Best Buy Ds Games On Sale!

   

Guitar Hero on Tour Decades Bundle
From Activision Inc.

Travel back through time and rock on with the latest portable guitar simulator. Guitar Hero On Tour : Decades features sets of five songs out of a total of twenty-eight tracks. Each set focuses on a specific era of rock music, including two called "2000" and "Modern". Each set has a specialized venue for the era. Seven songs are taken from Guitar Hero World Tour.
Amazon Sales Rank: #459 in Video Games Brand: ACTIVISION Model: 047875955394 Published on: 2008-11 Released on: 2008-11-16 ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ Platform: Nintendo DS Number of items: 1 Dimensions: 1.90" h x 4.25" w x 5.25" l, 1.25 pounds

An Expansion, (almost) Nothing More... This game is basically the same as the DS's first instalation of Guitar Hero this past June, but it also features song sharing, a way to utilize the first GH:DS to make the DS to DS multiplayer even more expansive (up to 53 songs to rock out together with). It includes 28 songs compared to the first instalation's 25 songs, which for the most part is a solid tracklist. It has its clinkers (as much as I love "We Are The Champions", I must admit that its 45-second piano solo do not fit Guitar Hero), but I love songs such as "Can't Stop" and "Sweet Home Alabama". Overall, I'd say this is a pretty fun DS game. It may not vary much from the game of June, but if you liked that one, you'll have a blast with this one. Perhaps its not worth its $35 game-only price tag, but jamming out on the DS doesn't get much better than this. Holy Hand Cramp! Pros: A great song selection, pretty good gameplay (on lower difficulty levels at least), fun on battle mode. Cons: Hand cramps and neck cramps especially on Hard and Expert, other technical issues, more songs and store items would be nice. Just like the first "Guitar Hero: On Tour", this one has a good song list with much lighter songs (appropriate to the DS) than the original Guitar Hero games. Activision didn't skimp on this game and each decade has songs from some really well known bands. Organizing the songs into different decades is also far more satisfying than a random organization. The gameplay is similar enough to the original Guitar Hero to work fairly well, especially on Easy or Medium difficulty. The guitar pick stylus to strum with mimics the feeling of playing guitar closely enough for the game to have that "make believe" appeal. This game also features a battle mode that works even better than the battle mode in Guitar Hero III. The features of the DS are really utilized in battle mode, and you'll find yourself signing leg warmers that pop up on screen and blowing frantically when your equipment catches on fire. On easy or medium, I'd easily give this game at least four stars, but on the upper difficulty level, problems start to mount. Trying to play some of the songs on hard or expert can cause severe hand cramps for BOTH hands. Switching positions can alleviate this somewhat, but not enough. Neck cramps also occur. When playing a fast section, there is often the tendency to not strum in exactly the right place, screwing up you note streak. Sometimes, the guitar attachment will pop out of the DS forcing you to restart the entire system. All of these were problems in the original "Guitar Hero: On Tour" and I don't see that too much has been done to fix them here. Maybe it is a fruitless wish as the DS is only capable of so much, but it would also be nice to be able to buy more items and songs at the store like on the games for larger systems. Not much is available here. This game has a good song list, good concept and good gameplay on lower difficulty levels, but I cannot bring myself to love a game that is actually physically painful to play. Too many technical issues. 3+ stars. really cool i bought this for one of my daughters. she is 10 years old and she just loves this game. it teaches her about what good music is and she hears so much more in the songs playing this. its great. she has mastered about half the songs and its been about 2 weeks since she's had it. it keeps her occupied for hours!

   

Fossil Fighters
From Nintendo

Welcome to Vivosaur Island, home of the world-famous Fossil Stadium, where dinosaurs revived from ancient fossils fight in thrilling battles! As a Fossil Fighter, you'll dig up dinosaur fossils, clean them, and revive them into powerful "vivosaurs," ready to battle. In your adventures, you'll delve into ancient ruins, explore sunken pirate ships, and uncover secrets that will shake the planet to its core!
Amazon Sales Rank: #333 in Video Games Brand: Nintendo Published on: 2009-08 Released on: 2009-08-10 ESRB Rating: Everyone Number of discs: 1 Platform: Nintendo DS Number of items: 1 Dimensions: .64" h x 5.44" w x 5.64" l, .25 pounds
Finding, Cleaning, Collecting and Fighting DinosaursFossil Fighters blends the timeless human fascination with dinosaurs with the fun of building a collection. The game lets players build a collection of more than 100 fantastical dinosaurs known as “vivosaurs.” This new game incorporates elements of discovery, tactics, and strategy as players try to get the best vivosaurs on their teams to battle it out on the field. Players dig for fossils and use the touch screen of the Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi system to hammer, chip, drill and brush away the bits of rock around the fossil. When their efforts result in the buildup of dust, players blow into the Nintendo DS microphone to blow the dust away.The game rates players on how well they handle the fossils during the cleaning process. The more carefully and completely a player cleans a fossil, the more powerful the vivosaur will be in battle. Vivosaurs can also gain more power through battles. Players must collect various parts of each vivosaur. The head must be found first to bring a vivosaur to life while the body, arms and legs can be added to increase its power on the battlefield and imbue it with special powers.The game features an engrossing role-playing storyline and vast environments for players to explore. Players can connect wirelessly with friends to battle or trade their fossils.
Fossil Fighters: More than you'd expect. Dinosaurs + Fighting. How could this be bad? Well, it's failed miserably before, and I'm sure a lot of people have since been a bit cautious with this combination. So, no, I wasn't expecting anything ground-breaking, but I was hopeful that it would be decent fun. Well, let me tell you, this game is much more than it let's on. First impression: It's slow to begin. Dialogue and more dialogue. But it wasn't at all boring. Surprisingly, the game has a lot of personality and humor. Once you learn what you'll be doing and how to do it, you won't want to put it down. Anywhere outside of town there will appear a radar on the top screen to find fossils in the ground (while in town, the top screen is a very helpful map), you dig them up, and use your stylus to break away the rock from the fossil. The stylus will act as a hammer or a drill. If the fossil is a skull, you get a new Vivosaur! If you get a body, arm, or leg fossil, it will add power to your Vivosaur. Each Vivosaur has an element. An element is stronger and weaker than another element. Basic stuff. You have a team of 5 you carry around with you. You can fight with up to 3 Vivosaurs at once. On the lower screen you see their positions and their condition, and on the top screen you see their 3D form either attacking the enemie's team or waiting for a command. There's even little commentators announcing what is happening in the battle (in text form). This bit of the game is very reminiscent of Pokemon Stadium, which I loved. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I wasn't expecting anything more than choosing a dinosaur and fighting another dinosaur, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was entirely wrong. This is a very, very long adventure game. So far I have clocked a little over 15 hours and there's no hint to an end in sight. You travel to different parts of the island to find different fossils and take on new missions. This game is easily addictive, so be careful. Also, there is little to no necessary grinding. Do so if you want, it will certainly make your Vivosaurs stronger, but collecting different fossil parts will make them strong enough for any battle. Yes, this is an EASY game. I haven't had much trouble with anything. But that isn't the point. It's a fun ride, easy on the eyes, and never boring or repetitive. If you're a "hardcore gamer" and enjoy "mature games for mature gamers like myself" then this is not for you. Gameplay: Fun, creative, and addictive. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it doesn't try to be anything it isn't. Graphics: They're fantastic. It feels like I'm playing an old N64 game. It easily rivals Animal Crossing: Wild World. Now, you have to understand, the DS is limited to a certain extent, so next to a handheld like the PSP, the Nintendo DS is almost laughable. However, graphics aren't everything, and it doesn't take away from the quality of the game. If anything, the game has a sort of nostalgic feel to it. Overall: You can always tell when developers love the games they make. A lot of thought was put into this game and it shows. Dinosaurs + Fighting= Awesome Boy Game I wanted to get my son's thoughts on this game for nearly 2 weeks now but he's been so busy playing it, I haven't been able to get a good overview from him until now. I shouldn't be surprised. It combines his favorite thing in the world, dinosaurs, with something he does every day with his sister... fighting. Fossil Fighters is a new game for the DS where you can pretty much guess what it entails from the title. You play a boy (what? no girls?) who comes to an island to hunt for fossils which will turn into battle-ready dinosaurs, ready to tear your opponents dinos apart. Well, its not quite that exciting, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The gameplay consists of 4 main elements: the story, hunting for fossils, cleaning the fossils, and fighting. The story helps move things along and does a good job of introducing the other parts of the game as you come to them. New areas of the game open up as you progress allow you to explore and find new fossils. The fossil finding is dead simple. You have a radar that tells you where they are around you and you dig them up. The excitement is in finding new fossils that give you a new dinosaur makes existing ones more powerful. My favorite part of the game is the cleaning. If you have kids who have always wanted to be paleontologists or archeologists, they'd love this. You have to chip away at the rock using a hammer and drill to uncover the bone within. The challenge is you must do this without damaging the fossil as well as complete the task within a set time limit. The less damage you do to the fossil, the more powerful your resulting dinosaur will be. This can be both rewarding and frustrating. Some rocks already have parts of the fossil showing, so you must be more careful in those areas. Some rocks resemble swiss cheese making the cleaning process feel like surgery. The DS is perfect for this task with the touchscreen. To top it off, your drill creates dust making it difficult to see what you're doing so you blow on your DS to remove the dust making it great fun. That brings us to the fighting. Battles crop up in many different ways, but most are when you dig something up and another fighter pops out of nowhere claiming it to be theirs. You break out your pack of dinos and take turns unleashing a variety of moves. There is actually a good amount of strategy involved as different types of dinos are strong or weak against other types. This affects which ones you bring with you to battle (you can only choose 3). Also, one of these does the main fighting at a time while the others serve supporting roles. If you win, your dinos get a little stronger. If you lose, you don't lose your fossils or any similar dire consequences with lowers the frustration factor for kids. You simple end up back in town and you try the same thing again. The downside of this game is that for being named after fighting, the fighting doesn't seem to be the best part. The fights are repetitive and very easy for most of the game. It's fun to try out new dinosaurs when you get them, but it's the same routine over and over. Many times, the fighting gets in the way of the fun, which is a shame. The good thing is that the rest of the game is quite satisfying and its certainly not a game they will finish in a few days. There's plenty of entertainment for the kids in this one. Lots of fun This is a great new game for the DS. We've had a lot of fun learning how to play and dig for fossils and battle with dinosaurs. The only problem is that there's a lot of reading so younger kids need help with the words and can't just play completely on their own.

   

Carnival Games
From 2K Play

Step right up to Carnival Games for Nintendo DS. All the fun of the million-selling original comes to the world's best-selling portable system during the summer vacation and travel season. Each game is designed from the ground up to take full advantage of the Nintendo DS control mechanism. A frenzied combination of tapping, blowing, speaking and stylus maneuvering brings the now-famous midway to life!
Amazon Sales Rank: #358 in Video Games Brand: 2K Play Model: 35402 Published on: 2008-07 Released on: 2008-07-08 ESRB Rating: Everyone Platform: Nintendo DS Number of items: 1 Dimensions: .62" h x 5.45" w x 6.12" l, .25 pounds

A Pocket-Size Carnival With Big Fun! If you have a little patience to learn and appreciate the differences between this and the Wii's Carnival Games, then you are sure to enjoy this game! It's neither harder nor easier as a whole, and it's biggest benefit is you can take it with you anywhere and play it in small spaces! I loved the Wii version (see my review for it), but the DS one is quite a departure from that one in a number of ways. It's still a fantastic game though and here are my thoughts about it in great detail... As you start your game, you will create your character with the newly added option to change his/her skin tone (how they left this out of the Wii version, one may never know!). Then once you have your person ready to go, you are free to explore the Carnival. To start with, you can freely roam this carnival (looks a lot like Animal Crossing in some ways, I think)...but you can walk up to each individual game, or browse the grounds and check out the little things like getting your picture taken or helping a cat find his lost yarn, or riding a seesaw with a little girl to get bonus items. But as you walk up to the games, you will hear a person yelling something specific to a game (like in the Wii version), and yes this one is fully voiced through and through. You can then click on a game and start playing it, and here is what I have to say about the individual games: First of all, each of the 23 games have instructions that appear when you start them, like in the Wii version, so you will know how to play... Frog Leap: This has frogs (lilypads), cannonballs (pirate ships), and baby chicks (nests) that you launch into the places they belong using a stylus pulled launching mechanism. It is slightly frustrating for me because I am so disturbingly inaccurate. haha :p I like the game, I am just not real good at it. The control is great, but my personal aim is not! Alley Ball: (aka Skee-Ball). I happen to love this. I liked it immensely on the Wii version, but I also love this DS one as well. This is much more accurate than it seems, and I have learned after many plays that you can easily ace this game. My highest score so far is 530. I have no trouble at all flinging this ball into the 100 point holes or the 50 point one. It gives you 8 balls to roll up the alley. I like how you can control the direction and strength of your ball entirely with the stylus. It's one of the best games on this compilation. Test Of Strength: This is such a weird game. You have to use your stylus to rub back and forth on a weight-lifting arm as a meter fills up to your left, then quickly tap a bullseye when it is green, and BAM you get the bell to ring. This is hardly a true test of strength and is incredibly easy to master. On my second play of the game, I had won the largest prize. Star Shootout: This one was definitely better on the Wii. I just do not have a steady hand and that is an absolute requirement for this particular mini-game. On the DS version, it is a bit awkward and takes some getting used to. You have to use your stylus to point/aim at the specific part of the star you want to shoot out while you hold down the L or R button to shoot. Believe me, that is odd. I like the game concept but the controls on this leave much to be desired. Nerves Of Steel: Well this game is definitely less frustrating on this version compared to the impossibly difficult one on the Wii. Here, you use your stylus to hold steady the wand as the wire passes through it. This wire is kind of long, but I can actually make it to the end! The game isnt too bad, and I like that it isnt overly difficult to do. Clown Splash: This game was horrible. I tried a few times to play it and it's just ridiculous. Next! Buckets Of Fun: To play this one, you turn the DS on it's side, where the touch screen is on your left. You take your stylus and fling your ball into the bucket on the right. For each ball that makes it in and stays, you will find that the bucket shrinks a bit. This game is pretty difficult but I keep trying! I have gotten 2 in so far out of 5. Spilled Milk: This is the same game with radically different gameplay than the one on the Wii. In this version, your stack of milk bottles goes jumping all over the screen and when it stops, you have a tiny amount of time to tap the stack and knock them over. I know this sounds retarded but it actually isnt too bad. How else could they have made this on the DS? I have hit all 3 stacks, by the way, so it isnt too hard to do. Honey Falls: This game is hidden in a tree (tap the honey/bees), it is to the left of the Spilled Milk game. Anyway, in this game you have a little pink bear (yes, pink) and he is carrying a pot of honey. He has to move back & forth (control pad) to catch honey falling down from bees above. Sometimes a bomb drops and makes a hole in the ground so you have to use a button to jump lest you fall in the hole. If you do fall in, it's game over. This one is kinda cute but an odd fit for a carnival. Meter-O-Love: Another strange one. This has a machine that sends out little hearts and broken hearts that you tap on. The more hearts you tap, the higher your score. The more broken hearts you tap, the lower your score. Balloon Darts: This game is fun once you get over one major annoyance. The dart always reverts back to a place that is right of center if you let go of it before you launch it. Once you make peace with that flaw, the fun can begin. It's a bit challenging to get all of the balloons because this lacks the accuracy of something like Clubhouse Games' Darts. That's not to say it is truly inaccurate but it just doesnt have that kind of polish and sharpness that it needs. It is fun enough though, when considered with the rest of the games in the carnival. My score averages between 200-300 points, but that's come with plenty of practice! Loud Mouth: I always play in a room where I need to be quiet so this is not one I like. What you have to do is yell "stop" when it lands on a high number. Children might enjoy this one! :) It's not hard to do, either. Hoops: Oh my, this is an abomination to Carnival Games. What were they thinking?! This is so NOT about shooting hoops. If you watch the balls going in the hoops, you will lose. In this game you have to tap pictures of balls as they light up on your right and then quickly tap a bullseye on your left. The secret to success in this game is in having a rhythm as you tap. 1-2-3 - bang. I really am disappointed with how this was done. Had they not seen the successful version of another hoops game on Touchmaster DS? Bubble Gum Battle: This is definitely one for the younger audience. In this game, you "pay" to play with tickets, and then blow in your microphone to make a big bubble. If you blow while the meter is red, it will pop. If you blow while it's green, the bubble gets bigger. Not my kind of game. Clown Bonk: This is like Whac-A-Mole. You bonk clowns that pop their heads up out of holes. If you hit a pie that pops up, then "splat", your game is over. All of this is done with the stylus. RC Raceway: This is a racing game where you have an overhead view of a track. A little car has to make it's way around, 3 laps, in a short time. You control it by steering with the control pad and using buttons for gas & brakes. I am awful at controlling this car because I always go too fast! I definitely need more practice. Going Nuts: In this one, you have a little squirrel with a basket, trying to catch nuts falling down a tree, Plinko style. It's easier than the Wii version because I think the stylus gives you better control. Great Swami: This wastes tickets. I dont mess with it. Bumper Boats: The controls on this are awful. There are these little boats you have to zoom around in and try to bounce into numbers that give you points. But the boats seldom go where and how you want them to. It's like trying to zoom around on ice. I really do not care for this game. Wild West Showdown: Okay this one is great!! This game was on the Wii version as an unlockable but on the DS it has a booth. Anyway, the purpose of this game is to tap targets in a shooting gallery, to get the highest score. It's a blast (no pun intended). I would say this is one of the best on this compilation. It has a cute wild west scene with bullseyes, bottles, moneybags, etc. to shoot at, and it is completely stylus driven. Super accurate too. Shooting Gallery: This is another stylus based shooting game where you have yellow ducks with bullseyes on them that zoom by. This has some challenge to it because they become increasingly fast and there are red ducks that if you shoot them they take away points. This is another favorite game in this set, as it is quite fun and sharply accurate. Dunk Tank: This is the same game as the Wii version but again with radically different gameplay. Since it is on the DS, they had to find another way to get you to dunk the guy in the tank, so they came up with the idea of having a ball trail that you need to follow with your stylus as it loops and stretches from your "hand" to the "target" in a short amount of time. It's a bit challenging but I have won all three rounds after some practice. Radio Replay: this is an unlockable game, and I have not yet unlocked it, but according to the game manual, it has you play notes in order after they are highlighted on the touch screen. Apparently you have to memorize them. I am not sure how to unlock this, either. Most of the games in the carnival will either unlock prizes as you win the games, or give you tickets that you can use to buy items. The prizes in this game are all used on your character (no more teddy bears or fire engines). Instead they are all items that you can wear or carry. Some are even functional. Right now, my character is carrying a "Gizmo" in her left hand, and a "Guitar" on her back. The gizmo is something that you tap on and it teleports you via UFO to an opposite corner of the park, which is very useful because it's a long walk otherwise!! And the guitar allows her to play a rock & roll riff when I tap on it. There are many other things like these though, including banjos, horns, etc. Even though the DS version of Carnival Games has a few quirks and shortcomings, I still think it is an excellent game overall. It fills in the gaps that the Wii version left, especially with allowing you to really walk around the carnival (using stylus or control pad), and interacting with things. You can even buy cotton candy which makes your person walk faster. It's a really cute game and I definitely recommend it to fans of mini-games, carnivals, or shooting galleries. The colors in it are vibrant and the graphics are smooth and well-done too. Another great family-friendly game, to pass the long days of summer! :) My third favorite game of 20 I have 20 DS games and I like this game a lot. I like that you can get tickets from all kidns of games and buy all kinds of clothes. It is extremely fun. My favorite mini game on Carnival is one game where you have to shoot different targets and I got one of the hightest scores. Some of the games are challenging. For example, one of the challenging games is where you have to move a magnifying glass with your stylus and there is a line that you have to follow with it. If you touch the line, you get electrocuted! It is a wonderful game. And there are all different varieties. William S. Panama & Florida crazy fun ! this game will give you crazy fun ! it's siimple and passes the time. i especially love alley ball, and the milk bottle toss. if you are looking for a game to pick up and play for a few minutes this would be it. i don't think this will keep you occupied for hours because there are just so many games on there and once you have played them all like 100 times, you will get bored. i have unlocked all but one item and i discovered all the little secret things walking around the park but i find myself picking this up when i have a few minutes to pass time. i am an adult gamer and shorter attention span than most, i get bored VERY easily. get this game if you loved those carnival games as a kid...it might just bring back some memories. overall this is a great game and in fact, i have ordered 2 more for friends for christmas. have a great time at the carnival !

   

Lego: Battles
From Warner Bros

LEGO Battles features elements of three popular LEGO toy themes: LEGO Space, LEGO Castle, and LEGO Pirates, offering a new kind of “build and battle” LEGO gameplay. Through six distinct story lines, players build their own LEGO bases and battle teams as they engage in 90 different levels. Players can then mix and match units to create the ultimate customized LEGO squad. LEGO Battles is an action-packed adventure for young gamers where swordsmen clash with pirates and ninjas face off against alien spaceships with multiple opportunities for customization and un-lockable treasures. Players can also challenge friends on the battlefield in multiplayer mode through wireless DS multi-card play.
Amazon Sales Rank: #301 in Video Games Brand: Warner Bros Model: 1000096163 Published on: 2009-06 Released on: 2009-06-09 ESRB Rating: Everyone Platform: Nintendo DS Number of items: 1 Dimensions: .63" h x 5.46" w x 6.22" l, .25 pounds
LEGO Battles offers players on the Nintendo DS a new kind of "build and battle" LEGO gameplay. Through six distinct story lines, players build their own LEGO bases and battle teams as they engage in over 70 different levels and create the ultimate customized LEGO squad. These unique LEGO Battles teams offer players more mixing and matching of LEGO themed characters and vehicles than ever before, ensuring maximum replayability value of the game and more fun than ever. .caption { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica neue, Arial, serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; } ul.indent { list-style: inside disc; text-indent: -15px; } table.callout { font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1. 3em; } td.vgoverview { height: 125px; background: #9DC4D8 url(http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/callout-bg.png) repeat-x; border-left: 1px solid #999999; border-right: 1px solid #999999; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 10px; width: 250px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; } Battle through elements of three LEGO toy themes.
Finally -- a solid Real-Time-Strategy game for the DS First, what it's not. Lego Battles is not just another Lego shoot-em-up game for the DS. Your six year old will probably hate it, if they aren't willing to learn how to play real-time strategy games. This isn't a game where you run around shooting things. This is a game where you build cities, control soldiers, builders, heroes, etc. Is it fun? absolutely. This game feels like Warcraft 2 for the DS, which is a compliment. It's a great RTS with Castles, Barracks, Farms, soldiers, kings, workers, etc. It has some of the more "advanced" RTS controls, things like build queues, rally points, etc., which we've come to expect from games like Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, and others. I have really enjoyed this game because it fills a void: the missing RTS for the DS. I've looked around, but hadn't found anything good in this genre on the DS. Lego Battles allows you to strategically build cities, plan battles, etc. My only complaint is that some of the early campaigns are very easy. I wish there were a way to increase the difficulty. That said, it's an outstanding game. Highly recommended. Not like Lego Batman or Star Wars but a mini real time strategy game perfect for young kids.... I bought this game for my six year old son, who has played the Lego Batman and Star Wars games and enjoyed them tremendously. The previous reviewer is correct, this is a different game, but it is enjoyable in its own right. You have 90 levels to complete, each with items to find (minikit pieces, blue Legos) and as you find stuff and complete levels you unlock other items or levels. This is basically a mini RTS (real time strategy) game for kids, I would suggest at least six years of age. You have builders who can make you farms (to sustain population), towers (for defense), shipyards, castles (to make your kings/wizards/etc), barracks (to make soldiers), and so on. Each level sees goals that when completed usually lead to new goals. Once you have completed a level you can stay there looking for items you still have not found or you can go on to the next level. I helped my son a bit with the first few levels but he picked it up quickly and he loves the game. So do not expect another DS Batman, but instead this is a fantastic game in its own right. Lego Ages of Empire This game is a stradegy game much like Ages of Empires, but a little more easier to use. The sound effects and graphics are consitant with the other lego games and there are many cute mini movies. You basically deploy your Lego men to do different tasks like build a farm, Castle, military post... etc and build men to fight and defend them from attcking enimies. There is a mini campaign in the game and a built in tutorial and also free play. I do admit it is hard for younger players and it is nothing like the other lego games like the Starwars, Batman, and Indian Jones. I had my 7 year old try it and he likes it, but says its too hard to control everyone at once.

   

Time Hollow
From Konami

Time Hollow follows the story of Ethan Kairos and the mysterious disappearance of his entire family. As he searches for them he comes across a Hollow Pen. This uncanny object has the unique power to open portals to the past. This new ability allows Ethan to change the past in order to solve problems in the present. Through the use of this mystical pen he must follow events in the present and past to locate his missing family. This mysterious adventure takes bold new steps in the story-driven adventure genre. Incorporating the new gameplay mechanic of the Hollow Pen, controlled with the stylus, players will be able to uncover the truth and save the present by creating Holes in time to search through both the present and past. To supplement the gameplay, key scenes are presented in full animation sequences designed by AIC, the producers of the anime series Blood+ and Gun X Sword.
Amazon Sales Rank: #5376 in Video Games Brand: Konami Model: 24150 Released on: 2008-09-23 ESRB Rating: Teen Platform: Nintendo DS Number of items: 1 Dimensions: .75" h x 5.25" w x 4.75" l, .26 pounds

Junko Kawano does it again I picked Time Hollow up because I was such a fan of the creator's (Junko Kawano) previous effort Shadow of Destiny for the PS2. Both games deal with time travel and the effects of changing the past. Shadow of Destiny and Time Hollow have some similarities but the latter has a much different story and gameplay. In the game you open holes into the past to change certain things in order to create realities that fit your objectives, while in Shadow of Destiny you physically traveled back in time. Neither game has deep gameplay, though both games' strong point is their story. I'll admit that at first I didn't like the anime art style of the game, but eventually it didn't matter because the story was so enthralling. While the story does suck you in, it doesn't last very long, which is a bummer. I played the game for about an hour a day and finished it in a week and a half. One thing I enjoyed about the game besides the story was the music which is very effective and creepy at times. Time Hollow is obviously marketed towards teens with its anime art style, adolescent main character, and simple puzzles, but I still found it enjoyable as a 24 year old. One thing that was disappointing was the lack of replay value since Shadow of Destiny had loads of it. There's a few things that can be done on replay but not much. I recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of the adventure/detective point-and-click type gameplay as well as Junko Kawano's previous effort Shadow of Destiny. Dissapointing I am a big fan of point and click style adventure games, so I don't usually complain about "lack of gameplay" in the usual sense for these types of games. Time Hollow, however, literally has no gameplay-and that is one of it's huge flaws. You click around on a map to visit locations, but you never have to explore because the game almost always tells you exactly where to go. Dialogue consists of clicking on various question bubbles until the exchange has ended, but there is no real interactivity here; just move down the list. The main hook of the game is supposed to be the hollow pen, a tool that lets you "dig" through certain points of time to alter the past. You will be presented with a scene and it's up to you to find the right place to dig a hole. Mess up too many times and it's game over. Unfortunately, none of these digging sessions encourage you to solve anything on your own-the answers are so obvious that the whole thing is over in a minute or two. Now all of this excessive hand-holding and linearity might be forgiven if there were a good plot underneath it all-after all, adventure games like these are played for their storyline more than anything else. Time Hollow doesn't deliver here either. While the initial mystery got me interested, (what happened to Ethan's parents and who is behind it all?) by then end I found that I really didn't care what happened. The characters have little to no backstory, so you don't really care when they are put in danger. The plot feels somewhat bland and unoriginal, but the weak characters are really what pulls it down the most. So far this has been pretty negative, but there are good points to Time Hollow: The interface is slick and fun to use. The artwork and music do a great job of setting the mood, and the plot does have some moments (it's definitely not terrible). What it comes down to is this: Time Hollow is a decent adventure game that is held back by uninteresting characters and complete lack of challenge. Also keeping in mind that it's quite short, I'd say this one is a rental. Great story, but gameplay is quite Hollow :-) I loved the story. I found myself wanting to keep playing, just to see what happens next. However, the game play elements are severely lacking. It's not very challenging, although it pretends to be. Time Hollow is like the opposite of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The former has better story but bad puzzles, whereas the latter has great puzzles but only a mildly entertaining story. All in all, it is definitely worth playing once through. Just don't expect it to be any more than a manga.