We love puzzles here at gamersroute. We really do. But I’ve realized that many of the puzzle games I play are really colorful tetris evolutions with techno or upbeat music. Perhaps it’s time I’ve expanded my puzzling horizon to something a bit more mysterious and serious. Enter Rooms: The Main Building for the DS and Wii.

Rooms: The Main Building, is basically a point-and-click game, with a 1930s setting. You are given the task of advancing through the each room, to reach the next room. But of course, in order to advance, there’s a catch; you have to solve the puzzle.

As far as we can tell, the puzzles involved in this game are all related to creating a path from the entrance to the exit. And how do you do that? By sliding rooms around to allow your character to go from the entrance to the exit.

Along the way, you will be required to use various objects in the room either to create a path, or move you to a different part of the screen, like, for example, speaking into a payphone and being teleported to another pay phone a la Matrix.

I’ve never really been a fan of point-and-click style games,  but mixed with this style of puzzling, this looks very interesting.

Rooms: The Main Building will be available on March 23, 2010.

Nintendo has just been popping out games, both on disc and in downloadable format, like crazy, and they are defiintely looking to keep this momentum for this holiday season. We’ve recieved a huge list of Wii and DS/DSi releases. I will highlight some of them below, and for those interested, the list will be posted at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!

First and foremost, check out these Wii Remotes! Starting February 14th, 2010, gamers will be able to play the Wii  with Blue and Pink Wii remotes. They will come bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory. Now, onto the games!

This is the game I’m looking forward to, above all, from Nintendo: Tastunoko VS Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. This is going to be awesome! Some of you may remember that I played this at PAX back in September. The control scheme is very different from any of the VS fighting games that capcom has released, creating a unique feel to this title. Fighting fans are definitely in for a treat with this one. This one is set to release for January 26, 2010

I’m gonna be honest with you guys here; I’m looking forward to the next Pokemon installment. I’m not ashamed to say it. Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are the next gen portable remake of Pokemon Gold and Silver, released back in 1999. Pokemon Gold was the first Pokemon I played, and none of its predecessors nor successors have come close to beating my initial Pokemon experience. I’m excited to relive that experience on the DS, with enhance gameplay and graphics. There. I said it. I like Pokemon. Watch out for this in on March 14, 2010.

One more game worth looking into is WarioWare D.I.Y. This will be the newest installment of the WarioWare series, and arguably the most interesting one. You will actually be able to design your own micro-games and share them with others via a broadband Internet connection and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. You will have total control over the micro-games, from characters and environemtns, to the action and purpose of these micro-games. This one is set for release on March 28, 2010.

Phew! and now for a list of games set for release, by

Wii

2K Sports
Major League Baseball 2K10 – March

Activision
How To Train Your Dragon – March 23

The American Game Factory, Inc.
Build-A-Bear Workshop – Friendship Valley – March 17

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
Shiren the Wanderer™ – Feb. 9

Capcom
TATSUNOKO VS. CAPCOM™: ULTIMATE ALL-STARS – Jan. 26

City Interactive USA
Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII – Feb. 16
Chicken Riot – Feb. 9

Collision Studios
City Builder – February

D3Publisher
Family Party: 30 Great Games™ Winter Fun – February

Deep Silver, Inc.
Let’s Play Ballerina – March
Let’s Play Garden – March

Disney Interactive Studios
Alice in Wonderland – March

Hudson Entertainment
Rooms: The Main Building – Spring
Calling – Spring

Konami
Walk it Out – Jan. 10
Yu Gi Oh! Duel Trancer – Q1
DanceDanceRevolution – Q1

Majesco Entertainment
Data East Arcade Classics – January
The Daring Game of Girls – February
Pizza Delivery Boy – March

Nintendo
Endless Ocean: Blue World – Feb. 22

SEGA of America
Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll™ – Feb. 9
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing™ – March

SouthPeak Games
Sled Shred™ featuring the Jamaican Bobsled Team – Feb. 1
Fast Food Panic™ – Jan. 5

Storm City Entertainment
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral – February

UFO Interactive Games, Inc.
Arcade Shooter: Ilvelo – Q1
Rock Blast – Q1
Jaja’s Adventure – Q1

Ubisoft
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle – late January
Sleepover Party – Jan. 12
Racquet Sports – March
Red Steel 2 – Q1

XSEED Games
The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces – Jan. 5
FRAGILE DREAMS: FAREWELL RUINS OF THE MOON – March 16

WiiWare™

Akaoni Studio S.L.
Zombie Panic in Wonderland – Q1

Broken Rules
And Yet It Moves – Q1

Capcom
Phoenix Wright™:Ace Attorney™ – January
Mega Man® 10 – March

Ghostfire Games
Rage of the Gladiator – Q1

Hudson Entertainment
Military Madness: Nectaris® – Q1

Nabi Studios
Toribash – Q1

Nintendo
WarioWare™ D.I.Y. Showcase – Q1

Press Play ApS
Max & the Magic Marker – Q1

Team Meat
Super Meat Boy – Q1

Nintendo DS/Nintendo DSi

2K Sports
Major League Baseball 2K10 – March

Activision
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief™ – Feb. 2
How To Train Your Dragon – March 23

Aksys Games
World Cup of Pool – Feb. 9

The American Game Factory, Inc.
Build-A-Bear Workshop – Welcome to Hugsville – March 17

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
Shin Megami Tensei®: Strange Journey™ – March 10

Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Ace Attorney Investigations™: Miles Edgeworth – Feb. 16

City Interactive USA
Animal Country: Life on the Farm – Feb. 16
Art of Murder – March 16

Deep Silver, Inc.
Let’s Play Flight Attendant – March
Let’s Play Ballerina – March
Let’s Play Garden – March

Disney Interactive Studios
Sonny With a Chance – Spring
Alice in Wonderland – March

GameMill Publishing
Escape the Museum – Jan. 12
Hidden Mysteries: Buckingham Palace – Feb. 9

Hudson Entertainment
Rooms: The Main Building – Spring
DECA SPORTS™ – Spring

Konami
Scene It! Twilight – Q1
Puzzle Chronicles – Jan. 10

Majesco Entertainment
Super Speed Machines – February
The Daring Game for Girls – February
Dawn of Heroes – February
ATV Revolution – March

Nintendo
Glory of Heracles – Jan. 18
Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version – March 14
WarioWare: D.I.Y. – March 28
America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking – March 28

Natsume Inc.
Squishy Tank™ – February
Cheer We Go! ™ – March

PopCap Games
Bejeweled Twist™ – Q1

SEGA of America
Sands of Destruction™ – Jan. 12
Infinite Space™ – March
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing™ – March
Sonic Classic Collection™ – Spring

SouthPeak Games
Crime Scene™ – Feb. 1
Dementium II™ – Feb. 2
Fast Food Panic™ – Jan. 5
Sushi Go Round™ – Feb. 1
Montessori Music™ – March 1

Storm City Entertainment
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral – February
Myst – February
ATV Quad Kings – March
T.A.C Heroes: The Big Red One – March

TECMO
Monster Rancher® DS – March
AGAIN™ – March

Telegames, Inc.
Puzzle Overload™ -Spring
Solitaire Overload Plus™ – Spring

THQ
Daniel X: The Ultimate Power – Jan. 12

Tomy Corporation
Lovely Lisa™ and Friends (enhanced Nintendo DSi content) – February

Ubisoft
Imagine Reporter – Jan. 20
Imagine Party Planner – Jan. 13
Imagine Sweet 16 – Feb. 10
Imagine Gymnast – March 10

XSEED Games
KORG DS-10 Plus – Jan. 19
Ragnarok™ DS – Feb. 16

Nintendo DSiWare™

EA
Downtown Texas Hold’em Poker – Q1
Surviving High School™ – Q1

Gameloft
Legends of Exidia – Q1
Let’s Golf – Q1
Real Soccer™ 2010 – Q1
Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A. – Q1

Nintendo
Trajectile™ – Jan. 4
Number Battle™ – Jan. 25
Starship Defense™ – Jan. 18
Touch Solitaire – Jan. 11
X-Scape™ – February
Link ‘n’ Launch™ – February

Subatomic Studios
Fieldrunners – Q1

WayForward
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge – Q1

Not yo mama, but Cooking Mama will.
Oh wait, your mom will probably cook for you too.

But anyways, here’s the story.
Cooking Mama 3 for DS is coming in November 13th.
And this is what Nintendo has to say about it:

“..After a blossoming outdoor spell in the hugely successful Gardening Mama, our favourite culinary queen is back in the kitchen tantalising taste buds and testing cooking skills with a whole new cooking adventure. As well as boasting over 80 recipes, 200 mini-games, four player multiplayer (using single cart Nintendo DS Download play) and classic Mama game play, Cooking Mama 3 now offers three totally new game modes..”

In short words, buy ‘em because everyone knows that you will.

Here are some of the features:

Let’s Match!
Have you remembered what Mama has taught you? It’s your time to prove your worth in the kitchen as you are challenged to choose ingredients from a list then use steps from other dishes to create your mystery dish.

Let’s Shop!
Mama’s got to get on with the cooking and there’s no time to get to the shops. Can you help her out? Dash to the supermarket and grab all the ingredients for Mama’s world famous dishes while avoiding other shoppers, clearing up spillages and helping at the checkout. Run out of time and you’ll forget what Mama asked you to get!

Cooking Contest
It’s time to sharpen those cooking skills and face off in timed challenges to determine who the fastest chef is! How many eggs can you break? How many potatoes can you peel? How many prawns can you wrap? Challenge three of your friends to beat your highest score in local Wi-Fi play.

We’re little vague on the North America release date for now, but as soon as we get the news we’ll let you know.

So when I first saw ClassicMoments’ article on the release of Sudoku Ball – Detective, it just looked like they strung three unrelated words together and called it a game. But after a few minutes of gameplay, I have to say I’m surprised. I was actually kind of getting into it! Think of this game as a combination of CLUE, Sudoku and a Rubix Sphere. Let’s take a look.

I’m not going to go too in depth with the story here because I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you (and because there really isn’t much to divulge anyway). But the basic premise is that Edward G. Bannister, an Oxford scholar and retired chief Superintendant of Scotland yard, is invited to a birthday party of an old friend, Jonathan Coleridge. Jonathan falls prey to what at first seems like a heart attack. But soon, Edward discovers that it may have been a carefully planned murder. Edward must now Sudoku his way to the truth!

So yeah, the storyline may not be the most gripping and riveting narrative ever written, but it does serve its purpose. It does add a progressive element to the whole game. Once the game begins, you are shown a small town map from which to select your next destination. Believe it or not, all of this actually does  give an objective and incentive to all the sudoku-ing.

Speaking of sudoku-ing, the actual Sudoku portion of the game has a few twists as well. First of all, as the name suggests, you solve sudoku puzzles on a 3-D ball. Each ball consists of six Sudoku puzzles. Each of the 3×3 squares in the corners of the puzzles overlap. It’s probably easier to just take a look at the screen shot below.

The Sudoku solving is woven into the storyline via several different scenarios, and each scenario provides an extra twist to the Sudoku solving. For example, during a Lock Pick scenario, your objective is to solve the middle number on the Sudoku Ball. You are given four lock picks, and each incorrect guess in the middle space results in the loss of a lock pick. On top of that, there is a time limit, and exceeding that limit also results in losing a lock pick. This game provides quite a departure from other sudoku games.

I’m no sudoku expert, but I definitely felt the difficulty level for this game was low. Whenever you fill a row, column or square with all of the correct numbers, you’re  notified with a little sound effect that the numbers you chose were correct. This feature makes it so there’s a lot less back tracking, and a lot more guessing. It might sound a bit like cheating, but I think its a great introduction into Sudoku.

The game also provides you with pure sudoku fun, and has a three other modes besides the story mode. If you’re in the mood for some non-story related good old sudoku ball, you can access a total of 90 distinct sudoku balls, divided into three difficulty levels, in Classic Mode. Maybe you want to relive the thrill of lock picking but don’t want to go through the story. No problem! You can plays up to 15 different sudoku balls from each scenario in Story Level mode. And of course, this game also provides you with more than enough of your standard 9×9 sudoku in Standard Sudoku.

All in all, this game is definitely not another Sudoku game. It adds another dimension to the Sudoku experience. However, due to the low difficulty level, this may not be for hardcore sudoku fans. And the story itself is not enough to keep non-sudoku fans interested. But for those who are looking for a new sudoku experience, or are thinking about giving suudoku a shot, this is a great place to start.

Our Score: 6.5 /10

A great place to start your Sudoku journey, though story doesn’t help much .

We’ve seen it all with Sudoku-related game ideas. At least we thought we did.
Now there’s going to be a game called 3D Sudoku Ball with a detective solving puzzles.

Playlogic released Sudoku Ball – Detective today for PC, DS and Wii. It features:

• Challenging story mode with 20 levels
• Three difficulty settings from beginner to expert
• Unique 3D Sudoku Ball feature for an entirely new puzzle experience
• 240 Sudoku puzzles and additional story puzzles

The player starts as a small town detective, solving murder mysteries. You can also visit the Sudoku Ball™ Detective website for more information. The game supports 6 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

Here’s a screenshot for the PC version:

And screenshots for the DS version:

3D Sudoku ball that solves murder mysteries… Clever.

Whether you are a casual gamers who’s been playing games for a year or two, or a hardcore gamer since Quake, you should know then not to expect much from a movie-licensed games. Yes, there are some exceptions (very, very few exceptions) but in general, it’s like the game is crippled to begin with when editors review the movie-licensed games. Not fair, but many of us just assume that it’s a bad game.

So even before we start playing Alien in the Attic for DS, we didn’t expect much. Actually, we didn’t expect anything to happen. Just another bad movie-licensed game we guessed. And as we were playing the game, nothing really different or awesome was happening. We dropped the game about couple tries, then decided to finish it later.

But on the next day, we noticed that our editors actually wanted to continue the game. And again on next day, so on. Since everybody expected it to be a bad game, I guess we really didn’t put more attention into the game. The gameplay, style and cliché-but-still-funny dialogs between characters were all there to be enjoyed. We still could find flaws, but nothing compared to the real bad movie-licensed titles out there.

Aliens in the Attic is a simple side scrolling platformer with 3D graphics. You can switch the characters in real-time to fight the boss or solve the puzzle. There are three characters; Hannah, Tom and Jake. Each of them have different weapons or/and different abilities to choose from, and many times the player doesn’t even have to pick a certain character to enjoy the game throughout the play. Hannah doesn’t have any weapons, but she can either jump twice to reach higher or small enough to access the special area of the level, so other than those occasions you would use Tom or Jake. And interestingly enough, it is well balanced between two characters, and many times you’re free to pick your play style. Addition to that freedom, you can also collect the upgrade parts for the weapons so it feels like you’re not stuck with one guy with a certain style of gameplay. It’s not a huge expansion, but it’s there so that you feel like you have more variety. And boss battles are well designed to take advantages of choosing different weapons and characters.

The control of the game is interesting. Besides of pressing the buttons to shoot alien guns and activate the special gadgets, it utilizes the touch screen for the shooting angles. So it’s either the D-Pad with button control, or the touch screen to shoot and angle at the same time while using D-Pad to moving and jumping purpose. First we thought it wasn’t going to work, but as we play the certain type of battles, especially the boss fight, having more than just 8 digitized-angles does help to control and enjoy the game at the same time. The game also utilizes the mic of DS, and it worked pretty well so kudos for the developers.

The graphic of Aliens in the Attic is somewhat less interesting, but it doesn’t mean it’s bad or anything. Usually for the side-scrolling platformer, you would expect a 2D graphic. It’s easier on the hardware, and developers can probably do more if they plan things right. But we also noticed that with the 3D graphic, it feels more fluid and smooth with in-game environment. A such bold move for the DS game. The background feels like nothing much is going on, but at least the enemies are in fancy colors so overall we liked it. The audios of Aliens in the Attic is not something you would call it ‘epic’, but it balances out right.

If we have to point out the flaws, it’ll be the length of the game. It feels a bit short and if you decide to put many hours into it, you’ll be able to finish the game within a day or two. Since it’s a short platformer game, we thought that the online leaderboard for record time would be an awesome idea. Another flaw, or rather annoyance that we found is that the player have to choose the language each time the game boots. We wish that the save files includes the language settings, or the real-time language change in option menu would have helped a bit more.

We’ll admit that the Aliens in the Attic for DS isn’t going to be the next-gen of the platformer1. This game probably won’t win many awards, just because many people will have biased opinions about movie-licensed game. It’s also not the best DS games we have played recently. But what this game proofs is that many times, the well-balanced game can be lot more fun than the game with broken innovation. We probably won’t play the game anymore since we beat it, but we won’t remember Aliens in the Attic as a bad game.

Maybe the below-expectations that we had before playing the game might have helped us enjoy the game, but whatever the reason is, it was fun to play. We even think that if the developers of this project would start a new game with their own stories and IP with more creative designs, it might work good for all of us, including the gamers.

Our Score: 8 /10

It is actually very fun while it lasts.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - August 11, 2009 – Signature Devices, Inc. (OTCPK: SDVI) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Graffiti Entertainment, Inc., has released its highly anticipated first-person shooter, C.O.R.E., to North American retail outlets and is available exclusively on Nintendo DS^™.

“C.O.R.E. delivers a classic first-person shooter experience that has been missing in the DS library,” says Kenneth Hurley, CEO of Signature Devices, Inc. and Graffiti Entertainment, Inc.  “It’s a unique story-driven sci-fi shooter that has been designed specifically for hardcore gamers, a segment of DS owners that have clearly been overlooked in the past.  It offers a solid, fast-paced multiplayer campaign, diverse environments and even gives players the ability to modify controls, to allow for a custom and precise control scheme.”

C.O.R.E., developed by NoWay Studios, is set in A.D. 2028 when a massive meteor slammed into California’s Mojave Desert.  Leading scientists were quickly dispatched to examine the extraterrestrial radiation that was transforming the environment and all life in the area.  For twenty years many experiments were carried out at C.O.R.E., the top-secret underground facility built on the site… that is until the day when all communications with the lab abruptly ceased.

Taking the roll of Jason Crane, a member of an elite military unit, players will have the opportunity to explore the vast C.O.R.E. complex, traversing through living quarters, warehouses and laboratories all in an effort to find the parties responsible for the atrocities that took place within.   C.O.R.E. Key Features:

• Penetrate 15 levels in an immersive and dangerous environment
• Face 20 formidable enemy classes equipped with a deadly arsenal of weapons
• Choose from eight powerful weapons (including alternate firing options and zoom)
• Engage in intense single-player or multiplayer combat with up to four players. Multiplayer modes include Death Match, Team Arena, and Capture the Flag using only one Nintendo DS card!
• Wide array of customization options to optimize the C.O.R.E. experience

Delivering an intense and faithful first-person shooter experience, C.O.R.E. is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB and retails for $29.99.  To learn more about the game, please visit www.corethegame.com.  For more information about Signature Devices, Graffiti Entertainment and their products, please visit www.signaturedevices.com.

Kingdom Hearts as a series came about from the most unlikely of alliances, and it continues to head in unexpected directions to this day. I have to admit that I had serious doubts about the series moving to the DS–Chain of Memories on the GBA set out to be something different from the very beginning, and ended up being a very satisfying experience for those willing to try something new. Would Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days be able to carry over the joy of keyblade-swinging to a portable platform? I am here to tell you that the answer is a resounding yes.

First of all, the screenshots out on the web don’t do the game justice. When everything is in motion, it is readily apparent that they have expertly scaled the gameplay to the dual screens. The same effects are in place–stars shooting off from attacks, various magic attacks sparking all over the screen–and all of this within settings fans of the series have become familiar with over the last few games in the series.

For the most part, the game plays out the same. Keyblade combos, the Fire/Blizzard/Thunder elements we’ve seen since the first Final Fantasy decades ago, and action RPG goodness at its best. What remains to be seen is how the game contributes to the overall Kingdom Hearts storyline. With each game in the series up until now, they’ve shown that Kingdom Hearts isn’t only about hopping between Disney worlds racking up frequent gummi miles. A core mythology has been emerging as well. The biggest potential contributor we’ve seen to this from 358/2 Days is the character Xion. With 14 powerful Nobodies, why Organization XIII? Is it just me, or does her face (black hair aside) look strikingly similar to Kairi? Watching Roxas’ transition from the Organization’s Key of Destiny to his later adventures in Kingdom Hearts 2 is something we can all look forward to. Out September 29, 2009 in the US and Fall 2009 in Europe, it looks like you’ll be getting your fix of black-robed cast members soon enough.