The next game from the folks at Q? Entertainment, responsible for the masterpieces that are Lumines and Meteos, have been working on a new puzzler for both the DS and the PSP. Each version is unique in how it plays and looks and, according to 1UP, the DS installment is superior to the PSP's game.

"The PSP version is the purest taste of Gunpey you're likely to receive anywhere. The skin collecting is addictive, and as long as you don't mind the brutal, linear, hours-long grind needed to collect them all, then this is probably the version most older gamers will go for. But if you're looking for a more full-featured game, with greater variety -- and don't mind the cartoony milieu of Gunpey DS -- then you will find this version not only a superior value, but a superior game."

[Via PSP Fanboy]

The localized version of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! has finally hit our shores and, as Elite Beat Agents, the player is charged with maintaining the super-cool, dressed-in-black stylings of the crew as they bust the most elite beats and kick it to save those in need. Apparently, if the critics are to be believed, in its overhaul from Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! to Elite Beat Agents, they lost a little something, however reviews generally say the game is worth owning.

• Gamespot - 89%: "Though there isn't much competition, Elite Beat Agents is easily the best rhythm game available for the Nintendo DS, and for that matter, it's easily one of the most randomly addictive experiences on the platform. The idea of just tapping circles in time with music while dudes in suits dance doesn't sound like much on paper, but the insane presentational components and enjoyable challenge the game puts forth do a lot to bring the whole experience together into something extremely playable. Those without a penchant for the unabashedly bizarre might find Elite Beat Agents to be a bit too much, but just about anyone else with a DS would do well to try this one out."

• IGN - 95%: "Westerners who've played the original Osu! Tatake! Oendan! might end up a little disappointed that the Nintendo of America version might lack the kitschy Japanese flavor with its bandana-adorned personal cheerleaders and incomprehensible J-pop tunes accomodating the quirky, lost-in-translation stories. But even with new characters, popular Western tunes, and plots that actually make sense, Elite Beat Agents retains the awesome, addictive gameplay core. And let's be honest: the Elite Beat Agents are too cool for school and could kick those pansy bathrobe-wearing cheerleaders' asses any day of the week."
  

• 1UP - 90%: "Import-geek protestations notwithstanding, Elite Beat Agents is here, and it deserves to be in every DS owner's library. Very few games can truly claim to be for all players of all ages, and this is one of them. With a delirious mix of slapstick humor, comic storytelling, infectious music, and tons of replayability, Elite Beat Agents is one of the best music-oriented games to date and stands among the cream of the DS's impressive library. Don't miss it."

When it comes to Nintendo's bounty hunters, it's all about the ladies. But the long-awaited, oft-delayed Scurge: Hive is no Metroid knockoff, despite similarites in heroines (and in weapons of choice). In Scurge: Hive, you take on the role of Jenosa Arma as she investigates a distress signal from a lab. Unfortunately for the intrepid Jenosa, the lab and everything around it is infected with the Scurge, a dangerous alien plague that spreads parasitically, infecting a host and taking it over. Before she can escape, she is infected and must go through a rigorous decontamination process while battling the alien menace and a wide array of monsters. But Jenosa is up to the task, difficult as it may sound. When you're a bounty huntress, that's just all in a day's work.

Overall, the game has seen solid reviews praising the pacing and story, but decrying the repetitive aspect of gameplay. No matter how interesting the story, in the end, it does come down to: kill enemies, get to sickbay. But then again, what game can't be boiled down to the sum of its parts?

Interestingly, the DS version has seen more negative criticism than the GBA -- the touch screen is barely used (it serves as a map screen) and the graphics seem to have suffered in the transition to the updated system (it was originally designed as a GBA title).

During the great catastrophe that occured in Illusia, many lost their life. The Mana Tree, a staple of the Mana series, has now become corrupt with its own power, causing countless monsters to roam the lands. Mana pillars have also erected across Illusia, tasking the player with raising the Sword of Mana and freeing the trapped Guardian Spirit within. This is the only way the Mana Tree and Illusia can return to peaceful state it enjoyed before the catastrophe.

• IGN - 80%: "Hardcore gamers expecting to get a sequel to the popular Secret of Mana series from the days of the Super Nintendo are going to be let down purely based on the dungeon crawler design of the game. For fans of games like Blizzard's Diablo, or repeat gamers that enjoyed Sword of Mana despite its harsh criticism and apparent downsides, Children of Mana is a keeper. The action is solid, the amount of character customization is definitely robust, the amount of side quests and bonus missions to partake in will ensure players that the adventure isn't over too quickly, and the game is simply beautiful on an audio/visual level. As far as hack-n-slash RPGs go, Children of Mana is one of the best we've seen on a handheld, and for dungeon crawler addicts Square Enix has definitely hit the spot."

• Gamepro - 80%: "Ultimately, Children of Mana is wonderfully rendered, but when compared to Secret of Mana's engaging narrative, Children of Mana's sparse and slow story falls short. The game is still fun, especially if you enjoy dungeon-crawling and strategically nuanced battles. Fans of the Mana series should check it out, but don't hold your expectations too high."

• Games Radar - 60%: "It's a shame that combat in Children of Mana is so mindless. The ingredients are there to make this a really excellent action RPG. Unfortunately, it wasn't cooked for long enough and you're left with an action RPG with great RPG elements and trite action. There are lots of things this game does right, but ultimately it fails to live up to its potential."

In all the buzz about the Wii, no one's said much about the DS at this year's Nintendo Fusion Tour, which is a shame, since some really great games are playable on the tour, like Elite Beat Agents and Final Fantasy III. Where's the love? We can't let the Wii overshadow everything, Nintendo fans!

Last week at the Fusion Tour in Arkansas, we spent some time observing the DS and get got in some hands-on action with Final Fantasy III. Unfortunately, despite the excitement of the Wii, there was always someone playing Elite Beat Agents, and since there were no monitors on the DS stations, there was no moderation of time. As exciting as it was to note that people were all sorts of about the game, there are still disappointed fingers here that were thwarted in the epic quest to rock some beats while helping people out.

Color us disappointed. Touch Detective looks so fascinating, from the unusual art style to the story to the eyebrow-raisingly strange sidekick Funghi. We were looking forward to it, and still are ... just with less fervor. It's interesting to note that while the game is often compared in reviews to Trace Memory (and, of course, our beloved Phoenix Wright), due to the gameplay and style, the way reviewers refer to Trace Memory is quite varied (it's terrible! it's great! it's so-so!), so it's probably not surprising that some love Touch Detective and others think the developers should probably be beaten. Most of the reviews have one thing in common, however -- the gameplay aspect of Touch Detective, well, it isn't so good.

GameSpy - 40%: Touch Detective may have the weirdest, driest sense of humor I've ever encountered in a game. It's rarely if ever laugh-out-loud funny, but it did make me smile a bunch, particularly when reading Mackenzie's secret thoughts on the top screen. The localized script is very capably written. Despite all this, the storylines are just not very intriguing. Worse, the game isn't very engaging to play. The puzzles are a weird combination of simple yet obtuse; there's generally not a lot of items you can get at any one time, yet the way you use them is often weird enough that the solution's not very obvious. Sometimes I'd seem to run out of options, which led to much frustrated back-tracking through the game's decidedly small number of environments. The problem often turned out to be that I simply hadn't clicked in the right place on a certain screen; for example, in a store, it transpired that only one of the items was purchasable, and it took me several trips there (and a lucky tap) to figure out I could get the item I knew I wanted. That's the epitome of very annoying game design.

Grasshopper Manufacture is certainly developing a reputation for unpredictability. Opinions on their last Nintendo foray, Killer 7, were all over the place -- some loved the twisted rail-shooter, others hated it, and many just scratched their heads and offered up a simple "wtf, mate?" Their new Atlus-published RPG Contact, while a little more straightforward, seems to be getting the same wide range of responses. As this is a metareview, Contact seems like a metagame; it's the little things that are praised, the inclusion of other games, references to games, influences from games, the touches from old school games. Unfortunately, the actual game seems to have suffered a bit -- even the most praise-worthy reviews indicate some gameplay issues.

1UP - 80%: "Savvy players will almost certainly enjoy all these little references and arty concepts, so it's a shame the entire package won't hold up to their scrutiny. In crafting their gaming curiosity, Grasshopper has made some design choices that are simply curious. The autobattle system is far from engaging ... fighting enemies in Contact is a woefully straightforward process. It's impossible to dodge or block attacks. In fact, the player can only watch as Terry trades hits with his target."

Games Radar - 60%: "Contact is a mixed bag and will delight some while disappointing others. It feels "classic," but the flipside of that is "outdated." Even though it's chock-full of personality and pomp, Contact falls short on fun, with some disappointing shortcomings. Casual RPG fans will have no problem finishing this game in less than 14 hours and a lot of that time will be spent backtracking through previous areas and grinding to boost your stats before boss fights. Also, weapons and special attacks unlocked near the end are just as unimpressive as the ones you begin with. Contact does sport an incredible surprise ending that adds depth and changes your perspective on all the main characters in the game. However, its impact is greatly diminished by the extremely short play time."

Yahoo Games - 70%: "The linearity is one area where Contact is particularly disappointing. You'll end up stuck because you can't figure out how to trigger a certain bit of scripting (pay attention to the dialogue!), or maybe you can't figure out the trick to defeating some inscrutable boss battle. Or perhaps you haven't quite leveled up enough to easily dispatch the latest round of monsters in a new area. At times like these, all of Contact's charm can't save it from the tedium that bogs down a lot of RPGs. But it's still as solid as they come, not terribly spectacular, but the perfect fare for devotees of the genre."

So it seems Contact definitely reaches out with its intriguing concept, and Grasshopper knows how much we like references and in-jokes, but RPGs have evolved over time for a reason. Some of that evolution should have perhaps been maintained for this title.

Featuring more than 20 classic board, card, and party games, Clubhouse Games allows gamers to play alone or take things online via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service and is the latest entry in Nintendo's Touch Generation line of games. Released in Europe as 42 All-Time Classics, the gameplay of both titles is identical. Featuring plenty of gameplay and a budget price, Clubhouse Games has plenty to offer. Is what it offers worth the price of admission, however?

• IGN - 80%: "The entire package is about casual, portable pick-up-and-playability when you've got some time to kill. That being the case, the variety on offer here is simply staggering. The fact that Nintendo's poured so much energy into ensuring everything is solidly entertaining - with particular props going to the multitude of mulitplayer and online options - just sweetens things further."

• Cubed3 - 80%: "Whilst games like Billiards border on the unplayable you will cherish that cart next time you are stuck in a tunnel on the way home from work/uni/college/school and can pull out your DS for a quick game of blackjack or solitaire. Or to see if you can finally get 3 strikes in a row for the bowling mission. It this is a highly personal choice for any gamer as strictly speaking these games are nothing new; but in terms of affordability, replayability and downright fun we feel it's worth it."

• Nintendo Power - 70%: "If you plan on playing with your friends, it's indespensible; if you'll be going at it alone, there's a fair amount to do but you may lose patience with the scoring and lack of single-player variety. [Nov. 2006, p.87]"

The points made that many of these games can be played for free via several different online outlets is certainly a valid one, however with the convenience of clumping all these games together for a small price, along with Wi-Fi Connect support, we certainly feel the package is worth the price. What about you, fine reader?

So, we know that Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl sold more copies in one day than the number of plant cells in an oak tree. Certainly, the game must have blind, fanboyish loyalty excellent gameplay to warrant such sales! One of those silly "bilingual" people over at IGN got their hands on a copy, and relates his experiences accordingly.

Though the basic gameplay remains the same, he makes special note of the addition of Wi-Fi battling and trading. The system appears to be streamlined and effective, and more importantly, it gives you twenty-something year old Pokemon players a way to actually trade and battle without publicly humilating yourselves.

Well ... we're looking forward to that, anyway.

In the sequel, the roles have reversed and now the Mini Marios must save the day. With several obstacles in their path, players must guide the Mini Marios using the stylus and touch-screen. More interesting, however, is the ability for players to create custom maps and send them to other users via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connect service. Overall, the game has received favorable scores:

• Gamespot - 82%: "Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 may not play quite the same way the original game did, but the new take on the formula is a fun and refreshing one. The touch-screen controls are easy to get a handle on, and with more than 80 different stages to play through, as well as the construction mode, you'll find yourself with plenty to do. It's simply a great time for Mario fans and puzzle fans alike."

• IGN - 70%: "The original Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a far better puzzle game than March of the Minis is, but that doesn't make this game a bad one. It is a clever Lemmings-inspired, touch screen design with a great focus on user-submitted content to keep the game going on and on. Its similarities to the first game are only in looks; the concept goes in a refreshingly different -- but just not as successful, addictive or challenging -- direction for Nintendo DS gamers."

• Gamepro - 85%: "As a sequel, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: March of the Minis surpasses the original by leaps and bounds backed by the capabilities of the Nintendo DS, however the new control scheme does take some getting used to."

So there we have it. While many agree it's not as good as the first game, would you be inclined to agree, fine reader? Or has Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis surpassed the greatness of the first game?

Is it us, or is IGN scoring tougher? Not that we think this a bad thing. In fact, we admire brutal honesty if a game is not up to par. Just because the title says Final Fantasy Pokemon, doesn't mean it will be great. Just look at Final Fantasy X-2 Pokemon Dash.

From the sound of it, turning into an actual Pokemon seems pretty rad. After all, Ash and the others shouldn't have all the fun. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is throwing a different ball your way by showing the softer side of these normally lightening-hurling captured creatures. And as the good Pokemon you are, you join the Rescue Team and help out any pals in danger while trying to figure out why you are a Pokemon. Best thing about it -- you finally understand what the heck those little guys are saying when they scream "Pika!"

While IGN gave the game compliments for Pokemon doing what it does best in gameplay, they were disappointed in the game as a whole, claiming it hasn't really evolved in the direction they had hoped. Their main complaints rest in the repetitive battle system, rarely used touch screen and drab GBA appearance.

Best way to describe it -- Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is a mere placeholder until the real Pokemon comes out on DS.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was rated a 6.5, making it a "passable" game.

[Update: Fixed a typo]

Nintendo is always on the path to finding a niche market and achieving the status as king of it. So far, in the area of handheld "pick up and play" games, they are king. Electroplankton, Tetris DS, Bomberman DS and many more are a few examples of their idea of games that can be played by everyone. Newly added to that list is the somewhat hard to find Cooking Mama.

With all the attention the game has gotten, how does it fare in the kitchen? According to IGN, it does okay. They only gave it an even 7. The basic message is that while Cooking Mama does a great job of being a "pick up and play" title, it doesn't have much to offer other than simple task by task meals with extra recipes to unlock.

If you are looking for intense, sweaty chef action -- don't look here. This game won't make you a better cook either. It's just actions like slicing, dicing and stirring in rhythm to make mama proud. Which we all want to do, right?

A Dragon Quest title with an odd twist, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime is an action-adventure game starring one of the most popular monsters from the Dragon Quest series of games. Set in the kingdom of Slimenia, players must take over as Rocket and defend the land from an invading force known as "the Plob." Reviews for the game have been fairly positive:

• IGN - 85%: "It's technically sound and solid in its gameplay, though it remains to be a primarily one-button game on a system with six buttons and a touch screen, which may baffle a few people starting out. Even still, the development team over at Square Enix made the right move, as Rocket Slime works great as a top-view adventure game that, quite frankly, doesn't need elaborate controls or touch-screen gameplay to make it fun."

• 1Up - 85%: "Rocket Slime seems an unlikely candidate for the level of greatness it demonstrates. But between its genuinely clever elements and its preposterously over-the-top ridiculousness, Square Enix and TOSE have crafted a spin-off that captures the appeal of the source material in an amusing and unique way."

• RPG Gamer - 70%: "The gameplay is fun, the visuals are nice, and the game's original. The interface issues hold it back a lot, though, and the repetitive music certainly doesn't help. Rocket Slime is still likely to entertain those looking for something original, or pretty much anyone for that matter, but the game is by no means epic or without flaw."

In being an original, different take on a well-established franchise, is the game able to entertain new and old fans alike? What do you guys and gals think of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime?

Mario Hoops 3 on 3 has had so much hype that we were ready for a game full of more fun than a circus. But from the sound of it, all we got were peanuts.

Having played the game ourselves, we see where the review is coming from and we are 100% catching what they are throwing -- something Mario and his pals seem to fail at.

The review basically states that the controls are good in theory, but iffy on paper. Stealing is difficult and passing is okay, when it works. Your teammates are pretty much useless. They never try to steal or use items to help you out. They are especially difficult to work with against perfect AI on harder levels.

Good luck on unlocking all your favorite Final Fantasy characters. The levels are difficult and your opponents ruthless. While it sounds like a challenge, it lacks an important element -- fun. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 received a 6 out of 10 -- a passable grade and rightful score for an average sports title.

Check out the rest of the review to see what else 1up found wrong with the game. Or, pipe up and let us know that we and everyone else is completely wrong (we know you like doing that anyway) and Mario Hoops is zomg teh best game evah kthxbye!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Let's face it, Tingle isn't exactly a normal guy. So when he gets his very own game, it's only fitting that someone step up with a review to match the man-fairy. Wired's Chris Kohler took up the challenge with his recent impressions of Tingle's Freshly-Picked Rose-Colored Rupee Land -- or is it Freshly-Pickled -- whatever, that Tingle RPG.

The thrust of which is that you, as brightly-colored Tingle, need to collect a veritable peck of rupees in order to climb that stairway to Rupee Land, a heaven filled with good food, good times, and good women.

Yeah, Tingle. With the women.

But all questions of beards aside (though Tingle's is mighty fine), Kohler offers a nice breakdown of the game and a lot of jokes at our sassily dressed hero's expense. But beware of spoilers, as he's pretty blunt about how things go in the first dungeon.

Mogitate Tingle no Barairo Rupee Land is now out in Japan. We wonder if importing it would make the game any more or less strange.