Ping Pals Review (no fat)

by Wayforward Technologies / THQ

Platform: DS
Genre: Sims

ESRB Rating: Everyone
Release: 2004-12-7

Ping Pals Features:

Extended chat functionality for the DS
Customizable avatars
Mini-games let you earn coins that can be used to purchase items to customize your avatar

Egamer's Rating: 4 / 10.
Reviewed on: 2006-02-23

Game Description

Ping Pals takes it's essence from Pictochat, the chat tool that the DS comes preloaded with. The two programs have the same purpose i.e. make use of the wireless capabilities of the DS and facilitate communication between DS owners. Ping Pals goes a step further as it lets you chat with virtual people if it's hard to find other owners of this handheld. In addition to the basic functionality of chat, Ping Pals has a series of mini-games built into it.

Ping Pals Gameplay

The Ping Pals interface utilizes the touch screen's capabilities and allows communication via a virtual keyboard and a drawing board. You can switch between the keyboard and the drawing board by tapping on an icon. The top screen is where the conversations and individual avatars are displayed.

Avatars are customizable and you can easily change the look and appearance by using the default set of props that you start out with and by purchasing additional elements such as hairdos, glasses, ornaments, accessories and so on.

You have to earn coins to purchase items and that's where the mini-games come in. These are few and totally un intuitive. The single player games include badly implemented guessing games that can be quite frustrating. There's also an extremely painful version of Pictionary that makes you draw inane things.

Beyond the chat, avatar and mundane mini-games, there's not much functionality or content in this game.

Ping Pals Graphics & Sound

The graphics are as unimpressive as the game itself. There's limited movement except for the text that pops and scrolls upward. Avatars are static and lack any emotion. The sound in this game serves no purpose and does not leave a lasting impression.

Ping Pals Summary

Ping Pals is a title that you can safely avoid as it offers nothing special. The Pictochat tool that comes free with the DS serves the basic purpose of communicating and can be a more pleasant experience than Ping Pals. The mini-games suffer serious implementation flaws and playability issues. Overall, the game lacks depth and purpose.

Ping Pals Cost

The game currently retails at $14.99US.