DS Reviews - Page 7 of 13

Is the third time the charm for the Mario & Luigi series?

After years of hearing Super Mario RPG fans clamor for a sequel, Nintendo put developer AlphaDream to work creating a new Mario-themed RPG for their Game Boy Advance system back in 2003. But instead of copying the same ideas used in the original Super Mario RPG, AlphaDream came up with the...

Is Professor Layton's second adventure the worthy sequel fans are hoping for?

After the success of the first Professor Layton release on the DS, it should come as no surprise that we'd get a sequel. The game's unique blend of mystery storytelling and brain-teasing puzzles somehow forms one of the most unique and engrossing gaming experiences available for the system and a game that's already..

Is Fossil Fighters a worthy new IP or really just a prehistoric Pokemon?

Nintendo is constantly looking to expand their horizons when it comes to new IPs, and you'd have to think that was their intention when they brought Red Entertainment's newest title Fossil Fighters on board as a first-party release. The game takes fossil hunting and builds an interesting Pokemon-style battle experience around..

A decent game sullied mainly by its overshadowing predecessor

Following a critically-acclaimed title like Yoshi's Island, the immediate question that most will ask after learning the existence of Yoshi's Island DS will be: is it better than the original? Actually, scratch that: anyone who has played through the sublime SNES platformer will know what...

More hogwash than Hogwarts

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince is, as I’m sure most of you are aware, the latest entry in the massively popular series concerning the teenage wizard Mr. Potter. For those muggles out there unfamiliar with the plot “The Half Blood Prince” is where the epic tale of good versus evil really heats up; the nefarious Lord Voldemort is back and with one and one..

A healthy, suspense-ridden shooter, or just another flatliner?

Due to the limitations of the platform, first-person-shooters are not a common sight on DS. Indie developer Renegade Kid is one of the few out there to fully take advantage of the lack of competitors, but is Dementium good enough on its own merit? Dementium begins with a commonly overused starting scenario: you have no memory of who you..

A science fiction FPS on DS? Lunacy!

The DS’s heritage for first-person shooters has been a little – wait for it! – hit and miss over the years, with Metroid Prime: Hunters singlehandedly flying the flag as titles such as GoldenEye: Rogue Agent drag the poor machine’s name through the dirt. One developer determined to craft the handheld’s...

Mario Kart has always been great multiplayer fun, but does this live up to the standards of its predecessors?

The Mario Kart series started on the SNES, and it has since become one of Nintendo's best multiplayer options, right alongside the likes of Smash Bros and Mario's many sports outings. With that in mind, Nintendo coded up another Kart game...

The Legendary Starfy ultimately lives up to its name.

The Starfy series has enjoyed a great deal of success in Japan over the years, but Nintendo's release of The Legendary Starfy in North America marks the first time that many gamers outside of Japan have had the chance to experience the game's unique charm. The developers obviously didn't want to...

Demons make work for idle thumbs.

For those unaware, Disgaea DS is a remake of a PS2 turn-based tactical RPG that's gained cult classic status over the years. It follows the story of youthful demon, Laharl – the son of the late overlord – on his quest for dominance in the Netherworld. Held in high regard by many PS2 owners, Disgaea has finally...

Line Rider slides from a PC Flash game to the consoles: will it ride to success or crash into failure?

Line Rider was originally a simple Flash game where players could freely draw slopes for their sledder to ride down. Even though the game had little structure or goals, it gained considerable popularity among PC gamers, which resulted with many individuals posting their tracks on YouTube – some..

Strategy-RPG goes bullet-hell in this unique and thoroughly demanding game

Let me put a word to you, folks: hardcore. That's right, hardcore. It's a word used to describe something overwhelmingly tough or resilient, something that crosses a perceived threshold of difficulty and endurance and reaches a level that few others can hope to match. Within...

Bullseye? Perhaps not.

PDC World Championship Darts 2009 from Oxygen Games brings all the, ahem, "excitement" of darts to the Nintendo DS, offering four different modes of gameplay as well as a local tournament mode. Being a game based on arguably not the most active of sports, and indeed one which is most often associated with an older audience, it is perhaps understandable that this..

Nintendo brings fitness gaming to their portable DS system.

With the success of Nintendo's Wii Fit release for their Wii console last year, it comes as no big surprise to see them release a fitness title on the DS system as well. Personal Trainer: Walking takes the simple task of walking and builds an entire DS title around it, allowing you to...

The best puzzler on the DS?

Puzzles have always been an ideal fit for the DS, with its touch screen capabilities and the portable nature of the console means that is perfect to dip in and out of a puzzle for a few minutes in between waiting for a phone call or the dinner to emerge unscathed from the oven. As a result, there have been numerous puzzle...

Is this puzzle game a hidden gem or a useless trinket?

If there's one thing you could say about Nintendo’s DS console it's that it certainly isn't short of puzzle titles. Over the years we’ve seen many good (and not so good) games that reside within that particular genre, and in Jewel Quest we have another to add to the ever-expanding ranks. The first game in the Jewel Quest series was released..

More than just a quick thrill?

Looking at the library of DS games it is evident that racing is a scarce genre, with motorbike racing being even more so; such games tend to generate little excitement due to the DS’s restricted graphics capabilities and potentially awkward controls. Despite this, will Moto Racer DS – the first outing of the series since 2002 – be able to fire on all cylinders?..

How does Nintendo's ball-flicking puzzle game stand up to their other efforts?

Some games are destined to sink into obscurity, and unfortunately, Nintendo’s ball-flinging puzzler Magnetica was one of them. When the game was first released it was met with rather positive reviews but even such high critical praise wasn't enough to make a dent in the sales chart. Nintendo gave the series a second..

A challenging brainteaser or a couple of mindless puzzles?

If someone had told you a few years ago that a videogame which trained your brain through a series of puzzles and mini games would be one of the biggest sellers on the DS, well, you probably wouldn’t have believed a word of it. However, fast-forward a couple of years and the Brain Training series has done exactly that. Dr Kawashima’s..