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Good: Lots of dungeon crawling, takes full advantage of DS touch pad capabilities

Bad: Repetitive environments, fairly minimal RPG elements, ugly interface, clunky combat system, easy

Finally: Screaming at my game actually gets things done

Deep Labyrinth starts off with a giant flying pink elephant man telling your character to get off his floating island. If you already don't think you should play this game, you probably shouldn't. This DS title is a mess of half-baked story, sloppy combat, and minimal role-playing with only a handful of good points and a whole slew of other problems.

For starters, the game's two stories really lack any sense of clarity, character development, or point. The first chapter, which is aimed at beginners, tells the story of a boy who is on a road trip with his mother, father, and dog. After the family car gets a flat tire, the dog decides to run off into a nearby castle. When the parents disappear looking for it, the boy is left alone to find them. After entering the castle, he is teleported to a mysterious floating island known as the Airship of the Gods, where he meets the aforementioned elephant thing and begins his search for his missing parents. The second chapter is even more baffling, simply opening with your character getting attacked by a skeleton in an icy cavern, and remaining equally nebulous throughout. As you can tell, neither scenario is very story driven.

Rather, the focus of both chapters is on dungeon crawling, and trust me, there's a lot of it. Much like the classic first-person dungeon crawls of yesteryear, Labyrinth puts you through a large number of mazes filled with monsters, items, and puzzles. The control scheme makes large use of the touch pad (not to mention the occasional yell in the microphone), as you'll use it for sword fighting, spell casting, and interacting with the world's various inhabitants. The top screen features a useful minimap as well as information on your current health and magic levels. Movement is controlled using the directional pad to turn, move forwards and backwards, and to a limited extent, strafe.

Combat takes place in real time, with players using the stylus to swing their sword at enemies. A lock-on system also allows you to circle the enemy while always keeping it in the center of your screen. Unfortunately, the actual execution of this combat system seems clunky and occasionally unresponsive. Sometimes you'll find yourself tapping on an enemy several times before finally locking on. The game's defense mechanisms are also poorly implemented. To defend against attacks, you have to click on your shield icon and then on the screen to hold your shield up against the enemy. Not only does this prevent you from attacking until you switch back to your sword, it's also wholly unnecessary since most enemies can be easily handled by circling them while swinging your sword.

The game's magic system, while interesting in theory, is also sloppy in execution. In order to cast spells, players switch to magic mode by clicking the icon on the touch screen. This brings up a 3x3 grid, where players must touch tiles in a specific order to cast different spells. The idea is novel, but actually using these spells in combat is more of a hassle than it's worth. Additionally, a number of locked doors require the use of certain spells to open, but even this seems more gimmicky than challenging.

A number of other standard RPG features are on display here, but their inclusion seems more forced than anything. Players are able to equip new swords, shields, and armor, but these upgrades are so few and far between that it really doesn't add much in the way of character building. Characters also gain experience and level up as the game progresses, but aside from the new spells learned at higher levels, the gains are barely noticeable, especially considering the game's already easy level of difficulty. Also, the quick item system doesn't seem so quick. Players have to actually switch out of combat mode to their quick item mode, and then double click on an item to use it. In situations where the fast use of a potion is necessary to live, this seems like a lot of trouble.

The game's graphics also have a number of problems that really hurt the overall presentation. For one, the interface is downright ugly, with pictures and icons that look like they're straight out of the early-90's dungeon crawls that inspired the game. Furthermore, the decently detailed character models and environments are offset by a framerate that is frequently abysmal, particularly in outdoor areas. Also, the repetitive nature of the game means that you will see the same monsters and areas over and over.

The sound fares a little better, thanks mostly to Yasunori Mitsuda's score, which is for the most part good and sets the mood well. Outside of that, there's really not a whole lot that stands out. The sound effects are pretty minimal and forgettable. Most of the game's dialogue is displayed in text, but the little voice acting that is there sounds pretty cheesy and low-budget.

Deep Labyrinth is really only going to appeal to a small, dedicated group of gamers looking to relive the glory days of first-person dungeon crawls. For anyone else, the repetitive environments, RPG-lite gameplay, and lame story aren't going to be enough to satisfy.

Graphics: 5.5

Sound: 6.5

First Play: 4.0

Replay Value: 6.0

Gameplay: 4.5

Overall: 5.1