Within weeks of release it’s become apparent that Nintendo’s cherished “point-n’-click”-esque adventure has been bundled next to Sprung on the NintendoDS shelf at retailers. It seems that a title offering such creativity and imagination is deemed as little more than a “quirky Japanese game” and, although these titles are often a bit hit-and-miss, it’s seems ludicrous to generalise releases in a genre that more and more rapidly becoming elusive releases.

            Another Code: Two Memories is the pinnacle of 21^st Century point-n’-click adventures. Times have changed, and a genre buried heavily in its Monkey Island, Sam & Max and Day Of The Tentacle roots sorely needed pulling in line with the current technology. What better place for such an exercise than the NintendoDS? Rich in new features not before offered by any gaming device – the Touch Screen is the perfect place to remove the mouse from the equation. But Another Code: Two Memories clearly isn’t satisfied with simply replacing a mouse with a stylus – demanding an injection of life for the dying genre.

            Beginning the game with little more than a 20-minute text based intro, playing as young adventurer Ashley you are flung straight to Blood Edward Island in search of your father. Travelling with your aunt, who quickly disappears on your arrival at the island, you are now forced to find her and your father, whilst unveiling the mystery of their disappearance, and exactly what connection they have with the less than welcoming Blood Edward Island .

            Basic gameplay proceeds as a top-down view of your local area on the Touch Screen, whilst the top screen displays a pre-rendered construction of the direction you are facing in. Movement is controlled on the D-Pad and the A button executes a “look” move; bringing a pre-rendered view, similar to that from the top screen, onto the Touch Screen for you to poke about and explore. Puzzles are the order of the day. Another Code: Two Memories revolves around the idea that passing one obstacle will merely present you with another. The puzzles however, are one of the least inviting objectives within the game. Ranging from stupidly mind-bending hard to mind-breakingly stupid, they lack any sense of proportion. Taking an item from a dead end more than 10 screens from the starting point to an unlabelled area only a screen or two away – each area totally separated both in terms of aesthetics and also play-boundaries – loosens the tact of such puzzles, and although you could comment that the likes of God Of War and Resident Evil 4 feature similar contingent puzzles, the involvement of your character between the start of the puzzle and the solution is integral to the players progression, but not so with Another Code: Two Memories. What results is the feeling that the game had been designed before any of the conundrums within had even been considered – almost a juxtaposition of a design concept and a game philosophy which have been thrown together through an arranged marriage, and both have secret lovers on the side.

            Graphically, it’s almost impossible to knock Another Code: Two Memories. Sporting not only some of the best 3D presentation the NintendoDS has yet offered but also some stunning detail within the pre-rendered scenery. The mapping from the top-down perspective to the in-front pre-rendered view is flawless – nothing appears out of place. The sound featured within the title, however, is more of a mish-mash of ambient beats and nonsense “action music” – for which they’d have been better off ripping the Super Mario Land theme tune straight onto the Game Card…

            While the point-n’-click genre is obviously desperately in need of some updating, it becomes clear after a few hours play that Another Code: Two Memories can’t carry the weight of responsibility all by itself. The title tries it’s hardest to uproot the foundations of the heavily PC-based genre, but when the supposed “climax” of the game is instead the biggest turn-off, I can’t even see too many fans of the genre packing up their mouse and picking up their stylus. Another Code: Two Memories simply falls at too many hurdles to be the genre’s new front runner – and no amount of experimentation can save a title which never appears as if it wants to be saved.