DS Downloadable Games vol. 3 [DS REVIEW] [QUICK&SHORT]

GAIA'S MOON

+++ PROS +++

• Simple and effective play mechanic - you press 1 button to fly upwards - press for longer to fly higher.
• Use this to swoop and dive, avoiding a weird and wonderful assortment of "enemies"
• Enemies include jumping sharks, flying dolphins, floating skulls and puffer fish. All in the same level too.
• Nice graphics serve the purpose well - although not amazing
• 2 player mode too - one uses the top screen and the other uses the bottom screen. This can get a little confusing though
• Cheap - only £1.80 on DSi Store
• Infuriatingly catchy soundtrack will stay in your head for weeks.

--- CONS ---

• Your flight path to avoid some of the enemies can be a bit ambiguous - sometimes it seems only flying through the bottom of one enemy will get you through
• Hard to master - takes at least half an hour to get through the first 5 levels safely - and when you lose you have to start right from the beginning
• Infuriatingly catchy soundtrack will stay in your head for weeks.

3 HEROES - CRYSTAL SOUL

+++ PROS +++

• Bright and colourful strategy puzzler game
• On the surface is just a "Match-3" game but actually has some deeper mechanics to work out
• Novel gameplay and design - you must move your character around a grid map by attacking nearby enemies. When you attack, you will also defeat all adjacent enemies of the same colour and earn colour points.
• By defeating the enemies in the right order - and choosing the right colours to go for at the right times - you can earn enough points to pull off special moves and get even bigger bonuses and treasures.
• Enough levels to play through with 3 different (albeit fairly similar) characters - so you can kill a few hours with this. 

--- CONS ---

• Not too cheap for what you get - £4.50 on DSi Store
• Claims to have "RPG elements". In reality it just uses some basic RPG philosophy, fight for as long as you can until your health goes down - then run and heal/save
• Not really any incentive for playing through the levels - there is just the satisfaction of unlocking all the levels but certainly not what you'd expect from an "RPG puzzler"

GO SERIES - UNDEAD STORM

+++ PROS +++

• Basic zombie shooter with plenty of charm and appeal
• Cheap - only £1.80 on DSi Store
• 3 levels and 3 difficulty settings for each - and it is worth giving each of them a go!
• Easy is good for a laugh, just take some rage out on some zombies
• Hard is a challenge - you'll either need to have lightning reflexes or employ clever use of weaponry
• Nice variety of weapons - shotguns, machine guns, grenades, mines, molotovs, melee 
• And a diverse bunch of enemies to use them on!
• 4 characters to choose from - each with their own dialogue
• Plenty of choice for how to approach levels too - do you search for survivors to help you or just go commando?
• LOADS of medals to unlock - sort of like achievements on Xbox or trophies on PS3 - these are awarded for things like level completes or not using special weapons or taking no damage

--- CONS ---

• Simplistic graphics can make it difficult to see what exactly is going on when the screen fills up with baddies and explosions
• Sometimes the end-level bosses can wipe out everyone in your party very quickly - leading to some distressing game overs
• Sometimes the zombies can be a bit....er..... braindead? They just stand there and wait for you to kill them. Not that I'm complaining that much or anything....

If you're in the market for a Nintendo DS - and 45 incredible games to go with it -

then check out my eBay auction.

Ends Sunday 8th April at 8PM BST!

LINK TO THE AUCTION >>>> HERE

Feel free to post comments or contributions to improve the experience!
Any images in this review are subject to relevant copyrights and are kindly provided by:
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/dsiware/gaiaacutes_moon_47538.html
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/dsiware/3_heroes_crystal_soul_47787.html
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/dsiware/go_series_undead_storm_47758.html