Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys!

Platform: Nintendo DS
Verdict: A lively afterlife.
Rating: 7/10
Zombies eh? Can't live with em, can't live without em. One minute they're lurching from beyond the grave to munch through our cranium for tasty think-jelly, the next they're mankind's last hope against big brained invaders from planet Mars.
At least, that's the simple premise for the b-movie loving, comic strip aping Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! Instead of the typically popular zombie infatuated slaughterfests that pitch your shotgun against their vacuous head, this time around you play as the undead.
Teenage Zombies is like a Cartoon Network animation adaptation, even if it hasn't yet or ever will grace the idiot box. With three zombie kids to hot-swap between at the press of the touchscreen, Ignition Entertainment's side scrolling platformer attempts to inject afterlife into the under nourished genre.
Looking ever so slightly like Earthworm Jim's mutant offspring, Teenage Zombies has a lovely hand drawn style with the three brain hungry teenagers each exhibiting wildly varying characteristics and undead abilities.
With earth invaded by technologically superior floating brains, the Teenage Zombies are in culinary heaven, just so long as they can get through the seemingly intraversable levels.
Thankfully these young rotting pals can work together to get on. Lefty can extend her arms to reach higher platforms, Halfpipe can jump off ramps and crawl through narrow gaps while Fins has a tentacled appendage that allows him to walk up walls and monkey-bar across certain terrain.
Each level thus presents itself as a light-weight puzzle, asking you to pick the right zombie for the right task. And in this it gets things pretty right.
Unfortunately such potential is often left wanting with picky collision detection requiring some pixel perfect platforming where others would forgive and some rather rote and stilted one button combat sitting alongside overly slow character movement.
Still, it's a fun new IP that sticks its dismembered tongue out at all the bland brand games on the DS, and for that I salute it with one hand raised and the other on some disinfectant spray.

Professor Layton and The Curious Village

Platform: Nintendo DS, out soon.
Verdict: Curiously, infuriatingly, entertaining.
Rating:4/5
Upon the discovery that maths can be fun (and also make a lot of money), the scientists in Japan have concocted yet another game that massages the cerebral cortex to extrapolate emotions of smug satisfaction upon the successful completion of brain tingling puzzles. In the case of brain-freeze puzzle frustration, the egg heads use quality animation, rustic graphics and a plot full of mystery and intrigue to keep the curiosity brimming.
Having found the Brain Training series to be at once a mathematically entertaining revelation (maths is fun?!) then a creeping disappointment (no it isn't), I struggled to raise the enthusiasm to match my brain age to that of a spring chicken (or at least appear to be younger than my parents).
Professor Layton though is a canny fellow. He takes us on adventures in a country that looks straight out of the French animation Belleville Rendezvous, disguising what is essentially a giant compendium of classic brain teasers as an intriguing mystery, spawned from the will of a recently deceased Lord.
As a rudimentary point and click adventure, the emphasis is on gentle exploration and constant puzzling to solve the mysteries of St Mystere. With almost every conversation with its colourful inhabitants comes a puzzle, varying in styles between maths challenges, riddles, mazes, sliding blocks and optical illusions. Such variety is certainly thankful considering their frequency and while some will be familiar and easy to solve, some will involve much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Thankfully those scientists have a handy hint system setup to keep the weak of mind going. With up to three hints per puzzle the answer can become easier to obtain but to keep the balance, hint coins are required. With a limited supply (that can be replenished with rigorous searches through the village) it's certainly no fast track to the climax of a story full of twists, turns and runaway cats.
Full of brain teasers that are genuinely fun and carried by an engaging plot and beautiful animation, Professor Layton also manages to solve the puzzle of how to make educational gaming fun and that takes more than just an equation.

Neves

Platform: Nintendo DS, also blocks of wood.
Verdict: Pure and simple puzzler.
Rating: 3.5/5
Ever the multidisciplined toy, the Nintendo DS' tendrils are reaching far into the world, pulling in anything that will work with a touch screen and please the broadening selection of gamers under its thrall. Neves (seven spelt backwards) is one such title that updates an ancient puzzle game (the Tangram) to a more portable format.
With similarities to the Pentomino puzzles that Tetris adapted, the Tangram is a dissection puzzle dating hundreds of years old, originating in China and numbering fans of the likes of Lewis Carol and Napoleon. You're probably more familiar with it as being one of those stocking filler presents your grandparents got you for Christmas that involve fitting seven different shaped wooden blocks into a predetermined space.
Instead of lumbering around a box full of wood you can now carry your DS with the extra added bonus of having 500 different shapes of complexity to fit those blocks into. Using the touch screen you can move, rotate and flip pieces with great ease and speed while the bare bones presentation keeps things simple and intuitive at the minor sacrifice of eye candy.
While the standard mode allows you to take your time over the puzzles, extra modes including timed games and stricter rules help spice things up, with 2 player games a possibility too. Other than that and the option to download speed runs to compete against, Neves is a game that takes one pure and simple concept and does little else with it.
Tetris converted a traditional puzzle into an addictive, global phenomenon. Neves' strict adherence to its source however means it certainly won't do the same. If you like the gentle brain exercise of Tangrams though you certainly can't go wrong, unless you really like to keep things old-school and made of wood.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Platform: Nintendo DS
Verdict: Duller yet delightful
Rating: 4½/5
Considering how bright, colourful and cute the original Advance Wars was on the GBA, it's a wonder that its European release was delayed due to an imminent war in Kuwait. These days, media coverage beams combat 'highlights' into the comfort of your potato zone and 'realistic' games use the current war as their politically insensitive scenario. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin certainly won't blip on the politically correct radar because this time war is nothing to be laughed at.
Like last week's Final Fantasy Tactics, Advance Wars is a take on the age old game of taking turns to outmaneuver your opponent with superior tactical nous. Instead of wizards (or Chess pieces) you're controlling an army of tanks, battleships and helicopters, each with its own rock, paper, scissors style weakness and strength.
Set in a post apocalyptic world where a devastating meteor storm has wiped out most life and blotted out the sun with clouds of ash, Days of Ruin is Advance Wars with an ironically anti war conscience, initially tasking you with protecting survivors from Mad Max style gangs. A strange parasitic flower and a shadowy military group help take it into characteristically quirkier realms yet it still lacks a little soul, despite all the soul searching.
After the over complicated AW: Dual Strike, Days of Ruin sees Advance Wars stripped down and speeded up as new units and omissions (hello motorbikes, goodbye pipe runners) return balance to gameplay while streamlined controls and an intuitive touch screen input allow you to play as quick as you can think.
The over powered CO powers have thankfully been toned down, granting the game a subtler edge to its combat and notably, units can level up for the duration of a battle increasing depth on the battlefield.
While the revamped visuals may not be to everyone's liking (grey's and browns are so last year), what matters most to players is the gameplay and that has been honed to perfection. The final inclusion of online play (with voice chat between friends and map sharing) is a very sweet cherry on top. It's just a shame some its effervescent charm has succumbed to emo grumblings.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Platform: Nintendo DS.
Sequel to the lovely Wind Waker on the Gamecube, Phantom Hourglass continues with the cartoonish style and sea faring adventures.
Showing how things should really be done, Nintendo have bestowed Phantom Hourglass with sublime controls and the perfect example of how to use the DS’ features without making anything feel forced or unnecessary (ok, so being required to shout at the DS may not be desirable when you’re gaming on the go).
With perfect, touch screen controls and charming presentation it’s a synch to lose yourself in the princess rescuing adventure. Puzzles may be too easy for some but it’s an adventure aimed at the younger generation with the added bonus of reduced frustration for those of us with adventure in our hearts.
9/10

Sonic Rush Adventure

For Nintendo DS
Super Sonic.
It's been sad to see Sonic's demise over the years after such a bright start - ever since going 3D he's never been the same but thankfully the limitations of handheld gaming have kept his 2D spirit alive and Sonic Rush Adventure is one such game.
Using the DS' dual screens, Sega have upped the experience by creating huge levels that sprawl over both of them. With expanded screen space, Sonic hurtles through corkscrews, plunges into the sea and flies over the heads of enemies at the blink of an eye.
The adventure tag in the title refers to the over arching story of Sonic and Tails crash landing on a small island. Working with the plucky animals that live there, they must investigate other islands, find raw materials for ship building and create successively bigger craft to eventually return home.
Moving between islands depends on your ship of choice and each has its own unique mini game – be it the speed run of the jet bike or the cannon firing fun of the sail boat.
There is a mildly frustrating requirement to retread levels for more supplies and the cut scenes are cringe worthy but the huge fast paced levels feature multiple paths for repeat runs and thankfully don't fall into the old elemental clichés of many a platformer. Welcome back Sonic.
8/10

Jam Sessions

Platform: Nintendo DS
Verdict: Stylus rock.
Rating: 3½/5
As one of those people that always meant to take up the guitar but never quite got round to it, gaming's handy ability to simplify musicianship and make it fun without the frustration of learning has always eased the self-disappointment. While titles like Samba de Amigo, Donkey Konga and Guitar Hero helped me recreate the joys of performing with far less skill, Jam Sessions is in an even nicher niche of gaming as it swings back away from being a game, pitched as a virtual instrument for the travelling guitarist and aspiring musician in all of us.
Using the touch screen to strum, your stylus works as a plectrum, playing chords on the virtual guitar by holding the d-pad in a particular direction. With a chord mapped to each direction and a press of the left shoulder button to superimpose a new chord 'palette', you have 16 editable chords to play. Allowing you to record your riffs, the microphone can also be enabled for some added warbling - the only downside being the inability to multi-track (and become subject to tuneless singing).
Sound quality is surprisingly decent although best advised through some headphones or an amp that goes up to 11 (obviously), the touch screen allows for some fairly subtle and expressive twangs of the 'string' and it comes with some comprehensive effects and fine-tuning options.
There are also songs to play along to if you're looking for something more akin to a game but without a reward system or scoring to chart your progress, it's a relatively muted affair, aimed more at homing your skills and teaching new styles.
The twitchy diagonals on the DS Lite's d-pad can make for some frustrating moments but overall it's a fairly satisfying experience which despite being a fairly bare bones package, serves its purpose as an audio sketch-book for musicians admirably and as a musical toy for those seeking something unique and fun to add to their collection. Rock on.

Sim City

Platform: Nintendo DS.
Verdict: The most fun you’ll have with taxes.
Rating: 4/5
Back in the day I used to play the original Sim City for hours, attempting to create a pixelated urban nirvana (and probably listening to Nevermind at the same time too) but I never managed to attain the perfect balance or design for a happy city. The natural disasters or input from a younger sister never helped either. Sim City on the DS has thankfully given me a second chance to create utopia - this time Alphaville shall flourish!
Based on later versions of the series, Sim City is the first and last game from EA’s Japanese studio. Porting a PC game to a small screened handheld can’t be an easy task but they’ve done it successfully, injecting their own style and charm along the way while using the DS’ features in a logical and intuitive way.
As mayor you’re tasked with building a city from scratch, turning empty countryside into a teeming megalopolis. It won’t happen overnight though as your city starts out from nothing but the careful juggling of your budget and balance of residential, commercial and industrial zones should hopefully lead rise to a flourishing high-rise paradise.
There are however many pitfalls along the way, where disregard for crime rates, pollution and transport can stultify your city’s growth, not to mention the UFO attacks, earthquakes and great fires (possibly caused by an under funding of the fire department to afford that seaport expansion). Thankfully, help is on hand with a friendly guide offering advice at any stage (or just looking on in despair in my case).
Touch screen controls are perfect for this kind of game and Sim City sits at ease on the DS. The only downside is the size of the screen (compared to a PC monitor) and the need for a steady hand when plotting out sections of road and land (but that may just be my awful drawing skills).
Coincidentally, taking a test to determine my guide allocated me a ramshackle robot - that’s just one step away from a belching computer, film fans.

Pokémon Pearl/Diamond

Platform: Nintendo DS.
Verdict: Repetition at its finest.
Rating: 4/5
After reducing my eyes to shrivelled raisins playing the original Pokémon for the length of a 12 hour coach journey to Prague (note to self – fly) and too many hours spent post-college in front of the cartoon theorising about them (self-replicating organic robots anyone?), Nintendo's phenomenally successful and surreal series has always had a special place in my heart.
After the disappointing diversions of Ranger and Dungeon, the series has finally gone back to its roots and Pokéfans will know exactly what to expect – a sweet and colourful adventure through Pokémon infested lands, filling your Pokédex with data and while attempting to become the best trainer in the land.
The region of Sinnoh is a new yet familiar land that feels like home despite its clever and subtle move to 3D. With over 100 new Pokémon to seek out there's plenty for the Pokéfan to do yet Diamond/Pearl doesn't just rest on this statistic to offer reason for its existence.
The latest in the series puts the DS' dual screens to good use with the lower one used for touch screen battle controls and the Pokétech – a handy gadget that runs different applications with a retro LCD screen and Gameboy style graphics.
Alongside the Pokétech, there are plenty of other nods back to its roots with 8-bit sound effects and the timeless adherence to the series' gameplay and presentation, despite its technological advancements.
As a natural extension of Pokémon's favoured and heavily strategic Vs battles, the DS' WiFi capabilities naturally mean battling and trading with your friends is a whole lot easier and also allows you to play with friends around the world online.
Unfortunately online battling is restricted to just between friends which means you can't compete on a global scale, yet – thankfully Pokémon Battle Revolution on the Wii is going to introduce world ranking matches.
Pearl/Diamond treads familiar ground, for good and bad, yet it does it with such charm and a self-referential wink that it'll keep the Pokéfans happy for hours to come, which is all you could really ask for - thank goodness for the DS' backlit screen.

Pokémon Ranger

Platform: Nintendo DS.
Verdict: Gotta circle ‘em all.
Rating: 3/5
The Pokémon franchise has been with us since 1995 and over those years, in accordance with the ‘milk it’ directive, has spawned sequels, spin-offs and merchandise on a scale that almost matches George Lucas’ own ego funding empire of Yoda duvet covers.
Pokémon Ranger is the latest spin-off for the Nintendo DS that takes the world of cute monsters and gives it a new gameplay hook.
Removing the strategic turn-based combat that lies at the heart of the series, Ranger replaces it with a new touch screen centric method of capturing Pokémon that involves drawing multiple circles round them.
The key here is that you’re not playing as a trainer any more, you’re a Ranger which is the equivalent to the Pokémon RSPCA (or RSPCP).
Obviously, making pocket monsters fight each other isn’t going to sit well ethically so your new adventure sees you helping them rather than harming them.
Upon confronting a distressed Pokémon, the screen switches into capture mode allowing you to draw circles around it with your ‘Styler’ a gizmo that if used correctly can create an emotional connection with the creature and calm it down.
With a number of linked circles required, Pokémon attempt to disrupt your hard work by attacking the circle and resetting it. Each type of Pokémon behaves in a different way so the skill lies in watching and waiting before you frantically scribble round it with the stylus.
Friendly Pokémon can help out too with abilities such as trapping the aggressive Pokémon in a handy bubble of water but unfortunately this is as deep as things get - frenzied scribling and one off special traps.
The actual adventure sees you graduate quickly from helping the public to foiling the plans of the nefarious Go-Rock Squad who are intent on using a new Super Styler for their own dastardly deeds but like the Styler action, it never quite engages enough for you to want to see the end.
Hopefully we’ll see the end of light weight spin-offs for a while as the true sequels ‘Diamond’ and ‘Pearl’ are on their way - are you ready Pokéfans?

Spectrobes

Platform: Nintendo DS
Verdict: Gotta bore em all.
Rating: 3/5
Spectrobes is every parent’s worst nightmare. It’s not one of those mythical murder simulators that’ll turn your kids into slavish brainwashed killers but a new game with the obligatory addition to the ever expanding roster of wallet sapping, Manga styled Saturday morning cartoons. You know the ones - they make little sense and usually send the most resilient into an epileptic fit.
Despite the cynical cash cow Spectrobes is obviously meant to be, the game that will spawn a thousand merchandising opportunities has a lot going for it. Taking its cues from the Pokemon stable, it’s all about collecting monsters, rearing them and making them fight (kinda like bear baiting for ethically minded kids).
Spectrobes’ twist on this successful formula is that the creatures begin life as fossils that once located and excavated can be awakened by the dulcet tones of your voice.
Reared in incubators on a nutritious diet of similarly excavated minerals, the baby Spectrobes can become battle ready adults and even evolve (sorry creationists) into new wondrous forms of walking A-bombs.
Split between adventuring across sprawling dual screen landscapes to save the universe and the more sedentary aspects of archeology and creature breeding, Spectrobes attempts to use the DS’ unique features in a number of ways.
Excavating fossils requires the careful use of the touch screen as you scrape away the rock face with your stylus and in a lovely (but pointless) touch, blow away dust with your own breath (using the DS’ microphone).
Unfortunately, once you’ve awakened and reared an exciting collection of creatures, the actual combat makes it all rather pointless.
Trading Pokemon’s deep and strategic turn-based combat for a butchered real-time approximation, Spectrobes delivers a weak alternative with cumbersome controls and a bizarre impression of line dancing on ice.
Along with the stop/start trudge of random fossil searching and a forgettable story, no amount of unique touches can save it from the death knell of boredom - not what you need on a Saturday morning.

Lost in Blue 2

Platform: Nintendo DS
Verdict: Welcome to Tartarus
Rating: 2 ½/5
As tragic as being a castaway sounds, you’d think there may be some joy to be gleaned as an athletic 18 year old stranded with a similarly aged, attractive member of the opposite sex. Immediately referencing the film ‘The Blue Lagoon’ is a no brainer yet Lost in Blue 2 has more in common with Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ as the quest for survival can be particularly hellish.
With plenty of similarities to the short but sweet Another Code, everything in Lost in Blue 2 is done with the stylus. Allowing you to move around the environment by touching the screen where you want to go, on-screen tabs also allow for quick access to context sensitive actions and menus while allowing you to interact with the environment with a pleasing tangibility.
After the initial introduction to the game’s controls and simple story of marooned strangers, life very quickly descends into a struggle against the tyrannical demands of your body.
With three meters that need constant monitoring you have to carefully maintain your energy, food and water levels and each has a knock on effect on the other.
While all this seems perfectly fair and uncannily logical, the rate at which the meters drop is torturous, particularly early on in the game where, like some underworld torture from Greek mythology, food is limited to tiny morsels that seem to replenish less than it cost to gather them.
Thankfully the monotony of survival is broken up by a multitude of mini-games. As a game of survival, food is everything and a lot of time is spent cooking and hunting it in mini-game form, utilising the DS’ touch screen and microphone to satisfying results.
Unfortunately the uncompromising demands of your body and that of your inept companion mean that these mini-games are repeated ad infinitum, ironically making the very things that break up the monotony, monotonous.
Progression in the game eventually opens up new tools and skills making survival easier and exploration more enjoyable but the dull pain of repetition inflicted on you to reach these fields of gaming Elysium is too much for all but the most masochistic gamer.