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!

Game Previews Overdose

For more video game reviews, head over to the brand new www.nineoverten.com.

I had the opportunity to test out several Nintendo DS games last night, courtesy of a friend. First up was Metroid Prime Hunters, a first-person-shooter set in the Metroid franchise. Having started up a new game, it was rather confusing and there really wasn't any tutorial on what to do and more importantly how to move.

Some initial guess work was needed and I realized that the control scheme was similar to that of Super Mario 64 DS (stylus and buttons simultaneously). Despite this, the game does have some pretty graphics, like a grainier version of Quake 3 Arena. On a side note, first timers on the DS should really give the DS a break and not compare its graphics capabilities to that of a PSP, which has alot more horsepower.

Second up was Trauma Center. A five minute session with this game pratically banished my preconception of "being a gimmick", this game is really quite challenging. The developers have manage to subtly merge addictive gameplay (e.g. stitching people up) and an interesting premise (you are a doctor in the game).

I had a fun time pulling out glass shards and stiching up and making incisions on a patient but heaven forbid I would actually do that in real life.

I know though that my mum would be suprised that this kind of game is available and would want to play it, she works in the medical industry after all.

Thirdly, I got brief looks at Bomberman Land Touch and Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Spirit Summoner. Bomberman Land Touch didn't look like a typical Bomberman game and I pratically got lost in Yu-Gi-Oh. Yu-Gi-Oh is abit like Magic: The Gathering and apparently the Japanese version of the game is dual language and does include English language support!

Club House Games was up next and despite the so-so presentation, casual players should have a blast with it as it is chokeful with mini games such as Solitaire, Chess, Bowling, Biliiards, Texas Hold' Em and many more.

Last but not least, I had a blast playing Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. A downhill skateboarding game in the lines of SSX3, I was hooked. The graphics are cel-shaded clean and the sense of speed delivered by the game is nothing short of amazing. This game is really fast and the ability to challenge other players on the WFC makes a very attractive acquisition.

Some of the games that I demo-ed feature WFC connectivity and most, if not all of them feature some form of local WiFi play. The replayability value for these titles can be described as good to high and even though some of them are no longer available as new copies, potential buyers should be able to find them in the second market by scouring forums and auction sites. Click on the pictures above to purchase the games in Play-Asia, should they be available.