Its replay value, tactical combat, rpg depth, and heaps of extras make this game one of my favourite games on the ds.
Disgaea DS is a tactical grid based combat rpg. In combat, you move your units, your enemy moves theres. Simple, right?
Not exactly! Each of your units have a variety of special abilities depending on their class, personal statistics, their own inventory, and the ability to lift and throw both enemies and friends alike. There are also Geo-Panels and Geo-Prisms (or whatever they are called) which manipulate the terrain and change the battles. These colour coded panels receive powers/buffs from the geo-prisms that lie on the same colour. It seems a bit confusing, but it gets explained very clearly at the start of the game, and geo-prisms don't always play parts in some of the games levels.
Beyond the games storyline missions, (which I believe there is quite the sum of), there are many other things to do in the game. I'll mention now that the story itself isn't all that impressive, but is filled with gags and isn't cut scene intensive, so you won't be scrolling through heaps of text to get to the action. Now, some of the other things you can do...
The 'Item World' is an abnormal place in which you attempt to power up an item in your inventory by traveling to the corresponding world. In a world you have to do at least 10 randomly generated levels before you can leave the Item World, unless you have a Gencys Exit (a take on 'Emergency Exit) which will allow you to leave. The item world has an almost unlimited replayability as the levels are randomly generated and you'll face a wide range of enemies at different powers depending on how many levels you have traversed and depending on the item world you are playing.
You can also teleport to a mission level you've previously completely, minus the cut scenes and replacing the story-based bosses with stronger generic enemies.
There's even more, such as the Dark Assembly, in which you can spend mana (accumulated from killing enemies in combat) to create more units to join your party or to take various proposals to court. Yes, court.
Perhaps you want to improve the stock in the Castle's Shop, so you may call forth the senators for the proposal of "More Expensive Stuff" by costing x mana. After doing this, the character proposing the request will appear in court with various senators. The senators have a viewable opinion on the current proposal, such as "Total Support", "Totally Against" "In favor of" etc. You can then choose to bribe these senators with various items you have collected or bought so far. Different senators prefer different items, but relax; it says on the top screen how much the senator wants the item. By bribing them, they will become more eager to vote for your proposal. IF enough senators agree, your proposal will be passed, and you'll reap the benefits. Otherwise, you'll have to try again or 'Persuade by Force', in which you and your soldiers must slaughter all the senators who did not agree with your proposal.
Depending on your demon rank (which you raise by doing combat examinations in the dark assembly) you will be able to propose a variety of new proposals.
This also adds to the replay value, as there is several proposals you can pass to unlock new areas, with various more levels and battles to keep you entertained.
I haven't had Disgaea DS for long. I've spent about 11 hours on it and I'm not even slightly bored yet. Also, I've only completely 3 of the 14( I think) episodes. And I've barely even touched some of the extra stuff in game!
Graphics 8/10 - The graphics and visuals are impressive and there is no slow down during game play. Characters during cut scenes are drawn well and the combat visuals are relatively impressive.
Audio 7/10 - What little voice acting there is is done to an impressive standard with the same actors of the Disgaea Anime (english version). The audio is crisp and you can clearly hear and understand what people are saying. The music is catchy and the sound effects are good.
Gameplay 10/10 - The turn based combat is refined and magnificent, and abnormally fun! Heck, even the politics are fun. This game is very enjoyable and plays very good with allot of depth, and also boasts multiplayer modes! (local)
Reply Value 10000/10 - Yeah, saw that one coming. Chances are, I'll be playing Disgaea DS for the rest of the year and probably even further.
Verdict - If you're looking for a brilliant rpg with grid based tactical combat, look no further. In fact, if you are just generally looking for a brilliant rpg or a game to keep you entertained for a long time, I heartily recommend Disgaea DS.