Trace Memory for Nintendo DS Reviews by Gamers

I found this game to start out extremely slow for me . For me it took about 10 minutes to get through the start of the game of just talking to Your aunt and the captain of the boat. I know that this happens in many games but I expected a DS game to be slightly more pick up and play.

After I got through about half of the first chapter I started to like it and couldn't put it down. At that point there was a twist or two every chapter. They have a smart way of bringing you into the story of the game by asking questions of what happens in each chapter witch forces you to get into the story.

I though that I am smart enough to breeze through this game, but I did get held up every once in a while. The hardest problem I had was a point were they something similar to that you have to reflect it somehow. I decided that I needed to get a mirror after about half a hour of trying to get a mirror I realized I wasn't going to get a mirror (I will not ruin how to figure it out but you have to use a function of the DS witch in truth isn't a function and is just the design of the DS).

Trace memory makes good use of every function of the DS without making you feel that you the same exact thing over and over again. One of the features that I liked was being able to take pictures of most things in the game witch is used to solve puzzles in several different ways.

The only real disappointment I had was the ending it seemed too predictable to me(about a minute before it happens you have an idea of what will happen). I think the ending seemed a little rushed the ending making the entire last chapter reading(I thought that it would of worked a little better if it was maybe split into a real chapter and adding onto the epolouge).

So to recap:

cons: (all relatively minor)
slow beginning
predictable ending
seems rushed
all text last chapter

pros:
great use of the DS
interesting story
innovative tactics in story telling
overall fun play

This was an enjoyable game with an entertaining story and fantastic puzzles. However, even if the player is not in a rush to finish it, the game can still be beaten easily in under five hours. There isn't much in the way of replay value either. It's definitely worth a rental, but not a purchase.