Nintendo Roundup Page 2

Mario vs Donkey Kong 3: Minis March Again (DSiWare)

Minis March Again is pretty much a direct sequel to March of the Minis, which hit DS over two years ago. It's a puzzle game, essentially very similar to Lemmings, but controlled entirely by stylus. You fill in and remove blocks, and attempt to map out a path for your Mini-Marios to get to the exit. They wander in a straight line, turning around if they can't proceed, or automatically hopping onto a small block if one is placed in their paths.

Excitement is added through both collectibles and perils. Spike pits were the most I had to worry about in this demo, but when trying to collect all of the lettered cards that spelled out MINIMARIO (one on each stage) to unlock a secret level, they were problem enough. Equally, the exit door is only open for a short time once the first Mini-Mario touches it, so you can't get all but one to the exit and then send him around to pick up the collectibles. That would be too easy. The boss stage on offer was very much like in the series' second game, with us aiming and firing a cannon at Donkey Kong while avoiding the assorted debris falling from the top of the screen, so don't expect too much new there.

The promise of secret levels is likely to add replayability, but so too is the level editor. You see, Minis March Again will feature the ability to create your own maps, and then send them to other players. Considering the price for this DSiWare title, this might be something worth picking up on impulse alone.

Picross 3D (DS)

I have a love-hate relationship with the original Picross. On the one hand, it's one of my favourite games on the DS, and is something I spent a lot of time playing just before sleep. On the other hand, it's also the DS game that has irrevocably ruined my sleeping patterns, as One More Level syndrome tends to strike about six times before I finally turn off the lights.

Picross had a simple premise, with a 2D grid lined by numbers indicating how many blocks needed to be filled in on each row, and how these blocks were arranged. This never gave quite enough information that you could just fill it in easily, though – a 5x5 grid with a horizontal row that needs one block filled in gives no hint as to which one of those five it is. Bit by bit, you fill blocks in, finish rows, and uncover a picture.

Picross 3D, as you may have guessed, adds a third dimension. Rather than drawing pictures with blocks, you're carving out a model. It might be a jigsaw piece, it might be a dog, or it might be a dancing man. I've actually been playing the Japanese version for months, and getting my hands on the English version confirms that the translation is up to scratch, and that the game will be just as compulsive as the original. If you haven't played Picross, do so, and then join me in the painful wait for this translation of its follow-up.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS)

As with Picross 3D, this is yet another sequel that we've all been waiting for, for what seems like years. Professor Layton and the Curious Village was a surprise hit over here, but this was actually gratifying because it's brilliant, combining mind-bending puzzles with pseudo-Edwardian sensibilities of gentlemanly conduct and Tintin-style animation and voice acting. It made you feel smart, giving you fairly easy puzzles initially before unleashing logic hell upon you later in the# game, but help was always there through purchasable hints. If you were still stumped then most of the time the puzzle could be avoided. Only a few particular puzzles were required to reach the end of the story, although to progress past certain points, you had to solve a certain number. These could be any of the ones available, however.

The Diabolical Box takes Layton out of the Curious Village. He and his protege Luke are now investigating a mysterious box that apparently kills anyone who opens it, and from the looks of things, it's on track as a perfect sequel. The puzzles are present and correct, the voice acting is spot on, and the animation is all there. It doesn't look like there's much new, but when there's a trailer showing swordfighting, and the locations get away from the enclosed environment of the Curious Village – well, colour us intrigued. More Layton is not a bad thing.