Nintendo has released several versions of this game over the years: If you pre-ordered Wind Waker, you were treated to a disc with several classic Zelda games. The disc also featured a version of Ocarina of Time that included some slightly updated graphics and an additional Master Quest, an odd re-mix of the original quest with some twists. There was also a version released for the Wii’s Virtual Console. This version is a faithful recreation of the original game. With all these remakes and re-releases, should you even spend the money to buy this version? ABSOLUTELY!

If you were too young to be introduced to Ocarina of Time, this is the way to play it. And if you are one of the many gamers that have beaten this game several times, this is the way to play it. This remake does so much more than simply rehash the same adventure. It fixes many of the small issues that you may have by playing the original cartridge.

First and most significant is the menu system. Having to pause the game and go to a multi-screen menu to equip the iron boots was a huge problem in the original, especially in the water temple. The developers recognized this issue and made the iron and hover boots items you can assign to one of the four shortcut buttons on the touchscreen. They also moved the Save option to the Start button, which solves the problem of going to that Save screen when you accidentally press the wrong button when exiting the inventory screen. It’s remarkable how they were able to get so much functionality out of so few buttons.

They also really updated the graphics. What’s truly amazing about this update is that they stayed true to the original source, but beefed up the detail and textures to add more life to everything. There are some debates out there that maybe they didn’t do enough. I am going to disagree with that notion and state that the feel of the original game was so integral to the experience, and updating the graphics too much would take away from the nostalgic feeling that veterans of the game will experience.

The updated graphics actually make things easier to see subtle details and clues. In the Water Temple, there is a cut-scene that subtly hints at a hidden passageway under a floating block. In the original, I completely missed that because the graphics were a little hazy. In this version, it was clear that there was a gaping hole. It’s easier to notice the Tri-Force symbols that are strewn around various dungeons. And they did it without sacrificing the images conjured by my memories of the first game, it enhances them.
The most dynamic change to the graphics is the 3D. Since this was one of the games to bring video games into the 3rd dimension, it is only appropriate to remake it in true glasses-free 3D. And it looks great. I would argue that is actually makes things a little easier, especially when tracking the distance of those pesky Keese or when playing energy-bolt tennis with Phantom Gannon and Gannondorf. Navi and the Deku Tree have never looked better.

The game uses the gyroscope to allow you to look around the environment by moving the 3DS unit around. When you go into a first-person perspective or aim the hookshot, bow, slingshot, and boomerang, you can either use the analog stick to look around or move the 3DS around. It’s like your DS is a virtual window into Hyrule. It is a neat addition that makes aiming a bit easier. Be careful and make sure that you are turning with the 3DS or else you will lose the 3D effect and the screen will get blurry and make you dizzy. For those who don’t like the 3D, or it makes them feel dizzy, you can just turn it down or off. Some people turn it off when they are in first-person. I personally like it on all the time. One thing I noticed is that there is a weird paradox while using the gyroscope to look around. You don’t have to turn all the way around to see behind you as Link turns much faster than you do. It only takes a quarter turn for you to see directly behind Link.

Nintendo has also included the Master Quest! This odd, and challenging remix that was introduced in the Master Quest re-release for the Gamecube takes the game and flips it around, as well as changes up some of creatures you find in the dungeons. It’s amazing how turned around you will get in the Master Quest after you get familiar with the layout of the original.

Another inclusion is a boss challenge mode. You can relive any boss battle you have already completed. There is a timer so you can go online to see how you stack up against others. It’s actually kind of nice to have a chance to practice these battles so when you play through the game again, you stand a better chance, especially in the Master Quest.

Best of all, the game is portable. It may be worth the purchasing a 3DS just to get a chance to play it. If you don’t believe me, borrow it from someone first and you will see what I mean. This is truly a worthy remake of one of the greatest video games in history.

The concept is simple, you will play through a whole new story that takes place prior to the events in the movie. This 2D side-scrolling version of the game introduces many of the characters in the movie. Each chapter, seven in all, is broken up into three parts, which is capped with a big boss battle at the end. Using Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, and his God Powers, you fight wave after wave of enemies as you explore each world that Loki sends you to. That pretty much sums it up.

If this concept sounds fun to you, by all means pick up a copy of this game. For me, it felt like I was fighting the same four or five enemies, just packaged up a little different each time. At least there are several ways to dispatch enemies and runes that you can use to spruce up your already overwhelming powers.

Some of the platforms are destructible and can be dropped on enemies. The only problem is that most of the time you end up knocking them down on accident while trying to bash enemies rather than being able to use it as a strategy.  Also, you can pick up enemies and use them as umbrellas for falling toxic rain, or as a weapon. Although the sequences are at times frustrating, the moments where I had to use an enemy in this fashion are a nice change of pace from the “run till the screen stops, then fight a bunch of enemies till the screen moves again” formula.

While the main levels are pretty bland, the boss battles spice it up a bit. While none of them are too difficult, they present a nice challenge and exhibit some creativity on the part of the game-makers. They are big enough to fill both screens and have some sort of weakness you have to exploit to beat them.

The graphics and the music don’t get in the way, and that’s a good thing. They also aren’t very good. The character’s have lots of jagged edges and the cut scenes just feature still cut-outs with text boxes, which is really pretty standard for the DS. The bosses look epic, but it’s nothing that we haven’t already seen on inferior platforms such as the Gameboy Advance.

If you beat the game, you gain access to a Survival mode that pits you against each of these enemies in a constant stream. In this mode, you get to choose which world you want to explore, so in a sense you are playing the same game as the single player story minus a couple of the game’s most interesting elements.

Other bonus content includes a gallery of the game’s art featuring work by Mark Brooks, a sound player that plays music and sound FX from the game, and another mode where you can pick any of the main NPCs from the game and beat up even more of the same enemies from the game. Sadly, none of this adds enough to the experience to say that it adds any value to the game.

I could probably recommend better side-scrolling beat ‘em ups to you, but if your kid is into Thor, this should keep him occupied for a few hours. The difficulty is low and the moves are varied so kids new to games may enjoy the added complexity to an otherwise simple and easy game.

Thor God of Thunder (DS) is rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 years and up and is available on the Nintendo DS.  Other versions of the game are available for the Xbox 360, PS3, and the Nintendo Wii.

A review copy of the game was provided and did not affect the outcome of this review.

Check out our Thor God of Thunder Wii review and Xbox 360 review.

The game itself ups the difficulty from its predecessors by adding more technique. There are many new attack styles and ways to break an opponent’s blocks and exploit your enemy. You have Super Combos, Ultra Combos, EX Attacks, and Focus Attacks. Each of these have different qualities that, when used under the right conditions, do some serious damage and can break the opponents block. The system is fairly complex and can take some time to learn.

Fortunately, the 3DS version allows you to use its “Lite” control scheme that allows you to map special attacks to buttons on the touch screen. You can map four special moves. This allows you to practice difficult moves right out of the box and adds a handicap for newer players so they can compete with veterans from the get-go. If you are confident in your skills, you can turn this mode off.

The new control options do effect the balance of online matches because there is no rule that you have to be a rookie to use the “Lite” mode. You can search for opponents only using Pro mode, but they tend to be really rare and really good. For veterans, using the “Lite” mode makes you almost invincible to n00bs online.

The buttons on the 3DS are a little small making it more difficult than ever to pull off your moves. With a little practice (and a little cramping), you will start to get the hang of it. Also, the main issue with Street Fighter and handhelds is the 6-button configuration. This forces you to use the shoulder buttons for certain attacks, which can be awkward. The included training mode helps a little, but ultimately, you will have to seek an online guide or play with friends that are willing to help you to really learn the controls and how to pull off special moves.

Being on a smaller screen, the graphics are as sharp as ever. They look great, especially the Ultra Combos. Capcom also created a new 3D view mode that puts the camera over your shoulder as your fighter moves towards and away from you in 3D space. It looks pretty cool, although it’s a little disorienting at first. The only downside to the graphics is that the backgrounds to each level are now completely static. This doesn’t take away too much from the overall experience as it is hardly noticeable unless you are looking for it.

The music and sounds are straight from the console/arcade releases. It sounds great and there is no compromise because it is on a smaller system. You can use headphones for the best experience.

The game also uses StreetPass and Play Coins to collect and trade figures. Until the system is in more hands, though, these features will add little to your experience. When more people have this title, you can assemble StreetPass teams with collected figurines that you buy with Play Coins. Your team will do battle with other players’ teams as you walk pass them.

Even with these few little issues, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition for the Nintendo 3DS is the best fighter available for any handheld system. The game sacrifices very little and adds just enough to be a great value, and I can safely recommend this version over any other simply from the fact that you can carry it with you wherever you go. The downside to that is if you want to play with a friend, they have to have a 3DS and a copy of the game too.

Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition is rated T for Teen and is available now exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.

This was my first PSP minis game. I played it for a while on the PS3 and then transferred it to my PSP. It’s definitely more suited for a handheld system and iFun4All obviously knew this as the game is coming soon to the iPhone and iPad.

Fish Tank is a Match 3 type of puzzle game that borrows heavily from Tetris and Bejeweled. It is set underwater, in a Fish Tank (duh), and its game board is set up horizontally with the game pieces (fish) coming from left to right towards rows and columns of bubbles. As they reach the right side, they become encased in a bubble and can only disappear when 4 or more fish of the same color are lined up. You can control which bubble row you what a particular fish to go with the D-Pad. When 4 or more fish are lined up, a button icon appears and you must press the corresponding button to make the cluster of fish disappear. You can speed up the fish with the R button and you can activate power ups with the L button.

The game is pretty straightforward although, I had a bit of a tough time with it my first time through. Once I read the directions and got used to its horizontal set-up, I was kinda hooked. The game features Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulties and each level will vary in the number of colored fish available. You have a time limit and a mistake limit and when either of these are up, the game is over. There is also a Challenge Mode with 24 sets of various challenging “puzzles”, each with its unique level handicap.

Fish Tank also features Trophies on the PS3 and Achievements for the PSP. There is no multiplayer in either the PS3 or the PSP versions but that doesn’t hurts its overall value; it’s definitely a single player experience.

The graphics aren’t the greatest and on an HD TV with the PS3, it is quite apparent with the jaggy lines. It looks far better on the PSP, as to be expected. The music is annoying but catchy as I am humming it in my (can’t get it out of my) head right now. Once you get into it, it’s a fun and addicting game. If you enjoy these types of puzzle games, you may very well enjoy Fish Tank. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you may want to hold out until those versions come out.

Fish Tank is available now on PSN for the PS3 and can also be downloaded onto a Sony MemoryStick and played on the PSP. The iPhone and iPad versions are coming soon.

A review code was provided but did not affect the outcome of this review.

Being on a handheld, I’m much more forgiving of some of the graphical shortcuts. I’m pleased to say that there aren’t many issues with the graphics in this game. The world isn’t that large, so you don’t have a lot of areas to cover, but you will visiting a couple of small villages, a large city, a flooded forest, and a couple of other very unique areas that I will refrain to mention as it might spoil some surprises. They all look good and have unique features that make each area feel fresh and new. The characters all have a hand-drawn look to them that animates well on the DS.

But this franchise is about gameplay and story, and I’m pleased to report that both are excellent. As you play the game, it’s apparent that Capcom has a lot of experience with creating Zelda titles for the DS. They developed The Minish Cap, as well as both Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, both critically acclaimed Zelda titles. Ōkamiden draws heavily from Phantom Hourglass, although they did not develop that title. In making a direct comparison between Phantom Hourglass and Ōkamiden, I can safely say that the story element is stronger in Ōkamiden, but the gameplay element is just not as strong as any of the Zelda DS titles. OK, I will stop talking about Zelda now and get to the nitty-gritty.

The gameplay is a little clunky, but it’s effective. You control Chibiterasu, the wolf-child of Amaterasu from the first game, by using the analog pad. This isn’t strange in and of itself, but coupled with the odd camera, it has some uncomfortable moments where you are pressing down on the pad, but you are not going straight down. It’s difficult to describe but it’s worthy to note because you will notice, especially when you need to make small adjustments to line up with a character or item. It doesn’t ruin the experience, I just kept wondering if there was a better way to handle the movement and honestly, maybe there isn’t.

Navigating the menus is easy and also includes a “hot” menu for frequently used items. I never actually used this menu because I like to pause the action while I decide what items to use, but it’s there for those who will find it useful. Switching weapons is a breeze, but since there are no stats for your weapons so it’s hard to know what the best weapon is. Although it really doesn’t matter what weapon you choose because your main weapon will be your brush techniques.

Combat in Ōkamiden is just like Okami. There aren’t any random encounters, however you will see Daemon Scrolls floating around the world. Should you choose to bump into a Daemon Scroll, you are transported into the Daemon Plane where you are confined to a small area in which to combat the daemons of the scroll. There is a rift in each scroll so if you need to escape, you can cut a hole in the rift and flee. Combat is easy enough that you will probably never have to flee.

You have three weapons you can use to defeat Daemon Scrolls. You start out with a Celestial Mirror, which is the disc on your back. You can switch this main weapon out with other types later in the game. Your second weapon is your partner. You will almost always have a partner with you that can perform certain attacks and combos to aid you. Your third weapon is your celestial brush. You can use brush techniques to slice, bomb, and perform different elemental attacks to quickly dispatch your enemy. Once you unlock a certain technique, you are required to use it in the next battle, especially during boss battles.

Boss battles are the most fun because you are not transported to another plane and you can use the environment around you to find ways to damage these colossal enemies. These are obviously the most challenging parts of the game, but the game wisely puts a save point near every boss battle, so if you do fail, it’s not that much of a pain to get to a rematch. Even on hard, there aren’t too many boss battles that you will have to try multiple times. It seems that this game is more about going through a story rather than challenging your gaming skills.

And the story is quite good. It focuses on the theme of companionship, which explains the “buddy” mechanic that prevails throughout most of the game. Early on, you are paired with Issun, a small green bug who was featured in Okami. Later, you will meet and pair up with several different characters, each with their own powers. You can also have them do little tasks on their own by directing a path for them to follow using your celestial brush. Each partner you meet has an interesting story of their own and, in the end, you have to use all of them to complete your objective. It’s a quirky story that can be sickly sweet at times, but still keeps you interested to find out what happens next.

While Ōkamiden seems skewed towards a younger audience, with its friendship theme and simple dialogue, I still really enjoyed the game and I am playing through it a second time, trying to find all of the collectibles in the game. In fact, I think that this would be an awesome game for a parent and child to enjoy together. Kids might find certain battles a little challenging and an adult could easily help out with the tougher sections. The game teaches excellent lessons about forgiveness and kindness that should resonate with children.

I can safely recommend this game to anyone that has enjoyed the original Okami or any Zelda game, particularly Phantom Hourglass. I also think it’s a great game for someone wanting to give the action adventure genre a try for the first time. However, if you’re someone that won’t buy a Wii because it’s too “kiddy”, you might want to skip this one, but you know that already, don’t you?

Ōkamiden is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 years and up and is available now, exclusively for the Nintendo DS for $29.99.

A review copy was provided but did not affect the outcome of this review.

The game is relatively short. I was able to finish the game in about 3 hours and collected 100% of the items in about 4 hours. Normally I would knock a game that was so paltry in content, but for a game geared towards children, this game makes a great diversion that meets the average kid’s attention span.

The concept is simple. You navigate Yogi in a 2D side-scroller that tasks you with collecting various objects in each level. There are three types of collectables in each level: Picnic Baskets (duh!), Gears (huh?), and a food item that changes every few levels. The Picnic Baskets don’t serve any purpose that I found, but the gears are used to build items that are necessary to collect all the items in late levels, and you can unlock quality stills from the movie by beating a bonus game that you can play if you collect all 100 food items in each level.

Levels are broken into two sections, with a checkpoint between them. This was nice in some of the platforming levels because you (or your kids) will experience some pretty cheap deaths as you learn how to navigate Yogi through some of the more complex areas. You may go back and retry any level you have passed so you can collect all the items, or you can just push through the game. Achieving 100% items is not difficult at all, so I would recommend getting your money’s worth and finding everything.

Yogi features a double-jump and a belly stomp, and will also collect handy home-built items such as spring shoes, a jack-hammer, roller skates, a helicopter helmet, and a wheel for the zip lines in some of the levels. You obtain these items by collecting the gears in each level and completing a ridiculously simple mini-game that features connecting dots and moving/rotating items into their proper spots on the screen. The controls work well enough, even using items like the roller skates was a snap.

Most levels give you a detection meter that when full, you are caught and you have to start at your last checkpoint. It takes a lot to get nabbed though. I was hit by a stupid chipmunk dropping acorns on me several times before I was in any real danger. Besides, the levels aren’t very big anyway so it was just embarrassing to have to start over rather then frustrating.

Other levels are just the opposite. You have a full meter and have to replenish it by collecting cameras strewn throughout the level, or by having a tourist snap your photo. These levels are even easier as you can just camp out with a tourist anytime your meter is running low.

The game also has a couple of throwaway mini games that can be played outside of the main game. One is a trace the path game called Picnic Pilfer where you have to move Yogi to the food item at the end of a simple maze. The other is called Food Craze and you are tasked with tracing food into Yogi’s mouth. They are both pretty weak and don’t add to the game’s value.

Last, there is the Gallery. By collecting all 100 food items in a level, you get a little mini game where Boo Boo has to catch food items dropping from the sky. Collect a certain amount and you unlock a still photo from the movie. The stills are pretty decent in quality so fans of the movie will probably enjoy them.

And that’s what it comes down to. Kids who enjoyed the movie will probably find this game entertaining for a short time. I suppose for a game based on a movie based on a cartoon character, it’s not too bad.

Yogi Bear: The Video Game is rated E for Everyone and is Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii.  This review is based on the DS version.

A review copy of the was provided and did not affect the outcome of this review.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is truly an old-school RPG. The game features random battles for leveling up, nasty bosses to defeat, and a heavy-handed and sometimes convoluted storyline filled with side-quests and hidden challenges. You can end up in areas that you have no business being in, and you may find some areas too easy and others way too difficult. If you weren’t around for the early days of Final Fantasy or Phantasy Star, you may find this game a bit frustrating.

With current RPGs straying more and more away from random battles, this game embraces the dated mechanic, and it doesn’t suffer a bit from it. Having random battles forces the player to keep a balanced party, ready for any challenge. You never know if you are going to face a fire beast, or a fairy that will charm your party members to attack each other. Building each character to have a focused job such as attacking or healing, yet making sure that everyone can defend against any kind of attack takes care and strategy that hasn’t been forced on players in RPGs of this generation.

To bridge the gap between the two styles, FF:4HoL uses a simple interface which includes a job system that makes it easy to experiment with your characters to find a sweet spot that works for you. This can be both good and bad. Ultimately, it makes the game much easier. While you cannot switch jobs during combat, it’s generally pretty easy to figure out what went wrong if you are defeated, and just as easy to change up the tactics so you won’t lose a second time.

This is good because the game keeps moving. You won’t be stuck on any part for very long unless you are lost. Even then, there is a traveler and his animal companion there to point you in the right direction and save your game. It’s actually a great formula for those new to RPGs and I can see this game as a great way to learn the nuances of the genre. However, this keeps the game from ever really being a challenge because it is over simplified.

Simply donning a crown changes your job. Assign the skills your character has along with those granted by the hat, and voila, you are a healer, an assassin, a thief; there are 26 crowns to find. However, you will probably only use a handful of these because many of them just don’t measure up. Their effect is as simple as better item drops from defeated enemies to making you a healing master. Most of the best crowns are unlocked in the first half of the game. This makes the second half kind of drag.

You can upgrade your crowns as well as your equipment by using gems you get after defeating enemies. The game uses 8 gems which you can either sell or used to upgrade your gear. A couple gems can be sold for an absurd amount of money, so you may consider selling a few of these to get some extra gill (money). Each type of gear, be it a weapon, armor or crown, has a unique set of gem slots. Once each of these is filled, your weapon goes up a level. You can keep this up to really beef up your favorite weapons.

Your character’s appearance changes as you change crowns, weapons and gear. It’s a thoughtful touch that makes everything a little more rewarding. I’m surprised this feature hasn’t become a standard thing in RPGs, so it’s interesting to note that this throw-back handheld title has something that’s still relatively new and fresh.

The overall art style and graphics are quite nice. As you travel around the overworld, the background scrolls like you are on a giant sphere instead of a flat plain. It adds to the depth and hides the fact that the draw distance of the DS is slightly limited. The character models look like they are out of a Super Nintendo game, but with tons more detail. The maps are big and detailed, with more attention given to its look than its functionality. The battle screen is very active and it pans as your character moves in for a strike, and in the grand tradition of RPGs the magic spells always look way more powerful than they really are.

The battle system is pretty simple too. Good thing, because this game doesn’t feature a tutorial, so you will have to read the instruction manual (the what?!) of just figure it out. In combat, you don’t have to manage any complex system of mana or the like. Instead you have 5 action points. A melee or ranged attack takes one point. Magic and Special Abilities can range from 2 to 5 action points. You can also take a turn and focus to gain an additional action point for that character.

The touch screen works perfect for this simple interface. The section buttons are nice and big so you won’t accidentally pick the wrong action during a pivotal battle. You can move your character around with the stylus or the D-pad, although the stylus is the better option in my opinion.

If you are a fan of old-school RPGs, or if you just want to get a taste of the type of game that started the whole genre, FF:4HoL is a great game for you. Its heavy emphasis on grinding and its open world make it a perfect game for killing time, which makes it all the more sweet that it’s on a handheld. If you own a DS and you have played RPGs before, this is a great addition to your game collection.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 years and up and is available now for the Nintendo DS.

A review copy was provided and did not affect the outcome of this review.

You draw vines using the stylus.  You can have up to 3 vines on the screen at once and you are able to draw them anywhere on the screen.  You can extend the vine for a while, but be careful, as it does have a limit and will snap, dropping Ivy from the vine and potentially into danger.  No fear, however, as you can just draw another vine to “save” her.  You can use the vine to launch her into the air and later you will learn that you can use the vine to catapult Ivy into an invincible spin attack that can kill enemies as well as destroy certain blocks.  As the game progresses, Ivy will run into different enemies – mice and crows – and different dangers – spikes and water drops – that you will have to keep her safe from.  It also means you will need to become a little more coordinated to manage Ivy.

Other things are thrown into the mix, like boulders, which can kill enemies and destroy blocks that Ivy cannot destroy in her spin attack.  This ups the difficulty as you are trying to “control” Ivy as well as the boulder.  With all the other elements in play, the game can get difficult and frustrating at times.  There were several times that I had to put the game down and pick it up at a later time.

The game consists of 50 levels all with a time limit of 300 seconds.  While the goal is to get Ivy to the end of the level within the time limit, there are also 10 red feathers in each level to collect.  For every 10 feathers you collect, you gain an extra life, so they are worth trying for.  Some are more difficult than others and as you get more comfortable with the controls, the easier it will be to get all the feathers in the levels.  No fear, as you can go into the Stage Trial mode and try for all the feathers there.  You still have the normal dangers and the time limit, but it also tracks your time and whether you have gotten all the feathers in a level.  You can also go directly to the level you want providing that you have finished that level in the main game first.

Once you complete the game, the Bonus Game is unlocked which is the same as the normal game but now you must collect the key in order to unlock the door that blocks the way to the level’s goal.  It also unlocks the entire storybook so you can read Ivy’s story at any time as well as look for the 55 red feathers hidden in the storybook.

The game also has a multiplayer mode  that can be played with 1 to 4 players in Single-Card Download Play as well as Wireless DS Multi-Card Play.  There are two different modes in Multiplayer – Race and Medal Collection.  In Race, players simply race to the finish line.  There is nothing to collect.  In Medal Collection, you must collect the set amount of medals.  Collecting 10 feathers will award the player with one medal.  Bonus medals will appear at random.  Players will be notified by a star on the screen.  You can set the rules of multiplayer as well by setting the number of matches, the stage, time limit, and the number of lives before the Game Over.

The game features a muted art style with a soft color palette.  The levels range from simple to complicated but also feature a dynamic, scrolling background that adds a depth to the levels that would’ve otherwise been flat.  Ivy is not only an adorable character but her constant movement adds a sense of urgency that keeps the player’s interest in the ultimate goal of finding Ivy’s mom.

Overall, the game’s addictive and challenging game play will keep the player’s interest.  It’s a great game to play to pass the time and since it auto saves at the end of each level, you never have to worry about losing your progress if you need to suddenly stop playing.  The Bonus Game, Stage Trial, and Multiplayer modes keep the game’s replay value high.

Ivy the Kiwi? is rated E for Everyone and is available now for $19.95 on the Nintendo DS and $29.95 on the Nintendo Wii.

A review copy of the game was provided and did not affect the outcome of this review.  This review is based on the Nintendo DS version of the game.

The game is not bad. In fact, I enjoyed my time with the game, and found some of the challenges fun and tricky. There is a story embedded in the game that helps you get to know the characters without having to see the movie, however it doesn’t really explore them too deeply. The game play, while not wholly original, has some unique qualities to it that really tie in the characters from the movie.

Basically, DM:MM is a puzzle game that requires you to control objects in each level to maneuver your main minion to an exit. Objects include bridges, walls, springs, elevators and more. You start each level by tapping on a henchman to start them marching. They move independently in a straight line unless they bump into an obstacle or enemy. By timing the start of each minion and properly adjusting your surroundings, you must get your minion to the exit. For example, you may have to extend a bridge to get a minion to an elevator, the spring board him up to a platform where the exit is.

There are a few different types of minions that are used for the various levels. For example, there is the fire minion that has a flamethrower and is immune to fire. There is also a large, sumo-wresting minion that can dispatch enemies in its path. There are a few more, but the concept is the same: you will have to use each minions abilities to trigger events that allow your main minion to escape. You get bonus points for saving your other minions and collecting certain items along the way.

At first, it’s not too difficult to figure out the puzzle.  However, after a couple of worlds, which consist of eight levels, the difficulty starts to ramp up considerably. Most of your time will be spent looking through the level and playing through the movements of your characters in your head. Then, once you get them started, you realize that you timed everything wrong. It makes for a great brain teaser, but kids will probably lose patience and move on to easier games.

The controls work fine and the graphics are serviceable. I never felt held back by missed taps or hard to see characters. It may take a couple times through a level to figure out certain triggers or how a minion might navigate a certain platform, but they were not a cause for frustration.

While there isn’t much in the game that explores the movie too much, it’s nice that they came up with such a unique concept using the minions. Kids might enjoy the idea of the adventure, but they will probably become frustrated and bored after a couple of worlds. Then again, that might be a great opportunity for parents to jump in and help their kids get through each level.

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem is rated E for Everyone and is available now for $29.99.  You can get slightly different versions of the game for the Nintendo Wii and Ds as well as the PSP and the PlayStation 2.

A review copy was provided and did not affect the outcome of this review.

Unless you are familiar with the Kamen Riders series, the entire game will probably be quite foreign to you – it was to me – and I even watched a few episodes to try and familiarize myself. There are three modes to choose from – Ventara Mode, which is the story mode; Advent Master Mode, where you can fight battles for high scores similar to an Arcade Mode; and Duel Mode, where you engage in traditional one on one fighting versus the CPU.  Each character has a deck of Advent Cards that assist during battle. You start out with three and can carry up to five cards total.   To use your cards you must fill up the Advent Gauge which is filled by doing damage to your foes as well as taking damage.  You also have the option of using the stylus to manually charge your Advent Gauge by touching and holding your character with the stylus.  You can also hold down the L + R buttons.  Funny enough, I never used this mechanic.

Advent Cards are a very important part of your battle strategy and can help make or break a fight. Unfortunately, there are no in game descriptions of the cards nor is there anything in the game manual. You must either be very familiar with the show, look it up online somewhere, or just start testing out the cards to see what they do in battle.  While I am no expert, I had a tiny idea of what the cards did so I thought I would just try my luck!  I found a few cards that seemed to work for me and I went with them.  This will vary for each character so don’t be afraid to try new cards as you unlock them or when you are playing new characters.  The type of battle and knowing your opponent will also make a difference.  You will either know this from watching the show or you will just figure it out if you play the game enough.  If you play with Dragon Knight or Wing Knight, you can unlock Survive Mode Dragon Knight and Survive Mode Wing Knight which do more damage and if you find yourself low in hit points, you can use the Survive Mode Advent Card, gain some HP back, and start kicking some butt.

I started out with Ventara Mode using Dragon Knight, one of the main characters of the series. Ventara Mode is broken up into 10 levels with five stages per level leading up to the battle against General Xaviax.  After you complete each stage’s objective, which can range from killing all the enemies on screen, timed battles, and mini-boss battles, your character will earn points and level up. Leveling up grants you more hit points and you will do more damage to your foes. This is the extent of the RPG elements of the game.  It would’ve been cool to be able to purchase Advent Cards with points or even level up your character more dynamically, but the main focus of the game was as a fighter and that’s where the game shines.

If the fighting seems unbalanced at times, that’s because it is.  Pay attention to the level of the enemy that you are facing, you will be surprised to see some advanced levels early on in the game.  That’s where the RPG element of the game really comes into play.  You will need to grind by replaying previous levels in order to earn more XP or to just level up faster.  If I got stuck in a battle, a few lower level fights would get me out of my rut.  It can be a pain but it works and I found myself going back and replaying past fights and being extremely pleased when I was finally able to kill the more advanced bosses.  I found myself yelling in frustration at some moments, but again, grinding or trying different cards or other strategies would do the trick.

I had a really hard time with the inability to block during a fight.  You can use a move called Guard Break but I prefer the traditional block techniques that are common to most fighters.  This upped the difficulty of the game and without a good blocking system, I found myself getting overwhelmed especially in battles against higher level opponents.  You can use the Guard Vent Advent Card, which makes your character immune to attacks for 10 seconds, but that doesn’t get unlocked until later in the game so you will need to come up with other strategies until then.

In order to fully unlock everything you will need to play through the game with other characters.  The great part about this is that each character, while going through the same structure, faces different battle objectives so you won’t find yourself playing the same game with a different character.  This gives the game a tremendous amount of replay value.  It took me between 3-4 days to complete my character’s missions so with 13 characters to play though, you will get a lot out of this title.  On top of that, you can play the Advent Master Mode for additional challenges and rack up some high scores or you can just hone your battle skills for fun in the Duel Mode.

The one thing that this game really lacks is a multiplayer mode.  The Duel Mode makes for a perfect mode for another DS player to connect with for some real fighting game fun.  Not sure why the decision was made to exclude a multiplayer mode, but I think that would have made this game even better.

One of the most important things to a fighting game are the controls.  While all fighting games (at least to me) have a high element of button mashing, this game is not immune to that.  However, you will need to get a grasp on the controls and what they do in order to get through the game more easily.  You will find yourself getting surrounded by enemies quite frequently in this game so knowing the controls will help you get through some of those frustrating moments.  There are no combo moves to learn and master which is a big bonus in some aspects.  The biggest issue I had was targeting which is done by using the touch screen.  The game auto-targets the closest enemy otherwise. A third hand would come in handy since you are using the D-pad and the buttons as well.

For a DS game, I am always pleasantly surprised by the graphics of the games and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is no exception.  The graphics are what you would expect from a DS game.  The cut scenes utilize the top and the bottom screen as one.  During a fight, the top screen is used to show your Advent Cards, the Advent Gauge, and your HP meter.  The electro-rock soundtrack is most likely taken from the TV show and gets a little monotonous after a while.  I played the game with the sound off or at the lowest level possible.

This game is a must have for any Kamen Rider fan and if you are not a fan, it is worth checking out.  It’s a decent DS fighting game and offers many hours of replay value to the title.  The lack of a multiplayer option is unfortunate but I don’t believe that it makes the game less fun to the single player.

Kamen Rider Dragon Knight is rated T for Teen and is available now exclusively for the Nintendo DS for $29.99 MSRP.

A review copy of the game was provided by D3Publisher and did not affect the outcome of this review.

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