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Daniel X: The Ultimate Power Review for Nintendo DS

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power Review for Nintendo DS

God Complex

When it comes to licensed games on Nintendo DS, Griptonite Games is fast becoming the go-to guys for solid action adventure. Spider-man: Web of Shadows was a terrific Metroidvania-inspired romp, and to a lesser extent, X-Men Origins: Wolverine also offered an exciting bit of fun on the go. The developers have now given the Griptonite treatment to the Daniel X franchise, but tired mechanics and repetition make this one of the developer’s least impressive efforts to date.

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power screenshot

Daniel X is a character created by best-selling author Michael Ledwidge. There’s a good bit of background surrounding Daniel’s parents and origin, but to make a long story short, the kid’s got amazing, God-like powers. Following in the footsteps of the Metroid series, Daniel loses most of his abilities early on in the game, and you’ll slowly regain access to his arsenal as you progress through the story. It’s certainly not a new formula, but Griptonite Games does a decent enough job parceling out powers at an even pace.

After battling the evil Elios, Daniel finds himself stranded on a space-faring research facility called Silerius V. The station has been overrun by an alien menace known as the Exers, and it’s your job to get the systems back up and running in order to make escape possible.

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power is set up almost exactly like Spider-man: Web of Shadows (DS). It’s a side-scrolling adventure with four main areas to explore. As you make your way through environments, you’ll discover Silex, which is the energy that allows you to regain your special powers. As you regain abilities, you’ll also gain access to new areas of the research facility. There’s plenty of satisfaction in exploring previously closed-off portions of the game world, and for the most part, Daniel’s powers are well implemented.

At its core, Daniel X is a beat’em-up, but the developer has done a better job this time around balancing brawling with other activities. You’ll solve intricate, stylus-based puzzles in order to shut down electrical barriers, explore various nooks and crannies using Daniel’s special abilities, and the bosses are inspired and challenging.

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power screenshot

To our disappointment, however, the entire package feels very formulaic. Similar to past games from the developer, there are only a handful of gameplay devices, which are greatly overused in what appears to be an attempt to pad the game’s overall length.

In terms of the action, Daniel X is almost a complete cut-and-paste of Web of Shadows. Most moves are exactly the same, as are the animations. Rather than slinging webs, this time around, you’ve got telekinesis at your disposal; the mechanics, though, are no different.

Enemies, too, have been pretty much lifted right out of the now-weather-worn Griptonite bag of tricks – re-skinned and then dropped into Daniel X. You’ve got your tank enemies, bomb lobbers, fliers, so on and so forth. Worst of all, you’ll still often find yourself surrounded by mobs of enemies, adding an arbitrary level of difficulty to the adventure. As someone who’s still thoroughly enjoying Demon’s Souls for the PS3, I don’t find anything wrong with a healthy challenge. But, the number of enemies and the way in which they cluster throughout much of this adventure only serve to make the brawling feel clumsy and button-mashy.

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power screenshot

That’s not to take anything away from the combat mechanics themselves. Like Web of Shadows and X-Men Origins, the controls here are tight, responsive, and fluid. The animations are excellent, and the platforming offers just the right kind of challenge. The collision detection is spot-on, though wall jumping feels a little sluggish at times.

Without so much as a wink or a nod, Daniel X borrows gameplay ideas from both the Metroid and Castlevania series. Early on in the game, Daniel will gain the ability to convert into a soccer ball, allowing him to negotiate tight spaces. Later, he’ll be able to transform into an eagle, which makes it easy to zip through areas you’ve previously explored.

Daniel X: The Ultimate Power screenshot

Considering Silerius V isn’t a vast environment, there’s ample backtracking weaved into the gameplay. There are one or two instances when you’ll be forced to double back in a full circle around the entire map, and the whole process is just a little too transparent. You will, of course, be required to sift through re-spawning enemies, and without a checkpoint system, dying means starting back from your last hard save.

In spite of my many criticisms, I still had a good bit of fun with the game. When taking on one or two enemies at a time, the combat is completely satisfying, and though there are only a small handful of bosses (two of which are recycled), they’re a fun, creative challenge. Enemy mosh pits notwithstanding, the game’s level of difficulty felt more balanced than X-Men Origins, and the homage to the Metroid series is, for the most part, pulled off fairly well.

Like many of their previous offerings on DS, Griptonite has put together another good-looking adventure for the handheld. The character models aren’t quite as detailed or interesting as those seen in past games, but the backgrounds are attractive and wonderfully functional for platforming. The animations are still an impressive sight on the handheld, but at this point much of the “wow” factor has now worn off.

Speaking of worn, the music and sound effects are also nothing new, really. For example, when collecting power-ups for Daniel, you’ll hear the exact same cadence heard in Web of Shadows. The music works well as a backdrop for the gameplay, but there’s definitely a strong sense of déjà vu in every fiber of the adventure.

As someone who hasn’t read the Daniel X novels, I can safely say that The Ultimate Power is ultimately a decent game. However, the dialogue is generic, and I’m not quite sure fans of the books are going to find much to identify with here. If you’ve played either of Griptonite’s Marvel-based games for DS, then you’re basically in for more of the same. If you haven’t, then this is a mostly fun romp that will keep you entertained for about a single weekend. It’s a short adventure, clocking in at roughly five to six hours, yet it’s one that lends itself to additional playthroughs. There are ample power-ups to attain throughout the actual story portion of the game, but not much else in the way of unlockables. If you’re in the market for another solid beat’em-up on the go, it’s probably a title worth checking out. Fans of Daniel X, however, will likely find themselves coming up short with the game.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
Not their best work, perhaps, but it’s another good example of 3D done right on DS. There’s a lot of recycling from past Griptonite games, though. 4.0 Control
Web of Shadows was more fluid and interesting, but overall, the controls here are tight and responsive. 3.9 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Moody themes and nice sound effects to accompany the beat’em-up gameplay, but it all sounds a bit too familiar. 3.1

Play Value
It’s a really short adventure, and though the various elements are all really well polished and fun, they’re also way overused. The entire experience feels very formulaic.

3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Daniel X: Ultimate Power brings the exciting tale of Daniel X the Alien Hunter to the Nintendo DSi.
  • Daniel X: Ultimate Power features incredible action, platforming, and puzzle-solving, as well as unique DSi functionality to let players scan their friends to see if they’re really dangerous aliens in disguise!
  • On the far off planet of Silerus V, Daniel battles unpredictable foes using the incredible power of Creation and explores a mysterious world in this epic side-scrolling action adventure.

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