For what it attempts to do, PictoChat is an acievement on all fronts.
User Rating: 9 | PictoChat DS
Nintendo DS. You know what it is, I'm guessing. And you know it has a touch screen, right? And Wi-fi?Now combine the three things together into a free chatting service and you have PictoChat, a cute little chatting device built into the NDS. For what it attempts to do, PictoChat is an achievement on all fronts. PictoChat is a little different from your average chatting system. Aside from the fact you punch in the letters using the touch screen, and the handy stylus, a pen-esque item to help assist you in the usage of the touch screen, PictoChat reinvents what chatting is by allowing chatters to input picture messages via the touch screens. What this means for you is that even if you don't have other chatters available, you can still doodle whenever you like. The neat part of this is is that it is VERY useful, and letters can still be used with a picture. Another neat part of it is that the screen responds very nicely to the quickening pace of drawing, so it is just as good as a sheet of paper and a pen. PictoChat also allows (though is not very useful) to drag characters and place them wherever you'd like. Though it is a good idea, it is overall half-baked, and just takes too long to get accomplished. Pictochat also has several different symbols, allowing many different language possibilities. It also includes Japanese characters for your favorite Japs. The DS's Wi-fi supports 60 feet of wireless play. While that might not be incredibly large, if you are in the right place at the right time, this is not only a whole load of fun, but is a very organized way of accepting and declining battles. Each chatroom could contain a maximum of 16 individuals, though it's most likely that you won't even reach half of that number. The fun about PictoChat is that, if in this scenario, you have a couple of friends equipped with the Metroid Demo and DS's, in school, lets say, you can organize a battle with someone for all gaming rights. At which point PictoChat becomes a stand-alone reason to own a DS. PictoChat looks and sounds the part. Basically, it's a bare-boned chatroom. It is very organized, and the design fits in well. No avatars are a bummer. Also, technically, there is no sound of which to speak, but in most most ways it works really well. Keeping in mind that this game is free, PictoChat is a really outstanding chatting system on all fronts. You can tell the production value immediately. It provides, a quick, fun way of chatting, and it just really, really works.
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