GamesRadar - DS Reviews

Danny Phantom: The Urban Jungle (Review)

Mar 6, 2007

In this side-scrolling shooter, Mr. Danny of the Phantom fame blasts his way through screens of ghosts, using selected special abilities to lure them, blast them or vacuum them up. There are four weapon types; each with special attacks, which when combined with the chosen bonus abilities makes this more interesting than the average cartoon tie-in. But its too easy, too repetitive, and worst of all, doesnt have that classic Butch Hartman sense of ...

Death, Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom (Review)

May 25, 2007

The Death Jr. games have a ton of potential thanks to a compelling cast. Sure, the Siamese twins joined at the head or quadruple-amputee kid aren't the hottest ideas, but the idea of the Grim Reaper's son and his gothy little crush Pandora dealing with the same problems as normal Jr. High kids sounds fun. Unfortunately, the world, dialogue and gameplay elements these characters are surrounded by always seem to come out unpolished and half-baked, as if the funding got a visit from Junior's old ...

Deep Labyrinth (Review)

Aug 16, 2006

Let's get one thing out of the way: Deep Labyrinth is not for everyone. Its long, winding dungeons and emphasis on exploring said dungeons will instantly turn away all but the hardest of the hardcore RPG fans. But, if you are one of those who swoon at the thought of investigating right-angled mazes and tapping the touch screen to swing a sword, then by all means, dive in. Labyrinth plays much like the King's Field series of old, or if you need a more modern reference to sculpt a mental image, ...

Dementium: The Ward (Review)

Oct 30, 2007

Oct. 30, 2007 Shocking. That's the easiest way to describe Dementium: The Ward. We're equally taken aback by the technical feat that developer Kid Renegade and upstart publisher Gamecock have managed to pull off, and that there's a terrifying first-person survival horror game that elicits genuine scares on the Nintendo DS. If Metroid Prime Hunters proved the platform detractors wrong, then Dementium proves them infinitely ...

Devilish (Review)

Jul 6, 2007

If you think you recognize the title of this DS balls-and-bricks game, you might: it originally came out on Sega's Genesis and Game Gear consoles in the early 1990s. The trouble with this reinvention is that it really hasn't changed all that ...

Diddy Kong Racing DS (Review)

Feb 5, 2007

There are so many lame Mario Kart knockoffs these days. They should just band together and form their own bland-vanilla genre and be done with it. You know, just leave the one true kart racer alone and admit they'll never, ever achieve that same level of racing perfection. But Diddy Kong Racing wants so damn hard to be the next Mario Kart that it hurts our eyes to play it for long periods of time. The racing itself is totally fine (if a little slow), but this simple pleasure is smothered in ...

Digimon World Dawn / Dusk (Review)

Oct 9, 2007

Oct 8, 2007 The Digimon franchise has always been copyright infringingly similar to Nintendo's world-dominating Pokemon critter-catching games. Both offerings have super-basic stories that charge you with amassing an army of odd, eternally bloodthirsty life forms that love to fight. Both feature battle systems that are far more complex than you'd guess at first. Both tend to release not one game, but a pair of nearly-identical games, each with hundreds of beasties, a few of which you can only ...

Digimon World DS (Review)

Nov 22, 2006

It's a shame that the Digimon universe must forever be in the shadow of Pokemon, because had it not been for the latter, Digimon World DS would be a pretty good game. However, because Pokemon set the standard for exciting RPG elements such as wild monster collecting and battling - some years ago, in fact - Digimon World comes off as a game of "meh" ...

Diner Dash: Sizzle and Serve (Review)

Jun 5, 2007

To quote a very good movie about a group of very bad men named after colors, waitressing "is the number one occupation for female non-college graduates in this country." So, back in 2004, a casual games developer created a clicky, dot-to-dot waitressing game called Diner Dash. Finally, an entire legion of double-X-chromosomed potential customers could feel like they were slogging though a double shift at work even when they were actually at home “relaxing” at their computer. Diner ...

Disgaea DS (Review)

Sep 26, 2008

Let’s face it, NIS makes some fugly looking games. The graphics are charming, but you didn’t spend over 200 dollars to play a 21st century SNES. If you’re someone who doesn’t need all that visual bling, though, then Disgaea DS offers one of the most satisfying strategy RPGs on the handheld. ...

DK Jungle Climber (Review)

Sep 12, 2007

Sept 12, 2007 New theory: if a character moves quickly across a world select menu, youve got a great game on your hands. Why? Because Mr. Developer understands that you want to race straight to the fun: get into the actual game as fast as possible, no long cutscenes, no slow fades in and out, lets just GO. In Donkey Kong Jungle Climber, DK sprints around the map like a monkey thats sat on a cheese fork heated to 140°C - its as though youre making levels start just by thinking about them. ...

Draglade (Review)

Dec 18, 2007

Dec 18, 2007 Draglade is a game with a serious identity crisis. Its core gameplay is based around a simplified one-on-one fighter, but it also tries to integrate elements of RPGs, side-scrolling platformers, music games and even a bit of “gotta catch ‘em all” collecting. Does it work? Well, sort of. Draglades story and setting are based around “Grapping,” a funky-fresh futuristic sport based on the novel new concept of people beating the snot out of each other. ...

Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu (Review)

Jun 22, 2007

At first, Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu can be a bit confusing. The tutorial is lengthy, convoluted, and yet vague at the same time, always referring you to other categories instead of answering what you want to know directly. After a little trial and error it begins to makes sense. Unfortunately, that's when the reality sets in: this game isnt going to offer much strategy. The play flows like this: you move around on limited pathways on a map and encounter random battles like in any RPG, ...

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (Review)

Sep 25, 2006

You'd be forgiven if you took one look at the cover of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime and quickly put it back on the shelf with all the other kid-baiting DS and Game Boy cartridges. A baby blue gumdrop screams towards you with a vacant and slightly insane look of happiness on its round face while cutesy critters flail comically in the cartoon background. By all outside appearances, the game seems too drippingly adorable for anyone past diapers to enjoy. Let this be a lesson, then, not to ...

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (Review)

Sep 12, 2008

In Japan, there are two elder statesmen of the RPG world: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Both were forged on the NES/Famicom and both continue to be insanely popular in their home country, but Dragon Quest has never come close to achieving the international success of its rival. ...

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (Review)

Nov 5, 2007

Nov 5, 2007 Dragon Quest has really found a new home on the DS. DQ IX surprised us all by moving onto a handheld system, and last year's Rocket Slime paved the way for it. Now Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is the third reason for RPG fans to get a DS (Ok, chronologically it's the second reason). The game takes the monster battles, which first appeared way the heck back in DQ V, expands them, adds some Pokemon related gameplay elements and creates a fun game that steals all our free ...

Drawn to Life (Review)

Sep 17, 2007

Sept 17, 2007 Sure, other games may have an unlockable mode, others may imply it, but Drawn to Life gives it to you straight: You are God. The cat-like inhabitants of Raposa may refer to you as "The Creator" but you are very much the the omniscient deity they ask for help, pray to and depend on. So, after years of being lax in your otherwordly duties - you lazy God, you - it's time to pull their town out of years of ice and anguish. And you'll sew back the book of life to its former glory by ...

Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition (Review)

Oct 9, 2008

SpongeBob and Patrick may chatter and chirp out exposition between levels, but the real bones of the plot are filled in not with words but with your stylus. In our Drawn to Life universe, Patrick revives Hitler by stitching his severed head to the body of an octopus. ...

Dream Pinball 3D (Review)

Jul 28, 2008

When you dream of playing pinball, does your subconscious picture mediocre tables that are upsettingly pixilated? If that’s the best that your mind can conjure, then Dream Pinball really does what it says on the pack. For everyone else, it has six rather shabby tables that use little imagination, lack innovation and that fail to excite like Nintendo’s own pinball games do. ...

Drill Dozer (Review)

Mar 9, 2006

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 ...