Nikki Holiday and the Pirate Star is a fun mix of point-and-click adventure and a battle card game.
You may think this doesn”t sound particularly appealing, but developers Studio 212 Sdn. Bhd. combined these two old school genres with gorgeous artwork and an engaging plot to create a particularly enjoyable, though short, gaming experience.
The story is told in point-and-click fashion. Nikki is a rising musical talent about to have her first show, but she is being hampered by unknown sources. To solve the mystery, she has to travel around town, talk to people and card-battle some. When she talks to NPCs, you have three choices for her response. Happily, you can”t choose a response that is bad and will put you on a wrong path. That takes the pressure off of trying to pick a “right” response. Plus, you can always go back and try the other responses to be sure you got all the information you need, and to see the amusing interactions between characters.
The card game is explained fully in an early scene, and interactions with many characters are solved through this type of combat. You are given new cards by winning games and talking to NPCs, so as the game progresses you have casino pa natet a sizable deck to use.
The plot is light, but still compelling, and is well told through the game play. Nikki”s character is interesting and engaging enough, and the game enjoyable enough, that she could easily feature in sequels following this same game style.
The artwork is fantastic. Drawn in manga style, the story is funny and cartoon like, with more artistic cut scenes. The colors are lively, and fit well with the bold lines. Over all, it”s worth the price just for the fine graphics.
The background music was recorded by Cantonese rock band, “Mr.”, and they play a role in the game as well. If the music is not to your style, there is the option to turn off the sounds.
There are two serious problems with Nikki Holiday and Pirate Star that keep it from being a perfect ten. The least of the two is that the objects and NPCs do not always respond to touch. Sometimes you have to back out of the scene, return to it and try again. This can be very annoying. Worse though, are the frequent crashes. From beginning scene to final credits, the game crashed regularly, most often after a card battle. The developers are working on a patch, which will hopefully correct these two problems.
Bottom line: Nikki Holiday and the Pirate Star is a delightful adventure/card game, with an engaging plot, fun game play and gorgeous graphics. Sadly, the bugs make it extremely difficult to play.
Nikki Holiday and the Pirate Star is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.
