Mario Kart DS

How is it that Nintendo can keep making essentially the same game over and over without boring the @#%& out of me? This version's big innovation is online play, which sounds better than it really is. You see, when you play with other people online, if they don't get that...

Metroid Prime Pinball

It's no secret that Samus can roll up into a ball. So, it's only natural, then, that a Metroid spin-off would send our favorite armored bounty hunter into the pinball genre. The only question: is this a shameless cash-in on a valuable license? The answer is a satisfying "no."...

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Modern Zelda game developers face a challenge few game designers ever find themselves burdened with: how to build a fresh game in an established series. Most sequels go the formulaic route of making the first game again, now with better graphics and maybe a new feature...

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Bowser's Inside Story was another hilarious entry in the Mario & Luigi RPG series. Like all of the portable versions before it, this one made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Aside from the phenomenal writing, the gameplay was varied and inventive. With the Mario...

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

As far as turn-based hand-held strategy games go, the Advance Wars series is the cream of the crop. This latest entry in the series is a bit of a departure from tradition, however. It's more mature in theme, story, and gameplay than previous entries in the series. But, it takes...

Rhythm Heaven

The worthy sequel to Rhythm Tengoku (GBA) amazes me with how much gameplay they can squeeze out of the ultra-simple mechanic of tapping the Touch Screen. Like its GBA predecessor, which primarily used the A Button, this game throws contemporary practices (like deep controls) in the faces of game...

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

I love nearly everything about this game. The multiplayer, the sound design (play it with headphones!), and the fact that, despite my misgivings, you control everything with the touchscreen. In fact, the weapon controls are brilliant. The way that you throw a boomerang is so natural and,...

Ninja Town

Ninjatown is a great example of what Crystal Defenders should have been. This is a tower defense game that actually adds to the genre rather than just regurgitating tried-and-true gameplay mechanics. The Goods: - The overwhelming good point is that this is not just another run-of-the-mill tower defense game. New...

Tomb Raider Underworld

Goods: Acrobatic running/jumping felt responsive and very good. The vast majority of the graphics are amazing for a DS game. The DS puzzles break up the action and integrate the Touch Screen stuff in a way that doesn't seem tacked on. The bite-sized levels motivated me to do the ol "just one more level"...

Pokemon Pearl

Now, if this had been the first Pokemon game I'd ever played, I probably would have scored it much higher. I mean, this game is awesome. It has SO MANY FEATURES that it is at times overwhelming. However, this is about the 6th time I've played the...