Saturday, May 09, 2009
DSiWare Roundup
So I got a DSi.
I'm experiencing a bit of buyer's remorse, just because it is such a lot of money to spend on a toy. But I can take comfort in these benefits, from greatest importance to least:
1) The shoulder buttons work.
2) DSiWare.
3) There are enough DS units in the house now to run a proper game of ArchimeDS (LOL as the Americans call it).
Let's talk about that second one.
Luckily, I got the system quickly enough that it was relatively inexpensive to get every single game for the service that I cared about, and the 1000 bonus points really helped. Here's what I've got so far:
Brain Age Express: Math Edition
The most expensive download, and also my favorite by a mile. Yeah, it's got a lot of content that already appeared in the first two Brain Age games (which I already own), but I like this version because it's always there. I don't have to think to bring it with me; I can whip it out and play math games whenever I want. And though there are some repeat games, hey, at least they're some of my favorites. It's the Best Of Brain Age.
And, of course, there's some new material. There's a game where you have to quickly sum up all of the numbers printed on a monster before it attacks you that pretty much plays out exactly like The Maths of the Dead, a game previously unavailable outside of my wildest fantasies.
Dr. Mario Express
Yeah, the lack of multiplayer sucks. And Dr. Mario may not be the best single-player puzzle game ever created. But it's still an effective time waster.
Wario Ware Snapped!
Gosh, what do you say about this one? It's... it's not a Wario Ware game. It's a photo booth toy that uses the Wario Ware title as an excuse to justify its existence. You play five brief games -- with no difficulty levels, scoring, winning, or losing -- by moving your hands and face around in the DSi camera's viewfinder. And then it shows you a slideshow that demonstrates how stupid you looked while you were playing. It's essentially a photo booth toy masquerading as a game.
It's either the worst idea in the world or the best. I'm not sure I can say which.
Mixed Messages
Mixed Messages is the peanut butter to the DSiWare's jelly. It's an outstanding hotseat party game that you can play with just one DSi unit. The more people you can get into it, the better. You can even save a game in progress, so if you know a lot of people but you can't get them together in one place, you can pass the unit around as you bump into them and put the game together that way. And, like Brain Age Express, it sits snugly in the DSi's memory, so that you'll always have it on hand, even if you want to put a real game in the card slot.
Paper Plane
Yeah, it's a retread of content from Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$ and Mega Partygame$. But I had 200 points left, and I really don't like Pyoro very much, so there you go.
I'm experiencing a bit of buyer's remorse, just because it is such a lot of money to spend on a toy. But I can take comfort in these benefits, from greatest importance to least:
1) The shoulder buttons work.
2) DSiWare.
3) There are enough DS units in the house now to run a proper game of ArchimeDS (LOL as the Americans call it).
Let's talk about that second one.
Luckily, I got the system quickly enough that it was relatively inexpensive to get every single game for the service that I cared about, and the 1000 bonus points really helped. Here's what I've got so far:
Brain Age Express: Math Edition
The most expensive download, and also my favorite by a mile. Yeah, it's got a lot of content that already appeared in the first two Brain Age games (which I already own), but I like this version because it's always there. I don't have to think to bring it with me; I can whip it out and play math games whenever I want. And though there are some repeat games, hey, at least they're some of my favorites. It's the Best Of Brain Age.
And, of course, there's some new material. There's a game where you have to quickly sum up all of the numbers printed on a monster before it attacks you that pretty much plays out exactly like The Maths of the Dead, a game previously unavailable outside of my wildest fantasies.
Dr. Mario Express
Yeah, the lack of multiplayer sucks. And Dr. Mario may not be the best single-player puzzle game ever created. But it's still an effective time waster.
Wario Ware Snapped!
Gosh, what do you say about this one? It's... it's not a Wario Ware game. It's a photo booth toy that uses the Wario Ware title as an excuse to justify its existence. You play five brief games -- with no difficulty levels, scoring, winning, or losing -- by moving your hands and face around in the DSi camera's viewfinder. And then it shows you a slideshow that demonstrates how stupid you looked while you were playing. It's essentially a photo booth toy masquerading as a game.
It's either the worst idea in the world or the best. I'm not sure I can say which.
Mixed Messages
Mixed Messages is the peanut butter to the DSiWare's jelly. It's an outstanding hotseat party game that you can play with just one DSi unit. The more people you can get into it, the better. You can even save a game in progress, so if you know a lot of people but you can't get them together in one place, you can pass the unit around as you bump into them and put the game together that way. And, like Brain Age Express, it sits snugly in the DSi's memory, so that you'll always have it on hand, even if you want to put a real game in the card slot.
Paper Plane
Yeah, it's a retread of content from Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$ and Mega Partygame$. But I had 200 points left, and I really don't like Pyoro very much, so there you go.
Labels: reviews
# posted by CPFace @ 10:04 PM 
