Gaming on the Nintendo DS

Today is Halloween in case you have been wrapped up in games and forgot.  Not into costumes and other Halloweenish stuff, then perhaps a scary DS game instead.  Check out my list of Nintendo Wii Halloweenish games here.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Fight Dracula in this newer version of the classic Castlevania.

Mystery Case File: Million Heir - This sounds like an interesting missing person mystery game.  It may not be exactly scary and a bit of a stretch to be Halloweenish, but it does sound like it could entertain for Halloween and at least a few more days.

Teenage Zombies - Play as zombies to save the world from brains threatening Earth.

This list is by no means extensive, so please feel free to comment and share your favorite games that you consider Halloweenish.

Below is the list of Nintendo DS new releases scheduled to be in stores tomorrow.

Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune - This looks like it is not a traditional Army Men game as you might expect.  This is about a kid pretending to be an army men toy and not about being an army men toy like the original series.  The original series was pretty good, but I kind of doubt this will be as good.  It might be good for those who have not played the older games, but will probably disappoint those looking for a new plot for the original series.

Theresia - This is an adventure horror game.  Seems very appropriate to be releasing on Halloween, though it does not sound like my kind of game.  It does sound unique, though, and potentially fun for those into these types of games.

One of the recent Black Friday ads to be released is Sears.  In it they list two special limited edition DS Lite Bundles that will be available only from 5am to noon on Black Friday.  Supplies are limited, so it would not be surprising if they sold out before noon.

One bundle comes with an ice blue colored DS, which is definitely a color I wish was available when I got my DS.  This bundle comes with Brain Age and a matching ice blue case to hold the DS and looks like my dad’s red case, so it may also hold a few DS games.

The other bundle comes with a Mario Red DS.  Basically it is a red DS with a Mario M logo on the front and again much cooler than my black DS.  This bundle comes with the New Super Mario Brothers DS game.

Both bundles are priced at $149.99, so not exactly a whopping good Black Friday deal, but still interesting being special editions.

Below is the list of Nintendo DS new releases scheduled to be in stores tomorrow.

Bella Sara - This is a DS video game based on the website and trading card game that is popular among some girls.

Ben 10: Alien Force - This is a game based on the show of the same name.

Monster Jam: Urban Assault - This is a monster truck game.

My Sims Kingdom - This is a new My Sims game in which you help the king thwart the evil in the kingdom.

Ninjatown - This is a strategy type game.

Petz Rescue Ocean Patrol - I believe this is an ocean themed role playing game.

Petz Rescue Wildlife Vet - I believe this is a vet role playing game.

Rubik’s World - This is a puzzle type game based on the Rubik’s Cube concept.

Shrek’s Carnival Craze - This is a party style game that sounds like a Shrek Super Party remake.

Travel Games for Dummies - Has several puzzle games for on the go including Crossword, Sudoku, and Solitaire.

Zenses: Oceans - This is a puzzle type game with the goal of helping you relax at the end of the day.

Zenses - Rainforest - Basically the same as above with a little different theme.

Below is the list of Nintendo DS new releases scheduled to be in stores tomorrow.

Go, Diego, Go!: Great Dinosaur Rescue -  This is a new DS Diego game based on the TV show Go, Diego, Go! The Safari Rescue one is a pretty good game, so I think this one will probably be at least okay.

The Wonder Pets: Save the Animals - This is also a game based on a Nick Jr. TV show.  The Wonder Pets is entirely a show about saving animals, so in this game you join them in saving animals.

Tornado - This is an action game in which you are expected to use a tornado to uproot everything from another planet and bring it back to Earth.

Go, Diego, Go! Safari Rescue is based on the Go, Diego, Go! Nickelodeon show for preschoolers.  It is a fun game for kids that like animals and/or the show, but the game depth is pretty shallow.  Considering this is a game for young kids, though, I would say that it is good that it is not an addictive game depth rich game.   At the same time, though, it has pretty limited replay value after it is beat once.  Thus it comes down to being a good game to rent for kids to play through once or twice, but it probably is not worth buying for most kids.

The game has two modes.  One is Start a Safari in which you follow a short story line and play different mini games along the way as you search for a magical drum to turn the stone elephants back into real elephants.  Along the way you also try to spot different animals and photograph them.  The other mode is just Play a Game, where you can play the different mini games in any order you want and as many times as you want.

Mini games in this game include things like saying Jambo, blowing into the microphone, dragging things out of Diego’s way, playing the drums, and choose a hiding spot.  Overall they are all very easy, although you do need to play with the sound in order to hear Diego give the instructions.

Overall it is not a bad game, but the target audience is pretty limited and even kids that find this replayable will probably quickly grow out of it.

Math play is somewhat of a Brain Age type game.  It can be useful for junior high kids to practice their math skills or be used by older kids and adults to keep their brain sharp.  It is, however, not for everyone and not exactly exciting enough to be an educational tool that kids will just want to play just because.   If you like Brain Age, though, then I think you will like this game too.  I personally like math games, so I am biased towards liking this, although I will admit the game depth is pretty minimal, but so is Brain Age’s.

The Math Play has only 4 different games to play.   One is Equal Drill in which you must arrange number and math sign tiles to make a proper equation.  One is Equal Shuffle, which works a little bit like Dominos with you make equations match up.  One is Equal Match, which is basically the game of Uno.   The final game is Equal Nine, which is a little bit like playing 21, except you try to stay under 9 with your equation.

Overall I enjoyed playing this game, but it really gets boring after about half an hour and is very repetitive in that there are only 4 activities.  Yet, I still regard it as a good educational tool and enjoyable to play every once and a while.

7 Wonders of the Ancient World is a puzzle type game for the Nintendo DS.  In each level you try to clear matching tiles to clear all the squares in the background and make the capstone reach the bottom row.  You have to match up a minimum of three tiles to make them clear (much like the Pokemon Puzzle League games and Sutek’s Tomb on Neopets).  You get special combo blocks when you do combo moves and clear four or more tiles in a row.  Bonuses include clearing a whole row at once.  As you clear the levels you get closer to finishing building the 7 Wonders, such as the Pyramids at Giza, until you have built them all.

Overall this is the best puzzle game I have played on the Nintendo DS so far.  It can be addictive if you are into puzzle games, but if you are not into puzzle games then you will probably find it quickly repetitive and boring. 

The story starts with a girl named Yunna not being able to be woken up. This leads to you going on an adventure to figure out what the mysterious influence in the forest might have to do with Yunna’s strange behavior. Basically the whole point, though, is to fish, which in a way seems kind entirely unrelated to the forest mystery thing.

The whole fishing controls seemed overwhelming at first, as the tutorial covers quite a bit. The actual put it into action, though, is not too hard. You can do it all using the touch screen. You tap and drag to cast in the direction you want. You then tap when a fish pulls your bobber (called floater in game) under. The reeling in part is where it can get tricky, but the on screen commands help make it easier to remember the different things. You do a spinning motion in the middle of the screen to reel it in. You have to watch the tension at times to make sure you do not lose the fish.

The graphics of this game are not that great and seem very Game Boy Colorish. It makes me think that this is maybe the same exact Legend of the River King game that they made for the Game Boy Color with just a few changes to use the touch screen. I have not play it on the Game Boy Color, though, so I am not really sure on this. I will admit that even if they are the same game it is nice to be able to play it on the DS, since the DS does not play Game Boy Color games.

Overall this game can be enjoyable if you are into relaxing games and collect item games. The main goal really is to catch different types of fish, thus it does not lead to much action, however it can still be fun to play. I enjoyed it and I can see it as a fun road trip or plane trip game, but it really does not hook me enough to want to play it at home.

Below is the list of Nintendo DS new releases scheduled to be in stores tomorrow.

Master of the Monster Lair - In this game monsters are troubling the town of South Arc.  You find a talking shovel and start digging a dungeon outside of the city to trap the monsters.  Sounds like a rather odd story plot and kind of boring, but I got to imagine it also involves actually fighting the monsters.  Even if it does not, it does sound kind of cool that you get to customize the way the the lair looks including 20 different types of rooms.