Publisher: Oxygen Interactive
Developer: Oxygen Interactive
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now

If playing Britney Spears at Abu-Grabe qualifies as torture, then forcing people to play My Make-Up must be tantamount to water-boarding. I’m noticing an alarming trend, as I review the latest slew of games from O-Games USA. “E for Everyone” is quickly becoming a euphemism for “N for Nobody.” My Make-Up is the latest evidence.

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Publisher: Oxygen Interactive
Developer: Oxygen Studios
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now

Folks, I know Chicago is a harsh and unforgiving place in the winter. I know not all kids have room to run around in their parents’ houses. I know that parents don’t want their kids playing violent games with “mature” themes. But for the love of God, are we so lazy we can’t even get off our butts to play a real game of tag? O-Games seems to think so.

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Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

So I’m a grown man who knows exactly in which house of Hogwarts the students at his law school belong. It takes a real nerd to admit that. I used to be a little cheesed at J.K. Rowling for not giving America its own school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wizards of Waverly Place shows us why J.K didn’t bother: such a school would be run by Disney and populated by the daughters of country music stars, with most of the magic used to prepare and convey food.

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Publisher: Activision
Developer: A2M
Genre: Platformer
Release Date: Available now

Like any children’s movie to come out in the last 20 years Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has spawned a video game adaptation. The DS version attempts to capture the humor and fun of the film. It deviates from the main characters of the series and focuses on one of the new characters introduced in the film. While obvious that this game is made for children, can it be enjoyed by older gamers as well?

Buck is a swashbuckling weasel who is in short, insane. His humor and character come across in the film, but somehow do not translate as well into the game. The game attempts to tell the story through cut-scenes in between levels but falls just shy of this goal. The levels don’t convey the story either, as you are often just going from point A to point B collecting items. There is some dialogue thrown in there but nothing to truly push the story.

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Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developers: Feel Plus, Brownie Brown
Genre: Strategy/RPG
Release date: Available now

The original Blue Dragon released back in 2007, exclusively for the Xbox 360, and was met with a somewhat bland response. At the time I remember being a little excited because I thought it was going to be an ongoing RPG series exclusive to the 360 and because the art style was done by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. However, after a short time playing the 360 version I just could not get sucked into the game due to its story and gameplay. Now, we have a new entry into the series with Blue Dragon Plus. This time it’s on a different platform and is in a new genre. Can it fulfill the promises that it’s bigger brother couldn’t?

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Publishers: Warner Bros. Interactive, TT Games
Developer: Hellbent Games
Genre: RTS
Release date: Available now

Daring to venture outside the lines of a movie-inspired setting, LEGO Battles invades the land of real-time strategy. It’s a welcome change of scenery for the series, but it might have overstepped its boundaries. This is RTS stripped down to the scaffolding, and the word “tactics” doesn’t necessarily apply. Sure, it might be an enticing notion to battle with all the jovial LEGO icons, as it always is, but the effect wears thin. The problem lies in that it doesn’t feel different to battle with one available army over another. And the cumbersome controls and bad pathfinding don’t make it easy to expand your empire.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Powerhead
Genre: Pet Simulator
Release date: Available now

As a man who strives to avoid giving the impression of decency, there is very little I find morally abhorrent. Still, I’m a lover of both animals and the English language, and when I rule the world, two crimes will still be punishable by death: dressing animals in human clothing, and pluralizing words with a “z” instead of an “s.” Alas, I am yet a humble journalist, so I tried to approach Petz Fashion: Dogz & Catz with as little bias as possible.

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Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developer: AQ Interactive
Genre: Puzzle/Action Adventure
Release Date: Available Now

The Nintendo DS is the highest-selling console worldwide, with a catalog that boasts some of the most unique titles available anywhere. The uniqueness of these games doesn’t guarantee that they are good or even worth playing, but there are some, however, that get lost in the mix and could be worth a look just for their fun gameplay and sheer charm. Boing! Docomodake is a stand-out game that might be too unusual to get a great reception from gamers. So what exactly is it that makes Boing! Docomodake different (besides its title)?

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Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: Card Combat
Release date: Available now

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Stardust Accelerator: World Championship 2009 is an open-world trading-card game. It might have a learning curve for newcomers, but it does have depth that any strategy player will appreciate. Every card is viable, and there is a myriad of ways to customize your card deck to complement your play style. As you get adept at utilizing all the options of monster, spell and trap cards, gameplay becomes a battle of wits with a dash of luck, and it’s quite satisfying to put yours to the test. Though the focus of the game is on dueling, that doesn’t excuse it from it’s otherwise overall shallowness. It’s plagued by a throwaway story and a lifeless city to explore. Mini-games act as alternatives to dueling, but they are nothing more than frustrations.

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Publisher: SouthPeak Interactive
Developer: Lexis Numerique
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Action/Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: James Dolbeare

One of the beautiful things about the Nintendo DS is that it allows designers to create games that stretch traditional and familiar interfaces. With Mister Slime, Lexis Numerique has taken full advantage of that capability.

Mister Slime is a 2D side-scrolling platformer with puzzle-solving elements in which you help Mr. Slime defend his village from an enemy tribe, the Axons. You won’t find yourself running or jumping around, however, as Slime doesn’t have any legs. He moves by climbing across pegs placed throughout the maze-like levels. When you tap a peg with the stylus, Slime grabs it. When you tap one of Slime’s arms, he releases a peg, allowing him to move forward.

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Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
System: DS
Genre: 2D Platformer
Release date: Available now
Review by: James Dolbeare

I sometimes wonder if my favorite games would seem as great now if I played them for the first time today. Are the elements we loved in the classics now tired and cliché? For instance, in the age of 3D graphics, epic plotlines and high-quality voice acting, would Castlevania: Symphony of the Night still capture my interest so effectively that I could hardly pull myself away to go about my daily life? After playing Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, I can emphatically say yes. The game smacks of everything great about the Castlevania series, with a few new tricks added to keep things interesting.

Ecclesia is set shortly after Symphony of the Night, and involves neither the Belmont clan nor our favorite backwards vampire, Alucard. Instead, players take control of Shanoa, a member of a secret society devoted to destroying Dracula once and for all. Shanoa has the unique ability to absorb and command glyphs, magical weapons she conjures from thin air. The Order has created a glyph called Dominus that they believe to be capable of defeating Dracula, and Shanoa has been chosen as its host. When Albus, a young colleague of Shanoa’s, discovers this, he becomes enraged and steals the Dominus. Shanoa is then sent to recover it.

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: 5th Cell
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Real-time Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Smith

When you think about games for the Nintendo DS, story depth and character development don’t usually spring to mind. Most of these games are meant to be played in small chunks while riding the bus to school or the subway to work. Playing them for extended lengths of time usually results in aching neck muscles and eye strain, but with the release of Lock’s Quest, THQ and developer 5th Cell have given us an immersive and entertaining reason to fight through the pain.

In the Kingdom, Source is life. This magic substance, found in wells throughout the land, is used by the Archineers to build and maintain structures. The greatest of these Archineers was Agonius, who through the course of years had become the King’s favorite. But Agonius wanted to use the power of Source to create life; an ability that the King feared would endanger his reign. So the King forbade Agonius from proceeding with his experiments. This prompted the angry and ambitious Archineer to desert his King and disappear into the wilderness.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Magic Pockets
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now
Review by: James Dolbeare

Every once in a while, I come across a game that seems designed for people too young to read the instruction manual, the characters’ dialogue, or my review of it. I don’t claim to be an expert on child development, but I think Imagine Teacher fits squarely into this category. The game is a cute and clever concept from Ubisoft that stands apart in a medium of entertainment dominated by violence. For that, Ubisoft should be commended. If you’re a parent who likes to play the DS with your child, Imagine Teacher provides a great opportunity to do so.

Imagine Teacher throws you into the shoes of a new teacher in a small elementary school. Your classroom starts out with four students, and your mission is to shape these young minds with great skill, prompting the school to send you more students to fill the empty seats. Your eccentric principal offers some loose guidance, but for the most part, you’re on your own.

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Publisher: THQ
Developer: Rare Limited
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Sim
Release date: Available now
Review by: Michael Smith

Being a childless single guy from the Northeast, my Mexican-themed birthday party experience is somewhat limited. Growing up, I never experienced the visceral joy of swatting colorful party favors with a stick while blindfolded, and now, with the release of developer THQ’s Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, I’m glad I didn’t. These critters are just too darn cute to demolish just for a few pieces of candy.

VPPP is the Nintendo DS version of the Xbox 360′s Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise. You are transported to the idyllic home of the piñatas, an island covered by lush foliage, grass-and-dirt fields and some oddly anomalous items, as if one of Santa’s bags ruptured, littering the island with toy-like trash. You are a gardener who has been given a small, square patch of land that has to be cleared of debris and prettied up with fast-growing grass seed to attract the island’s unique inhabitants.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Gevo Entertainment
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Rhythm and Music
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher J. Troilo

I always think it’s interesting when trends and fads are so blatantly obvious, that the market becomes saturated with an object or an idea. What’s fascinating is that companies try to take a concept that seems to be universally loved, and try to target very specific niche audiences over and over again, until basically everyone is tired of it and they begin searching for something new.

We’ve seen this many times throughout the decades, with all things: food, fashion, television, movies and especially video games. In television, we have seen the rise (and many would argue fall) of reality TV. And now, as we enter what I like to call the “segmentation and imitation phase”, you could find reality shows for almost any profession on the world, each trying to cater to a specific interest.

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