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Published By: Konami
Developed By: Konami
Genre: Action
Players: 1-4
Rated: E (Everyone)
Release Date: January 12, 2007
Written By: Matthew Prunty
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Was and still is a prominent anime series throughout the world to day. Coming straight out of Japan, it�s one of many cartoons to strike it gold. By way or various anime series, movies, comic books, figurines, etc., Yu-Gi-Oh has captured a global audience to which videogames were being created to recreate the action. Just like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh has garnered more than 15 titles over the past five years, and looks to the future. With this, Konami brings us Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Spirit Caller, which is based on their new anime series.

For those who don�t follow the series, the biggest difference is that you no longer play as Yu-Gi-Oh, his friends, or even Kieba. Within Spirit Caller, the environmental setting is within a school for avid duelers. Among the students, you have you top dogs, your imitators, and even your cry babies who fear going into battles. After winning you way into the Duel Academy, you run into several students from the three different classes. You have your blue, red, and yellow classes, each with a unique set of students. The Blue class is seen as the elite group of duelist and students, while the Red class is seen as the average duelist, but with some potential.

After talking to fellow students from the Blue and Yellow Classes, you head to your dorm room, where you have access to various touch-screen features. Once in your room, if you touch your computer, you can setup various task, including auto save. After you select yes (most convenience), you have the option to setup some Wireless Duels via the online access or head-to-head battles with another DS owner. You can also configure your Wi-Fi settings and input Friend�s Codes you get from other people. If you decide you want to go to sleep/save your game, just click on your bed. The closet option allows you to chance your wardrobe and equipment, check your status, and see what awards you have won through the various battles. If you select the dueling disk sitting on the rug, then you can customize your dueling decks for your upcoming battles. You will also have access to all the cards, including forbidden cards for viewing and studying.

The touch-screen is also used within your battles and when you are roaming the campus. Surprisingly, the touch-screen is very accurate. If you are in battle and want to select a particular card, simply tap it, and you will be given various options on what to do with the card. For those gamers who aren�t into the whole touch-screen feature, they can use the D-pad and action buttons to control their characters in and out of battle.

While the battles can get intense and challenging, newcomers will find a tougher time constructing their decks than actually dueling. The object is to construct a balance deck, consisting of monsters and spells of all types. But even with a balanced deck, you still can find trouble when you are actually dueling. You will run into several instances where your computer opponents will use several counters or even attack stops when you thought your attack wouldn�t be blocked. 7 out of 10 times, your computer opponent has a special trick or tactic up their sleeves that gives him the upper hand. If you pay attention to your opponent�s style of dueling, you can find weaknesses here and there to beat him.

Seeing the potential within the DS, Konami once again doesn�t push the handheld to its limits. We are forced to use 2D world maps, which work fine, but a 3D world would create a more immersive atmosphere, enticing current supporters and newcomers. The background images are rather plain and dull, not offering up anything to catch the viewer�s eye. Even the pop-up images used during dialogue sequences are average. What�s sorry about the lack of quality within the imagery is that we have seen better sequences and 2D figures within Game Boy Advance and even SNES titles.

The replay value is pretty in-depth for a card-based title. You have the single-player mode, which can take quite a bit of time to master and complete. You have hundreds of cards to unlock and acquire. And with every avid duelist, they will try to create the ultimate deck, which can take time and a lot of trial and error. But when you are feeling that particular mode is getting rather boring, you can always switch it up and duel against a fellow friend, or someone via the Wi-Fi connection service Nintendo offers.

Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Spirit Caller is a solid title, but still holds onto one to many features that were placed within Nightmare Troubadour. The touch-screen is more intuitive and responsive, offering up for things to do and control, but the lame 2D world maps hinder the potential for more immersive gameplay. For those who have only played the first DS title, this is a good transitional piece. But for those who are deeply into the Yu-Gi-Oh world, this may be a title to miss out on. A strong gameplay presence and high replay value isn�t enough to garner a top-notch within the Yu-Gi-Oh universe of videogames.

7.3/10

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