For a deceptively simple-looking game, NEVES absolutely rocks. Taking the ancient seven shape tanagram and bringing it to the Nintendo DS was a great idea and thanks to the fine folks at Hanayama Co., developer Bee Works and Yuke’s, you can take one of the most addictive puzzle games you’ll ever play on the road for single or two-player fun. Over 500 puzzles and four modes of play pack in hours of fun and the although the touch screen controls might seem touchy at first, once you understand how to properly tap and drag or rotate pieces, everything falls into place for puzzle perfection. If you’ve got a good memory, there’s a way to breeze through the game’s tougher modes, but we’ll get to that later in the review. (more…)

“You stand at the entrance to King Brahm’s Dwarven realm. You carry a talkative Wand named Ellon, sword, leather armor, an enchanted map, a quest log, health potion and an heirloom ring…” With game development moving too quickly ahead of itself for its own good, something so simple yet outstandingly produced as Orcs & Elves is like a bucket of ice water to the face. Everything here clicks from the solid 3D engine and excellent use of sound to the liberal usage of humor (and ale) that lends the game some if its funnier moments. Yes, the game can be completed in about 8 hours (or less if you rush through it on Normal), but that’s a testament to how addictive it is. Beating this on the harder modes is where the replay value comes in, as the difficulty ramps up considerably on Hard and Nightmare modes. Just like the original cell phone game, the DS version is hard to put down and a total gem from start to finish. Kudos to id Software and Fountainhead for expanding the game to include new areas not found in the original and of course, for tweaking the game engine to the handheld’s strengths. (more…)