DS: 12 Games of Christmas

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

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Nintendo pours so much care and attention into its Zelda series that it was unsurprising Phantom Hourglass turned out to be excellent. More shocking was its continued ability to revitalise what is more or less the same idea and make it more exciting and alluring each time. Phantom Hourglass picks up where Wind Waker left off, both in terms of story and style, and teases you through one intricately designed dungeon after another. It's as though your enjoyment was always a certainty; more a question of when than if.

The real master class, however, was given in controls, as you guide Link around using only the stylus. Audacious and flawless, a cheeky bar-raiser of an idea you feel Nintendo thought it was about time it showed off.

One thing less barked about was its quirky and indecently addictive multiplayer mode, where one Link collects gems and the other players direct phantoms to stop him. It was put in as a throwaway feature but adds enough to genuinely lengthen what was a relatively short campaign at 20 hours. Phantom Hourglass is one of the best games on DS and fits it as it was intended - like a tailor-made glove. Love it, cherish it, buy it.

Ghoulish: The Phantom was one of the Defenders of the Earth and I can remember most of the theme tune to it.

Sonic Rush Adventure

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One that caught us off guard in September like a hidden lamp post on a drunk walk home. We thought a game with Adventure in the title and sections with water skis had to be rubbish, you see - but not so. We soon found ourselves jovially hopping between tropical islands, besting really quite well thought-out mini-games, and embarking on classic, enjoyable-as-ever 2D platforming. It looks snazzy too, and only really trips a little in performance when you bump into gigantic bosses, which make nifty use of both DS screens.

Rush Adventure is easier to get to grips with than the previous game, and also brings with it an enjoyable case of replayability, as you revisit old levels and find you uncover lots of secrets now you are a bit better at controlling the clearly steroid-abusing hedgehog. Sonic often comes off worse in comparisons with his moustached rival, but pops in an altogether must-have performance in here.

To fast for me: Sonic is presumably so-called because he runs very quickly, but he could be super if he went faster than roughly 770mp/h.

More Brain Training

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Dr. Kawishima is a clever old sausage. Ask a person to name a handful of games for the DS and Brain Training springs up like a daffodil in March every time. It is rather good, you see; built around the idea that you play a selection of brain-twisting games for 10 minutes a day and sharpen up your neurological reactions. As you do, it records how well you do and gives you a brain age to reflect your performance; do badly and you will be given an old person's age, do well and you will look years younger.

The sequel assumes you are familiar with all this and makes things a little trickier with a batch of new tasks to keep the squashy bit in your head ticking over. Not only is it fiendishly addictive and easy to pick up and plug away at every day, it also has some sort of real world benefit to do with your brain and how it oh look a butterfly. No secret that it has spawned copycats and follow-on ideas like Sight Training and Face Training. One even your parents will like.

I'm pretty stupid: in that I am out of the office today and I have left Tom to post my feature. Which will give me something to ponder when I dance home listening to Donna Air and doing cross-stitch swastikas for my book-burning club.

Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber

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Letting Donkey Kong do what comes naturally and swing himself through levels using his hands rather than his feet is one of those ideas it seems baffling we hadn't seen before. Not only did we feel at home as we clicked left and right shoulder buttons to control his mitts, but it opened a forest of possibilities that developer Paon was quick to pick up on. Bright sparks of creativity like propelling a stone ball along the level by catching pegs on its falling edge made us smile, as did having our actions mirrored on the top screen in the crystal palace, where you have to spot and avoid non-duplicated pegs or you will have to start all over again. Loser.

At its best, Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber is among the finest on the DS thanks to its imagination and the huge potential its control system flourishes. It can look a little messy in areas, though, and when you come across enemies who clearly are not as easy as they should be to defeat you will scream a little. However, these only prevent the game from being fantastic and settle it nicely into the world of good. Oh, it has a chirpy little multiplayer mode for up-to four friends from just one cart, too. Tom now agrees it's probably a bit too hard toward the end, but he still got in trouble for spending an entire weekend playing it instead of Phantom Hourglass, delaying a review.

No, really: Creator Shigeru Miyamoto thought "donkey" meant "stupid" in English and so used it to convey a "stupid ape" to a western audience. I never knew that.

Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery

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Where games tend to stand out on DS is in their ability to understand and use the unique controls to the best of their ability. Dawn of Discovery does this with flare, and shows us all why we thought empire-building games would work so well on the platform to begin with. Our only gripe was that in a fixed isometric view it can be a pain to lay roads behind buildings, but otherwise creating and establishing your colony is intuitive and never feels cluttered.

Plus, on-hand help menus and an enormous ANNOpedia of information ensure you never stare at your screen as if it was some kind of financial document.

Its campaign is thoroughly engaging too, as it lures you into your capitalistic ways - barging out locals as you stamp your ever-growing authority on the area. Campaign mode should keep you engrossed, sand-box mode lets you build until your heart is content, and multiplayer mode lets you and up-to four friends go bananas. Those of you used to the PC version may find this a little lightweight, however, but for pocket-sized empire-building this is virtually unmatched.

Anno what: Famous pirate Captain William Kidd was hanged in London in 1701. That's boring, I know, but I studied pirates a while ago so that's what you're getting.

Picross DS

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Puzzle games are outwardly boring and like a stonewall to appreciate if you look on them with ignorant eyes. I should know, I do it all the time. Take Picross DS; it sounds like something my sleepy old neighbours would tackle after Sunday lunch, what with its logical grid-based problem solving malarkey. It's a game you can play on paper for crying out loud; why would you want to port it to DS?

Probably because you can fit hundreds upon hundreds of puzzles in a handy cartridge, I suppose, with initially irritating but eventually forgiveable controls. Or because you can furnish it with a splattering of mini-games and the usual Nintendo hallmark of charm and personality. Much of its success is owed to Picross being among one of the best logic puzzles ever dreamt-up, but this is the best version of it to date, so it should rightly claim its place in your DS slot. You can even download free puzzles from Mario Picross when you're done, which is always nice. More of these please, Nintendo!

Slow down: Logic is confusing, but nowhere near as tricky as answering a question with a question.

Puzzle Series Vol. 5: Slitherlink

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Slitherlink is the best do-it-at-your-own-pace puzzle game on the DS. There are no falling blocks so it avoids some obvious comparisons, but otherwise it is so good and so stuffed with content that it will keep you going back to it for months.

It's another of those conundrums you've probably seen on the back of a newspaper, and it obviously does away with the need to carry around books of different challenges to keep you occupied when boring people talk. The idea is to fill in a single connecting loop around a grid using numbers within squares to guide you. If one has a three then it will need three edges to be filled in. BUT WHICH THREE. Simple. Puzzling. Wicked.

As you go, the grids get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, eventually 20 times larger then they were at the start. The colours on the DS make it easy to spot patterns and the controls fit fantastically, plus there are some tip screens to turn to when you're stuck for ideas. Logic always dictates the answer, and Slitherlink is an absolute must for anyone with a hankering for a puzzle - and if you own a DS the chances are you do.

I know where to put you: Slytherin. Slime bag.

Pokémon Diamond/Pearl

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Chances are you know what Pokémon is about and have never played it, either because you have been bombarded by the cartoon or heard your little brother harp on about it so you thought it was for kids. Travelling around the world as a spiky-haired youth and collecting fantastical creatures in balls might sound childish, but for anyone with an RPG hankering this is absolutely unmissable.

Once again the controls stand out as absolutely superb, and everything is much bigger and better than you should reasonably expect from a handheld game. You can fight your friends both close and distant, or just trade creatures like some black-market animal cartel.

Even your old favourites from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire can be transferred across, although Diamond and Pearl contain all the creatures from that entry and many, many more. There's enough in this to keep you glued to it for unhealthy amounts of time.

Science bit: There is actually a gene called Pokemon that is responsible for the evolution of cancer. Sorry, got a bit serious there.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

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Puzzle Quest is a role-playing game where you battle enemies using a Zoo Keeper-style grid of gems and things. By now you have probably heard all about it, too, given Tom's incessant rambling about it and how it is so magnificent. Problem is, he's right - the two ideas mesh together so well it only leaves you surprised no one has done it before.

From the start the puzzle mechanic is simple, balanced and meaningful, and not so far away from role-playing conventions as it appears. After all, battle systems normally revolve around doing things in the right order so you don't run out of health before you opponent anyway. Plus, between these skirmishes you get to tackle sub-quests to boost your character's statistics and pop back to your Citadel to do a spot of building. Erect a Mage Tower, for instance, and you will be able to research and use the spells your enemies have been casting at you. On top of this is all the usual nattering to kings and queens and saving the day, as well as a decent local wireless multiplayer option to spice things up. And if that wasn't enough, you can also ride around on a giant rat. Thoroughly recommended.

Cupid: Tom rather likes the Puzzle Quest and also the evil woman who pops up near the end called Liandra. "I'D DIE FOR HER?!!!" he wonders and shouts. He's the Glenda Slagg of tile puzzles.

Race Driver: Create & Race

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Racing games are not something the DS is remembered for; trying to think of one that isn't Mario Kart might make you go mad and start eating shoes. But here is one so stuffed full of content that it makes you wonder why no one else has bothered, or why all the others are rubbish.

It has World Tour, Simulation, Challenge, Time Trial and Free Race modes each providing an ample challenge. The latter is the most interesting, though, as it lets you race around your custom maps made using the intuitive level editor. Knocking a course together here is quick and simple and can be done in a handful of minutes, and is about the only time the stylus creeps into use - no gimmicky driving controls here, just solid old-fashioned d-pad stuff. Race Driver also lets you head online and take-on your friends as well as share tracks. Handily it tracks your stats and penalises drop-outs, too, flexing the kind of usability seen more often in fully-fledged infrastructures like Xbox Live or PSN.

Games like this can often be overlooked, but Codemasters should be applauded for putting real time and effort into a DS racer, and showing the rest what can be done.

Biggest fan: Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, and Australia all really like Touring car racing; Wikipedia says so.

Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland

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Tingle is the little green one out of Zelda. The weird one obsessed with rupees. Mind you, most of us like money, has something to do with capitalism. Which all brings us merrily to the point of the game: to make a profit by buying things cheaply and selling them for lots more. Those of you with an extortionate streak will be right at home, Tom.

At its heart, Freshly Picked is an odd sausage resembling a point-and-click adventure. You seek your profits at shops and then fling your cash into a pond. Chuck enough in and a tower will grow, unlocking new areas as it does, eventually soaring up to the paradise you were promised at the beginning.

Quirky and original, Tingle stands out for its charm and wry humour, and carved a much more lasting impression on us than many other best sellers so far.

Pluck it up: Beetroot, cabbage and sprouts are in season at this time of year. Pity sprouts taste like farts and farts smell like cabbage.

Magical Starsign

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Starsign is a charismatic little fellow, and strangely only one of a handful of DS turn-based RPGs. The idea and concept will be instantly familiar to any with a history in the genre, but it is how Starsign pulls it off that makes it special. Rather unsurprisingly one way it does this is in its use of the DS touch-screen controls, which are responsive, clutter-free and intuitive - I like that word. Another way is its bright presentation, with vivid primary colours and contrasting environments pleasant to faff around in.

Combat is its best innovation, though. At its roots it is a rock, paper, scissors affair. However, on top of this are starsigns that give temporary boosts to characters whenever their starsign is in season. In addition, protagonists are granted Light and Dark powers that gain strength in the day or night time, respectively. Pop in a well-timed tap as you cast a spell and your magic gains even more effectiveness, introducing a kind of rhythm-action affair.

Wrap that all up with the usual formation of your party and who should take front-line damage or be somewhat restricted at the back and it all gets a bit complex. But in a good way. Quirky and often overlooked, Magical Starsign gives a sterling lesson in complexity but not at the sake of playability.

Sting: "Scorpios make everyone go weak at the knees they are so utterly gorgeous." Not my words; the words of Kelly's Star Signs. Must be true.