 |
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain (DS)
by Telss
This is Brain Training, one of the first games out on Nintendo DS. It makes very good use of the touch screen, which is where you write your answers or tap on the answer. It has a variety of games on this, some are really fun and some are really boring. For example... the one where you have to read, its too long and gets really boring. ... You only have to do three challenges a day but I liked doing all the oens I enjoyed even if it was more than three. I like the number challenges the best. The problem I have with this game is it gets quite boring, after you've unlocked everything you've unlocked its just boring. You can have four games saves so other poeple can use your ds and play. Its quite good have more than one player because every now and then it gives you challenges for eachother, for example. It'll ask me to draw something, then when the other person goes on, it will ask them what they think the drawing is. Its also good to have mroe than one player because it gives you someone to beat as it tells you there high score. I do wonder though if this game is training your brain, you seem to get better at the challenges, but sure your bound to if your playing them everyday. You can get this game for about £20. You can get it cheaper if you dont mind having it used. This game is for all ages.
Read the complete review |
 |
Scribblenauts (DS)
by Mstrbailey1
"Scribblenauts", released in 2009 is a Nintendo DS puzzle game made by the relatively unknown gaming company, 5th cell.
The object of Scribblenauts is to solve puzzles by creating objects by typing it in to interact with the other parts of the level. To create the items you need to type them in. This concept is ... completely original and works in practice. Making Cthulhu fight God never gets old.
The level mode in Scribblenauts involves Maxwell, the main character, solving puzzles in a predefined stage by summoning items. At the start of each level you get a hint. It may be referencing an item you need to make or something you need to do with an item in the level. These hints are usually a bit too vague, and the items that the game wishes you to use are a bit too linear which is disappointing for a game that promises that you can every item that makes sense in the situation. Every time you win a level you get "Ollars", which are Scribblenaut's currency. You can gain more Ollars by using new and different objects. This adds more hours to the gameplay, which is frustrating but very rewarding for me. The Ollars can be spent on new avatars and levels, which is a bit disappointing and not enough for the hours of thinking of new objects you need to use.
There is also "action levels", which are simply levels in which Maxwell must get the starite, instead of completing a goal to get a starite. In my opinion these levels are very bland and did not allow any real creativity as most levels can be solved with Maxwell getting wings.
The real fun that comes with Scribblenauts is not the level mode but the Stage Create mode. In this mode you can create levels and place items in them. There is a limit to how many items, which is probably due to the DS' low processing power, but it did get in my way when I was replicating the Battle of Minas Tirith from the Lord of the Rings. You can also share your levels with others using the Wi-Fi feature, which is nice but useless for me as I couldn't find anyone who actually had the game. I wonder though, if they could use the Wi-Fi feature, why didn't they use it to make Co-Op? Just imagine how fun it would be to build with friends. Maybe there was a technology limitation, I don't know.
The controls of Scribblenauts are a weak spot with the stylus being used to control Maxwell. The stylus is really awkward and a lot of the times I accidentally touch objects that I didn't mean to. The D-Pad would have been a lot better.
The graphics of Scribblenauts are very 16-bit which is very pleasing to the eye and a good ode to fans of the SNES era.
Scribblenauts circus soundtrack plays throughout the game which does get pretty annoying after a while as some parts of it sound like random jumbled notes. I suppose you cannot complain when most DS players play on a noisy train or listen to their IPod.
In conclusion, Scribblenauts has a brilliant concept that actually works in practice. All my friends and myself included have been intrigued with this game and the game just shows what original ideas are worth in the FPS driven game industry these days. If you use your imagination and are creative, pick this game up. If you aren't, just pick it up anyway.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Picross (DS)
by BitterFusion
This may not be one of the bestselling games on the DS, but there is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be! It's essentially the Japanese logic puzzle game, Hanjie, renamed as Picross. With over 300 puzzles, it promises plenty of challenges.
What is it?
Picross, or Hanjie, is essentially a grid with numbers running ... along the the vertical and horizontal sides of the grid. The number(s) of each line represents how many squares of that line of the grid are to be shaded. So for example, if it was a 15x15 grid, and a horizontal line had the numbers, 5 3 5, you'd know that the first three squares should be shaded, then leave one unshaded, shade the next three, leave one unshaded, and then shade the last five. If there are gaps between numbers (like with my example of 5 3 5) you know there is a gap of at least one square between each of the shaded number of squares. I'm hoping this is a pretty accurate description of how to play, but playing the game itself allows you to grasp the rules easier. The point of all this shading is to reveal a picture in the grid.
Gameplay
You can play this game in two ways: with the stylus, or by just using the buttons. I like this as the calibration on my DS screen is off, despite having tried to reset it multiple times (probably from too much playing), and so if I use the stylus, it often clicks the wrong square, giving me a time penalty, which increases with every mistake you make. I find that the buttons option means that I make less mistakes and is my preferred method of use.
As I mentioned, you are timed with each puzzle, and the more mistakes you make, the more the next penalty increases. If you incur enough penalties to reach 1 hour (or if the puzzle has taken you that long to complete), you can still complete the puzzle, but the picture it reveals will not become animated, or coloured, as it would otherwise become if you stick within the time limit.
There are various levels of increasing difficulty, so that you can start off with the easier puzzles to get used to the game and then work your way up to the harder levels. There is also an 'overlay' option, where you can try out a solution without incurring any penalties if it's wrong, which is handier for the harder puzzles.
Price
Available from Amazon for £13.50, but probably cheaper second hand.
Is it any good?
If you love logical puzzles, then this is definitely one for you. The puzzles are completely addictive, and I wasted many a good hour solving puzzle after puzzle. I also prefer playing it on the DS to doing a paper puzzle, as I find my grid gets very messy on paper, and if I make a mistake it messes up my whole grid on paper. On the DS, I only encounter a time penalty, which means my whole game is not ruined. All in all, an excellent game!
Read the complete review |
