Video Game Recomendation: The World Ends with You

I do not usually hype a game or discuss game reviews. Usually there is an educational component to why I'm discussing a game. That being said, I haven't been this drawn into a game, characters, world, and gameplay for a couple of years. The game is Square Enix's "The World Ends with You."

The review by Edge Magazine, it is a mix of concepts that ultimately succeed in both style and in depth of gameplay. The New York Times raves in their review:

The result is not just the best role-playing game ever designed for the DS, but one of the best role playing games ever designed for anything.

Stephen Totilo over at MTV's Multiplayer Blog discussed his continually enjoyment of the game and even compared it to the GTAIV for creating a player experience.

Over at 1up.com, Jeremy Parish reviewed the unique game stating:

By all rights, The World Ends With You should be an annoying disaster, a bundle of tired gimmicks and trite clichés... Yet somehow all the things that should be unbearable fall into place and create a game that's far more unique, interesting, and addictive than it has any right to be.

A review from Game Trailers.com

If there needs to be an educational connection for this game, my recent discussion on video game interfaces ties nicely into "The World Ends with You." The player has the ability to control both the top and the bottom DS screens at one time, but it is not required. Beginning players can allow the computer AI to control the top and as the players experience and confidence grows they can control both for added benefits and abilities in battle. The game creates a low barrier to entry and while it sets the mastery level high, it rewards the player for that mastery.

The interface is designed to engage and allow ease of entry level use, with integrated tutorials to walk the player through the system. The interface allows for advanced users to take advantage of controlling both screens creating both incentive for mastery and rewarding that ability. Systems can find and should seek to strike a similar balance.

But in the meantime, I encourage anyone (age appropriate - What they Play lists 11 years old) to go out and try (rent or buy) "The World Ends with You" and see if the game's world draws you in as much as it did me and other reviewers... enjoy.

gameplay image from Ign.com