DSiWare Reviews - Page 21

Maybe a bit too simplistic for its own good

We haven't seen a significant amount of apps made available on the DSiWare service to date, but that hasn't stopped Nnooo from tossing a couple into the mix with their ongoing myLifeConnected suite of DSiWare applications. We've already seen the release of myNotebook in various colours and now the company...

Seriously flawed

Essentially a first-person Space Invaders, System Flaw Recruit uses the DSi’s external camera in a crude form of augmented reality. The bottom screen displays a radar showing enemies in your proximity, and the top screen lets you line up the targets with your reticule. When the alien craft get within a certain range they attack,...

Five very basic games in one

We've already got more than enough Sudoku games on DSiWare, but thankfully that's not the only thing included in this collection. Pocket Pack: Words & Numbers offers a total of five different games: Sudoku, Kakuro, Anagrams, Word Guess and Word Cubes. And while it's a jack of all trades, it's a master of none. We really don't need to explain Sudoku again, do we?..

A rather snappy LCD version of the arcade release

The first thing you'll notice about Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch is that it's clearly a lot more playable than many of the other Game & Watch releases. Not only are there more ways to do more, but now you have four-way controls, not to mention a jump button. The vine layout is also something...

A load of old balls

Before the world-crushing DS, before the Game Boy began its decade-plus of supremecy, Nintendo’s handheld division began with the humble Game & Watch line, which started with the even more humble Ball in 1980. Over the past 30 years, odds are good that if you’ve had any interest in the company’s portables you’ve come across this one. Maybe you played it as you stood..

Bet you can't deduce what this one's about

The first time we entered the AiRace universe, if you will, was through the simple and fun 200 Point DSiWare tidbit AiRace: Tunnel. While it was a satisfying arcade flight experience, it felt more like a bonus mode that was chopped out of a larger game. AiRace is that larger game. With more aircraft, actual stages, cups, multiplayer and the whole shebang,..

Fold!

7 Card Games makes no effort to disguise its simplicity. It is what it is: seven card games, no more, no less. There’s no fluff, no extras and no incentive to play beyond the desire for quick, cheap, 500 Point fun. You might enjoy it while waiting for the train or before bedtime, but beyond that this game holds very little potential for lasting entertainment. Going back to “no more, no..

No it isn't

Guess a number. Wrong. Wait ten seconds, then guess again. Wrong. Wait ten seconds, then guess again. Wrong. Now all this exciting number-guessing action can be yours to own with the release of Ludia’s The Price is Right for DSiWare! Yes, you too can estimate the prices of fanciful items you can’t win, compete against AI opponents that range from bone-headed to professional valuers..

Quite possibly the best Arkanoid clone ever

AlphaBounce started out life as a free to play online game. Borrowing heavily from Arkanoid and other "move the paddle to bounce the ball and break the blocks" games, it added a few rather unique twists, rather than being almost a direct copy like most of them are. The game focuses on one of...

Everyone walks all over a nice guy

The Game & Watch series was Nintendo's first real foray into the world of portable video gaming. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, who would later mastermind the grey-brick Game Boy we all know and love, these handheld electronic games featured an LCD display, a tinny speaker, and just enough buttons to complete the...

When tools fall from the sky, just stay home that day

We should all be very glad that affordable portable video game technology has moved beyond the rudimentary LCD screen of the Game & Watch. Not that there haven't been any worthwhile endeavours to come out of the series, but when you're stuck designing your game around strict on-screen limitations then sooner or later you'll end up with..

Everyone loves to whack it!

Before the days of Game Boys and DS systems, Nintendo manufactured a small portable game device called the Game & Watch. These electronic games featured LCD screens that featured specific movements that could be controlled via various buttons and D-pads on the units. While they didn't feature the same type of full-range movement and controls of today's portable game..

All driller, no filler

Mr. Driller has become quite a beloved arcade puzzler over the years and after a solid WiiWare release, it seems Namco Bandai thought it might be time for the game to make an appearance on DSiWare as well. Now puzzle fans looking for a little arcade digging action can enjoy the game on the go and with a nice added set of touchscreen controls to go along with it. The basic..

Just change the puzzles and release what is essentially the same game for more money!

A while ago we got Puzzle to Go Wildlife, a relatively decent jigsaw puzzle game marred by one major flaw: over half the puzzles had to be unlocked, which took an eternity. Did developer Tivola learn their lesson from this or not? For this second Puzzle to Go title, they've managed to license Diddl, a cartoon..

Tiny turtles bring big puzzle pleasure

Sea turtles begin life as vulnerable little creatures. Provided they actually survive the process of incubation and hatching and manage to dig their way out of their buried nests, they often become disoriented on their way to the ocean and, worse yet, they make perfect snacks for local wildlife. With Save the Turtles, developer Sabarasa has come up with a way..

All flash, no bang

Combining both loud noises and pretty colors (things we've been conditioned from birth to stare at in awe), there's something magical about a good fireworks display. Disney is well-known for the nightly shows put on at their assorted theme parks, and now their game-developing arm has brought the fun to the DSi Shop in the form of...

It's a metronome

The DSi wasn't intended just for games; part of the meaning of the "i" is in reference to using it as a "personal tool," according to some Nintendo rep who may or may not have been full of it. We've already seen some fairly useless applications hit the service already, lending credence to this, so it makes a weird sort of sense for Nintendo to roll out..

It's an instrument tuner

The DSi wasn't intended just for games; part of the meaning of the "i" is in reference to using it as a "personal tool," according to some Nintendo rep who may or may not have been full of it. We've already seen some fairly useless applications hit the service already, lending credence to this, so it makes a weird sort of sense for Nintendo to roll out..

Sample the sweet taste of crime

If you weren't interested in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars but still hanker for some big city crime drama, you might be drawn to Gameloft's latest DSiWare release, Gangstar 2: Kings of LA. Taking the GTA template to a download title and offering it all for 500 Points should be a pretty sweet deal, but once you've...