Big Bang Mini game is developed by the Arkedo studios. This is the second game from the French developers. Big Bang Mini is another shooter game with some mind blowing visual effects and gameplay. This game is entirely touch based yet simple and uniquely crafted. There are as many as nine worlds which are designed by neon art and come as a huge package. The gameplay is quite different as it covers both the top and bottom screens.

You must be very quick with your stylus as that is your weapon. The players have to control a ship with the stylus and dodge it accordingly to save it from the bullets of the enemies. But in Big Bang Mini you can also fire bullets at your enemies. Shooting and dodging are the actions involved but it definitely keeps you occupied throughout the game. The visual effects followed by fireworks display are a treat to watch.

One of the best features about this game is the characters. The enemies change every round and the players are also given special abilities to match them. These special actions can be activated by stroking the horizontal line on the touch screen. When the enemies are defeated they leave behind stars for the players which can be used to complete their star quota. On completion of these quotas, the players can go to the next destined area. There are as many as 90 levels of which many short levels can be completed within two to three minutes. The game soundtrack varies in each level of the game. Thus, this game is a complete and comprehensive entertainment package.

Even the Nintendo DS has come a long way from the time it was launched as a portable gaming handheld, but there are still certain aspects that can definitely improve. For one, when it comes to first person shooters on the DS, the situation is nothing to brag about. Despite showing glimpses of brilliances every now and then, like with Metroid Prime Hunters, the genre has not been able to establish itself. But with the launch of the game Moon, it seems the genre obviously has taken a firm step forward towards giving the genre the respect and place it deserves.

The sore point of Moon DS, however, is that the plot is hackneyed as ever thereby coming in the way of the game becoming a true trailblazer. The game which delves into the existence of alien life with the intriguing combination of an ever-expanding off-world, have you as the protagonist Edward Kane, the head of the Extraterrestrial Encounter Organization.

You will discover yourself being assigned the responsibility of recent anomalies that has occurred at the Lunar Base Alpha, the US military’s outpost on the moon. You have to search for the whereabouts of the crew members who have gone missing almost miraculously, and there is no hint of any incident that led to their disappearance whatsoever.

Before you begin your new assignment, you have to learn the nitty-gritties of movement through exploration of the military installation. The D-pad allows you to manipulate your move and strafe, while the stylus on the touch screen can be used to adjust your view.

The linear nature of the gameplay however at times appears a tad boring, and it is also to an extent repelling that much of the game is controlled via the touch screen.

The Little Magicians is a great success story that was showcased at the 2008 Tokyo Games Show. In this game, the players get into the shoes of a Japanese wizard. Players find themselves in an apartment with comical creatures. They are entrusted with the task of buying furnitures and decorative items for the apartment. The visual effects of this game are brilliant. You can find creatures like wolf men, octopus aliens and anthropomorphic mobile phones roaming around the town. You can also catch up a conversation with these creatures whenever you like.

The most exciting feature about this game is the magic school. Players can attend these magic schools and learn some wonderful magic from the old professors there. These professors will teach you different spells using which you can create a few mind blowing magic. To cast these spells, players have to choose the ideal icon from the huge list available. There are as many as 100 characters in this game that make their appearance at certain places.

In short, Little Magicians is a cute game with wonderful theme and characters. Casting the spells available in this game provides you with a magical experience. These at times make us feel we are a wizard. The Wi-Fi facility will enable players to play with their friends and peers. Also the variety of mini-games available will blow away your boredom. The spells, alien creatures, magic school, professors, etc will make you feel as though you are playing a Harry Potter game. So are you up for casting a few spells and battling some alien creatures? Well, those of you in the US can look forward to the game on Feb 10.

Gardening Mama was created by the Taito Corporation, the makers of Cooking Mama and, as the title suggests, is based on gardening. Taito is famous for creating games based on our day to day activities and this game comes as no surprise considering their way of game creation. The Cooking Mama consists of various mini-games which are concerned with cooking meals. Gardening Mama is based on gardening, provides certain challenges, and mini-games to the players.

Gardening Mama is based on all the processes involved in gardening. This includes plowing, adding seeds, digging the soil, planting and patting the soil. In this game, players are asked to drop the plant bulbs into a crater formed with the help of the tools given. To create the opening, the players have to choose the stylus and move it to front and back.

Thus the players can create the opening needed to drop the bulb. After creating the crater, one has to water the plant by tilting the water in the can provided. Pour the necessary water and then the player has to play a mini-game which requires us to choose the best plant bulb and pack them with the help of the stylus. In another mini-game, the players have to dig out the plants from four directions. Some mini-games ask the players to drop seeds, tap the soil dug and so on. Thus the Gardening Mama game comes with a different theme and gives a good playing experience. To all those who enjoyed playing Cooking Mama, you will enjoy this better.

Steal Princess was announced for North America by Atlus USA. Steal Princess is an interesting hybrid of puzzle and platformer. Mission involves redefining a pair of genres and breaking the mold.

Unique Nintendo DS puzzle platformer is coming to North America. Every level offers unmatched challenges. After completing all the levels, you as a player can get creative and design your own levels including placement of enemies, maps, setting conditions for victory and construction of platforms that move, etc. Meanwhile, the graphics and animation are reminiscent of other Atlus titles like Puyo Pop Fever. You can also share your creations with those who are playing with you online with the help of the Wi-Fi support offered by Nintendo.

The palace of the Ancient Demon King is thought to be uninhabited. Anise is the young thief who discovers something shocking while exploring. It is inhabited with demons. During the course of her exploration, a booby trap is triggered off and runs for dear life, escaping to be plunged into the menacing river.

While exploring the thought-to-be-long-abandoned palace of the Ancient Demon King, the young thief Anise stumbles upon a startling discovery: the palace isn’t abandoned at all, and it’s crawling with demons, no less! Equally startling is the deadly booby trap she triggers in the process of opening a locked door. She barely outruns the giant boulder bearing down on her, escaping the palace only to fall into a surging river, unconscious.

Awakening in the king’s company, Anise discovers that the Prince has been kidnapped by the demons and sets out on a mission to find him. With excellent graphics and interesting features this game is all set to take the world of the Nintendo DS Lite by storm

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is the first installment of the Grand Theft Auto series on the Nintendo DS. This exclusive title, from what has been seen of it, doesn’t lose any of its charm and unique gameplay features while finding new ways to interact with the GTA world. The game utilizes the touch screen on the DS to do various activities from assembling Sniper Rifles to making Molotov Cocktails and hotwiring cars.

You’ll be playing in the same Liberty City that you’ve grown to love, but looking at it from a totally different perspective from what you saw in GTA IV. The most noticeable change in Chinatown Wars is the camera. It angles between traditional bird’s eye and the usual third person. The camera zooms in wherever the selected action requires it to. You’ll see the surroundings as quite flat at first, but when you turn the cameras around and take a good look, you’ll realize that it’s been rendered in full 3D, and is as close as possible to the console counterparts, with a few changes to accommodate the new gameplay style.

Progressive loading makes sure that you don’t come across any loading screens while exploring he expanses of Liberty City. Grand Theft Auto - China Town Wars is based largely on the Asian Crime Syndicate, and the other gangs in the city who are fighting to take over your turf. You take on the role of Huang Lee, whose father was a former syndicate boss who was killed during a Triad power struggle.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars gives you a good taste of Liberty City right on the DS, with some awesome features to keep you playing. It may not be released yet, but from what we’ve seen, it’ll be worth the wait.

Pokemon still reigns in the world of Nintendo games. Pokemon has arrived yet again with Pokemon Platinum in Japan. Pokemon along with Pearl’s and Diamond’s Sinnoh region and the galactic team have arrived yet again. Contrary to the older games, this game focuses on Giratina the Ghost/Dragon in the form of a demon caterpillar, as the new Pokemon. The focus is no longer on Palia and Dialga.

There are quite a few interesting character form additions in the Pokemon Platinum. For example, Rotom the electric ghost can now transform into a host of outdoor and household appliances. Fans should be delighted with the landmower Pokemon too. Interface is similar to the earlier Pokemon Pearl and Diamond version, though with new animation and sprites, sharper colours and attacks that have been fine tuned. Not all movement magic is left to Pokemon. Trainers come into the picture and get into the act before releasing the monsters into the battlefield.

Nintendo’s exciting new characters include Handsome the secret agent who claims to be elite. He is engaged in tacking and putting the team Galactic out of action. Sinnoh is now a cold place and characters are covered in winter clothing.

The most exciting addition to the game is of course the Torn World dungeon. This place is equipped with 3D elevators to enable the characters to move around. This creative dungeon with its trippy aesthetics is sure to provide nail biting thrill to players. Return of the Emerald Battle Frontier in Pokemon Platinum brings cheer to the fans. Players can have a lot of exciting fun finishing quests and moving on in this latest edition of the Pokemon series.

Harvest Moon, the exciting game on DS features the Witch Princess whose prank on the Harvest Goddess she hates sends her spinning to a different world altogether. You as a player will help the Witch Princess along with Harvest Sprites appointed by her to locate the Goddess.

You have to interact with people of the Forget-Me-Not valley, do a lot of work on their farm and locate the Goddess. After the job is completed the sprites too are sent back to their world.

Weed overrun farms and some tools are all you start the game with. Name of the farm, name of your pet like dog or cat and character can be chosen by you. You have to perform certain chores as Harvest Moon DS is centred around farming activities. As you complete your objective, sprites will appear to take you to their hut. Watering can, hoe, hammer, axe and sickle are some of the tools at your disposal to assist you with farming chores.

Just three buildings are present including your hut, another hut and a stable. To add new buildings, call on the telephone woodcutter Gotz from the game house. You can buy stuff like chickens, seeds and cows by calling up other shops over the phone.

Animals at Harvest Moon are given a lot of importance. They provide a lot of produce and you can sell them to make a lot of money. Festivals are held in their honour. In order to interact with an animal, you will have to purchase a pair of touch panel gloves from a character. With the help of the stylus, you can interact with animals that appear at the bottom of the screen.

Enjoy a complete life right from getting married to a woman. Gain important points by doing your farming right.

Excellent graphics add to the excitement and with the help of the instruction manual, you can learn quite a few tactics. On the whole, this is an interesting and exciting game on DS Lite.

There’s a large array of DS compatible titles, which were inspired by movies. The latest in this category is the title called Happy Feet. While playing the title one is reminded of penguins sliding on their bellies and expressing their exuberance by tap dancing. Midway has beautifully turned the Penguin flick into a title incorporating the similar fun, joy and adventure which viewers witnessed in the flick.

The most alluring element of the title is its playfulness coupled with the simplicity. Happy feet’s levels are categorized into rhythmic and sledding levels which are exciting but suffer from dodgy controls. In the rhythmic levels in Happy Feet the player will thoroughly enjoy tapping the screen in time with the music. Music plays a vital role in the game that’s why half a dozen songs are taken from artists like Gloria Gaynor and KC and the Sunshine Band.

Apart from the contribution of these wonderful artists, one can check out the catchy play list as well. Two thirds of the game’s portion is occupied by the downhill sledding levels where you have to collect fish maneuvering around icy boulders. Players can opt the story mode or the arcade mode as required. The story mode actually presents 23 individual missions in hierarchy whereas in arcade mode you can replay any of the accomplished missions. Graphically the title is very sound and appealing like the flick, so one can enjoy the beauty of bright and soft colours in plenty.

Syberia was first released for the PC back in 2002 and the game was largely credited with resurrecting the long dead adventure genre. The pioneering game even received a sequel for the PC entitled Syberia 2, and has now finally made its way to the Nintendo DS. Some might find the handheld console as an odd platform for the title. However, Syberia is every bit as engrossing now as before, and manages to offer more depth than commonly found in handheld adventure games.

In Syberia you assume the role of Kate Walker. Kate Walker is actually an attorney, who undertakes the responsibility of unraveling the mysteries associated with a French toy company. Throughout Kate Walker’s journey you’ll encounter foes that are quite hard and tough to tackle. This is what is actually expected from an adventure-oriented title. A lot will hold your interest while playing the game, including the complementary mysterious sounds and background tracks and above all the mysteries. The noticeable glitches in the title are the blurried graphics that turns most of the objects in the scene invisible.

Throughout the game you have to wrap up one location and jump on to another but you can’t move ahead without wrapping everything in the present location. Syberia’s game procedure will automatically block your proceedings into a new area if the task associated with the present location is not accomplished. For a great vision a gamer can opt for an eye icon that can be scrolled around to see which areas light up with gears, a pick-up hand, or lips indicating that a conversation can be initiated. Overall an amazing Nintendo DS game and deserves to be a part of any adventure fan’s collection.