(Disclaimer: While I have heard that it is possible to play pirated DS games on a DS storage card, I do not condone doing this unless you own an original copy of the game. Or unless the game won't come out in your country for a while. Or unless you can't afford the game. Or maybe if you just want to 'test' it before you buy it. Maybe if the store is a long walk and its raining outside.)

So, you own an R4 or something similar and one day you thought to yourself, “Hey, today I feel like not doing something illegal” Well, you've come to the right place cause I've got a game just for you.

Still Alive DS is an unashamedly blatant port of Portal to your DS, just squashed into 2D. The game revolves around you trying to collect pieces of cake before getting to the end of each level, while watching out for your old friends, turrets and energy balls. If you loved Portal and just need some more Glados, then you're not going to find it here. Nearly all of Glados' lines are ripped straight from Portal but put in a bad context that rips the humour out of them and rapes them against the wall. The only voice acting is the “Well done” or “Excellent” when you finish each stage, and of course, the song when you finish (I won't tell you which song, you'll just have to play to find out). If you want more Portal because you loved how short it was, then you'll enjoy this game because it's short enough for me to finish over 3 days of train rides (a couple hours).



From that last paragraph you may have gotten the impression that the game is no good. In fact, I loved it. The 'story' levels don't actually have a story but that's not what this game's about. But its also not just about the puzzle. There is some skill involved in playing the game as well, once you've figured out how to do the level, it's still not always easy. I found the platforming the hardest part, especially the last level, which is quite unforgiving. I've read that some people find the portal placement awkward, but its not too bad, as long as you realise that the blue portal is easy to place, and the red one is hard (You'll know what I mean if you play it).

Also, when I said that the game was short I was kind of lying. Once you finish the main mode, there's an advanced mode which I haven't finished yet. There's also an editor you can download to make your own maps, or you can just be a leech and use other people's maps, which you can download from the main site (There's about 10 at the moment, but the game's only been out a few days).

The touch controls are solid and the sounds are all ripped straight from Portal, so they work well. Considering this is a (mostly) original homebrew game the fact that it works is surprising, but its more surprising that I played all the way this through without going back to my proper DS games, because it really is fun. If you have a R4 or whatever else, there really is no reason not to get this game. Its free and only a tiny download so go get it.

Score: 7.36





I sincerely apologise for the use of any meme found within