Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Majesco
Rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Here’s a list of some things I’ve never done: worn a cool watch, eaten a raw peach, done a bad Ice T impression, smiled on Christmas Day, gone a day without quoting The Big Lebowski, eaten glass, or gone camping. One of these is relevant, and I secretly wish it were eating glass. Camping Mama: Outdoor Adventures has hit the streets, and camping fans, I’m sure, have been filling their rugged newsletters and message boards with buzzing anticipation. So what kind of game can they expect: a crisp autumn hike in the Colorado mountains, or eating glass?

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Developer: Rising Star Games
Publisher: UFO Interactive
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now
Review by: Michael Rabalais

When I received my copy of Pucca Power Up in the mail, I was drawn to a phrase on the back: “Pucca and Garu’s action romance story.” Personally, I can’t think of a more exciting sentence. The possibilities of such a statement drive me absolutely wild. Are they driving monster trucks through the Arc de Triomphe while feeding each other chocolate covered strawberries? Are they searching for the Ark of the Covenant while drawing scented bubble baths? It’s incredible! So it leaves the question, is Pucca Power Up the Expendables mixed with the Royal Wedding, or Hudson Hawk hanging out with my high school girlfriend?

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Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
Genre: RPG
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

Camelot’s original Golden Sun series is considered by fans to be the best portable RPG series of all time, and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn is the long awaited third entry that fans have been craving since the closing credits of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Taking full advantage of the NDS hardware, Dark Dawn promises to be the best game in the series. The question is, can it really live up to the cult-like status of its predecessors?

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Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Genre: RPG
ESRB rating: Everyone 10+
Release date: Available now

While dungeon-delving RPGs used to be standard fare, everyone has been trying to make them different, new and exciting in some way so that they will appeal to new generations of gamers with different standards. From adding some unique system to overcompensating for the “old” gameplay with flashy graphics, there’s always a gimmick to spruce up the tired formula. Atlus’s Etrian Odyssey series stands out in that it does just the opposite. It takes the classic, first person, dungeon-exploring, turn-based RPG formula and wholeheartedly embraces it. Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City tries to add some subtle twists without straying too far from its core principles.

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Publisher: Mentor InterActive
Developer: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning
Genre: RPG Adventure
Rating: Everyone
Release date: September 28, 2010
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Cosmos Chaos for the DS is a textbook example of the slightly cheesy, if accurate term “edutainment”. Aimed at kids between 4th and 7th grade, the title is an educational RPG developed by the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. Designed to be a great way for students to expand their vocabulary while playing a genuinely fun game, Cosmos Chaos is pretty ambitious.

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Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

I haven’t seen the recent movie upon which The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is based. I come into this game only knowing that it’s probably loosely based on the famous animated segment from Fantasia. So, a cartoon short and a movie might make an interesting combination for an action game for the Nintendo DS.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Game Republic
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z hold a special place in my heart (along with Outlaw Star) as the three series that introduced me to anime. With the recent reboots to the original Dragon Ball and early story arcs of Dragon Ball Z, a slew of new games have come riding in on the coat-tails of the series’ fresh burst of popularity. Dragon Ball Origins 2 is the second game that follows the DB storyline, picking up right where Dragon Ball Origins left off.

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Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Developer: Handmade Game
Genre: Puzzle
Release date: Available now

The sliding-tile puzzle is something that most people know, but in case you have no idea what I am talking about, maybe this will jog your memory: it’s small, made of plastic and has 15 sliding squares. There’s an empty slot that allows you to rearrange the squares to complete the puzzle. Hudson Entertainment has a put an unusual spin on this child’s birthday party goody-bag staple with Rooms: the Main Building for the Nintendo DS and the Wii.

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Publisher: SouthPeak Games
Developer: Renegade Kid
Genre: Survival horror
Release date: Available now

If you’re looking for a little bit of the old ultraviolence in a video game, it would seem that the Nintendo DS would not be your console of choice. There are very few shooters available for the system, and for good reason; hardware restrictions and control problems make the DS unattractive for action-game developers. Bucking that trend is Dementium II, SouthPeak Games and developer Renegade Kid’s attempt to show that blood can be convincingly spilled using the Nintendo handheld.

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Publisher: Conspiracy Entertainment
Developer: DTP Young Entertainment
Genre: Fashion simulator
Release date: Available now
Review by: Lieren Teeling

Ever since its release, the Nintendo DS has been the chosen platform for fashion games. The system’s appeal to teen and preteen casual girl gamers over other consoles makes it the perfect place for a game such as America’s Next Top Model. The popular television series comes to the DS to let fans take the experience of the cutthroat fashion competition with them wherever they go.

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Publisher: Valcon Games
Developer: Little Worlds Studio
Genre: Educational
Release date: Available now

My parents will be pleased. Finally, the thousands of dollars that they spent to send me to college for my music education degree are finally justified. The endless hours that I spent bent over a piano keyboard preparing to lead a classroom full of rambunctious young students in a rousing rendition of “America the Beautiful” are finally amounting to something. I can use that knowledge to tell you to that there’s no substitute for getting piano lessons from a real teacher on a real instrument. Not even Easy Piano, Little Worlds and Valcon Games’ attempt to introduce you to the wonderful world of music through your Nintendo DS.

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Publisher: Aspyr
Developer: Big Blue Bubble
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now

I had no idea of the history behind Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain when I first started playing it. FF is a first-person action RPG for the Nintendo DS that comes from a long history of game books written in a “choose your own adventure” style. Does it have enough to be a great video game for the DS?

Your adventure begins when you step off a boat onto the docks at a town called Stonebridge. You’ve heard of the legendary keep of Firetop Mountain, and you’re in search of the treasure it might hold. Many before you have tried to find it, but have not returned. There is a legend of a Warlock named Zagor who controls the area along with his minions; they stand between you and the treasure.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: VD Dev
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now

If you’ve ever been pulled over by a police officer, then you know it’s never fun. Most people driving by slow down and stare at you like you’re a sideshow feature at a traveling carnival; some people must enjoy it when others get in trouble. C.O.P.: The Recruit from Ubisoft gives you the chance to be on the side of the city protector, flashing your red and blue lights whenever you feel like it.

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Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Monolift Soft
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

Take one of the most recognizable Manga and anime series and have it fused with a turn-based RPG. The result is…Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for the DS. For the first time ever in North America, the world famous Dragon Ball Z series arrives in a turn-based RPG from Namco Bandai.

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Publisher: Oxygen Games
Developer: GameInvest
Genre: Sim
Release Date: Available now

Handheld systems have long been the perfect remedy for whiling away a long wait – whether it be in those Black Friday lines as we chase down the last copy of New Super Mario Bros., or at our local health clinic as we look to procure that life-saving substance that will ward off this season’s media emboldened Big Bad – the H1N1 virus. What better way to kill the hours spent suffering through an interminable hospital wait than by guiding ourselves through a virtual medical drama – the salve that the game designers at GameInvest have concocted in their latest release, Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward.

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