Japanese developer Compile Heart, which contains members of Compile (who developed Puyo Puyo and just about everything else we have loved) plans to release a three-part (so far) series of puzzle games for the DS, called the Puzzle Mate series. Crossword Mate features Japanese crosswords, Nanpure Mate is a "number place" (also known as sudoku) game, and Oekaki Mate is a picross collection. These, however, differ from other such products in one important way: the puzzles are large. All three collections feature larger playing fields than usual, which leads to things like the nightmarish multi-screen picross puzzle seen in the screenshot here.
And speaking of nightmarish, coulrophobes will be terrified to see the mascot for this series, a clown drawn by Famitsu artist Susumu Matsushita.
TDK Core's DS Puzzler Nanpure Fan & Oekaki Logic Wi-Fi Taiou (DS Puzzler Sudoku and Picture Logic Wi-Fi Interaction) is a pretty simple game design: a bunch of sudoku and picross-type puzzles. And that's fine! People like picross and sudoku.
But DS Puzzler goes beyond the normal self-motivated challenge of these puzzle games by including online rankings for both. We're familiar with this kind of thing in a picross setting, but we certainly wouldn't want anyone to see how, uh, great we are at sudoku. And we're pretty sure we'd embarrass ourselves with these more complicated, colorful picross puzzles too.
This week sees the release of some interesting titles around the world, such as the latest in Pokémon for Europe, and Taiko Drum Master DS in Japan. American gamers get to contend with Dynasty Warriors DS. We know some of you are looking forward to it, and some ... well, aren't. But maybe it will surprise us!
Chameleon: To Dye For!
Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter's Battle
Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition
Slide past the break to see what's happening in the rest of the world.
Nintendo never got around to announcing this new game at E3: a crossword game tentatively called Nintendo Crossword. For sudoku fans, a "crossword puzzle" is a grid puzzle much like sudoku, but with letters instead of numbers, and completely different rules in place of the sudoku rules.
Nintendo's presentation is much more staid than that of its competition, New York Times Crosswords, passing over odd color schemes and Comic Sans-alikes for a traditional newspaper-like display. It's boxy, but good.
This week's releases might not be all that fabulous to those of us outside of Japan, but at least we're still getting something new to play. Even if it is just another Sudoku game. For us, it doesn't matter much, as our backlog just grows larger by the week, so we're already knee-deep in games that need to be played.
You know what the DS needs? Moresudoku. Because, y'know, there just can't possibly be enough. This week, there's also a new addition to shelves at stores everywhere that shipped too late to make last week's list: Agetec's Cookie & Cream.
Platinum Sudoku
Turn it Around
Vegas Casino High 5!
For this week's releases in the rest of the world, check after the jump. You might want to duck and cover -- the highly-anticipated Doki Doki Majo Shinpan is about to hit!
Sometimes, a package doesn't really tell you what you need to know about a game -- and it can actually be misleading or off-putting. As tragic as the thought is, the box art for Brain Buster Puzzle Pak falls into that category. Up close, the art is rough, jagged, and looks like it might have been printed in someone's home office.
So is the game also unfortunately bad? Not even a bit -- Agetec's Brain Buster Puzzle Pak lives up to its name and is packed, as promised, with an array of brain-busting puzzles. The puzzle standard, sudoku, is present, but BBPP brings in four other games as well, all presented by a professor who in no way resembles Dr. Kawashima. By that, we mean he actually has a body.
It's no secret that we're fans of the kinda games that blend puzzles with ... non-puzzle stuff. The point is, we're all about putting a little action in the middle of our puzzles, so long as it doesn't slow down the act of puzzling. Pretty pictures, neat backgrounds, weird SRPG motifs ... we're okay with these elements. But we're not quite sure about Zendoku. While we're in favor of the idea, the execution leaves us a little, well, puzzled. In the short video after the jump, we get a chance to check out the mechanics in action, and it seems like everything just takes a long time -- and that takes away from our actual purpose in playing. Maybe it's just us, though. Give it a look and tell us what you think.
The Nintendo DS is rife with Sudoku releases, both commercial and unofficial. Dress them up with mini-cakes or martial arts if you want to, but it's getting harder and harder for these games to keep us interested with each passing week.
Leave it to homebrew superstar Mollusk to add some life to the number puzzle. As its name implies, Skinz Sudoku allows you to customize almost every visual detail of its interface. Dropping a PNG template into the game's included PAFS.bat file spits out a unique Skinz Sudoku ROM with your graphics. Jump past the post break for some examples of the different themes.
Think of the possibilities! Design your screens with lightning bolts! Replace all of the numbers with Pokémon heads! Scan in a photo of your secret crush with a word balloon that says, "I luv u! Plz date me!" Just don't let anyone catch you locking lips with your DS after staring into his or her eyes for too long. Seriously guys, that's weird.
Despite thinking we're pretty smart in general, we're just terrible at sudoku. We know that, conceptually, you can use any nine symbols instead of numbers to play the game, but we never wanted to try that because it sounds pretty confusing. It's a lot easier to glance at a line and see that 4 and 9 are missing than it is to see that walrus is missing.
Majesco's Toon-Doku, then, is a puzzle weapon that can be used to melt our unfortunate psyches. Not only does it have picture-based sudoku, where you line up rows, columns, and squares of little dessert icons, but it has custom "distractors" that block the screen with a drawing of your choice. We feel our Brain Age approaching infinity.
If you've heard that Zendoku is a fusion of sudoku and martial arts, you might have wondered why. We don't blame you; on the face, it certainly seems like an unusual combination, but Pocket Gamer's interview with Zendoku creator Martin Hollis reveals the inspiration behind this unusual puzzler, and much more as well. So what's the story? It's simple, really. "Sudoku needed some ninjas," Hollis said. Frankly, what doesn't need a ninja or six?
Now that the question of inspiration is out of the way, the next logical question is: how does one mix puzzles and action? In Zendoku -- which uses symbols, not numbers -- the puzzle board, if you will, is the field of combat. Completing a row, section, or column initiates an attack -- and those attacks are played out in microgames. It all sounds good on paper, but we'll have to give it a try to see if it's any fun in action. It may be promising, but sometimes you just want to finish the puzzle, you know?
How manydifferentversions of Sudoku do we really need? Maybe some of us are just a little slower at solving them, but apparently there is some gaping void of demand for brain-crunching number puzzles. If you've already devoured all available Sudoku like a ravenous beast and are desperate for any puzzle fix, one homebrew artist whipped up a fresh batch over the holidays just for you. Yeah, between pinched cheeks and presents, this guy programmed a (mostly) working homebrew Sudoku game. And here we thought we were doing well not to just pass out on the sofa on our off days. Maybe we need to aim a little higher. That t-shirt project sounds a little easier, though.
Forgive the digression. DSudoku, by Crescent Moon, the homebrew solution for your raging number puzzle needs.
The market may be glutted with oodles of puzzle titles, but there's always room for the right game to slide in. Crave Entertainment's trying to be that ultimate puzzle experience with Sudokuro, which features more than 6,000 Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles, plus a generator that can create more Sudoku puzzles. And all this for a budget price. Hey, when it's only $20, maybe more Sudokuis what you need.
Wow, it seems like just yesterday that we were first talking about the new Brain Buster Puzzle Pak that's coming out in February, and already we have crisp new screens filled with puzzle goodness. The background screens are attractive, and not so busy as to distract from the numeric action, and the mostly pastel palette should be easy on the eyes after a few hours of puzzle grinding. Check out a few more screens after the jump!
Does your brain need some hot puzzle action? Not to fret! Agetec has the answer, though you'll just have to wait until next February to get down with the puzzles. The publisher's latest, the Brain Buster Puzzle Pak is set to bring five different games to the DS: Sudoku, Kakuro, Light Up, Nurikabe, and Slitherlink (aka Fences), all of which were created in conjunction with popular Japanese puzzle mag Nikoli.
Japanese developer Compile Heart, which contains members of Compile (who developed Puyo Puyo and just about everything else we have loved) plans to release a three-part (so far) series of puzzle games for the DS, called the Puzzle Mate series. Crossword Mate features Japanese crosswords, Nanpure Mate is a "number place" (also known as sudoku) game, and Oekaki Mate is a picross collection. These, however, differ from other such products in one important way: the puzzles are large. All three collections feature larger playing fields than usual, which leads to things like the nightmarish multi-screen picross puzzle seen in the screenshot here.
This week sees the release of some interesting titles around the world, such as the latest in Pokémon for Europe, and Taiko Drum Master DS in Japan. American gamers get to contend with Dynasty Warriors DS. We know some of you are looking forward to it, and some ... 
You know what the DS needs? 
It's no secret that we're fans of the kinda games that blend puzzles with ... non-puzzle stuff. The point is, we're all about putting a little action in the middle of our puzzles, so long as it doesn't slow down the act of puzzling. Pretty pictures, neat backgrounds, weird SRPG motifs ... we're okay with these elements. But we're not quite sure about Zendoku. While we're in favor of the idea, the execution leaves us a little, well, puzzled. In the 
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If you've heard that 
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The market may be glutted with oodles of 
Wow, it seems like just 
Does your brain need some hot puzzle action? Not to fret! Agetec has the answer, though you'll just have to wait until next February to get down with the puzzles. The publisher's latest, the Brain Buster Puzzle Pak is set to bring five different games to the DS: Sudoku, Kakuro, Light Up, Nurikabe, and Slitherlink (aka Fences), all of which were created in conjunction with popular Japanese puzzle mag Nikoli.
_cg_oct22_kjgfdhd_thumbnail.jpg "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars")
