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Swag Saturday: Picross and CrossworDS (DS) [update]
Update: Comments have been closed and winners will be contacted tomorrow (or, ya know, pretty soon). Thanks for playing, every one! Check those inboxes and please by all means join us next week.Interested in using your Nintendo DS for a ton of puzzle solving this summer? We'll bet you are, you little puzzle solver, you! That's why we're offering up a duo of puzzle games this weekend for Swag Saturday with Picross DS and CrossworDS. We're not so much for the crossword puzzles, but we do love a good handheld puzzle game (we're looking at you, Planet Puzzle League), and so we're hoping you could suggest your favorite overlooked handheld puzzle game, dearest reader. You'll have 24 hours to tell us in the comments section after the break so get rambling, ramblers! Leave a comment with your favorite overlooked handheld puzzle game. (That means it can be on DS or GameBoy or PSP or the iPhone, etc. -- any handheld!) You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada, excluding Quebec. (Kisses, citizens of Québec!!) Limit 1 entry per person. This entry period ends at 8:01 pm ET on Sunday, August 9. We'll randomly select two winners at that time to receive: one copy of either Picross DS (ARV $11.50) or CrossworDS (ARV $19.99) (first to answer email gets to choose). For a list of complete rules, click here %Gallery-4773%%Gallery-3413%
Gaming to Go: Crosswords DS
Ready to slow things down a bit? Sure, sitting down with a good ol' crossword puzzle might not get the blood pounding, but there's something simple and serene about filling in the grids at a leisurely pace. It's a game of patience and dedication, not to mention smarts -- not the typical fare for today's high-adrenaline gaming, but definitely a worthy alternative when you want a pleasant distraction next time you're on the go.Crosswords DS, yet another Nintendo entry in the Touch! Generations lineup, provides such a distraction. It's simple, fun, and caters to crossword puzzlers of all skill levels. Add to that numerous word searches and anagrams and you have a pretty well-rounded package, one that even a staunch anti-puzzler could find something to like in. Want to hear more? Check out this week's edition of Gaming to Go and see for yourself if it's time to switch out the Sunday paper for your trusty DS. #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } NEXT >> %Gallery-4773%
Lock's Demo now available on Nintendo Channel
The DS demo section of the Nintendo Channel is usually swamped with bland Touch! Generations fare, but it now looks like Nintendo has abandoned that policy to bring us some potentially interesting games to try out. What a novel concept! Top of your "to download" list (if you haven't already bought it) should be Lock's Quest, 5th Cell's ace tower defense/real-time strategy, which reviewers have been throwing superlatives at from every direction (stay tuned for our review later this week). Spore Creatures is there also, and while it may not have attracted the same loving critical response as Lock's Quest, it still piques our curiosity, simply because it's not the Spore everybody else has been banging the drum for. There's a demo of MySims Kingdom as well, which looks adorable, and an anagrams demo for sdrsorsCwo SD. These all expire October 5th, so don't delay! %Gallery-19901%
Practice crashing planes in latest downloadable demos
DS demo updates on the Nintendo Channel often get a disappointed reaction from us, but this week's batch does contain at least one interesting addition: Sonic Powered's Air Traffic Chaos, as localized (complete with generic and terrible boxart) by Majesco. At the very least, we're hopeful that the game can replicate the frenzied, panicked pace of a Trauma Center game.The rest of this week's update is fairly humdrum, consisting of a Crosswords DS wordsearch, a Pictoimage demo, and a chance to try out Carnival Games, which has stuck around like a bad smell. The full list of both old and new demos is past the break!%Gallery-20691%
DS Download Service aims to improve your vocabulary
Another week means another dose of demos available on the Nintendo Channel. If you've got a Wii, you're in luck. If not, then we suggest you cruise past the break to see one of the many reasons why you should own one.
Carnival Games makes its return to the DS Download Service
For people longing to play new demos via the Nintendo Channel, the frustration continues. All we saw on the channel today was the return of two demos that we never really missed in the first place (we're looking at you, Carnival Games and Crosswords DS Wordsearch).Nintendo also extended the availability dates on three of the existing demos, probably because offering three new ones would have been too satisfying (/bitter). The good news is, you have another week to try out Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 and Contra 4 if you haven't done so already.Click past the break to see yet another underwhelming list of demos.
DS Download Service updates with old demos
For those of you looking to play something brand new this week, you're out of luck. Instead, Nintendo offers us a chance to catch up with some demos me might have missed in the past, allowing folks to download these up until next week. So, if you missed out last time, get on it!
Nintendo Channel goes light on the demos this week
It's Monday, which means the Wii's Nintendo Channel is due to unleash some new DS demos for us to enjoy. Following last week's offerings isn't easy, that's for sure. Actually, it might be impossible. We're talking about one of the most awesome DS games available, after all.So what's available this week? Head on past the break for the details.
Nintendo Channel gets ripped with a manly demo (plus some others)
It's Monday, again. Usually, we'd frown and mope about all day, what with it being the beginning of another week of tirelessly blogging and all, but Mondays are turning into more of a celebration for us. We get new gaming content every week on this day!Nintendo has updated the Everyone's Nintendo Channel on the Wii to include some sweet demos this week, so if you're in the mood for something new to play, you'll find it here. Aside from last week's demos, you'll also find several new ones. Head on past the break for the list of new demos available.
Searching for more than words in Nintendo's latest demo offerings
This week was a bit of a let down in terms of demos -- then again, it's hard to follow up the excitement of Arkanoid. It seems like Nintendo didn't even try, though. While we were interested in the demo the first time around, Cake Mania 2 already had its heyday. Then, there's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, which we can't help but be underwhelmed by. Last and maybe least, the only other new demo is from Crosswords DS, which now offers the wordsearch game in addition to crossword puzzles. We guess beggars can't be choosers.Since things always look better in list form, check out the full list of demos available for download after the break.
New DS demos are the old DS demos
When we turned on our Wii earlier to check and see if the recent habit of providing us with new DS demos every week would continue, we stumbled upon something very odd. You see, this week's new DS demos are, in fact, the first set of DS demos that released alongside the Nintendo Channel. Just now, they don't have an expiration date attached to them.For those of you with a bad memory (or no desire to click links), the list of demos available has been placed past the break.
DS Fanboy Review: Crosswords DS
Puzzle games usually offer more bang for their buck than most other types of software. Since many in the genre are relatively easy to design, they're often budget titles, too. But whether or not they come cheaply, you can expect to invest a lot of time in any good puzzler. Games like Picross DS, Professor Layton, and Tetris DS -- which are all very different, and yet reside in the same genre -- continue to keep me occupied despite the months (or years) that have lapsed since their release.As a crossword lover, I naturally expected Crosswords DS to have the same appeal. Adding anagrams and word searches to the formula made the game seem even more delectable, and I gleefully anticipated being sucked into a puzzle-packed experience. As it turns out, though, this first-party title didn't meet my expectations -- in fact, it didn't even come close. Gallery: Crosswords DS
WRUP: Expand your vocabulary edition
The majority of this week's releases have one goal in mind: increasing your knowledge. Thanks to the release of the Nintendo Channel, you've all undoubtedly checked out the Crosswords DS demo, among others. So, will you be picking it up this weekend?For those of you not getting your down and across on, what will you be playing this weekend? One of the other new releases? Or, are you playing something older?%Gallery-4773%
See Crosswords DS in motion
You might be surprised to know that Crosswords DS is one of our most anticipated games. Supposing Nintendo offers this as a budget title (which is what online retailers are indicating), not much will stop us from picking it up. If you haven't been following news on this particular puzzle game, though, you can check out the gameplay video embedded above.As we suspected, the anagram mode is almost exactly like Text Twist, which (to us) is Crosswords' main draw. Such a basic but awesome addition will make this the deepest crossword puzzle title to date. We also like how clean the interface looks, even if it is relatively simple.Fortunately, the wait for the game won't be long. Those of us in North America can expect to see it in stores on May 5th. Gallery: Crosswords DS
NMS08: Crosswords DS impressions
One surprising gem of the Nintendo Media Summit was Crosswords DS, Nintendo's most recent puzzle game. Not letting itself get overshadowed by all the other stuff at the convention, Crosswords DS managed to rack up favorable impressions from many a gaming site. IGN found the title to be "awesome," and was very impressed by the diversity in the game. Even though it's called Crosswords DS, there's more to it than crossword puzzles. The game also includes word searches and anagrams. According to the site, the controls are very intuitive, and even easier to understand because of the great interface.Game|Life also enjoyed the software, finding the anagram mode to be even more addictive than the crosswords themselves. From what we can tell by Game|Life's comments, the anagram puzzles look almost identical to those in the online game Text Twist, which this blogger can confirm to be the computer equivalent of crack cocaine.GoNintendo describes this title as a "must-have" if you like crosswords. RMC reported that the puzzles are challenging (although the ones shown in the gallery must be from the "easy" setting), so don't worry about a dumbed-down experience. Also, don't be put off by the game's lame box art -- it seems like this title is definitely something to look forward to!%Gallery-4773% Read: IGN's impressionsRead: Game|Life's impressionsRead: GoNintendo's impressions
Nintendo dates Wii & DS games for first half of '08
Nintendo dumped a load of dates on us today – 148 to be exact. These dates (some specific, some general) correspond to 65 Wii and 83 DS titles that are scheduled to be released in the first half of 2008. While its obvious that many third-party publishers will continue to shovel their filth onto the systems this year, we've been able to excavate a decent collection of potential gems from an otherwise smoldering pile of manure: Okami (Wii) dated March 25 Wii Fit scheduled for Q2 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon sequels scheduled for Q2 Crosswords DS dated May 5 Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword dated March 25 Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) dated Feb. 10 LEGO: Indiana Jones (Wii/DS) scheduled for Spring Super Dodgeball Brawlers (DS) scheduled for April Bangai-O Spirits (DS) scheduled for Q2 Rondo of Swords (DS) scheduled for April and thus far unannounced by Atlus USA [Note: we haven't listed titles with previously confirmed dates (e.g., Mario Kart, Advance Wars, No More Heroes, etc.).] The full list of releases is posted after the break. [Via DS Fanboy]
