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Nintendo have produced a growing library of some truly remarkable games for the DS console which not only appeal to avid gamers but have captured new audiences. The dual screen and voice recognition technology along with the stylus used in gameplay have made this portable gaming console a more innovative and fun way to play your video games.

Here’s a couple of our favourite Nintendo DS games...

Nintendogs

This game will give you the opportunity to care for and train a selection of cute puppies in a virtual home. You can clean the pups, feed them, walk them, play catch with them, and even talk to them through the microphone and they will respond to you. The pups are incredibly lifelike in the way they look and behave.
There are six breeds to choose from at the start of the game as well as plenty of personality types to choose from for each breed. When you have selected your pup you can then take it home and name it. The virtual puppies learn their names using the game's voice-recognition software, repeating it a few times into the microphone until your dog learns his or her name.

You will now have to keep your dog fed and watered, and there's a status screen to tell you when he's feeling hungry or thirsty. Doggy supplies, toys and accessories can be bought at the local shop to keep your pet happy and healthy. Your pooch will also require regular walking. This involves using the DS stylus on your touch screen to draw out a route on a map of your local area, complete with icons showing the location of parks, shops and the like. As with real dogs you will also have to clean up after your pet which will involve the picking up their doo doo, which is done by touching the screen with your stylus and tapping the area to be cleaned.

In order to train your puppy you will need to draw a move with the stylus, such as a downward stroke for "Sit", and then recording the name of the trick with the microphone. This will need to be repeated a few times until the trick is learned. Your pup can be taught many tricks including roll over, lay down and raise his/her paw.

As with real-life pet ownership, a certain level of commitment is required, as neglecting your dog can lead to him/her contracting fleas, or even running away.

Once you have taught your pup a number of commands you can begin entering him/her for various contests and trials. There are three different types: obedience, disc, and agility. How well your pet performs, will depend on how well you have trained him/her. This can be a rewarding part of the game since getting a top place in competitions will earn you money and trophies.

You can keep up to three pups in your house at a time, and if you get bored of them you can take them off to the doggy hotel and replace them with new ones. New arrivals are greeted by your current pups, which can be great to watch.


You can also connect wirelessly on your Nintendo DS with other Nintendog owners and play with each other's pups, as well as swap breeds and gifts too. You will need to be aware though, that if you give away a gift, it will be gone from your inventory forever.



Nintendogs for the DS is currently available in 4 versions:

Labrador Retriever & Friends
Dalmation & Friends
Miniature Dachshund & Friends

Chihuahua & Friends

Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?


One of our favourite DS games is Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training which will give you a daily mental workout to help keep your grey matter active.

To begin with, players are greeted by Professor Kawashima, who will instruct you to create a profile, that will allow you to track your progress in each exercise as well as your overall Brain Age. Brain Training chooses random tests that records your performance and rates you with a brain age of between 20 and 80. The system will only allow you take take one test per day which lasts around 10 mins.

In Quick Play mode, you can have a go at the mini-games to get a feel for them without your performance being saved. This will give you the opportunity to practice for the daily tests to improve your ability.

Below is a list of the type of exercises you can expect from Brain Training:

Sudoku - Use logic to fill in missing numbers on a grid. Around 100 Sudoku puzzles.

Syllable Count - Syllable Count requires players to count the number of syllables in a phrase and write their answer in the space provided.

Reading Aloud – This one will test how quickly you can read a chapter of classic literature.

Stroop Test - The stroop test is where the player must say the colour of the word that appears on the screen. The tricky part though is that the word will be a colour, so if the word is ‘Blue’ for example, it may be coloured red.

Word Memory - Memorize words that appear on screen. Word memory gives you a list of 20 words on screen and two minutes to memorise. When the time runs out, you have three minutes to write down as many words as you can remember.

Speed Counting - Count to 120 as fast as you can.

Connect Maze – In this exercise you will need to draw lines to connect letters and numbers in alphabetical and numeric order. There is also a similar exercise where players must link letters and numbers as quickly as possible in sequential order (A links to 1, B links to 2) by drawing a line between them, avoiding touching any other letters or numbers in the process.

Calculation - Perform simple math problems quickly - The calculation exercises are fairly easy, but are designed to test speed and accuracy, so you will need to complete them correctly as fast as you can.

Head Count - Count people as they enter and exit a house. Head Count involves counting the number of people entering and leaving a house, which seems easy at first, until the game speeds up and gets ridiculously fast as you progress.

Triangle Math - Solve math problems in a certain pattern. Triangle Math is probably the trickiest calculation based exercise. You have to follow the results of a number of calculations, which are piled up like a triangle and write the final answer of the sequence.

Low to High - Memorize the position of numbers, then touch them in order from lowest to highest. Low to High is a sequential memory challenge where a set of numbers appears on screen briefly, and players have to tap the empty boxes in order from lowest to highest. This can be tricky when you have about 9 or 10 digits to remember, but with practice can be improved.

Time Lapse provides players with two clocks, and they must determine the amount of time that has lapsed in between the times shown on the two clocks.


The Nintendo DS like the Wii console, can appeal to many age groups through the innovative range of games available. Why not give it a try?