DS - News
April2009
Is Trace Memory worth remembering?
Ten years after her parents’ presumed deaths, thirteen year-old Ashley Robbins receives a mysterious package – apparently sent by her father – that contains a small device coincidentally resembling a Nintendo DS. Tracing this package to the deserted Blood Edward Island, Ashley sets out on an adventure to...
Review Pass Your Driving Theory Test
A pass, with a few minors.
Here in UK before you can attempt the practical driving test you must pass the Theory test. Pass Your Driving Theory Test by LDC aims to get you through the theory test. The game, if you can call it that, is played with the DS on its side. The questions are on the normal screen and the answers are on the touch screen. When...
Can Kirby prove that his latest DS adventure is a super offering?
It’s not at all hard to love Kirby – after all, he’s an adorable little puff ball! Nethertheless, despite being cute and on the short side, he packs a powerful punch and is not scared to dish out pain. This gives Kirby the appeal to satisfy young and old gamers alike, which has...
News Retail Success Eludes GTA: Chinatown Wars
A case of the right game on the wrong platform?
It might be the highest-rated game in the history of the Nintendo DS, but critical success hasn’t translated into commercial victory for Rockstar’s GTA: Chinatown Wars. The game failed to make the top 10 or 20 best-selling games for the month, and has sold well below the 200,000 copies that...
Paint the town red. And orange, and yellow, and green, and blue...
Creative freedom has become an essential element of game design. Without it players are left following the path developer have set, and where is the fun in that? Worry not however; Kirby: Canvas Curse allows players to express themselves in ways you probably wouldn't expect. Forget...
News NPD Sales Results for March 2009 - Software/Hardware
With plenty of blockbuster hits released in March, which games managed to come out on top?
Hardware Sales Nintendo Wii - 601KNintendo DS - 563KXbox 360 - 330KPlayStation 3 - 218KPSP - 168KPlayStation 2 - 112K Software Sales Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360) - 938KPokemon Platinum (Nintendo DS) 805KHalo Wars (Xbox 360) - 639KResident Evil 5 (Playstation 3)...
News Made in Ore Gameplay Videos
For those who are a little confused as to what to expect with the latest WarioWare title, Nintendo has released plenty of videos to help explain things a little better.
Over the past week, we've done plenty of coverage on Made in Ore and its WiiWare counterpart, Asobu! Made in Ore. Thoiugh we've given you plenty of details on these upcoming titles,...
News Nintendo Sets Down Some New Release Dates
New Play Control: Chibi-Robo, New Play Control: Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, and Friend Connection have all been given June release dates by Nintendo.
Late last year Nintendo of Japan started re-releasing Nintendo Gamecube games on Wii with motion controls, and in some cases, special features. On June 11th though, the New Play Control line will...
News Japanese Sites for Made in Ore and Asobu! Made in Ore Go Live
With the upcoming release of Made in Ore and its WiiWare counterpart, Nintendo has launched an official site with plenty of screenshots.
Just over a week ago, Nintendo officially announced a release date for the latest entries in the highly acclaimed WarioWare franchise. With its release date in just a few weeks, information has begun pouring in on...
News Nintendo DSi – Deconstructed
Cool stop-motion video surfaces of a DSi ripping itself to pieces
Whenever there’s a new hardware launch you can practically guarantee that some nutcase will take it upon themselves to rip the machine open to see what it looks like inside. Nine times out of ten all they discover is a bunch of circuit board and some chips – hardly surprising...
A dark and twisted adventure that takes the player deep into the depths of the human psyche - both a truly rewarding and at times painful experience.
Lux-Pain has a tried and tested set-up common in many Japanese visual novels; an idyllic suburb of a Japanese city where all is not what it seems. Fans of the genre will be pleased by the wealth of...
News DSi Contains Improved Anti-Piracy Technology?
Early reports suggest that dodgy DS fakes are unplayable on the new machine
If you’re keen on sailing the seven seas of piracy then you might be interested to know that early reports are suggesting that fake DS cartridges fail to operate on the shiny new DSi console. It’s still not known whether or not this is down to improved anti-piracy...
A TV show about a man playing videogames actually works as a game itself.
Retro Game Challenge was originally released in Japan back in 2007 under the title Game Center CX: Arino’s Challenge. This is because the game is actually based on the Japanese TV show titled Game Center CX, which stars Shinya Arino, a popular Japanese comedian who tackles a...
News Next DS to Have Mobile Phone Capabilities?
Miyamoto drops a hint
Although Nintendo has gone to great lengths to insist that the DS and iPhone aren’t in direct competition, a recent comment from golden boy Shigeru Miyamoto has led to speculation that the company's next portable will have some kind of wireless connectivity that will allow users to access data when they’re out and about –...
News Reggie: We’ll Be Better at E3 This Year
Nintendo hoping to make amends for 2008's dire performance
E3 2008 wasn’t a particularly good one for Nintendo. Sure, the company was riding high in the sales charts but the limp presentation (which was essentially geared towards the casual gamer) did little to appease dedicated fans – and after all, they would have been the ones watching. You...
Flower? Nope. Sun? Very little. Rain? In buckets.
Flower, Sun and Rain is the first DS game from game director Goichi Suda, aka Suda51. It started life as a Japanese PS2 game, but it's been ported over to DS presumably to take advantage of the feature-rich console. Or so you'd think... Known by many as the mastermind behind classic style-driven...
News Rhythm Heaven Creator Talks J-Pop and Music Games
Record producer turned games designer speaks to Wired
Rhythm Heaven has shifted 1.5 million copies in Japan so far and looks set to repeat its success here in the West. However, not many people are aware that the brains behind this unique game is a 40 year-old J-Pop record producer previously famous for creating the all-girl Japanese super group...
Review Game & Watch Collection
A blast from the past or something best left forgotten?
If you are a Nintendo fan living in North America, you probably remember the heavily publicised launch of the Club Nintendo program last December. Additionally, if you were a big investor at the time, you were probably hoping that you had enough recent Nintendo products to afford the coveted...
Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
The definitive version of Square Enix's latest FF outing.
Square Enix has made some outlandish choices in the past, but none as strange as their decision to port Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time to the Wii. While the home console version wasn't all that impressive, its portable partner is a much more enjoyable experience. With the...
Shaping the minds of tomorrow or simply boring them today?
Junior Brain Trainer is a learning game in a similar vein to the slew of other "brain training"' games released for the Nintendo DS. The genre was made famous with the massive popularity of Nintendo's Dr.Kawashima's Brain Training and many games since have attempted to capitalize...
Mama trades her spatula for a shovel; will the result be a blossom of fun, or a game only a Mama could love?
Our bright-eyed Mama is back and this time instead of breaking eggs, mixing ingredients and needing dough to make mouth watering recipes, your task is to grow a garden that rivals Eden. As with the entire Mama series this final goal will be...
News THQ is having a Big Huge sale; God: The Game in Limbo
In times of woe THQ is looking to sell off Big Huge Games to stay afloat.
Ok, it’s not huge news that the economy isn’t doing so well, so it’s no surprise that THQ is looking to get rid of extra weight in the form of subsidiary Big Huge Games. Hard to blame them after they posted a $191.8 million loss last quarter. A number of its employees...
News Morrison's offering DSi on the cheap
Get yourself down to Morrison's this weekend to save £20 on a DSi
Despite the DSi's strong first-week sales, British supermarket chain Morrison's are planning to shift even more of the things by offering them at £130 over the Easter weekend, a saving of £20 on Nintendo's RRP. Wii consoles are also set for a knockdown, available at £150, shaving...
Review Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto makes the jump from the big screen to Nintendo’s small screen.
Whenever studios branch out and transform series well suited for consoles into the handheld format, there is always an element of risk – none more a prolific example than Rockstar’s GTA Chinatown Wars for the DS. Though we’ve already seen the Grand Theft Auto...
Review Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ
Who knew Little Red Riding Hood was so much fun?
At Nintendo Life, we very much doubted that anyone expected a great deal from Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ. The title sounded like it would attract a very immature audience, and the box art didn't exactly inspire casual gamers to buy it either. So imagine how surprised we were when we played...
Another great RPG hits the DS in the form of Final Fantasy IV.
When Final Fantasy IV was originally released on the SNES in 1991, it quickly became a hit. Unlike many of the other RPGs at the time, it boasted a large cast of characters that were tied into a deep and intriguing plot, and this helped elevate it above the crowd. In 2005, Final Fantasy...
Review Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Can Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword live up to the standards of previous titles?
Set six months after the events of the original Xbox version of Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa has rebuilt Hayabusa Village. Momiji, a resident of Hayabusa, is abducted by the Black Spider Ninja Clan. During his quest to find her, Ryu uncovers the mysteries of the Dark...
Mistwalker gives their Blue Dragon franchise a real-time strategy makeover and the end result is one surprisingly entertaining DS title.
When the original Blue Dragon title was released on Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, it became one of the system's first traditional RPG experiences. Blue Dragon captivated the gaming audience with its unique charm...
It's not quite as fun as it should be
Released simultaneously with another Taito revival, Space Invaders Extreme, Arkanoid DS is an attempt at trying to breathe life into an old arcade classic. When Arkanoid was originally released, it was essentially a clone of the Atari classic Breakout. Despite this shameless copying, Arkanoid became quite a hit...
News DSi Has a Strong Opening Weekend
Just how many units did the DSi move its opening weekend?
It was announced earlier today by Nintendo's President and CEO Satoru Iwata and Senior Managing Director Shigeru Miyamoto , the DSi had a successful opening weekend overseas and moved over 600,000 units between North America and Europe combined. 300,000 units per territory is a pretty...
News The DS To Get Video On Demand Service?
Iwata spills the beans.
It was announced before that the Wii would be getting its own video service before long in Japan, and eventually other territories should be following suit. Recently however President Iwata dropped a few tidbits about how this service may not be exclusive to Nintendo's home console. The Nintendo DS may be getting some love as...
News Mini Ninjas Set To Invade DS and Wii
Hitman developer trains assassins of diminutive stature
IO Interactive – the studio behind the best-selling Hitman series of video games – has allowed its latest venture to spring from the shadows. Mini Ninjas is a cute-looking action title that features – yes, you’ve guessed it – vertically-challenged ninjas. It marks something of a...
News Get Ready For Even More WarioWare!
Later this month, Japanese gamers will be able to get their hands on the latest title in the WarioWare series.
Just a few days ago, the latest WarioWare was released via DSiWare, and there's already another title in the series ready to ship for the platform. Entitled Made in Ore, the game puts a huge amount of emphasis on creating microgames as...
News Ubisoft announces first DSi-enhanced game
My Cooking Coach to harness the immense power of the DSi for... not much, really.
Ubisoft today announced the launch of cooking aid My Cooking Coach, designed to support the new functionality of the Nintendo DSi. You can watch the (DSi-less) trailer below the fold. The "DSi-enhanced" title, set for release in June and playable on both the...
News New York Holds Host To Rhythm Heaven
On April 9th (Rhythm) Heaven will be at Scratch Academy as part of a high-profile invitation-only event.
Nintendo's recent release, Rhythm Heaven, went down a treat at Nintendo Life, and it appears that the beat-bopping rampage is not going to relent for a while yet – Nintendo have just announced an invitation-only event that will be showcasing...
News A DSi You Cannot Object To
Capcom and Nintendo team up to bring a special edition Ace Attorney DSi to Japan.
Fans of the Ace Attorney series will probably go wild at the prospect of owning the recently announced limited edition DSi that features the emblem of the game's police force, Taihokun. Over the years the series has been going from strength to strength, and now has 4...
News Sony: PSP is Better Than The DSi
Wow, that was unexpected
You can’t beat a good console war, but with Nintendo’s current dominance of the both the home and portable video game industries it feels like years since we had a good, close fight between two major hardware manufacturers; the glory days of the 16-bit console war seem like an eternity ago. Thankfully, it looks as if...
Take a trip to heaven, Nintendo style!
Simplicity in game design is often a double-edged sword. On the positive side, the player is provided with a sleek and easy to understand interface. However, this often has an equally negative impact on the depth of the experience and what you’re left with is a quick 'pick up and play' variety of game. With...
News South Korean President feeling sad about DS Piracy
Special memory cards for copying vastly outsell actual games in South Korea with little sign of slowdown.
In case you’ve just dropped onto planet earth and somehow ended up on here surfing a Nintendo website there is very popular phenomenon called a Nintendo DS. In South Korea it’s sold about 2 million console units since 2007, but software...
Review Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
What if you awakened one day as a Pokemon?
What if you awakened one day as a Pokemon? What if all of a sudden you find yourself in an unknown world, where you can speak and interact with many other Pokemon? Well essentially, that's what happens in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team; you wake up one day in a strange new world where you have...
Review Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol
Saving our ecosystems, one park at a time.
Chibi-Robo Park Patrol is one of those few great games that many people are just going to skip over because of its exclusivity to select retailers. Well at Nintendo Life we took it upon ourselves to give this game the review it deserves, and we must say that doing so put huge smiles on our faces; the unique...
Review Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
The stylus is mightier than the sword.
With a name like Advance Wars, one is likely to expect an action packed, heart pounding war game. Needless to say, the Advance Wars series is really none of those things. Rather, the franchise has focused on slower paced turn-oriented strategy gameplay that is not unlike a glorified game of chess. So what is...
News Nintendo 'Not So Green' Based on Environmental Report
Greenpeace puts Nintendo in last place for green practices, but are any waggling hands listening?
On March 31st Greenpeace released its annual “guide to Greener Electronics” in an adorable easy to read meter format, which lists from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) a rating for the most green of the market leading electronics companies. Guess who came in...
News Sega's "Project Ringo" revealed!
Called it.
Sega of Japan's "Project Ringo" has finally been revealed in this week's Famitsu magazine. To the surprise of very few here at Nintendo Life, it's an all-new Puyo Puyo game! Imaginately titled Puyo Puyo 7, the latest entry in Sega's classic falling-block puzzler series appears quite similar to previous Puyo games, with the majority of...
Feature April Fool Jokes – The Dust Settles
We select our favourite Nintendo-related pranks from the big day
April 1st is a day feared by regular inhabitants of the internet. It’s the one day of the year when you can practically ignore all amazing and outlandish news stories as rival sites attempt to out-do each other with their attempts at humour. However, putting aside the more pathetic...
Time travel has never been so complicated
Ever since the launch of the Nintendo DS console, the format has been heralded as a great way to bring out adventure games to make use of the stylus as a mouse substitute. In many ways this has borne fruit, with releases like Another Code, Hotel Dusk and the Phoenix Wright series all proving to be excellent...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Pokemon Ranger 1.5 arrives on the Nintendo DS
During the holiday season of 2006, the attention of gamers the world over was focused solely on the release of the Wii and Playstation 3, the latest consoles from Nintendo and Sony. As a result, quite a few gems for the Nintendo DS got lost in the marketing onslaught, most notably Elite Beat Agents and...
News Infinite Space clears for launch in Japan
PlatinumGames' epic space-sim/RPG gets a Japanese release date
Publisher Sega has announced that Japanese DS owners will be able to get their hands on sci-fi space-opera Infinite Space (known as Infinite Line in Japan) on June 11. Co-developed by PlatinumGames (ex-Clover Studios team and makers of MadWorld) and Nude Maker (Steel Battalion),...
Review Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero
The Elebits head to the Nintendo DS in this action-packed sequel.
Shortly after the Wii was launched in 2006, Konami released one of the most bizarre and enjoyable third-party games that year. Entitled Elebits, the game showcased the new functionally of the Wii Remote. Played from a first-person perspective, players explored the land looking for...
News DSi Launch Party in Los Angeles
Nintendo will be holding a DSi launch party in LA, which of you mad cats will be attending this sweet scene?
Nintendo’s DSi launches in the United States April fifth. Hold your suspense, yes, that’s this week. If you’ve got your calendar set on this event, and if you also happen to be in Los Angeles, you’ll have the chance to attend a launch...
March2009
News Iwata Goes To Rhythm Heaven
The latest edition of Iwata Asks, featuring an interview with the team behind Rhythm Heaven for DS!
Although Rhythm Heaven is just now making its way outside of Japan, it has actually been in around for quite some time now. Beginning on the GBA under the title Rhythm Tengoku, it quickly garnered the attention of players with its quirky style and...
You spin me right round baby right round...
It's time to spin, swing, and fling yourself into adventure with DK: Jungle Climber! Using the game's simple controls, players take control of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as they journey throughout the land trying to assist a talking banana known as Xananab. For you see, the evil King K. Rool stole five...
Review Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
Is this addition to Nintendo's Touch Generations line worth investigation?
If there’s one thing that the Nintendo DS has excelled at, it’s that it managed to expand the remit of the video gaming industry. Prior to the release of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo wasn’t doing too well in Japan. With great software failing to sell well, Nintendo had to...
News GDC 2009: The Best Of The Rest
A recap of all the third-party news and announcements for Nintendo consoles from this year's Global Developers' Conference.
Sotoru Iwata's keynote speech at this year's Global Devopers' Conference revealed more than a couple of exciting projects for Nintendo fans to look forward to in the coming months. It's not just the Big N who came to the party,...
Review Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director’s Cut
Murder, mystery and… Clowns?
It is a terrible mistake to call Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars a simple port seeing as it’s a game that has more added material than Nintendo have fanboys. Yet there is some basis to the claim; this game has been released on a handheld before. Originally brought to Nintendo through the GBA, Broken Sword was...
News Nintendo's GDC '09 Keynote At-A-Glance
For those unable to keep up, an overview of the stories and announcements made during Satoru Iwata's keynote speech.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dropped more than a few bombshells today during his keynote speech at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco - some surprising, some predicted months ago, all exciting news for Nintendo fans...
News The Giana Sisters are back on DS after a long sabbatical
That great old C64 platformer that DIDN'T feature a mustache or a plumber
Here's a little history lesson for you - back in the day (1987) there lived a pretty shameless Super Mario Bros rip off called "Great Giana Sisters", which was designed for the C64 home computer. It was in fact immensely popular, probably in part simply because it's...
Does Kirby still have the old magic or is he just full of air?
The old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" holds true in many formats. Encompassed by that is essentially everything we deal with, and the ultimate lesson is to avoid judgment based on appearances. Needless to say, it also applies to games. To simply glance at the Kirby series, you...
Taking the Nintendo Channel's new demo for a whirl!
Nintendo has really unloaded on us today. With a storage solution for the Wii, the announcement of a new Zelda for the DS, and all the other news, it's possible that one might miss one little news item. You may or may not have known that in North America, Nintendo added Rhythm Heaven to its list...
News The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Earlier today at GDC 2009 Satoru Iwata announced a brand new Zelda game for the DS, Spirit Tracks.
The new The Legend of Zelda™: Spirit Tracks game that Iwata announced will utilize the intuitive touch control of Phantom Hourglass in an all new adventure that will please longtime Zelda™ fans while keeping the game accessible to all DS owners...
Review Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Get your thinking cap on!
A glass jar holds a single germ. After one minute, the germ splits into two germs. One minute after that, the two germs each split again, forming a total of four germs. Continuing at this rate, a single germ can multiply to fill the whole jar in exactly one hour. Knowing this, how long in minutes would it take to fill the...
News Eyes on DSi - hands-on report
Earlier today I was fortunate enough to have a little face time with the new DSi, and I came away pretty impressed by Nintendo’s new baby.
The first thing you notice compared to the DS Lite is the DSi’s matte finish, which makes it easier to hide those troublesome fingerprints. Although you could say it looks a little dull compared to the shiny...
The unstoppable Pokémon returns to the Nintendo DS
It’s hard to believe that a decade has already passed since Pokémon first debuted in North America. In 1998, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Red made gamers want to attempt and ‘catch-em all’ as they explored the vast land of Kanto, unearthing its secrets along the way. The game became a...
Is the first handheld instalment in Konami's classic RPG series as fun to play as it is to pronounce?
Who could have guessed that the current console generation's go-to platform for RPGs both old and new would turn out to be the humble DS? It's a hand-held, it's manufactured by Nintendo and the hardware leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to...
News Rising Star Games: 2009 Line-up Revealed
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, Steal Princess, Avalon Code and more dated for European release.
Rising Star Games, publisher of such games as Rune Factory, No More Heroes and Bomberman in Europe, has unveiled its full release line-up for 2009. Included in the eleven-game line-up are a whopping ten releases for the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms,...
Review Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure
Henry Hatsworth stars in one of the Nintendo DS' best puzzler offerings
First looks can be very deceiving. Just by taking a quick glance at Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, it isn’t difficult to assume it’s aimed at younger audiences wanting in on a simple and fun puzzle experience. Surprisingly though, there’s actually a rather...
News Nintendo Lets You Know Who Is The Daddy
Wii and DS sales continue to dominate in February. Yes, they still print money!
This past February, Nintendo sure felt the love by the consumers. Selling over seven hundred fifty thousand Wiis, a seventy-four percent increase over the Wii’s 2008 February. The DS reached slightly above five hundred eighty handhelds. Following the ambiguous duo is...
Is that a rocket in your pants or are you just pleased to see me?
Modern videogames can be rather depressing sometimes. As the industry becomes evermore concerned with reaching as many gamers as possible in order to generate the most cash, we’ve seen imaginative concepts fall by the wayside as ‘sure fire’ hits fly onto store shelves with...
Handheld heaven or a portable pariah?
A few years ago, EA tapped a rich vein of old-school strategy games by revamping Theme Park and Sim City for the DS's touch screens. A few years later, Bullfrog's famed God game has received similar treatment, but is it the second coming or just a slap-headed Samson? The DS's twin screens are a natural fit for...
News Picross Hits the Third Dimension
For those who are about to block... we salute you.
As if the original grid-colouring puzzler Picross weren't tricky enough, Nintendo have just released the sequel Rittai Picross ("Solid Body Picross" - similar to what they call me at the gym) in Japan and it's taken the series firmly into 3D territory for the first time in its near-fifteen...
Review Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Strategy RPG fans rejoice - another gem has come to the DS
Never played a Valkyrie Profile game before? No problem! This is the first time a Valkyrie Profile game has been on a system outside one of Sony's and you need not know a thing about tri-Ace's successful franchise or its history to jump right into the DS's first installment of this 10-year...
News Nintendo to force games on DS buyers?
In future, DS Lite consoles will only be available packaged with first-party Nintendo titles, limiting choice for customers
Following on from previous special occasion bundles, Nintendo are now increasing their distribution of DS Lite consoles pre-packaged with software titles, and completely ceasing production of the white and silver models. A...
News Mario & Luigi 3 Makes Its Mark In Japan
Bowser takes the front seat in this zany RPG adventure.
Mario and Bowser have a long running history in gaming as rivals. Occasionally though, the pair cooperate to accomplish a common goal. In Mario & Luigi 3, a new DS RPG which just released in Japan, this is only half the case. In a strange series of events, Bowser ends up ingesting some...
Has it stood the test of time?
Without a shadow of a doubt, there will be two groups of people reading this: those who have played Chrono Trigger before, and those who never had the privilege. If you are of the former, then you’ll not find too many surprises waiting you in this remake: most of what you'll find was either included on the SNES...
News EA Serves a Tea Cup Full of Dual Screen Action
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is released today in North America, and on Friday in Europe
Visitors to Nintendo Life this week must need their eyes testing if they haven’t comes across EA’s upcoming DS puzzler Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure yet – after all our homepage is bright orange and features the man himself! If you...
Peggle heads to the Nintendo DS in one of the handheld's best offerings.
Over the past few years, Peggle has become known as one of the most addicting and enjoyable puzzle action games on the market. After playing for only a few minutes, you know you’re playing special and will immediately become hooked on the game. After already hitting the Xbox...
News Pokémon Platinum Makes its U.S. Arrival Well Known
Pokémon Platinum hits U.S. shelves March twenty-second. Does Nintendo have any special preparations for this next installment? You sure can bet they do!
Believe it or not, March twenty-second marks the launch of Pokémon Platinum. It doesn't seem that long since Diamond and Pearl arrived, or is it just me? In Platinum, expect a plethora of features...
News Mushroom Men - Developer's Diary
Who would have thought that playing with fungi could be so much fun?
It’s not long now until the hotly anticipated Mushroom Men games hit the Wii and DS in Europe. Both games attracted favorable reviews back in December when they came out in the US. Euro gamers can get their grubby mitts on both Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars (Wii) and Mushroom...
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
What this remake lacks in innovation it more than makes up for in polish
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Nintendo DS is the best current generation system to look to when it comes to role-playing games. With titles like Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest V, The World Ends With You and Children of Mana, this portable gaming wonder plays host to some of...
News Nintendo Ships Hundred Millionth DS System
Nintendo rejoices over a milestone of their greatest hand-held, but it has much more to overcome.
Nintendo’s DS Lite systems have been a true eye-catcher, and it’s showed with over ninety-six million sales around the world as of last year. While one hundred million shipped and ninety-six million sold are very impressive numbers, they still have...
News Grand Theft Auto: ChinaTown Wars Gameplay
Dealing and Delivering
Fancy yourself as a bit of a drug dealer do ya? No of course you don’t, you’re a DS gamer after all! Well just pretend you are delivering Christmas presents rather than narcotics and you’ll be fine. Following his father’s murder, Huang Lee has a simple mission: deliver an ancient sword to his Uncle Kenny to ensure his...
It’s a blast!
I promise that’s the first and only pun you’ll see in this review - If you’ve played any of the popular Geometry Wars games on Xbox 360, Wii or DS you’ll be perfectly at home when you fire up XG Blast. From its instantly gratifying action and futuristic aesthetic, it borrows from any one of a dozen classic shooters, but does...
Review Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Use the hoe!
For years, Natsume’s Harvest Moon series has been repeating the same old formula – grow crops, brush cows, get married and live happily ever after. The first DS release was the snappy Harvest Moon DS, which lazily reused graphics from GBA’s Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT) and the town and characters from the Cube’s A Wonderful...
News Super Mario Galaxy scoops BAFTA "Best Game"
More awards for Mario but on the whole not a fantastic night for Nintendo and the Wii
The GAME British Academy Video Games Awards which took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane, were hosted by games aficionado Dara O'Briain who described these times as a 'Golden Age' for video games. Consoles like the Wii, and handheld devices like the PSP, DS...
Exploding onto stores across the UK is SouthPeak Games' fireworks shooter, Big Bang Mini.
In Big Bang Mini, your objective is to destroy wave upon wave of enemies, which in turn lights up the night sky with bursts of colorful fireworks. Use the stylus to dodge enemy fire and debris while collecting stars. Specifically designed with the Nintendo DS...
February2009
Europe has had to endure a painful wait for the seventh entry in SNK's epic 2D blaster franchise - but has it been worth it?
As you may already be aware, we’re massive fans of SNK’s Metal Slug series. The Wii Anthology went down a storm in the Nintendo Life office and when we became aware of plans for a seventh instalment we became very animated...
Nintendo Life steps into the world of Podcasting, our very first episode is available now, presented by our very own James Newton.
In our first ever podcast episode James takes a look back at 2008, looking specifically at three outstanding Wii titles, Zack & Wiki, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Next on the agenda is 2009, where we...
January2009
Now you can paint by numbers on DS!
This review has already been delayed twice in the past month; first by Royal Mail taking two weeks to deliver the game, then again by my inability to put the game down long enough to review it. Colour Cross is a new take on the Nintendo favourite puzzler Picross, but with its own pigmented personality. Each puzzle...
Competition Win a DS Lite with Big Bang Mini
To celebrating the upcoming release of Big Bang Mini on Nintendo DS, SouthPeak games and Nintendo Life are offering a DS Lite + Big Bang Mini and another four copies of the game for the runners up.
Your objective is to navigate your ship through a brilliant array of lights, dodging intense streams of fireworks. Defeat waves of enemies by deploying...
Competition And The Winner Is...?
Much like Santa, Nintendo Life loves giving things away, it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
It's come to our attention that we've been kind of lazy with our competitions, we've emailed winners but never published them on the website itself, in the vein of doing things "betta'" in 2009 we'll be publishing the winners, because we...
Tony Hawk has a new competitor for the skating crown..
When Skate originally appeared on the Xbox 360 and PS3, it was something of a revelation to skateboarding fans who had previously only had the Tony Hawk series to contend with, each iteration proving to be similar to the last. Rather than focus on huge combinations of tricks like the Hawk, Skate...
Review Littlest Pet Shop: Winter
Your chance to have your very own Pet Shop...
Even though Littlest Pet Shop Winter is clearly aimed at a younger audience, I found the game strangely addictive for a while. Defined as “a special place where your pets will come to life and you can play with them in a whole new way,” the aim of the game is to adopt all of the pets (20 different...
December2008
Review 100 Classic Book Collection
100 classic books write their way into the DS’ history
100 Classic Books has had me intrigued since it was first announced. Being the massive bookworm that I am, I’ve been itching to give this a go for a while now. It’s here at last, and the selection on offer is simply fantastic: 22 Shakespeare; 12 Dickens (Charles, not Anthony); 5 Austen;...
Talent borrows, genius steals. The developers of Dinosaur King have IQs in the thousands.
Over the years we’ve seen many companies try to beat the success of Pokemon, each with their own set of cuddly and heavily market researched monsters. Of course, nobody can beat Nintendo at their own game, but that hasn’t stopped Sega trying with Dinosaur...
The crazy world of Shawnimals comes to life in this excellent take on the 'Tower Defence' genre
Like bread always falling butter-side down and buses coming two at a time, it’s one of life’s universal truths that whenever ninjas are added to something, it becomes infinitely cooler (with the possible exception of the lamentable Ninjabread Man, of...
Review Need For Speed: Undercover
EA attempts to cram a living, breathing city into the DS - the results aren't pretty...
It’s easy to be pessimistic about EA’s Need for Speed franchise. Considering the staggering number of titles to bear the brand name (this is the 12th game since the franchise’s inception in 1994), there have been precious few true classics. However, we...
A work of art, or a real mess?
With the DS’s touch screen and wireless communications, it’s a wonder there’s no Pictionary game available. Lucky for us, here comes Sega to plug the gap with PictoImage, their take on the classic draw-it-guess-it game. The single player mode consists of 300 pictures drawn by people of all ages, from 4 upwards,...
October2008
Competition Sonic Chronicles Goodies!
Really want to get some new Sonic goodies, feeling the credit crunch? Not to worry, you can win some right here at Nintendo Life!
Our dear friends at SEGA are giving you the chance to win some Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood goodies, we've got a host of prizes up for grabs including 10 x Sonic Chronicles sets of 3 styluses, 2 x Sonic...
Review Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Is Sonic’s first foray into the unknown land of RPG actually any good?
Let’s face it; Sonic has been a bit of a dick lately hasn’t he? You can mark the start of Sonic’s dive into mediocrity from a point in the late 90’s when someone at SEGA decided it would be “cool” to give him a “rad attitude”. From that moment onwards we’ve...
News The DSi – One Step Closer to a Portable Virtual Console?
Nintendo has just unveiled details of a new handheld console called the DSi.
But before you get too excited and spill your Sunny D all over the keyboard, it’s worth noting that it’s essentially a DS with slight modifications rather an all-new machine. Improvements include larger screens (3.25 inches, up from 3 inches), two cameras (both 0.3...
