Doshin the Giant

Published by: Nintendo
Developed by: Param
Platform: GameCube
Released - Out Now
Price : £39.99

After months of getting excited by the prospect of Animal Crossing arriving in Europe we were to have our hopes dashed with the news that it's not coming after all. To compensate for missing out on Animal Crossing, Nintendo have given us a game that won't be available in the US. This game is, of course, Doshin the Giant. It's going to have to be a heck of game to make up for no Animal Crossing though. Let's take a look and see if the yellow giant has got what it takes.

The game centres around Doshin the Giant and the islanders of Barudo-Island. You control Doshin and you emerge at dawn and disappear at sunset. In between though it's up to you to help the islanders of Barudo-Island. There are four cultures on Barudo-Island; there are blue, red, yellow and green islanders that are all different from each other. To put it simply, Doshin is an odd-job giant who strolls around the island and satisfies the requests of the islanders. These requests can be to move trees, remove obstacles and raise and lower land levels. It's not difficult but a clumsy control system and idiot villagers make the game more cumbersome that it should be.

The islanders don't ask for much but nevertheless they soon become annoying. They need fertile ground to live on. The fertile ground is denoted by lush green terrain. The proximity to the trees determines whether or not the ground is fertile. The islanders will walk to a patch of barren ground and ask that a tree be planted there to make the ground fertile. To oblige them you'll have to find a tree, pick it up, and bring it and drop it where the islander requests. Once the ground is nice and green the islanders will build on it. The more fertile ground they have, the more they will build and prosper as a culture.

You'll be asked to raise and lower the land and this is one of my niggles with the game because it highlights the stupidity of the islanders. Pressing the X and Y buttons will adjust the level of the land you're standing on. You can also hold the A button and move the control stick at the same time. Performing the land adjustments is easy but it gets irritating when the people ask you to raise land and then lower it time after time after time. There have been occasions when the people were just not satisfied. First I raised the land but then they wanted it lowered, so I lowered it and then guess what? Yes you've guessed it, they wanted it raised. This doesn't happen all the while but it happens too often for my liking.

So what's the point of all these menial tasks then? Well the answer is that it benefits you in a few ways. Doing favours for the islanders will earn you love hearts that will link up to form a circle around the edges of the screen. Once you've completed a circle of hearts then Doshin will increase in size (it also possible to have a circle of hate icons which we'll take about later). A larger Doshin is of greater use to the people because he can lift heavier objects and is more useful in fighting disasters (which we'll also mention later). At the end of the day Doshin will disappear and will restart the next day back to his old, 'small' self. The more Doshin satisfies the people the more they will be pleased with him and eventually they will build a special monument. If the game is said to have a goal, it's to get the people to build all sixteen monuments.

The game isn't just a fluffy people pleasing game though. With a press of the L button Doshin changes to red Jashin, the Hate-Giant. Jashin is more physically capable than Doshin and there are times where it's advantageous to be Jashin such as when there is a disaster to fight. Should Doshin step on villagers, or scare them then he will earn hate icons (they look like skulls). Of course Jashin can earn these far more easily because of his frightening presence. These serve the same purpose as the heart icons in that they eventually make a full circle and increase the size of the giant, whichever form he takes. The circle must be filled exclusively with either hearts or skulls though as no combination of the two will allow Doshin/Jashin to increase in size. Of course it's generally better to please the people than scare them.

From time to time there are disasters and it's up to Doshin/Jashin to deal with them. There are tornadoes, volcanic eruptions and attacks by the Nortys who steal the trees and run off with them. It's up to you to protect the people as much and as quickly as you can. The best way to counter these disasters is to attack them, of course finding which way to effectively combat a disaster adds to the fun.

Graphically Doshin the Giant doesn't look too bad. Doshin himself looks kind of like a rubber inflatable. The water effects have been nicely done too. The terrain damage that Jashin does with his fireballs is perhaps the best graphical element of the game. It's also pleasing to see the trees swing and sway. The disappointments come in the form of the people and villages that look like they could have been done on the Nintendo 64. There are quite a few graphical glitches too and it's all too common to see a fish swimming in mid-air, above the land, rather than in the water. Overall though the game does look OK.

Doshin the Giant is OK for deaf gamers. The game is subtitled but the text that appears onscreen is not always the same, or as in-depth, as what is actually spoken. Occasionally a female voice will inform you if you're about to fall, amongst other things, and this isn't subtitled although this doesn't spoil the game in any way. The people communicate by using icons so there are no problems for deaf gamers there. The introduction to the game is not subtitled, which is a shame as it explains the relationship between the giant and the people, although pages 4 & 5 of the manual help to explain the legend of the giant. Overall though there isn't any problems that will prevent you from enjoying the game.

It's difficult to make a judgement on what mark Doshin the Giant should receive. Of course what's plainly obvious is that the game is an acquired taste and will please as many gamers as it displeases. It could be looked at as a child's version of Black & White but whilst it is similar in many ways, in others it is not. If you don't mind the slow pace of the game (it takes a long time to move across the island with Doshin), awkward control especially as Doshin gets bigger and repetitive tasks for the islanders then you'll appreciate the longevity (to get all 16 monuments takes a while and when you do other maps are unlocked to play on which means a very long lifespan for the game) of the title. However the gameplay isn't quite up to the usual Nintendo standards and lacks that indefinable magic that Nintendo titles usually have.

Overall Game Rating: 6.4/10
Whilst Doshin the Giant can actually be enjoyable it can also be repetitive and irritating at times. It's definitely a game that will appeal to the few rather than the masses.

Deaf Gamers comment:
No real problems but it's a shame that the text that is shown doesn't always match the verbal information.