999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors - Nintendo DS Game Review

For the last few nights i have been delightfully surprised and astonished with an unexpected Nintendo DS title, 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. This game has shocked me and impressed me in so many way's, delivering one of the most immersive and enriching gaming experiences of 2010.

999 i what you would call a "Text Adventure" or "Visual Novel" translated for the western market and given an M-rating (for mature content) which is a rarity for a DS game considering the majority of DS games are for a younger audience, with a family friendly atmosphere. But more than anything the game is just one big mindf*** that will drive your brain to the brink of insanity, before delivering you with the most satisfying experience you will ever find on a hand-held system.

The 999 experience begins with our hero Junpei, an average collage-aged kid, waking up in a haze of cloudy memory in a place he's never seen before. As he begins to regain his senses, he begins to realise the grim situation he is faced with, he's been kidnapped. Already the players interest has been captured with this gripping opening and from here thing's just get better and better. He soon realises that he's not only been kidnapped, but kidnapped and left somewhere in the middle of the ocean on a ship. He soon meets up with eight other victims and together they discover the truth, they've been gathered together by a madman to play through a sick twisted human experiment called "The Nonary Game". At this point, even so early in the story i could tell this was something special, something we don't often see in gaming any more and it made me want to unravel this mystery.

Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Game Review

For anyone who grew up with Mario, the thought of him turning a quarter of a century old is daunting. Well, Mario has just hit the 25 year mark and Nintendo have decided to celebrate their flagship Mascot's birthday by rewarding fans with Mario All-Stars Limited Edition game package for the Nintendo Wii. It's a repackaging of an old Super Nintendo game with a few extra goodies, but is it worth your money ?.

If you ever owned the original Super Mario All-Stars then you will know exactly what to expect here. This is a collection of the four NES-based Mario games, from Super Mario Bros. 1 to 3, including the addition of "The Lost Levels" (originally in the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2). All of the games come in their SNES form with improved visuals and character designs. For any hardcore Mario fans out there this will sound like heaven, however causal fans might need a bit more to capture their interest.

Donkey Kong Country Returns Game Review

The reason that Nintendo are able to compete with their rivals (Sony, Microsoft) is the fantastic catalogue of games based off their many successful franchises. Donkey Kong is the latest character from our childhood to make a "HD return". Donkey Kong Country Returns is an almost perfect remake of one of Nintendo's classics and with nothing to complain about, other than the brutal difficulty, fans will be ecstatic with this latest choice from the Nintendo archives to receive a High Definition remake.

The developers seem to have approached this game with old-school values, mixed in with new-school techniques to appeal to modern fans. It is a game made with love, you can really see the passion the developers had for this franchise and the final product is phenomenal, it joins New Super Mario Bros and Kirby's Epic Yarn as a modern day 2D classic.

Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem

The Donkey Kong and Mario rivalry has been responsible for some of the most enjoyable hand-held puzzle games over the past few years, and Mario vs Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem is no exception. This fantastic little puzzle game for the Nintendo DS is fun, colourful, and fans of both franchises will be delighted with the final result.

The plot is very simple, Donkey Kong has made off with Mario's girlfriend (Pauline) again, and Mario will require the help of Mini-Mario toys to get her back. This is just a simple set-up for what is an awesome puzzle game. You won't care too much about a story when playing a puzzle game but it's nice that they have added something for fans.

Much like the plot, gameplay is extremely simple and straightforward, get the Mini-Mario's from point A to point B (B being the exit area). You never get to control the toys directly, you use you're stylus to set them in motion and provide a safe passage way through any obstacles in their way. If you have ever played the classic game "Lemmings" then this will feel reminiscent of that, just simplified. The game starts off fairly easy giving players only one job, place and replace the red girders we all know from the original Donkey Kong. With each new world, comes new tools for you to exploit, such as warp pipes, conveyor belts, and ladders. The trick here is to use what you have at you're disposal intelligently. You are only given a limited supply so you must choose the correct time to use one of you're valuable tools, otherwise you might find one of you're little Mario's in a pit of spikes.