and the truth about him and his family remains somewhat unanswered. This could be explained in a sequel, but personally I think the sequel should have been included in the main game, resulting in a two part game with the intention of revealing both character's pasts. D should also have been made a playable character, and could have been involved in some duel person puzzles.

In summary, the game is a step in the right direction of utilising the DS' abilities, but some enhancements in game length are necessary and the developers have to realise they were wrong about their casual game length beliefs (just read the website/magazine reviews) and should ensure their sequel is longer; at the very least 10 hours of game-play.

Therefore, it is not a bad buy, but if you want it and have the patience, wait until it s price drops and it truly become worth the price you are paying because at the moment it truly isn't.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/05