The Nintendo DS is something special in that it's games primarily retain isomeric and two dimensional views in an era where 3D has been all but mastered on the powerful home consoles. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor for the Nintendo DS is one of those rare, magical games that takes it's genre to the next level, similar to the way that Phantasy Star 1 expanded RPGs to include sci-fi elements. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor brings something new to the turn based strategy genre with the shear level of customization. Over the course of the game, you will encounter time-activated events, scramble to persuade people from committing genocide with their demons, collect clues about a mysterious lockdown of Tokyo, instigated by Japans Self Defense Force, and overcome the obstacles that lead to your predicted death. If you are familiar with the anime "Death Note", then you will find some familiar elements in this game such as a "death clock" that appears over the head of everyone you see, telling you how many days remain until they die. The death clock adds to the games already high tension and provides you with a unique insight that you can use to predict future events. Much like pokemon, you acquire monster, or in this case demons, over the course of the game. Through synthesis, two demons combine into a more powerful demon with a combination of abilities that you choose from the demons used in synthesis. There are many possible combinations that lead to the same demon, so you can tailor your demons to suit your playing style. Do you want a berserker type demon that can also heals both itself and your party? Are you tired of your cleric dying with just a few hits? Combine them together to make a self-sustaining demon with plenty of stopping power and the ability to heal on the go! Are you tired of constantly getting paralyzed or petrified? Engineer a demon with abilities to counteract or completely nullify status ailments, dish out some of its own, and cure the party! Abilities aren't just limited to the demons you carry around, oh no! Your party acquires abilities by "hacking" them from opponents during battle. You have absolute control over the stats belonging to your primary character. Fans of the 8-bit and 16-bit turn based strategy games will find the games controls to be intuitive.
In an age so heavily influenced by the internet, it's fun to find a game that not just acknowledges but heavily implements internet culture into a game. Technology plays an extremely important role in this game and reaches into the past to touch on ancient religious elements while still retaining an interesting modern vantage on a unique, compelling story that will leave you wanting more.
Controls: 9/10 - Almost perfect
Difficulty: 6/10 - Average
Music: 8/10 - Memorable
Story: 8/10 - Compelling
Replay value: 9/10 - Multiple paths and extreme customization
Verdict: If you're looking for a new game and you enjoy RPG/Turn Based Stategy games, pick this one up. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is one of those rare period piece games that just screams nostalgia. The story is similar to Earthbound/Mother 2 in that it reflects a set of morale values of a certain era in history. It saw a U.S. release in June of 2009 so you shouldn't have to pay retail for it.
