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.

Sid Meier’s Civilization series has always focussed on building an empire to face the challenges. The fun of these turn-based strategies is once again back in the form of Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution. Published by 2K games and developed by Firaxis Games, this simulation game is based on an engrossing theme.

Before you begin with the game, you have to choose your preference from the 16 civilizations in total. Whichever one you choose, you will get some bonuses. These gamming bonuses will rise as you progress towards your goal of building a civilization. You will get a starting bonus as well as the four era bonuses to help you in achieving the target. Now, a victory in Civilization Revolution basically has four different categories that consist of cultural, economic, domination and technological phases. Every type has a different condition for the victory and your civilization –based bonuses will assist you in fulfilling these requirements. Every civilization offers great fun and engrossing plot of growing your empire while defeating the foes.

Just select your civilization and enter a whole new world. As soon as you get into your first city, you will see the icons, representing all that you need to plan your empire. The squares that indicate production, food and trade are the basic resources for moving ahead. While food is essential for ensuring the growth of your population, production deals with construction work and trade is meant for earning money.

So gear up and get ready to explore new cities, build units and get in touch with some other leaders. All in all, you will do everything that a civilization’s leader is required to do.

Gamers are smart people, aren’t they? If you are confident about your wits and are ready to take a challenge, then you must try your hands on Brain Assist. This new DS game, developed by SEGA is based on a complete puzzle theme.

The second half of the game’s name probably points out its five female assistants, who help you in improving your mental abilities. You will have to go through some mental diagnostics, which include playing with numbers on the keypad. Apart from this, you will also get to dig into other challenges like Spot the Difference. You will get to see two identical pictures and you have to click ‘different’ if you find them dissimilar and ‘same’ if they look alike. As Brain Assist proceeds, these discrepancies will become too minute to be judged in a fraction of seconds. This is where you actually get to test your brain’s dynamic ability.

You might find it difficult to run through the 10 minigames in the initial attempts but you will definitely gain confidence once you are through with them for one or two times. There are mainly two tests that include eight games in total. You will be required to solve 10 problems per game within the specified time. As the rule of gaming goes, some games are quite simple and can be quickly completed, while others demand real concentration and presence of mind. The Hexagonal Colors is one such example that cannot be solved without drawing a mental colour palette. Interesting? As you know, it will get difficult with more attempts but that’s the fun.

All in all, Brain Assist is a straight and fun-filled game. It is also not wrong to call it charming because it does include some delightful characters, lively music and vibrant colours.

You must have heard of the GBA version of The Urbz: Sims in the City, haven’t you? The same adventurous and engaging Sims game is now available for your favourite handheld, the DS, and is waiting for you to discover its distinctiveness. The most appealing features of this amazingly interesting game include a set of eight mini-games, five virtual pets, as many as 26 locations and an exclusive Splicer Island.

The adventure role-playing game centers on an exciting gameplay that takes you to the city of Miniopolis, where you come across the denizens while striving to fulfill your ‘motives’. You can play as a boy or a girl and enjoy the freedom of customising your character however you please in the Urbz - Sims in the City. Enter the new life by naming your character…. move ahead with the tale that is based on a ‘rags-to-riches’ theme. As a virtual character you loose your menial job and your efforts to get it back creates a bigger trouble. Now, that’s how the fun begins. So you struggle to earn some bucks and even manage to do that after facing some real tough times. What next? Think what everyone needs live comfortable urban life. Yes, you are right (if you though it’s a home), your sim character needs a home. Hence, you buy an apartment and look forward to have a socially active lifestyle.

You develop your self image and do all that a person needs to do as an urbanite. The colored onscreen bars clearly demonstrate your target motives that can be reached by using the appropriate objects. Isn’t it much like the contemporary urban life? Well, the game is probably inspired from the never ending tasks of today’s life. Hence, you must take care to accomplish every motive before it goes too low.

So if the gameplay sounds good to you, load the game to your handheld to live a life in the sim’s style.

A lot of people love to maintain an aquarium at home but have you ever imagined of including whales and sharks in it? Of course not! But believe me I’m not talking nonsense because you can actually control these big fish with a new DS game.

The Fantasy Aquarium, developed by Ertain and published by Mercury Games offers an amazing platform for creating a personalized fish tank. You can choose your favourites in Fantasy Aquarium from a choice of more than 30 fishes and decorate the aquarium in your way. It’s amazing to control these aquatic animals while controlling it in the way you want to. Adorn the backdrops, unlock additional props and enhance the fun with your handheld’s Wi-Fi feature….Do you think that there is nothing more to do with Fantasy aquarium? There is actually a lot to capture your attention for hours. You have to take care of your fish and also look after the water temperature, sanity, and size of the aquarium. Also don’t forget to feed your fish and be careful about creating a perfect environment.

The simulation game seems to attract several gamers, from different age groups. It actually allows you to have a close look at the life of these attractive water animals and get a feel of the life under water. Let your fishes live in a health tank while allowing them to enter your friends aquarium.

So pick up your favourite fish and control its life in the Fantasy Aquarium with your DS Lite.

Populous is one of the most intriguing stories to have been launched in the late nineties and, going by its immense popularity, it was only natural that the story would finally end up on the Nintendo DS. The story, with its theme based on the Bullfrog god sim, virtually created a stir with its release, and paved the way for a whole new genre of strategy gaming. But what’s disheartening is that, despite the best efforts of the manufacturers, the game does not look at all at home on the handheld platform, and is only a pale shadow of what it could be.

Nevertheless, the Populous for the DS is still very much a linear god game where you are supposed to take on the mantel of one of five good elemental deities that are responsible for the well being of the town. The twist to the tale is that there is a demon who is on the threshold of building a similar community of followers on the other side of the map, and who might disrupt the serenity of your town. Your role is a bit like that of a landscaper, similar to Sim City, where a majority of your world-building efforts are confined to the levelling terrain so that worshippers become your devotees and pay due respect to you by building ever more elaborate homes. The trick here is that more houses lead to more happiness, improved health, and other benefits. You must be careful and astute enough to enhance the all-round development of your man folk as that will help you to successfully drive away the evil forces sent by the demon.

The gameplay of the game is rather solid and you have to basically maintain a balance between three tasks: while scouting through the terrain keep altering your moves so as to provide yourself the best possible building opportunities; ensure the health of the worshippers; and finally give space to the worshippers to build a divine power, called psyche energy, in their homes.

There are many a games where you are flooded with various creatures like rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and even horses, which frequently play a major part of the storyline or gameplay. The Zoo Vet: Endangered Animals is one game that animal lovers should give a try and that stands out from other animal games by offering many interesting and never before seen species. Moreover, each creature presents a different challenge that should also keep you guessing and in suspense.

The gameplay consist penguins and pandas, elephants and eagles, et al. Then, there is a crocodile as well which appears to be with a specific purpose. Zoo Vet is also available in a computer version, although the DS variant is equally engaging if not more so. You will be taken aback to find that you are assigned the role of a new animal doctor who is given the sensitive task of preserving the exotic but endangered species that are found in the land. Your curiosity levels take a hike as you won’t discover any normal household dogs or cats, and the experience that you feel after treating the animals is unlike what you get in your local pet store. The feeling that you get finds a close analogy to something you see on the Discovery channel.

The unambiguous strength of Zoo Vet lies in its diversity and you invariably get a high each time you treat and heal an animal. The treatment part is really intense and satisfying as such as the gameplay imaginatively and clearly guides you through the various steps. You can even try and treat the animals on your own accord, but in case you are faced with an insurmountable situation you can always find help close at hand.

My Baby Boy for the DS can certainly teach parents in practice a thing or two about parenting. The game displays how a typical new born baby cries, screams, urinates and defecates. The scheme has been kept blue for a Baby boy, whereas it is pink for his female counterpart. The gender is chosen as a boy by default, unless the gamer has a change of mind at the last moment. The game gives the gamer leverage to choose the eye colour and nationality of the baby and also the right to name the boy. During the game, the gamer will eventually meet a doctor and a nurse named George and Clara, who assist the gamer while the baby grows up. The game’s design contains many rooms which the gamer can use to take care of the baby.

Using the map icon will help the user in getting access to the bathroom, kitchen, dressing room, changing room, storeroom etc. The other areas of My Baby Boy keep getting unlocked as the baby keeps growing. The wiping gel can be used to wipe out the child’s feces and is supposed to be dragged to the trash can once used. The baby’s legs need to be lifted to change diapers. Completing two tasks in a month is imperative to keep progressing in the game. These tasks help the bay boy to better his speech and motor skills. The baby ages by a month when the bars for the tasks in a month become full and with time, his eating habits will also undergo change. The flow of the game is well timed and the baby slowly learns how to follow the commands directed at him. The commands have to be passed through the microphone. All in all, the game is a must for all those who enjoy parenting, whether they are recent parents or are in the family way.

Puzzle games are ideal for testing your brainpower. If you enjoy solving these wacky but extremely interesting puzzles on your handheld, then check out Slingo Quest. Yeah, this is the new game published by MumboJumbo and developed by Mac Play. As the name suggests, it is an out of ordinary puzzle game. The puzzle factor is linked with the latter part of the game’s name but are you not interested in knowing the origin of Slingo?

So if you haven’t tried your hands on Slingo as yet, go through this write-up to reveal the game’s details. If you can recall the original game, you must have linked it to the new game. I’m talking about Slingo Quest’s original platform as it is a follow-up of the classical theme and includes your favorites: Slots and Bingo. Well, now you know from where ‘Slingo’ comes? You are right…the equation of Slots + Bingo makes Slingo. It is a follow up but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t got newness. In fact, there is a big new attraction and that includes the Multi- Card Slingo, Pirate’s Fortune Slingo and Seven by Seven Slingo. Want more? You actually have a lot to explore. So discover the new quest format while enjoying the 60 different levels of fun in the Slingo style. Hone your gaming skills and get to know more about the Slingo Vision, Devil Protection, and Multipliers. There is even more that you can enjoy with….so go on and lift all the new power ups in Slingo Quest.

Also don’t forget to try your hands on Bounce Slingos and don’t even hesitate to look into the Pirate’s Fortune. If earning bonus rewards is a part of your expectations, you can do that with Slingo Stamps and Stars.

Anybody who likes dogs will definitely love to tame one like Bolt. Yes, I’m talking about the same superhero that amazed us with her brave acts in the movie. Isn’t it amazing to see the same superpowers on the DS screens? I know, you are too keen to know more about the game. So let me tell you that you can expect to see the ideal canine companion in the same spirits. Bolt, as you can anticipate, acts intelligently and obediently while performing your most loved acts like shooting lasers and doing all that you can expect from a superdog.

Divided in different parts, the action game invites you to play as Bolt and Penny. Although both the roles are amazingly interesting, you may like to play as Bolt, who can incapacitate the enemies and make several great moves. Penny, as a role can be your second preference as she is more of a brainy character. However, the game gives you the liberty of playing as Bolt and Penny by turn. So you don’t have to miss anything to get something. Whatever you choose first, make sure to make the best use of your handheld’s buttons except for the mini games that depend on the touch screen control. There is also an act of hacking computers in the mini games and you can do that when you are playing as Penny. So you can jump and attack the opponents while utilizing your special abilities as a unique character.

Interestingly, when you defeat an enemy, you get to use a part of his energy. The energy bits dropped by the beaten foes can be picked up as an addition to your three chief abilities: armor, energy and damage. Sounds great?

What are you waiting for, load the game and see hoe good you are at controlling these tremendously powered characters.