Beautiful, but text-hungry
I'm gonna start out by stating how I felt after finishing the game: I was awestruck!
Everyone may knock the Wii down for its low graphics power and over-saturation of casual games. This game kicks both arguments where it hurts.
'Another Code: R' is the sequel to the often overlooked DS game 'Another Code' (or 'Trace Memory' in America). It was praised for its unique use of the DS' touch screen and gripping storyline, but dragged down by the fact that it was over quite quickly. It also came out fairly early on in the DS' life so people were still getting used to the concept of touch-screen gaming. 'Another Code: R' is out rather late into the Wii's life so the majority of uses for the Wii remote have been done before, but the game is still enjoyable, if not just for the puzzle where you have to.....ah but that would be spoiling it.
A word of warning though. This game relies on the story much more than other games. Therefore, it's very text heavy. There's no voice acting (other than a dog) but I consider this to be a positive point. The previous game on the DS had no voice acting, and putting a voice to a character you've grown to know can ruin games (or books for that matter). However, this could put some people off games, so be warned.
The Wii's graphics have long been touted as the worst on the market, but this game really outdoes itself. The entire game environment looks hand drawn. This is enforced by the way the objects in the distance fold up like a pop-up book when moving to a new location.
As you'd expect from a Cing (the developer) game, the story is brilliant. There were times where I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what's going to happen (and there has not been a game that's done that to me before). For those who haven't played the first game on the DS, you may feel a little out of it to begin with. Fortunately, there's a prologue offered in the DAS menu (the DAS being an item you have from the start that lets you save, manipulate photos taken in-game, amongst other things) that gives a brief run-down of the previous game's events.
The music is great too! There's never an occasion where the music doesn't match the occasion. From soothing sounds when you're by the lake, to the frantic music when you're in a hurry.
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. It's not often I find a game that keeps me hooked from start to finish, but 'Another Code: R' did so and some! I heartily recommend the game to those who are looking for a gripping story and are fed up of the party games currently available for the Wii. Five stars well deserved!