Thursday, April 26, 2007

This is Club House Games!

Somehow, the title seems wrong, but Club House Games for the Nintendo DS is, in a word, fun. Basically a compilation of a tonne of casual games in a tiny cartridge, players will be hard pressed not to find more than one game to like. Out of the astonishing 42 casual games on offer, the bulk of it are card games, ranging from simple ones such as Memory to the more interesting ones such as Texas Hold 'Em.

There are also board games that range from the normal (Checkers), to the more exotic like Shogi and Ludo. Rounding up the rest of the games are variety, action and single player games such as Dominoes, Bowling and Solitaire.

On a single player basis, Club House Games is a perfect time waster, for say, when you are commuting in a train, or while waiting for your date to get ready. I played Blackjack and President during the commercial breaks in betwen the live telecast of American Idol. :)

However, the best is yet to come in form of the game's multiplayer gameplay. Playing Blackjack with 3 other flesh-and-blood people in a local multiplayer match is certainly more interesting compared to playing against the AI, and yes, this game is WFC enabled.

This feature allows you to play the bulk of the games with people all around the world!* (*Suitable WiFi connectivity required, Friend Codes...optional).

I've lost count how many times I've said this for other games.. being a Touch! Generations title, Club House Games is playable entirely using the stylus and is pretty easy to pick up, regardless whether you are a pro gamer, casual player or someone who has never used a DS before. Presentation wise, it's a bit spartan, but is perfect for this kind of compilation. For those of you expecting fancy stuff such as 3D avatars, the following image comes to mind:


I got this game for a bargain price of RM 70 (used) and although Play-Asia doesn't have this title in stock anymore, it shouldn't be a problem finding the game at a retailer near you or on Ebay. This one's a keeper!