New super mario bros combines classic platform gaming with mushroom-munching action! Play as mario to save Princess Peach and stop Bowser Jr once and for all! Unlike Kirby each level is a world of it’s own – from deep caverns to sandy deserts to dry-bones infested castles! You could spend all day hooked to the screen trying to catch all 250 big star coins! My sister thinks that the actual gameplay is way too easy – she completed it in 3 hours! Below is a video of those first few levels;

New Super Mario  Bros can have up to four players battling it out in the minigames section, and also on the ‘collect all the stars’ game, so there is no reason to not buy it!!

CHEATS: PLAY AS LUIGI

* To play as luigi, press the ‘R’ and ‘L’ buttons together, whilst selecting a file on the main menu screen.

CHEATS: CHALLENGE MODE

* Whilst paused on the map, press L R L R X X Y Y. This starts the secret challenge mode. This only works after the game has been completed.

UNLOCKABLES:

* To unlock world 4, defeat the boss of world 2 as mini mario.

* To unlock world 7, defeat the boss of world 5 as mini mario.

* To unlock the BG patterns complete the game once.

* To unlock unlimited toadstool items clear every level – even the bonus the lettered bonuses.

* To be able to save,  beat the game once.

* If you complete a level with the last digits  of the time  being either 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88 or 99 a differant colour mushroom hut appears – depending on the time.

RATING: 97%

If you liked this game, you’ll love Super Mario 64 or Kirby: Mouse Attack!

If you know of any more Cheats or unlockables, or if you have any questions, send them in!!

After the dreadful, touch-screen destroying Pokemon Ranger, we’ve all been waiting for a proper Pokemon game on Ds. And here it is! Diamond and Pearl are perfect for the already fans of the series, or for the first-timers.

 STARTING OFF:

When beginning the games, you get pulled by your friend off to Lake Verity, where you encounter Prof. Rowan and Dawn. you then get a chance to take your first Pokemon. I found Chimchar is the best to pick, as Piplup and Turtwig are both very weak Pokemon – If you’ve completed the game and want something harder, try going for Piplup or Turtwig for the hell of it!

REMEMBER:

To do the best you can, try catching a Chimchar, Bidoof, Shinx Starly and Budew straight away – let them level up together and you’ll be practically unbeatable!!

NATIONAL DEX:

To Get the National PokeDex, collect every Pokemon in Sinnoh. You won’t be able to get past the Battle Area until you’ve done this. Next, go to Prof. Rowan’s lab, where Prof. Oak will butt in and upgrade your PokeDex.

To actually complete the game, you will need to find every Pokemon in the entire area – some found by simply wandering in long grass, whilst others you must trade from other people.

POKEMON:

This is a list of rare pokemon and where to find them.

DIAGLA/PIAGLA

Once you have beaten Galactic Boss Cyrus in the Veilstone base and been given the master ball, head to the top of Mount Coronet, where Galactic Mars, Saturn and Cyrus await to Duel once more. Once  you have beaten them, Diagla/Piagla (Depending on the game) will step forth. Just use the master ball!

UXIE/AZELF/MESPRIT

Once you have captured Diagla/Piagla, head to the three lakes,  where these three Pokemon will be waiting. Instead of attacking, Uxie will dissapear, and randomly appear in grassy patches in Sinnoh. To hunt him down, use the Poketech Tracking device you can get off the manager of the Poketech center in Jubelife City.

GIRATINA

To find this beast, head down into Turnback Cave from Spring Walk. He is very sinister, and I would save your Master Pokeball for him, as he’s level 70!! 

 CRESSILIA

To find this mystical pokemon talk to the sailor at Canalave city – ask him to take you to full moon island. Cressilia will be there, but disappear – use the tracking device to find it.

DRIFLOON

On friday this ghost pokemon will be standing outside the Valley Windworks.

ROTOM

Once you’ve started the National Pokedex, visit the Old Chateau. Go into the room with the television and click on it. the Rotom will appear.

HAPPINY

To get Happiny, you can either wait for it to appear in the Pokemon Mansion trophy garden, or you can get an Egg from a man in Hearthome City. It will hatch into a Happiny.

LUCARIO

To get this Pokemon, speak to the sailor in Canalave City, and set sail for Iron Island.  A man will be waiting in the cave. Guide him through to the exit to get an Egg which will hatch into a Riolu.

REGIGIGA

If you enter the temple in Snowpoint city with Regirock, Regice, etc, this poikemon will be waiting for you.

OTHERS:

Once you have started the national dex, talk to Bebe. She will give you an Evee.

Once you have started the national dex, talk to Dawn’s sister.  She will tell you where certain pokemon are. These pokemon can only be found when Dawn’s sister tells you about them.  They are : Delibird, Doduo, Pidgy, Drowzee, Surskit, Nosepass, Beldum, Lickitung, Zigzagoon. This list will be added to when we have obtained more info.

 

Once you have started the national dex, go to the pokemon mansion on the road to Hearthome City from Pastoria City. If you talk to the owner his butler will run from the room. If you then go to the garden the pokemon the owner was boasting about to you will be there! These pokemon are: Plusle, Meowth, Mime Jr, Happiny, Chansey, Porygon, Minun. More will be added to this list as we find more info.

This game is the biggest ‘pet’ game EVER for the Ds. It was a hit in Japan and massive in America, but how good is it really?

If you’ve played Sims 2 Pets and found it boring, try  Nintendogs. Buy your own dogs, care for them, train them, enter them into the dog contests and more!!

This game is just like having your own dog to dress up ( my favourite item of clothing is mario’s hat, which you can find on walks)! The contests are also very impressive, and enjoyable – especially the frisbee challenge.

I really like how this game makes you play it , because if you don’t , your dog won’t like you, which means it won’t do very well in any of the competitions, meaning you won’t be able to feed your dog – it all counts on you playing the game all the time!

I don’t really like how the background keeps repeating itself when your giving your dogs ‘walkies’ – it just shows how Nintendo quickly skipped over the making of this feature (hopefully because they were attracting all their attention to a game for the future).

Cheats:

Eating exclamation marks – When an exclamation mark appears above your dog, drag it to it’s mouth and it will eat it!

All together, the game is a strange mix of virtual pets and dog related mini games that becomes very addictive!

RATING: 89%

If you enjoyed playing this game, try Dogz on Ds, or Sims 2 Petes on Ds

This game has everything, from online shopping to cooking salmon, but only the best can become the best in this animal treating game.

 I like how you can choose exactly what pet you would like (all hail our jack russel – Bruce!), as well as the usual creating exactly what you look like. I also like the Nintendog-like ‘take your dog for a walk in the park, before giving them a wash ‘ idea.

But it’s not all happily playing with your pet – the downfall of this game I belive is the fact you have to keep going to bed and getting the clients upset for keeping them waiting. I also think the controls could be better.

This game is for people thst are new to Sims, or people that have played nintendogs and want something more difficult.

RATING: 47%

If you liked this, you should try out Sims 2 on Ds, Nintendogs on Ds, or Dogz on Ds.

Journey into the shadow realm as Spyro embarks on his next adventure. What evil monster has taken his taken his friends away? Why has a sinister darkness fallen over the dragon realms – play it to find out!

I only played up to the point of defeating the first boss, as It began to get boring. Each area you travelled to began to repeat itself – save all the wizards, save all the bears, save all the dragons… I think if you want to buy a spyro game, go for ‘Spyro: A Hero’s Tail’ on PS2, or ‘Spyro: Eternal Nights’.

The graphics in Shadow Legacy for Ds are fairly poor, and the camera angles aren’t the best in the world. This could be made up for by great platforming. It isn’t, though. Overall, this game is okay to start with, but gets worse. Much worse.

RATING: 34%

If you Liked this, try Spyro: Eternal Night.

Mario Kart is the ds version of the Mario racing game series. I really enjoyed this game, as it had such a variety of tracks – my favourite being the Waluigi Pinball or the dizzying heights of the Airship Fortress. Plus, multiplayer racing and battling is included (just as any good game should)! But this game is different… For the first time, You can play mario kart with anyone around the world!!!!

This amazing feat is thanks to the Ds’ Wifi connection system – and I’m lovin’ it!!! At last I can race against my cousin in austrailia, only by getting his friend code! To do this, simply start up you’re wifi connection (you must have a router for you’re computer’s internet that you can hook up to wirelesssly), then click on wether you want to race against a friend (you must have their friend code), a rival (anyone that’s the same level as you), anyone in the continent, or anyone in the world!! There are a few problems with this gameplay though – firstly, it takes a while to find a player willing to race you, and secondly, everyone’s better than you!! Yes, to win any races, you’ll need to practice hard on single player! 

I like this game because of the variety of tracks and also how they’ve taken the best retro tracks from the previous games (like Moo Moo Farm, Donut Plains, Choco Mountain, Koopa Beach and even Sky Garden) and made them… Good. These tracks are probably the easiest bacause they are very simple (just look at Baby Park for instance) and also there is the fact that any dedicated Mario fan should know these tracks inside out from playing them on older consoles. Here’s a list of the new tracks and how to win on them every time…

THE NEW TRACKS:

MUSHROOM CUP:

Figure 8 Circuit: This track is one of the first you encounter, and is perfect for practising powerslides for later. Remember to turn early on those wide corners, though – you don’t want to powerslide off into the grass, do you. Also, the wide streches of this track are perfect for using the snaking technique.

Yoshi Falls: This track is has an upper and lower section – which way you choose really depends on your character’s skills. The upper section is best, because of the boosters strewn everywhere. The bottom part is shorter, but filled with water to slow you down – use a mushroom boost to get past this quickly. Another good point with the bottom section is that there are boxes floating randomly downstream.

Cheep Cheep Beach: This is one of my favourite tracks. When you turn on the pier at the start, be sure to do a quick powerslide - but do it too late, and you’ll hit the barrier! You can do the same as you go through the stone arch as well. if the tide goes out on the next curve (which is on the main beach, over the boost jumps) make a dash through the space where the water was for a quick short cut. Do all of this right and you’ll definitly be in the lead!

Luigi’s Mansion: You should be able to make three, sharp powerslides on the way down the first hill. There is a lot of snaking possibilities inside the mansion to give you a boost, too. Also, use a mushroom in the swamp to stop you getting stuck.

FLOWER CUP:

Desert Hills: This track has a lot of tight corners that are pefect for powersliding and laying down bananas.  The first lap of this circuit has no real dangers (exept the Pokeys, which you can easily dodge), but the second lap holds a surprise as the angry sun spurts fireballs at you. These are very hard to dodge and can wipe you out for a couple of seconds ( that may not seem much, but it’s enough for a few racers to get past you and win that vital last lap).

Delfino Square: Remember this place? Yep, it’s the same place from Mario Sunshine! It’s an easy track to get ahead early, as the fountain is perfect for powersliding around. When you get to the fork, there’s no need to worry – both routes are just as quick. The real shortcut comes when you’re about to go over the first bridge (not the one that lifts up). Instead of going over, jump off to the left, and aim for the pier. If you don’t reach it, you might need to be in a faster engine group or use a mushroom. There is also a small alley after the same bridge and behined two crates. this way is not a shortcut, as the mud there slows you down badly.

Waluigi Pinball: There are a lot of boosters to get ahead with on the first bend, and the curves on the next section of the track are great for powersliding. On the main table, it’s quicker to head straight down, using the map to locate every pinball and flipper.

Shroom Ridge: Shroom ridge is a fairly difficult track, but easy if you know how. It’s best if you’re in a heavier car, because that way, you’ll be able to push other racers into the oncoming traffic. This circuit has lots of U-bends that are berfect for powersliding, but I would use the map to look out for cars and buses to avoid collisions. Remember; those last bends don’t have barriers, so don’t go crazy on the powerslides!

STAR CUP:

Dk Pass: This track is very snowy at stages, so I would use a lighter character to not get slowed down as much. Remember to look out for snowballs as you powerslide round the S-curves just after the igloo. Also, ther last bend is littered with snowmen, so I strongly reccomened hugging that corner tightly. whilst doing this, litter about some bannanas.

Tick Tock Clock: This is easy because it is very simple and also because the only enemies are some clockhands and a pendulum! When you go over the clock faces, look on the map to see which way to go – go the way with the hour hand. The pendulum crops up next and is by far the hardest part of the circuit. You will get knoked off at first, but with practice, it can be done!!! There are 4 cogs that rotate in different directions next. To get to that prized first place, you have to snake around them the same way they are rotating. This will give you a boost. My favourite hint comes next – On the final stretch, you’ll notice two vertical cogs. Drive OVER the one that’s going the same direction as you to get a big boost.

Mario Circuit: As soon as the race starts, try to nudge the other racers into the Goombahs. As the circuit moves up, you will meet a large S-curve. Try snaking this, whilst avoiding the Pirana Plant’s fireballs (not that that is hard…). It is here that a few bannana’s could potentally wipe somebody out. The last few bends of the track are perfect for powersliding and are the key in winning this race.

Airship Fortress: This track is by far the most imaginative of them all. You start off by racing along the walls of a casle, dodging the Bullet Bills that are fired at you. You then powerslide round the corner and jump onto the airship. You can hug the next corner tightly, dodging the Monty Moles that keep popping up. After entering the ship and powersliding round the tight corner, you’ll end up inside a room with lots of boxes. Try snaking if you can manage it. Next, you get fired out of a cannon and end up inside a tall tower. You can actually powerslide right down to the ground and through the finnish line – what an ending!!!

SPECIAL CUP:

Wario Stadium: The first three turns of this course are very tight, so I wouldn’t even try powersliding! When you traverse the swampy area next, be sure to hit every booster on the islands, or you’ll slow down massively! Also, Red Koopa Shells work brilliantly here. Then, when you go over the boosters and through the fireballs, be sure to take off in a straight line or you’ll be burnt to a crisp! Be sure to weave over the hills just a bit further on to reach every booster to make up for the time spend dodging fireballs.

Peach Gardens: This track requires a lighter car (hitting flowerbeds won’t slow you down as much when you take shortcuts). Powerslide roung the first bend, but don’t slow down – a Chain Chomp follows you round this bit! Use a mushroom to cut through the flowerbeds - it saves loads of time!  Rememeber – If you can see a Chain Chomp – follow it – they trail item boxes behind them!! Weave in and out of the Monty Moles towards the end of the circuit (and if you have any bannanas, put them here).

Bowser Castle: This course is quite difficult, but gets easier the more you have a go at it. The best way to get ahead is on the turntable, instead of heading towards the normal exit, keep going to the right, dodging the flames and going through a smaller yet quicker exit.  It’s best to have a heavier character like Bowser to to stop being knocked off the many narrow pathways of this course. Try and hit the moving cylinder at an angle, and you won’t need to steer much. If you fall off, the track below is around five seconds longer!!!

Rainbow Road: Rainbow Road is possibly the hardest track on this game, as there is no barriers most the time and so is easy to get pushed off. Another bad point about this track is that if you get hit by a weapon in the middle of the loop, you’ll fall and probably end up at the back of the pack! My top tips are; to snake as much as possible, stay ahead while you can so you don’t get pushed off the sides, and stay on the right – it’s faster!!

Unlocking Characters:

R.O.B – get gold on every cup in 150cc Mirror Mode Nitro Mode.

Dry Bones – Gold on every Cup in 50cc Nitro Mode.

waluigi – Get Gold on every cup in 100cc Retro Mode.

Daisy – Get gold on every cup in 50cc Retro Mode

Havn’t got the previous Mario racing games? Have no fear – most of the tracks from the other games have been updated and included in this must-have game – you’ve just got to unlock them!

And still I ask myself – why remake Baby Park?!…

RATING: 93%

If you liked this, try Diddy Kong Racing on Ds, or Crash Tag Team Racing on Ps2.

I have not yet played the NEW Mariokart game on the Wii, but it is supposedly going to be the best yet when released, taking the classic tracks to a whole new level.

Dave, the archaeologist. Off on another expedition. One with strange creatures wielding fangs.

In this Game, the player must dig in a given area to find a fossil, which you can bring back to life and use to battle with! But it’s not so simple – a mutant creature will be waiting to shoot their mucus-covered laser balls at you! This game takes skill,  although I got bored very quickly.

CHEATS: Getting More Points

Get the clock from a block (this freezes the beasties attacking you). Next, get Dave the digger to draw a line around the main monster that leads back to as close to your van as possible. All the area around main monster gets dug – giving you a score of 80% or more and getting you to the next level! Sadly, any fossils that haven’t already been dug up in that area won’t get caught!

The graphics here are rubbish, and the gameplay is very repetitive. Why would somwone make this!?

RATING: 33%

If you have already played this game, try Spectrobes or Pokemon.

If you enjoy racing, battling, or creating your own silly sounds and billboards, this is the game for you! In this all action, mine -blowing game, you race on land, in the water and …IN THE AIR!!!Create your own tracks to twart your friends on and customise the sounds, billboards and vechiles to finnally beat the giant magic pig – Wizpig! But it Dosn’t stop there! Destroy your mates on four battle areas – an icy pyramid, a token-littered castle, a swamp and a volcano!

I really like this game because the graphics are amazing and the tracks vary so much! This is a must have game!

CHEATS:

* You do not need to actually pass through the finnish posts to get to the next lap – it’s often quicker to go around them!

* Having trouble getting up to high ledges and tunnels using the plane?  Just press the ‘R’ Button upwards to get up there easily.  This button also lets you get round really tight corners when you press it along with either the right or left directinal buttons.

* Remember – the car cannot go on water – if you’ve seen a secret way that’s on water use the hover boat or plane!!

CHEATS: Secret Passages

* On Frosty Village you pass a waterfall to your right towards the end of the lap.  Go through it. you will end up in a watery expanse. keep going forward past two stalagmites of ice. the road will follow you to your left. DO NOT  go back to it, but go through  another hole in the wall. To actually let this cheat give you an advantage, you need to be on the hover boat.

 Inside the waterfall.

* On Treasure Caves, there is a tunnel at the begining to the right. It is so high, only the plane can pass through it.

* On the water track Cresent Island, you meet a ship about halfway through a lap. Instead of passing through it like everyone else, go through the water to your left. If you follow the water, you will end up on the main track once more.

  

RATING: 90%

If you like this game, try Mario Kart.

Diddy Kong Racing is still being updated, but if you have any more cheats, hints, secret ways or any questions – LEAVE A COMMENT!!!!

Zenduku combines suduku, Zen sybols and fighting in this frustrating puzzle game on Ds.  Fight it out against characters from around the globe, or use the touch screen in an awsome, block breaking, candle blowing, frost wiping minigame (well, on the Ds version anyway…)! Don’t forget to try out the multiplayer fun either!

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of suduku, or don’t know how to play – the rules are listed on the main menu. Most people I have asked think that Zenduku could have spent more time creating the battling and used more mature sybols. In my opinion, this game is just too frustrating!

But if you are looking for a game that will last you forever to complete and will never get boring, THIS IS NOT THAT GAME!!!!

RATING: 43%

If you liked this game, you’ll love Puzzle Quest on Ds!

So, your car’s broken down, you have no idea when it’ll be fixed, and you’re stuck in a remote town. You decide to get a job as a hotel manager?!Sims 2 is an exiting game where you take the role of Strangeville’s hotel manager, keeping out the bad guys and zapping aliens with a water pistol. Am I still sane? I like this game because you can put nearly anything into the hotel – casinos, secret goverment bases… ANYTHING!! Snogging all the girls is fun too!!

Graphically, The Sims 2 is more detailed than The Sims and allows players to view its world in full 3D. Unlike earlier Sim games, such as simcity 2000, which used fixed resolutions, the camera in The Sims 2 allows the player to play the game from many angles. Sims themselves are much more intricately detailed than they were in The Sims. In The Sims, Sims are 3D meshes, but The Sims 2 introduces far more detail in mesh quality, texture quality, and animation capability. A Sim’s facial features are customizable and unique, and Sims can smile, frown, and blink. The player can adjust, for example, a Sim’s nose to be very large or very small in The Sims 2′s Create-a-Sim. Texturing is still achieved through use of Raster images , though it appears more lifelike.

RATING: 55%

If you liked this game, you’ll love Animal Crossing: Wild World on Ds!