Exit DS Demo Online
Web-based DS demos are all the rage these days. No surprise then that a few levels of Taito’s spatial puzzler’s have found their way onto a browser near you.
Even if you’re not already familiar with the adventures of Mr. ESC, it’s pretty easy to pick up. Your job is to escort survivors of disaster situations to the nearest escape route, clearing obstacles such as fire, floods, electric wires, defunct elevators, and so on along the way.
If you’ve ever played old adventure games such as Flashback or the original Prince of Persia, you’re probably already familiar with the way that Mr. ESC handles. Though the point-and-click nature of this version (sadly) eliminates some of the difficulties associated with timing jumps and other acrobatics, you’ll still have to take note of how far our silhouetted hero can leap or when a wall is too tall for him to climb, since these details are needed to solve puzzles.
Lacking a traditional control scheme (at least in this browser version), most actions in the game are completed by first clicking on Mr. ESC or one of the survivors and then clicking on the object you want them to interact with.
It’s rather simple once you get used to it, but since the demo is in Japanese here are some things that may not be readily apparent:
- Survivors can all pick up items. Since Mr. ESC can only carry one at a time, having a survivor carry one as well is sometimes necessary.
- Survivors of different sizes can do different things. For instance, children can crawl through small spaces while adults can help push crates.
- Mr. ESC can give items to survivors and vice versa.
- The icons on the right side of the screen help you control survivors. Clicking on the blue icon will call survivors to your position, while clicking on the red one will make them stay put.
If you think you’re primed, or just care to figure things out for yourself, follow this link to access the trial.
