| LOL: Never Party Alone! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Route24 |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Designer(s) | Kenichi Nishi |
| Composer(s) | Hirofumi Taniguchi |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Party |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
LOL (full title:LOL: Never Party Alone!), known in Europe asBakushow and in Japan asArchime DS (アルキメＤＳ,Arukime DS), is aNintendo DSvideo game. The game was published bySkip Ltd. in Japan,Agetec in North America, andRising Star Games in Europe.
Developed by a group of five people headed byKenichi Nishi,LOL is amultiplayer game implemented with aPictoChat-like interface in which a host player asks a question, requiring others to write or draw their answers on the DStouchscreen.
The developers refer toLOL as a "comedy-training" game with the tagline of the game being "If you think this game is boring, you are boring."LOL received largely mixed reviews by critics upon its release.
The gameplay ofLOL is centered around being as "imaginative, clever and amusing with your friends as possible".[1] The game is multiplayer only, requiring between two and four players to participate. Although each player must have their own Nintendo DS, only one copy of the game is needed. In the game the host asks a question or tell the others to draw something and all the players have to write or draw that which is asked within a time limit. For example, the host may ask the players "What does M.B.E. stand for?" or "Why the heck are we playing this game?"[1]
A copy tool can then be used by the host to begin drawing or writing something, allowing the other players to finish the partially drawn image or written word as their answers. After all players have answered, each playervotes on which answer or image is the funniest.[2] Each player has three votes and can also vote once for themselves. There is no penalty for voting for oneself.[3]
LOL was developed by a group of five people at Route24. The game was designed by former Skip vice presidentKenichi Nishi, best known for directingGiftpia andChibi-Robo!, and, before these, the similarly-named (but unrelated)L.O.L. Lack of love.LOL was programmed by Fumihiro Kanaya, who worked on two of Skip'sbit Generations titles. The game's artwork was done by hikarin and its music was composed by Hirofumi Taniguchi.[4] The game was made under a very low budget without the staff being paid for it, apart from their regular jobs.[5] Their goal was to make the game as simple as possible.
Nishi announced in 2004 that he and Skip were working on a game for the Nintendo DS, but shortly thereafter retracted the statement.[6] It is unknown ifLOL was the project. In April 2006, Nishi announced the game under the working title "LOL DS", which was officially titledArchime DS in Japan one year later.[6][7] The Japanese title of the game comes fromArchimedes, aGreek mathematician.[8] The localized versions of the game are almost identical to the original Japanese version, with only the menu text and voices of the game's onscreen characters being changed.[3] In North America, the game was initially sold exclusively through Agetec's website.[9]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 56 out of 100[10] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 2 out of 10[11] |
| Game Informer | 1 out of 10[12] |
| GamesTM | 7 out of 10[13] |
| GameZone | 7.3 out of 10[14] |
| IGN | 7.5 out of 10[9] |
| NGamer | 60%[15] |
| Official Nintendo Magazine | 80%[16] |
| Pocket Gamer |    [17] |
| 411Mania | 5.5 out of 10[18] |
Critics were polarized by the game in their reviews. It received "mixed" reviews according to thereview aggregation websiteMetacritic.[10]IGN positively noted, "WhatLOL offers is very simple, but it has the potential to be very entertaining."[9]GamePro also found the game enjoyable, but admitted that it became somewhat monotonous after a certain amount of time.[19][a]Official Nintendo Magazine called it "the very definition of a cheap and cheerful game—perfect for those whose wit is as sharp as their stylus."[16]
Other publications were very critical of the game, many of which agreed that the game offered very little despite its budget price.Eurogamer questioned why players would spend money on it whenPictoChat exists for free.Game Informer exclaimed, "Congratulations, you just spent $20 on 10 minutes of gameplay!"[12] They also claimed "This game is already available for free on any DS. It's called PictoChat." The Norwegian newspaperDagbladet was so disappointed with the game that they gave it the lowest score available and threw the game cartridge into amicrowave oven, destroying it.[20]
The game was a nominee for "Best Local Multiplayer Game" byIGN in its 2008 video game awards.[21]