Game Reviews
Latest Reviews
Browse our collection of reviews.
Latest Reviews
Review: Line Rider: Freestyle (DS)
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..
Review: Knights in the Nightmare (DS)
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 the world of gaming, however, the word..
Review: PDC World Championship Darts 2009 (DS)
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..
Review: Personal Trainer: Walking (DS)
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 record and analyze every step you take each day, even..
Review: Pic Pic (DS)
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 titles released anything from word searches,..
Review: Jewel Quest Solitaire (DS)
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..
Review: Rittai Picross (DS)
It's the same classic Picross we've come to love, except it's in 3D!
The name “Picross” is a combination of the words “picture” and “crossword,” and that’s exactly what Picross is all about. In the original Picross DS, you used numeric clues on the rows and columns to determine “active” and “inactive” squares in a large grid, and if done correctly an image hidden within that..
Review: Tenchu: Dark Secret (DS)
Some secrets are best left alone.
Tenchu has certainly developed a name for itself with many hardcore PlayStation gamers since it made its debut on Sony’s grey box back in 1998. The series has seldom left its Playstation niche, so it’s first foray unto a Nintendo platform was a bold move. And despite being part of a familiar brand, published by Nintendo, with a series of strong-selling..
Review: Moto Racer DS (DS)
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..
Review: Magnetica (DS)
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..
Review: Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles (DS)
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..
Review: Trace Memory (DS)
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 dislodge the truth behind the events that happened a..
Review: Pass Your Driving Theory Test (DS)
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 first started up there are 2 user accounts to save..
Review: Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
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 founds him make his way into many people’s..
Review: Kirby: Canvas Curse (DS)
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 roads and pathways - this time you’ll be drawing..
Review: Lux-Pain (DS)
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 different settings and characters available to..
Review: Retro Game Challenge (DS)
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 different difficult game in every episode. He’s..
Review: Flower, Sun and Rain (DS)
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 games as Killer7 and No More Heroes, Suda knows how to..
Review: Game & Watch Collection (DS)
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 Game & Watch Collection -- a Club Nintendo..
Review: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (DS)
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 original Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles on..
