Math Play for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

Contrary to popular belief, math can be fun in games. The arithmetic segments in Nintendo's Brain Age games are an enjoyable challenge, and my wife swears that Donkey Kong Jr. Math is one of the greatest games ever created. But it takes some really creative gameplay to turn simple addition and multiplication into something that holds up on the system of Pok?mon and Zelda. This is exactly what's lacking in Natsume's Math Play, an incredibly dull and dry game that holds about as much life as a deck of flash cards.



Based on the popular card and videogame series in Japan, Math Play (aka Equal Card) deals 5 to 8 cards to the player then requires the cards to be put into order to form a math equation. Each card displays either a number (one through nine) or one of the four primary math symbols (+, -, x, or /). The hook (if there is one) is that there is no equal sign, so one of the cards must be tapped and turned into one. It's up to the player to figure out what the hidden math equation is, and which card is useless enough to be replaced with the equal sign. All of this is handled by dragging cards around with the stylus and hitting a button once the equation is done.



So far, the game's sounding pretty good. And the first few rounds will probably be pretty enjoyable for most players. The developers have figured out a way to combine touch-specific gameplay and mathematic principles without compromising either. Unfortunately, that's all there is to this game. Get dealt 5 to 8 card, figure out the equation, get dealt 5 to 8 more cards, rinse, repeat. The equations get more difficult as the game progresses, but they're never really enjoyable because the game offers nothing beyond tapping and dragging cards. Later hands force the player to solve every possible equation before moving on (sometimes up to six), which gets very tiresome and grinds any momentum the game had to a halt. The top screen displays a poorly-animated cat creature that smiles when the player succeeds, mopes when they don't and is pretty condescending when it feels the player isn't trying hard enough. Beyond the cards and the cat, this game is completely hollow.



The game also lacks any kind of risk or challenge. There is a timer that can be set for each hand, but applying the timer is entirely optional and there's no negative consequence to not using it. In fact, by default it's not even turned on. Anytime a puzzle is too difficult, the player can just tap a PASS button to skip it - again, with no apparent consequence. Making the game less challenging yet is an ever-present HINT button that can be tapped at any time to give the player a clue on how to solve the next equation. The problem is there are so few variables in each equation that using a hint essentially gives away the solution. When there are only 8 cards and the game says "Using (-), can you create an equations equal to 21?" the solution is pretty apparent. And no, that quote wasn't mistyped; the game sports frequent grammar problems typical of a rush translation job. All challenge has been removed from this game, which may ultimately be a good thing since there's no reward either.



In addition to the main mode (DRILL), there is a mode called NINE that has the player use the cards they are dealt to get something as closely equal to the number 9 as possible, without going over. The player is only given 2 to 3 cards, so there's really only one possible equation to try each hand. Sometimes it beats the AI opponent, usually it doesn't, but this mode is completely devoid of strategy and even duller than the main mode.



Another mode, called SHUFFLE plays like dominos; the player begins with a hand of cards and must line them up next to cards on the table in order to form equations. So if there's a 4 on the table, the player can place down a 2, + and 2 next to it. What the player can't do is tie the table number into the equation, such as using a 4 to create 2 + 4 = 6. This limits the game's possibilities severely. Placement of the cards is a real chore, too; instead of just dragging cards onto the table, the equation must be completed in a separate area then one square to the side of a table card tapped to warp the equation there. Considering that the developers allow stylus card dragging in DRILL mode (which works pretty well), it makes no sense not to allow it here.



The final mode in the game, called MATCH, attempts to steal Uno gameplay mechanics and, like the other modes, fails pretty miserably. One card is displayed on the table and the player unloads their own cards by either matching that card's number, color, or by creating an equation equal to the table card. If there's a yellow 5 on the table, the player can drop another 5, another yellow card, or an equation of any color like 2 + 3. What breaks gameplay is the developers allow the table card to be replaced with math symbols like +. Anytime one of these cards appears, the idea of creating equations gets thrown out since an equation can't equal a plus sign. It's a sloppy oversight that frequently removes all math from this mode and turns it into a simple-minded color and shape matching game instead.



The game features four save slots, although with nothing being unlocked other than higher levels, and the equations all skippable, there isn't really a need for even one save slot. There's a Trial Mode, which allows play without saving. There's also single-cart multiplayer on three of the four modes for up to five players, so hopefully anyone duped into picking up this excuse for a game won't feel a need to buy more copies for the multiplayer.

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