Lego Ninjago The Videogame - Nintendo DS

Based on the popular Lego series Ninjago, the game features a mixture of elements from both the traditional Lego games and the more strategy based Battle series.

A real-time strategy game, Lego Battles Ninjago tells the story of an epic battle between the Spinjitzu heroes and their arch enemies, the Skulkin.

Aside from the comical cut-scenes which are almost a Lego trademark, the game is presented in an isometric view – something that sets it apart from the likes of Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman.

As far as the plot goes, Sensei Wu is training a bunch the young warriors – Zane, Cole and Jay – in preparation for an upcoming battle against the Skulkin. The Skulkin are basically a bunch of skeletons intent on picking on villagers.

Visually the game is far less than pleasing when compared to the other Lego games out there on the market. The graphics are pretty basic and look pretty dated. In fact, they wouldn’t look out of place on an old mobile phone – we’re talking pre-smart phone days!

Having said that, the presentation of the game is pretty simple and clearly designed for the younger gamer.

Controlling the Spinjitzu Ninja’s couldn’t be easier – it’s basically a case of high lighting the warrior you wish to move and then tapping the area you’d like him to be in. If you want to move the group, you simply draw a square around them all and it will select all of them. It pretty much the same should you wish to have them attack as well – just select the relevant icon.

Unfortunately, the game does have its draw backs and one of the main ones is the fact that at times, you will not have a clue where you should be heading. The top screen is wisely used as a map, but sadly you cannot see exactly where you should be heading and this usually ends up with your warriors facing a brick wall just before they get to their desired destination.

After the initial levels, the gamer is presented with a hub that opens up a few more options.

Firstly, there’s the shop – a place where you can spend all those Lego studs you collect. There’s also a section that allows you to alter the settings of the game and an area that allows you to view your progress.

The game also allows you to play in 2 different modes – story or battle mode. Unfortunately, the battlemode isn’t very involving and I found myself going back to the story mode.

Lego Ninjago Battles isn’t a game for everyone. As mentioned earlier, it is clearly designed for the younger market meaning that there is very little here for older gamers to sink their teeth into. Whilst I would recommend it for kids that are looking to try something different, the older gamers may want to dig out another real-time based strategy.

Verdict: 6.5 out of 10

The Good
ideal for kids
simple presentation

The Bad
Not much for adults
Doesn’t look great

It's My Circus: Elephant Friend - Nintendo DS

Roll up, roll up, come and look after a virtual elephant!

I can’t say that I have ever played a game like “It’s My Circus: Elephant Friend”, since games that feature the nurturing of an elephant are few and far between.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this game, I mean how exciting can looking after a virtual elephant get?

Also, considering the size of the animal, I can imagine taking care of them would be a lot of work.

A good percentage of this game features most of these tasks – washing it, playing with it, feeding it. There’s even a section that features a shop, where you can buy clothes and toys for Nellie.

Thankfully there’s a lot more to the game than brushing giant teeth and cleaning up giant piles of excrement.

After spending a good amount of time nurturing my elephant, I decided it was time to see how he performed in front of an audience.

Easily one of the best sections of “It’s My Circus: Elephant Friend”, the quality of the elephant’s performance all depends on your ability to take part in a number of mini-games.

Most of the games are pretty simple and involve the player using the stylus to hit the right marks at the right time. Compromising of a combination of numerical and colour based tasks, the game is aimed at the younger audience.

Overall, Its My Circus is an educational game perfect for the younger DS owner.

Verdict: 7 out of 10

Good stuff:
- Lots to do
- Plenty to unlock
- Lots of places to explore

Safe Cracker - Nintendo DS

I’ll be honest, I’m not really one for DS puzzle games, whether that’s because I’m thick, impatient or perhaps both, I am not sure.

Quite frequently, I find myself sitting there, scratching my head and screaming at my DS , calling Dr Kawashima all manner words that I cannot repeat on family friendly website like this.

Needless to say, this doesn’t put me in the greatest position to review a game that prides itself on being “the ultimate puzzle adventure”.

Developed by Kheops Studio, Safe Cracker puts you in the shoes of a….. that’s right, you guessed it, a safe cracker.

The game tasks you with finding the last will and testament of Duncan W Adams, the recently deceased CEO of DWA Petroleum.

Naturally, being an oil tycoon who has recently found one of the worlds largest deposits of crude oil, he was quite a rich man and all of his descendents are eager to get a slice of the cash filled pie.

That’s where you come in – hired by the Adams family, you have to search his estate for his will.

Unfortunately for you, old dead Duncan was an eccentric who liked to keep important documents, such as wills, clues and tools, in the kind of safe devices that you would only find in a James Bond film.

All sorts of elaborate and incomprehensible contraptions are scattered through out his home.

For the most part, the puzzles do keep you entertained, however on occasion they can be excruciating hard – this is not helped by the lack of clues that are provided to you.

In fact, come to think of it, there aren’t even instructions as to what you should be doing, no help button, no tips, nothing – you literally have to work it out for yourself.

This problem is further exacerbated when you manage to crack open a safe and within it, is a clue that is often so vague and cryptic, it makes you wonder why you are bothering.

If the game was to reward you with sensible clues and become gradually more difficult, I would understand. However, “Safe Cracker” fails to ease you into the process and pretty much punishes the gamer from the get-go with some rather harsh puzzles to solve.

For a game that is rated “3 and up”, yet I can’t see many toddlers playing this. As I said, I know that I am not the brightest bulb out there, but I like to think I am smarter than your average infant.

Apart from the main campaign, the game also offers the player a chance to do previously solved puzzles up against the clock. Each time you solve a puzzle during the course of the main game, it is unlocked for the time trial section.

Graphically the game is rather uninspired, with a presentation that harks back to the adventure games last seen on the likes of the Amiga and Atari ST. The environments are static and you navigate yourself from room to room, using the touch screen controls.

With each view point you are given the option to investigate items, using the spying glass, this will reguarly sometimes present you with one of those random and impossibly cryptic clues out there.

As for the sound, it’s pretty much what you would expect from the DS, there’s not much action going on so it’s nothing too exciting (a door opening here, a safe beeping there). The music is rather suitable and does do a good job in raising the tension a little bit.

This game is really designed the hardcore puzzle solver. With it’s lack of accessibility and a warm welcome for those not too familiar with the genre, it is unlikely to appeal to the average gamer in the same way other puzzles games have.

Verdict: 5 out of 10

The Good:
Lots of puzzles

The Bad
Far too hard

Pimp My Ride: Street Racing - Nintendo DS

When I was asked to review Pimp My Ride: Street Racing, I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the title.

To the best of my knowledge, Pimp My Ride is a TV show which features Tim Westwood (or Xzibit, depending on its location) and a bunch of mechanics taking old bangers and upgrading them with ridiculous new specs. Aside from the obvious engine treatments that you’d expect, these new additions can include DVD players, electric guitars and even an electric fireplace.

So when I inserted the Pimp My Ride: Street Racing cart into my DS, I was half expecting to be greeted by Tim Westwood advising me that my car is “well passed its sell by date and needs a bit of blingin’ up”. Instead, what I got was quite different.

Essentially, Pimp My Ride: Street Racing is a racing game with 2 different modes – quick race and career mode.

Quick race is exactly what it says on the tin, so I wont bother going into too much detail about that, but career mode is a bit more involved.

With career mode, the whole point of the game is to win races to earn ‘scrilla’ – which I guess is some sort of street word for ‘money’ (for the sake of my own street cred, I am just going to keep calling it money from now on) . With the money you earn you are given the option to upgrade your car (or purchase a completely new one). The upgrades available to you include new wheels, rims, paint jobs, engine upgrades and bizarrely enough, sirens and bull horns. Oddly enough the more outrageous your upgrades are, the higher your pimping level is.

Graphically, the game is quite strong for the DS and the track design is particularly impressive. There are a number of hidden shortcuts which can make or break your chances of winning a race. There are a few landmarks scattered around on various tracks, such as the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben. However, some of these landmarks are placed in questionable locations, as last time I checked you can’t actually drive underneath the Eiffel Tower in real life.

The developers have also thrown in a few different objectives to give the races a slight hint of variety. For example, if you complete a race without crashing you are awarded more money. There are also a few elimination races thrown in, where the car in the last position of each lap is eliminated. The AI of the other racers is also worth a mention, as they will try to cut you up and do their best to distract you, making none of these challenges a walk in the park.

The sound effects, such as the engines and breaking, do their job adequately and the hip hop-inspired music is pretty good too, if a little repetitive at times.

The controls are quite simple – to accelerate you press the “A” button and to use the handbreak you need to press the “Y” button (these controls are also replicated on the DS shoulder buttons). The game has no use for touch screen controls, so the stylus isn’t required.

One major disappointment with this game is the fact that it has no multiplayer value, which feels like a missed opportunity considering the style of the game.

Overall, Pimp My Ride: Street Racing is quite an enjoyable title. Whilst it is nothing amazing and doesn’t offer anything new to the genre or racing games, it does have a nice “pick up and play” quality to it. The lack of any celebrity endorsement (Westwood or Xzibit) is noticeable, but whether they are missed or not is up for debate.

Verdict: 7 out of 10

The Good
Good track design
Easy controls

The Bad
No multiplayer