Holiday Review Guide: Part 2 - Nintendo DS Games

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Nintendo, Level- 5
Available for Nintendo DS

Professor Layton and his assistant, Luke are back in Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, the sequel to the highly successful adventure puzzle game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. After a close friend of the Professor is killed by apparently the curse of the mysterious Elysian Box, the dynamic duo board a train in order to solve the murder and prove the box’s curse is not behind it.

Full of grand new puzzles and tons of new locations to explore, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box not only matches the fun and challenge of the first game, it surpasses it. I will note this is a fairly challenging game and though it’s age rating 10 and up, its harder puzzles might be too difficult for anyone below a high school level. Puzzle and adventure genre fans will love this series and I highly recommend picking up this title and the first if you haven’t already.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios
Available for the Nintendo DS

Fans have been waiting a long time for a Kingdom Hearts II sequel and well, they just have to keep waiting because the newest title in the series, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days is an inter-sequel, a game which takes place between the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chains of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. This time the game focuses on Roxas and all his time spend with the organization leading up to the starting events of Kingdom Hearts II.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days’ control system is easy to use – no silly stylus controls to confuse things and the story line really gives you a chance to discover more background info on Roxas and the organization. While I would prefer to see Kingdom Hearts III out on store shelves, as long as Square Enix is shipping some sort of Kingdom Heart title, I guess I can’t complain. Overall, this isn’t the most action packed Kingdom Hearts game in the series but this game is better than no game.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Rent it!

Scribblenauts
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, 5th Cell
Available for Nintendo DS

Most games are what the developers make it but with the newest title from 5th Cell and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Scribblenauts is what you make it. Imagine being able to write any word down and having that object appear – well, that’s the concept behind Scribblenauts. Each puzzle in the game gives you an endless stream of possibilities on how to solve them and all from just writing a single word.

The entertainment value alone comes from the endless fun you can have from seeing what objects you can find in the game’s built-in dictionary but the game itself needs some work before it can live up to its original design promise. The controls were a bit off and the instructions in some of the puzzles were a bit unclear making puzzle completion impossible. Overall, this game’s unique concept had huge potential but certain failed elements need to be fixed before this game can truly be successful.

Rating: 5 out of 10
Pass on it!

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Nintendo, AlphaDream
Available for the Nintendo DS

In Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, the Mushroom Kingdom is in trouble again and only the Mario Brothers can bring peace back to the Kingdom with the help of Bowser ... wait, what? Yep, that’s right. After a Fawful, the new bad guy in the Mushroom Kingdom infects the inhabitants with a horrible disease and causes Bowser to swallow the Mario Brothers, the Princess and their friends whole, it’s up to Bowser and the Brothers to work together to stop Fawful from taking over the entire kingdom.

Fans of the brothers will love this cute throwback to the old RPG Mario series with fabulous new graphics, hilarious voice-overs and tons of sweet Mario action. You’ll be able to take control of both the Brothers and Bowser in a neat duel screen system and explore the inner workings of one of gaming history’s most famous villains, Bowser. Trust me when I say Super Mario Bros. Wii won’t be the only Mario game selling like hotcakes this Holiday season.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Epic 8-Bit Art: Maxwell from Scribblenauts

With Scribblenauts coming out tomorrow, I thought I should post my latest piece as a neat reminder to get out there and grab your copy. This is my custom 2D pixel version of Maxwell, the hero of Scribblenauts.

I designed him as an entry for a contest over at Super Punch, but you can now buy him in my store at Pixelated Creations for $8 plus shipping.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Launch Trailer

So Batman: Arkham Asylum comes out today and after playing the amazing demo, I don't care how I get this game but I will get it.

I will get this game which might not be that hard considering the game is $38 for today only at places like Future Shop, Walmart and Best Buy.

Batman fans have been plagued with horrible game titles for decades now and besides the fun Lego Batman that came out last year, this is the first seriously good Batman to hit the consoles in a long time. Fans of the Dark Knight need to pick this up now and if you haven't played the demo and you own an Xbox 360 or PS3, then download it. You won't be disappointed.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Poison Ivy Trailer

I truly love whomever is calling the shots on the development team for Batman: Arkham Asylum right now cause this game is going to be incredible!

This game keeps looking better and sounding better. This new footage of Poison Ivy looks amazing and the actress providing her voice over sounds exactly like the original Poison Ivy from Batman: the Animated Series, if its not the same woman, Diane Pershing.

Batman: Arkham Asylum - Harley Quinn Trailer

Harley Quinn is one of my favorite characters in the Batman comic series and I love the new look they've given her in Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I can't wait to play this game but til then I'm watching all The Batman cartoon series episodes for the first time. I still like Batman: The Animated series better though.

Breakout Trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum

Warner Bros. Interactive released a new trailer for the Batman: Arkham Asylum videogame today and talk about liquid gold mixed with cake!

The only thing that could make this game better for me so far if is they brought in Kevin Conroy from Batman: The Animated Series as well to voice the Dark Knight. Mark Hamill sounds incredible as the Joker and the graphics look stunning so far in the trailer. Pretty sure some of them are in game graphics too, not just cinematic scenes.

I'm glad Warner Bros. choose to go with this type of Batman game instead of Dark Knight game, even though the movie was good because this stuff is turning out to be stellar so far.

Review: Lego Batman

Warner Bros. Interactive, Traveller’s Tales
Available for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS

It’s hard to believe we didn’t get a videogame adaptation of this summer’s blockbuster, The Dark Knight and though there’s been rumours circulating that a game is still in development, Batman fans will just have to settle for the whimsical Lego Batman game, at least until the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum steps in to bring us a taste of the darker side of the Gotham Knight.

Not straying far from the formula that made the brick-breaking antics of Jedi Knights and adventuring archaeologists such fun, Batman's Lego makeover delivers a mostly familiar but chock-full-of-fun experience.



As Batman and his boy wonder sidekick, you and possibly a friend (option co-op play) will bust Lego bricks, solve puzzles and chase after Gotham’s most evil through 15 missions. While the concept and mechanics will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s played the previous Lego games, there’s no denying the charm of playing as DC Comics' iconic heroes and villains in their cute blocky forms.

And while much of the game play and design isn’t far removed from Traveller’s Tales’ successful formula, they have added some small but significant touches, making this one much more than Lego Star Wars with a Batman paintjob. For starters, the heroes have access to a variety of ability-enhancing suits; so rather than relying on a variety of characters who possess unique skills, the dynamic duo when outfitted in the proper get-ups, can do what it might have taken a handful of characters to accomplish in previous Lego games.

In addition to tweaking the recipe a bit with this suit-switching mechanic, Lego Batman also places a greater focus on vehicle segments; you won’t spend a ton of the game behind the wheel of the Batmobile or Batwing, but the few times you do find yourself in the driver‘s seat, you’ll appreciate the game play shift from the usual plat forming and puzzle solving.



If the special suits and Bat vehicles don‘t get you going, then Lego Batman’s absolute best feature, the ability to play as a variety of Batman baddies, will surely will. The second half of Lego Batman has you reeking havoc on Gotham as all the Batman villains including Catwoman, the Joker, the Riddler, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Poison Ivy and many more. From Joker’s joy-buzzing to Catwoman’s whip-cracking, these blocky bad guys and their signature abilities steal the show. There isn’t a villain in the Batman universe that isn’t in this game, so don’t worry about missing your favourite either. From Harley Quinn to the Mad Hatter, the lesser known villains get a chance to drive the police of Gotham nuts.

Whether fighting for justice or looking to unleash chaos on the streets of Gotham, you’ll be treated to the best Lego game visuals yet. The characters all look amazing, and the villains especially are brought to life with bizarre, yet worthy-of-the-license likenesses. Plus their animated quirks add a ton to the already rich characterizations. Gotham also looks great; sure, it's darker than the candy-coloured backdrops you might be accustomed to from this series, but it's true to the Dark Knight genre. In addition to being the best looking Lego title to date, it also sounds great, due in no small part to the mood-setting inclusion of Danny Elfman’s score from the films.

Lego Batman, while offering plenty of new, although small tweaks to the can’t-miss formula that’s driven the Star Wars and Indiana Jones titles to the top of the sales chart, feels pretty familiar. If you’ve played those other titles, you’ll feel right at home in the Dark Knight’s plastic paved Gotham. Batman fans will be especially happy with how the developers have treated the franchise and though the game is probably not as dark and gothic as we would like, Lego Batman will hopefully keep you deep in bat gadgets and super villains, long enough for Arkham Asylum to hit store shelves.

Rating 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Review: Speed Racer: The Videogame for the Nintendo DS & Wii

Speed Racer
Warner Bros Interactive, Sidhe
Available for Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS

When most people think about a video game based on a movie, we tend to think about crappy studio cash grabs, but surprisingly Speed Racer, the videogame based on the recent blockbuster movie, didn’t turn out to be such bad game after all, on either Nintendo Wii or Nintendo DS.



Each version of the game allows players to experience what it’s like to be in the driver’s seat of Speed Racer car as you speed through tunnels, drive around loop de loops tracks and try to take out your rival’s car with “car fu” moves. Each game had a good selection of drivers from the Speed Racer series that you could choose to play as and the Wii version even had some of the actors like Christina Ricci and Emile Hirsh doing their voice-overs.



In the Wii version, you could play three different game modes: single race let you drive for practice, while time trial let you attempt to break your race times. The championship mode had you racing against 20 other cars and awarded you points depends on where you place in the race. You had to place 1, 2 or 3 to beat a race, which would then unlock new competitions, cars and drivers.

In the DS version, you could play five different game modes: quick race let you practice drive, time attack let you set time records alone on the tracks, quick stunts had you beating records for the most fans gained by performing stunts and quick battle had you defeating a record number of opponents on the track. Finally World Racing League mode allowed players to run 3 or 5 tracks to win tournament cups. Points are awarded based on where you place in the races and the person with the most points wins the tournament.

Multiplayer mode allows you to play against other people in the room with you on the Nintendo Wii, but the Nintendo DS version allows you to play with up to 6 players via multi-card play.



In both versions of the game, players must attempt to knock out opponents with “car fu” moves in order to stay ahead of the race. While these barrel rolls and 360 spins were pretty easy to pull off in the DS version, I found myself losing a lot of races, if I tried any moves on the Nintendo Wii version. Driving was very easy in the both games, which surprised me in the Wii version, because I figured holding the Wii remote sideways and tipping it back and forth would be way too hard to control the car with. I managed to run smoothly through the tracks with ease and I didn’t even need my car fu moves to win most of the races.

Graphics were pretty stellar on both games. The Speed Racer movie had bright, neon environments that transferred wonderfully into a videogame design. The track were well laid out and somewhat reminded me of the old F-Zero franchise with its crazy twists and turns. I really wish the developers had gotten the rights to some clips from the movie though for the Wii version, because I think they would have made the game better than the 2D pictures.

The audio for environments and sound effects were good, but the voice-overs were a little flat. For trained actors, Christina and Emile could have much done better with the one liners and truthfully I didn’t even think it was the real actors until I saw their names in the manual.

I’ve played a lot of movie videogames in the past and as far as Speed Racer goes I would have liked to see more tracks to race on, but over all, this is actually a pretty decent game. Fans of the movie will enjoy hitting the track and pulling off some sweet car fu moves and families will really enjoy the multi-player modes on either versions of the game.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Buy it!