Digimon World DS Impressions

While you wouldn't necessarily think that the phrases "kid-friendly" and "role-playing game" go together, the Namco developers behind the upcoming Digimon World DS are aiming to successfully combine the two. By creating a simplified role-playing game based on the popular Digimon franchise, the company is hoping to hook the next generation of RPG fans early with a fun and fast-paced RPG that's heavy on the action and the digital-monster taming.

Fight the Digimon or tame them and add them to your party. It's up to you.

The premise of the game could be taken straight out of an episode of the Digimon anime series--a number of schoolkids, upon discovering the parallel world that is the Digimon universe, are sucked into the world via a PC and then begin their adventures in the digital world. As you take on the many different enemies they encounter in the game, you will rise through the ranks of tamers, earning new powers and new Digimon pets as you go.

Because Digimon World is at its heart a collection game, practically any enemy you take on during the many random encounters you face will be fair game to add to your collection. But it won't happen automatically. Instead, at the beginning of a fight, you'll need to scan your opponent. Once you've scanned your opponent to 100 percent--a process that will usually require multiple encounters with the same enemy--you'll be able to copy that monster and add him to your collection. However, you're not required to copy the monster once you've scanned it at 100 percent. If you wait longer and scan the monster at, say, 200 or 300 percent, the copied Digimon will be that much more powerful when he joins your stable.

Any enemy you copy can be added to your party, but you can have only three Digimon in your party at any given time. The rest of your stable will hang out at your personal Digimon farm, which you can access at any time in the game. In order to keep your tamed Digimon from falling too far behind, you can purchase equipment such as punching bags or weights with the cash you earn from monster encounters, then set your Digimon to training with the new equipment. That way, their powers and abilities will keep them useful for the next time you want to bring them in your party.

Another cool method of acquiring Digimon is known as "blending." Using the DS's Wi-Fi Internet connection, you can connect with another Digimon World DS player and blend individual Digimon to create what's known as a Digi-egg. From there, you'll need to nurture your Digi-egg for a while before it hatches into an entirely unique Digimon. In all, there are more than 250 Digimon, including blends, that you can collect in the game.

In terms of controls, Digimon World DS is as straightforward as an RPG gets. During combat, the upper screen shows the order of attacks, as well as information and the position of the enemies you're facing. The lower screen lets you choose from orders such as fight or flee, or use items such as power-ups to give you a boost in attack power, healing potions, or items to revive fallen Digimon. With an undeniably popular fictional world to choose from and simplified, streamlined gameplay, Digimon World DS looks as though it will be a nice, kid-friendly introduction to the RPG genre. The game is due for release next month, and we'll have a full review after it hits store shelves.