Lackluster golf games are like skateboarding on a ping pong table: there's not much to do, and the minute you start enjoying yourself, the fun quickly ends. True Swing Golf is like that. The DS touch screen is a good interface for lining up tee shots and whacking the dimples off the ball - you just touch your club with the stylus, pull back, and whip it forward. You can even add spin, or use draws and fades to make your shots curve.
Something about it just doesn't work, though - or, more
The first few minutes of Tamagotchi Connection are some of the cutest you'll ever find in gaming. You're greeted by adorable, bloblike creatures that are living in squalor, and now want to be your friend for life.
It's just you and your little tamagotchi buddy, opening a business on the corner, cleaning teeth, making brooches, cleaning laundry with the stylus ... all minigames that simulate work we should hate, but will spend countless hours playing. Then, after you've scrubbed your 100th
There's no enemy to overcome, no goal to achieve in Animal Crossing: Wild World. You wake up, do some chores and talk to villagers. That's it. Why it's fun we can't exactly say, but the staggering amount of personalization makes it easy to get sucked up in this super cute world. Right from the start you're given a town. Everyone's village has the same structures but a unique set of townspeople; talking to your neighbors brings you closer and often nets cool items and clues you in to what
RPGs most certainly have their fans. But among those who don't enjoy them, the main complaint seems to be that the battles are boring - you're usually limited to picking options off of a menu, after all. Well, Tales of Phantasia is the game designed to fix that. While it has the look and story of an ultra-traditional RPG, the battles give you direct control over the action. It's a welcome change of pace whether you love or hate turn-based fighting, and it's little surprise that the series has
Every time we think the rehashed simplemindedness of 2D side-scrollers is dead, some game oozes out that keeps the genre limping along for one more go-round. There's something inescapably captivating about a solid platformer, and that something is certainly present in Drill Dozer.
From the people who brought us Pokemon comes this throwback to old-school game design with a generous helping of Sly Cooper's friendly-burglar-robbing-the-bad-guy theme. You're Jill, the self-proclaimed "spunky
Plenty of DS titles, even original ones, barely make use of the hardware's unique features. This is not the case with Kirby Canvas Curse. The player uses the stylus to draw ramps onscreen. These ramps guide the now limbless puffball around expansive levels in search of power-ups and secret items, completely free of the D-pad or other conventional methods of input. You never directly control Kirby; he merely reacts to the paths you draw on the screen. Holy crap, this smells like
Logically, as games become more complex it'll be harder to convince the average person to jump in and try them. Some games, however, exist as great equalizers and can instantly appeal to anyone because of their simple, addicting design. Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll is the continuation of such a series. If you understand the concept of balancing a ball on a floating track so it doesn't fall into the infinite depths below, then you can tackle this primate puzzler.
Why is jumping in so easy?
Many DS games use the two screens as an afterthought. Not so with Advance Wars: Dual Strike, which incorporates the hardware's features into the series' already addicting turn-based gameplay. The goal in remains the same: pound the enemy army into the ground. There are several Commanding Officers to choose from, each with advantages and weaknesses - usually having a proficiency in one type of combat while lacking another. The same goes for specific units, such as submarines, stealth fighters
Every year we're inundated with derivative sequels that look and play just like the earlier version. Yet Castlevania never seems to lose its bloodthirsty, explorative spirit. Dawn of Sorrow crucifies all three Game Boy Advance vamp hunts by offering a longer quest studded with gruesome, fleshy bosses and enough customization to make even the most obsessive gamers arch an appreciative eyebrow.
As with many entries before it, Dawn drops you into Dracula's enchanted castle virtually powerless.
One of the best things about tearing into a remake of a classic game is not just the satisfaction you get from embarking on an adventure that's stood the test of time. No, it's the contentment you get when you realize, halfway through the adventure, that the developers of today have lessons to learn from the past. Final Fantasy IV Advance is an absolute blast from beginning to end.
If you, like many, missed the game the first time around, you'll still be in for a sweet ride. The adventure
