The Best of the DS

Worth A Look

The success rate may be quite impressive, but not everything on the DS hits the mark. Some games, though, come close, and merit inclusion in this list if only because there's every chance, as you stumble out of the shop clutching your brand new DS Lite, that some bargain-bin somewhere or other will contain them.

Polarium
Nintendo, Gamepage, Play.com pages

Originally high up on our most-wanted list, Polarium - a puzzle game about drawing lines to convert and eliminate tiles - didn't quite do enough to hold our interest, but remains worth checking out. Keep an eye out too for the excellent GBA version, which focuses more on the one-screen puzzle aspect than the rolling challenge mode. From the review: "Perhaps the biggest challenge for Nintendo is managing to convince its audience to give the game a second glance. With some of the most basic visuals seen since the days of the ZX81 and mind-numbingly uninspired audio it's not going to woo gamers looking for the quick thrill that other eye-candy laden DS titles will. Hopefully the prospect of another compelling, involving and satisfying puzzle title which could only work on the DS will provide the hook and convince one or two sceptical gamers of its slow-burn appeal. Okay, it's not the best handheld puzzle game we've played this year, but it still deserves praise for being one of the DS' hidden gems."

Project Rub (US name: Feel the Magic XY-XX)
SEGA, Gamepage, Play.com pages

Ultimately a bit inconsistent and short, Project Rub nevertheless deserves a look if you fancy a mini-game compilation with a bit of heart about it. From the review: "It does demonstrate better than either Super Mario 64 DS or Metroid Prime Hunters that the DS has something different to offer, and that directing matters with the stylus can be more than just a novelty or a reinvention of the wheel. It can make a discernible difference to the way you appreciate the game you're playing, and on the basis of this and the evidence in Mario 64's mini-game collection, the DS is a console that's going to be brilliant at providing short, sharp thrills, whatever the quality of the more traditional game design aimed in its direction."

Pac 'n Roll
Namco, Gamepage, Play.com pages

Every system has games that are merely good, enjoyable examples of a particular idea. Pac 'n Roll is one such game - you roll Pac-Man around mazes collecting objects and racing through goals, unlock time-attack options and take as much or as little from it as you want. Never essential, but never less than good either. From the review: "Pac 'n Roll is a triumph of interaction. Rarely does the connection between control method and in-game result feel so solid. And the often excellent Challenge levels remind of the brilliance of '80s classic Marble Madness or the Monkey Ball games. In fact, PNR makes you certain that the DS is the machine on which Monkey Ball was always destined to appear. It remains a huge shame that the main game fails to engage quite so severely once the first few chapters are complete. A lack of imagination, or imagination put into all the wrong places, means that no number of extra ways to play a level prevents the game from feeling woefully short. There are some pleasant hidden treats, such as the unlockable full version of the original Pacman, but none of it feels connected enough to provide the grandiose of a gaming classic."

Warioware Touched!
Namco, Gamepage, Play.com pages

Without the impact of its GBA predecessor, and with little to offer besides a few variations on a basic stylus control, Warioware Touched! never hits the heights of this kind of mini-game extravaganza. Nintendo's tactic of not releasing the far better GBA Warioware Twisted for about a billion years afterward didn't impress us much either. What it does offer, though, is plenty of enjoyable, five-second fun. From the review: "Like much of what we've seen on the DS, the appeal of Touched is rooted in novelty value. But after a dozen or so touch screen games, what you really want is a game you can come back to and get more than the initial novelty rush from. Sadly we're more likely to be found returning to the far superior original or WarioWare Twisted. The bottom line is that there are better ways to experience WarioWare, and that Touched! is simply too lightweight and way too easy to prove very satisfying for most gamers over time."

Mr. DRILLER: Drill Spirits
Namco, Gamepage, Play.com pages

Never really caught anyone's attention at the time, despite being excellent, varied fun in a manner unlike anything else on the system, and ultimately sank without much of a trace. Which means it's quite cheap now, and if you spot it you'll be doing yourself a favour for picking it up. From the review: "If you want something to lighten a commute or keep you occupied between courses this Christmas, don't be dissuaded by the relatively indifferent reaction elsewhere - Drill Spirits may not use the DS's new features to conduct a symphony orchestra whilst penning sonnets and bringing democracy to Cuba, but when the underlying game is this gripping we refuse to sit around using its relative lack of invention as a stick to beat it with. Buy this, give it time, and you'll love it."

Another Code: Two Memories
Nintendo/Cing, Gamepage, Play.com pages

Opinion's always been a bit divided by this one. Kristan never took to it, and ultimately gave it a bit of a panning, while others saw past its shortcomings and fell in love with some of its ingenious puzzle solutions. Worth a look if you can find it cheap. From the review: "If you know what you're dealing with, then Another Code can be a hugely immersive experience that's totally unique among handheld games. Sure, adventure games have appeared on handhelds before, but none have been so perfectly tailored to the strengths of the system. If you need you thirst for adventuring quenched, Another Code is an essential purchase, but novices need to bear in mind that this style of game is very much an acquired taste, and experts should be mindful that compared to the adventuring greats it's not exactly in the same league. That said, it's a very welcome release and stands alone, making it a great curiosity purchase if nothing else. Now pass me the solution before I go completely nuts..."

Nintendo Touch Golf: Birdie Challenge
Nintendo, Gamepage, Play.com pages

It's only had about four reader-score votes and you get the impression they were the only people who bought it, too, but Nintendo's Touch Golf game is definitely the best example of the sport available on the DS (miles better than Tiger Woods, at any rate). From the review: "It's not big or boisterous, the characters don't squeak at you in comedy accents and you don't get to unlock Bowser or anything (at least I should hope not), and that's what high-end golf is often like: quietly dignified, a sport of concentration. The occasional lucky chip-in is satisfying, but the real pleasure comes from getting it right because you thought about it. Complacency is the biggest threat you face. Don't buy it if you just want to smash a ball around, hole distant putts and collect obscure rewards for impossible feats; buy it if you want to play golf on your handheld. Because right now, it's the best way to spoil a good sit."

Trauma Center: Under the Knife (Japanese name: Caduceus)
Nintendo, Gamepage, Play.com pages

A bit too hard for its own good is probably a fair diagnosis. Trauma Center begins strongly, with a neat range of medical techniques available to the player, but soon falls foul of repetition and difficulty spikes - with some levels in the linear story mode so difficult to overcome that they made me stab the stylus down on the table so hard I cut my hand. It was rubbish for cleaning up. From the review: "Easily the most frustrating thing about Trauma Center is that it isn't just a failed experiment. It's a good idea, well measured and put together. Its problems are spiking difficulty and mechanical obstinacy. In a genre of one or two, that might be forgivable, but the truth is that DS owners can be better served - by Phoenix Wright in the story-driven stakes, and by whatever falls of the shelf when you kick it in the reactions race. You'll definitely need confidence, deftness of touch, sharp reflexes and superhuman concentration if you're planning to scrub up here, and it never! Gets! Any! Easier!"

Coming Soon...

Bored already? Then keep an eye on this lot, because, as with the DS Lite, you're unlikely to run out of fun in the immediate future.

• New Super Mario Bros. - 30/06/2006. Due out next week and already reviewed, it's the best 2D Mario game since Super Mario World.
• Big Brain Academy - 07/07/2006. Not quite as much fun as Brain Training, as you'll know from the review, but worth a look for multiplayer.
• Electroplankton - 07/07/2006. Bizarre music package that's not really a game, but could just as easily engulf your spare time as any of the real ones. Or not. Our review offered conflicting views.
• Star Fox DS - August in the US.
• Contact - Summer 2006 in the US. Weird aliens-ate-my-teacher RPG fun.
• Mario Hoops 3-on-3 - 11/09/2006 in the US. Basketball Mario-style(-us).
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - 25/09/2006 in the US.
• English Training (working title) - September. Another one from Kawashima and co. Keep a close eye.
• Final Fantasy III - September. Square-Enix's DS update of this never-before-translated NES title has caught a lot of attention.
• Harvest Moon - September.
• Children of Mana - 30/10/2006 in the US. A new Mana game for the DS. We're too excited to type anything meaningful. Wibble.
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2006 - Autumn. It might not be as technically competent as the other versions, but this has been built from the ground up for DS and played pretty well at E3.
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - Q4 2006.
• Yoshi's Island 2 (working title) - Q4 2006.
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All - Q1 2007.
• And quite a lot more. Which we'll happily tell you about as and when.

Now get out there and buy a DS Lite. We're quite happy with our Andrex version, thank you.