Topic: System Flaw first impressions

Did anyone get System Flaw yet? If so, how is it?

It's not out yet, but I would say, in a word, how is it? TUSHIE!

So when did you discover all your base?

I would have gotten it but my local Gamestop isn't carrying the damn thing! Now I have to get it off amazon and wait a week!

I first heard of it in '07, but I didn't find out what it meant until mid-summer this year.

I finally got this game after waiting way longer than I should have had to for my local Gamestop to stock it. My thoughts on it are as follows.

System Flaw is an extremely innovative first person shooter from Storm City Games and also the first DSi exclusive cartridge. It's exclusive to the DSi because of it's heavy emphasis on the camera as a major gameplay component. Basically, you stand there holding up your DSi. the top screen shows a 360 degree radar with you in the middle of it as well as a meter for health and ammo. The bottom screen is a video feed of whatever the outer camera is seeing. After selecting a mission (of which there are 100), the game starts to generate little alien monsters into the play environment, aka, where you are standing. System Flaw utilizes special camera technology by being able to sense how the player is rotating. So for example, if you see a monster in front of a tree outside and the you start rotating to the left, the monster will move out of you scope of vision in perspective with everything else. What I'm trying to say is, it'snot just simply pasting monsters on the screen with you surroundings as a cheap background, there is actually pretty complex technology at work. The radar on the top screen shows your scope of vision in relation to where the monsters are around you. The radar moves in perfect sync. with how you move, no lag at all. when you have a monster under you aim, shoot it with the L or R button and don't stop shooting it until it's dead. If a monster gets too close, it can cause damage to you and if your health drops all the way, you lose. If a monster does get too close, you can shake the DSi to fend it off a bit. The one camera function this game doesn't have which I really really wanted to see was a depth function. What I mean is, if you step closer to a monster, it won't get bigger in perspective with the real world, the monsters will get closer to you at whatever pace the game decides. So basically, you will be standing in one spot spinning around looking for monsters. It's not easy though. The radar will tell you where you need to rotate to get a monster in your view but it does nothing to tell you how high or low that monster is so a little exploration is required to find some monsters. Sometimes, monsters will drop capsules with varying effects. I don't know them all by heart but they do things like increase the power of you gun, restore some health, refill your ammo, etc. You can activate the effect of these capsules by simply shooting them. The other mode is survival mode where you just continue fighting constantly spawning monsters until you die and enter your score on the scoreboard. Also, there is the Flawpedia which tells you about monsters you ave encountered as well as capsules. The graphics in System Flaw are Ok. Thereis nothing spectacular about them but htey look good and do the job. The sound is also just good, not great. But those don't really matter because this game's obvious strong point is the gameplay! Just for the record, I would like to state that this game is very fun and feels very fresh. there are tons of missions and survival mode is a blast. it does get rather challenging as you get into higher levels but it never stops feeling very fun. Also, it makes for a great show piece to show people what the DSi can really do.

9/10

Finally someone who's played the game! So given that your consantly rotating does it draw you into the game and make you feel properly involved (Like Wii Sports) or does you just end up going "Meh this isn't necessary"?
Also given that monsters move with the objects is there some sort of image recognition sequence (Like in Warioware:Snapped) where the camera takes an image of your area and bases the level around it? And if so does it scan a 360 degree radius or just directly in front of you?

It does actually very much draw you into the game. I think what really does it is the fact that there is a radar on the top screen that shows if monsters are behind and to the side of you. It makes you feel very trapped and like the monsters are really there. As far as image recognition goes, the game doesn't really have any to speak of. I'm pretty sure that it just just looks at a few pixels and how they move and determines your rotation that way. I think it scans a 360 degree radius because the radar can show every monster in relation to your field of view. Very good game and a great start to DSi exclusives. Get it when you get a chance.

@bboy: What color is the Game Card? I heard it was white.

Yes, the game card is white as well as the game case itself. It looks pretty sweet. The box art, not so much.......

Awesome! I'll have to get it when EB Games finally stocks it.

Thanks for that review bboy. It was very helpful. I'd love to try this game ... it's not really the sort of thing I'd normally be interested it, but it sound pretty seeing those monsters in your own environment. Maybe I'll have to convince a friend to get it for her son so I can borrow it one day. Who knows .... I might find that it IS my sort of thing

The trailer made it look really cheap and gimmicky. Maybe I'll have to check it out after all.