Gaming Holiday Gift Guide

Nintendo DS Gift Guide

Big Bang Mini – Over 80 levels. Nine unique worlds. The kind of giant boss battles you expect from a 2D shooter. Multiple game modes, including a never ending online challenge. Unique and stylized visuals plus a sound that will stick with you and immerse you in the game. All of this for just $20, which is a total steal of a price. Get this game now, and support Arkedo’s quirky and entertaining style; you won’t be disappointed.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – With Hand of the Heavenly Bride, you have yourself a slew of wonderful RPG game mechanics with the multiple generations, the three different brides to choose from, and the ability to catch monsters. Between the excellent main quest and the hours you can lose on the side just battling, exploring or hanging out in casinos, it’s also a title with plenty of replay value, and one that we recommend to fans of the series or RPGs in general.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time – The DS version of the game is a must own title, and even at $40 it’s easy to be amazed at just how much there is for you to do in this game. The addition of online multiplayer is a huge boost to the series, as you no longer need to get a bunch of friends together in one place in order to play multiplayer; the ability to drop in and out of single player at save points is also much better than the two separate save files you needed in Ring of Fates–this is the definitive Crystal Chronicles title, so buy one for a friend, even if it’s just so you have someone to play with.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon – While the story is not as strong as other Fire Emblem games we have been exposed to the past six years, Intelligent Systems more than made up for it with the entry level difficulty for newcomers, some very welcome tweaks and changes to the gameplay, the hardcore range of difficulties for veterans of the series, the online battles and shop, and the effective utilization of the DS hardware. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon was more than worth the wait whether you’ve been waiting for a new entry since you finished Radiant Dawn or if this is your first foray into Intelligent Systems’ classic franchise, and should remain in your DS collection for a long time to come.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – The scope of this game is huge, and it is easily worth the purchase and the time you will invest in it. Fans of the series need to play this game, as it’s a worthy entry in Grand Theft Auto’s history, and those with a DS who are searching for the next big thing have to look no further than their local retailers shelves. This is easily one of the top offerings in the entire DS library, one as ambitious and worthwhile as essentially anything else released for it during it’s nearly five years of existence in North America.

Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits – Riffing on a fake guitar on the go is not a bad way to spend your subway trip or bus ride home, as the On Tour series has proven.If the idea of playing Guitar Hero on your DS sounds great to you, then Modern Hits will be great to you. While it doesn’t really offer anything new from the console versions, Modern Hits doesn’t lose much in the transition thanks to some great song choices and its well-designed controlled adapter.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure – This is about as good as DS gaming can get. The gameplay is fast-paced and engaging, and the two very different aspects of gameplay are very well balanced and compliment each other perfectly. The story is ridiculous but presented with an endearing tongue-in-cheek humor that is actually a subtle satire on late 19th Century Victorian notions of civilization, technology and colonization-yes, this game would make a 19^th Century Literature class worthwhile. And, of course, it is worth saying one last time: tea drinking lets you rock a giant steampunk robot. At $29.99, it’s worth every cent.

Legendary Starfy – The game is jam-packed full of things to do just in the main quest, but there are also loads of unlockables and extras that might keep you entertained for a bit after you finish or while you are playing. It’s a little overwhelming at times with the amount of things you can do and features you can utilize, but you can’t complain that the game lacks depth. Starfy and his friends are essentially a new intellectual property in the west, and they are more than worthy of being added to Nintendo’s rich platforming history.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story – Playable. Bowser. Say it with me. If you liked either the original GBA title or the last DS entry, Partners in Time, you are going to love Bowser’s Inside Story. It’s the class of the series, and there’s one giant, spiked and shelled reason for that. AlphaDream finally made a DS RPG that feels like it belongs on the DS, and with the writing as witty and sharp as it is, it not only plays better than the others, but is also funnier to play, too. This is one of the better games in the DS’ entire library, and you are missing out if you don’t pick it up.

Pokemon Platinum – If you have not purchased Diamond or Pearl yet then you should go get Platinum now. It’s the definitive edition of Pokemon, with the most features, all of the Legendary Pokemon from the DS titles, and plenty of wonderful little creatures to collect as well as near endless end-game replayability against friends, the Pokemon Championship League, and the Sinnoh regions 200+ Pokemon. If you have already plowed through Diamond or Pearl, then don’t dismiss Platinum outright. We will admit that we grumbled about trudging through the same story and world again, since we had already put plenty of hours into Diamond and Pearl, but once we bought a few Poke Balls and felt that pull to catch and train Pokemon, it didn’t matter that we had already played it. The fact that it’s a wonderful game with new features was enough to pull us back in, once again.

Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box – It may be more of the same, but it’s more of a wonderful thing. The sequel to the Curious Village is more polished with more of a focus on story, but not at the expense of the puzzles, the true star of the game. This game comes highly recommended whether you’re very much into puzzles or not, as everything else works so well in it that it may be good enough to make you a convert.

Rhythm Heaven – Rhythm Heaven fits perfectly into the idea of what we like to see in handheld video games. It’s fun, it’s charming, it’s quirky, and though it’s easy enough to pick up the title and progress through the game once, it’s very difficult to master, which gives you reason to go back for more. The visuals are fun, and the music is fantastic-we wish Nintendo would release the soundtrack over DSi Ware so it  could be listened to out of context.

Scribblenauts – What 5^th Cell accomplished in Scribblenauts is mind-blowing and wholly impressive. With thousands upon thousands of objects, items, and people available to mess around with you’ll likely spend hours on the main screen doing nothing but creating. Ever want to know if God riding a skateboard wielding a shotgun could take down the mighty Kraken? In Scribblenauts, such a scene is possible, and this novelty alone is worth the price to play.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor – Devil Survivor is yet another near-mandatory RPG for the DS.  While the story’s tone and characters aren’t for everybody, if you liked any of the previous SMT games, then this really is mandatory–there’s loads to do, with replayable battles, side missions, conversations, demon auctions, and the ability to combine demons into new ones. It’s a game that deserves more than its niche audience, so what are you waiting for?