Friday, May 15, 2009
Stardust Accelerator So, I have acquired this game and have been playing it for quite a while......And sacrificing some of your work effort at the same time...
Okay, besides that. So, yeah. This blog post is a brief review on Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2009 - Stardust Accelerator.
So, it's the standard Good, Bad, and Ugly routine, but a brief overview. You have two modes to choose from: 5D's Story Mode and World Championship Mode. Obviously, Story Mode is what you want to complete first, because it's where you get your (usual) pathetic Starter Deck up to speed, and it's also where you unlock other opponents in World Champ Mode. As with all other games, 5 wins on every NPC should unlock nearly everyone and every pack in World Champ Mode.
So Story Mode is essentially very similar to the 5D's anime's first 26 episodes, but with several differences. One, you're the central character in the storyline, and so you end up walking through Yusei's footsteps... and a little more. Two, less exposition, more card games - though this will make several arcs seem rather short, like the time spent in Neo Domino Jail. Three, there are several minigames included, comprising of a motorbike racing minigame, some block-pushing puzzles, and a stealth-based mission.
The latter two sound familiar, where have we seen them before?
World Champ Mode is pretty much similar to the other World Championship series: opponents to beat, and a win/loss/tie record for each. Nothing to see here if you're familiar with these games.
The Good: For one, they've greatly expanded the card database since World Champ 2008, AND filled in several cards which World Champ 08 has missed out! The packs go up to Crimson Crisis, Duel Terminal 4, and Structure Deck 16, so there's a huge card database, and plenty to experiment with. Also, the introduction of Riding Duels is a nice addition for fans of the anime, and those who wish to attempt playing one out themselves.
The Bad: Well, they sure have nerfed the continuous win bonus. Now it just caps at 10 DP. Oh well, guess Konami didn't like how people exploited the old bonus and racked it up to 1000+. Also, the announcer in Story Mode tends to get irritating. It's understandable when you're in the Story's tournaments, but when in Riding Duels with certain opponents outside of tournaments, the announcer mysteriously shows up and DOESN'T shut up. Oh, and some cards are relocated to packs that don't unlock until you've done quite a bit.
The Ugly: Face it, you've got a pathetic Starter Deck and several of the NPCs sport decks that are tiers above yours. One of the first few opponents you may find outside the storyline-mandatory duelists sports a deck designed for countering many moves. Also, another portion of the storyline pits you against FOUR top-tier decks (okay, one may not be so) with no recovery in between. In short, pray that you have good luck on striking staples in the packs, or that the AI messes up and gets a bad hand, or you will have a lot of trouble getting through Story Mode. Oh, and if you came expecting only card games, the mandatory minigames will most likely irritate you too.
But, after you've gotten your deck up to speed and opened up a large portion of the card database to your disposal, there's plenty of decks you can design and test. The up-to-date card database also allows for playtesting of nearly any but the latest card combos and decks. Once you pass all the annoying obstacles in Story Mode, it's a rather awesome game for those who love the card game in real life, since you're not creating a hole in your pocket to get your hands on those rare cards that would complete a deck you want to try out.
Well, you still are using up a lot of time just getting through the game itself.
That's not the point...
END POST
Posted on 8:53 PM.
