Gaming on the Nintendo DS

Big Mutha Truckers is not a game I ever really expected to try.  I just kind of randomly added it to my Game Q because it was one of the few available now games for the Nintendo DS.  I had really low expectations for this game (by the way I rarely go in with high expectations) and ended up being quite surprised at this game.  Sure the graphics are pretty low quality, but the game play aspect, which is way more important to me, is quite fun and unique.

In this game you play as a trucker trying to make the highest profit in 60 days in order to be the one to inherit your mom’s trucking business.  You pretty much just drive around the map to different cities and outposts buying and selling truck loads.  A lot of the time you are racing against a rival truck driver to the next destination and you get a good bonus if you win (or lose money if you lose!).   The girls in the bars in each location give you tips on what to buy and where to sell an item in order to make the biggest profits, i.e. they tell you what is in demand in a particular location.  In the garage in each place you can refuel, repair, change trailer type (this determines what you can buy and sell, but you can constantly change it for a small fee), and upgrade your truck.

Overall I found this to be a fun game, as it combines two of my favorite type of games (racing and Diner Dash style games).  I will admit I kind of got burnt out on playing it after an hour straight and then mailed it back in order to hopefully get a new rental soon.  However, I imagine this being a game I would come back to regularly if I owned it.

Cartoon Network Racing is obviously a racing type game.  It is basically just a Cartoon Network themed kart racing game.  It certainly is not as good as Mario Kart overall, but it is surprisingly quite fun.

I found this to be a nice challenging racing game.  The courses are interesting and different including racing through Cartoon Network show themes.  Some courses are quite challenging and the computers can be quite good at racing.  Thus while as an experience video game racer I loved it, I think kids who this game mostly appeals to will find this potentially frustrating.  Some kids may be good at this and enjoy it even if it takes time to beat even the first cup, but since you cannot unlock any other cups until you beat the one before it the game depth quickly becomes boring for those who have trouble with winning after the first few tries.

What I like about this game besides the challenge is that it has mini games.  One mini game in particular is enjoyable.  It is a game that you trace different Cartoon Network characters.

The graphics are not the best, but at least the characters look pretty much as they should.

Overall I think this is a good game for those who enjoy racing games on the DS and want to be challenged.  I, however, would not recommend getting it for a Cartoon Network fan kid unless they have experience playing other DS kart games and enjoy them/are good at them.