DS Preview - Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

There’s a new demigod making his way into the lore of Greek mythology, and his name is Percy Jackson. Unlike your typical Herculean-style son-of-Zeus demigod, Percy is a half-blood with the unnatural ability to hold his breath under water for extended periods of time. Can you figure out who his father is yet? Percy is the creation of Rick Riordan. On Feb. 12 he comes to theaters in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. But, before he makes his silver screen debut, Percy will first make an appearance on the Nintendo DS on Feb. 9. I had a chance to demo the DS game for an hour, and from the looks of things The Lightning Thief will be a nice addition to the category of licensed game properties.

Whenever you play a licenced game you worry about two things. Will the game sacrifice the story for gameplay? Secondly, will the design team be given enough time to create an engaging title worth playing? Based on my introduction to the game, I can quickly say that the story has not been sacrificed. The Lightning Thief video game begins in much the same way as the storybook. After you learn that you’re a demigod, you must confront Mrs. Dodds – you’re pre-algebra teacher. Like most algebra teachers, Mrs. Dodds is a monster. Well, literally she is a monster. After defeating Mrs. Dodds (I’m still not sure who married her to give her the “Mrs.” title), you go on a trip with your mom that brings you to Camp Half Blood, the demigod training ground. Before you’re training begins you will have to recreate the epic scene from the book where Percy fights the Minotaur.

After a brief dialogue with your teacher and best-friend Grover Underwood, a satyr, the game thrusts you right into the action. Fighting takes place in the style of a turn-based RPG, with your standard party system. Percy has can fight and also use an ability that increases accuracy. Grover joins Percy after your first fight; Grover can fight and has the ability to heal. You’ll need his healing power because Percy tends to garner the brunt of enemy attacks. Gamers can have up to three people in their party.

Unlike most turn-based games, you can see when you’ll have a chance to fight next through the status bar at the top of the screen. Both you and the enemy have a turn-status meter comprised of 10 bars. Each attack drains a certain amount of your status, depending on how strong it is. Percy’s standard attack will drain 5 bars, while Grover’s attack will drain only 4 bars. For attacks, you will have to trace several slashes that appear on the touch screen to achieve a stronger melee. Abilities, like Accuracy Boost and Healing, are activated by tracing the Greek letter appearing on your touch screen. Gamers can block up to 50% of an enemy’s attack, by tapping the Trident on the touch screen at the right time. The closer you time the tap to the enemies attack, the stronger your defense will be.

Emenies’ attacks can affect you in a number of ways. There is a form of poison attack called “Bleed” where you lose several hit points each turn. You can also be affected by “Stun” which leaves you in a daze. I found that Percy would constantly be stricken by “Bleed” and “Stun,” so Grover was left to do the majority of the fighting. Luckily if Percy loses all his hit points, which he did, you can still fight on with the rest of your party. At the end of each battle, your health is fully restored.

Movement throughout the game is done with a map system, consisting of key points that you can tap on your touch screen to travel to. On the way to Camp Half-Blood the battles seemed endless. While Percy fights, his mom waits in the car.

There didn’t appear to be a specific armor or weapons inventory system. Gamers can unlock “drachmas,” which are like your basic RPG accessories for boosts. Individual characters also didn’t seem to have their own experience points. Instead, the team appeared to have a group experience points. However, at varying times you can upgrade the individual Accuracy, Dodge, Strength or Protection attributes of your party.

The Lightning Thief is filled with vibrant visuals. There are also a few fun animations when you take down enemies or when your characters get stunned. Percy always looked like he was drunk after he got stunned, but maybe that was just a strange demigod dance he was doing.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief looks like it will be a great addition to the DS library. The game throws you right into the action, without neglecting the story. Also, the gameplay mechanics were fluid and easy to learn so children will have a fun time playing. I found myself fully caught up in the hour demo, and that’s a good thing, especially when you’re dealing with a licensed property.