Other context sensitive maneuvers, like pushing objects, working an elevator, hanging off a ledge to drop down a cliff, and climbing require swipes of the stylus that aren’t always accurately registered. Though holding the L button when making selections lets you queue up a series of moves, Mr. Esc often misinterprets your commands.

The same happens when switching back and forth between the protagonist and the different people he picks up along the way – a necessity due to the puzzle design of some levels. If there’s any one reason to not buy the DS version, it’s because the controls are simply awful. Sure, you can switch back to the D-pad and button control scheme from the original, but this isn’t immediately evident. Also, new players unfamiliar with the PSP game that start out with the touch controls will find the alternative only slightly less cumbersome.

Exit’s cel-shaded graphics seem like they come almost straight out of a comic book. Aside from his big, yellow fedora and a red scarf, Mr. Esc is mainly constructed of thick black lines and small white details. The same goes for other characters in the game. Keeping up with the comic book vibe, cutscenes at the beginning of each scenario pop up as static panels and brief amounts of text narrative. The PSP version of Exit featured backgrounds etched with intricate detail. These nuances have been scaled back substantially for the port. While much of the cartoonish visuals remain intact, Exit on the DS does take a bit of a hit in the visual department to run on the less powerful hardware.

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In most ways, Exit DS is essentially the same game as the two earlier versions, only with weaker graphics and horrible controls. The game’s 100 levels offer tons of puzzles to plow through. Still, replaying many of the puzzles over and over again, because of frequent deaths from poor control interpretation and unforgiving level designs, quickly sucks the fun from the experience. This DS port simply holds more frustration than the effort is worth. It’s best to stick with the original or pass this one up altogether.

By Nathan Meunier
CCC Staff Contributor