DS: 12 Games of Christmas

Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber

• Out now!
• Review

Letting Donkey Kong do what comes naturally and swing himself through levels using his hands rather than his feet is one of those ideas it seems baffling we hadn't seen before. Not only did we feel at home as we clicked left and right shoulder buttons to control his mitts, but it opened a forest of possibilities that developer Paon was quick to pick up on. Bright sparks of creativity like propelling a stone ball along the level by catching pegs on its falling edge made us smile, as did having our actions mirrored on the top screen in the crystal palace, where you have to spot and avoid non-duplicated pegs or you will have to start all over again. Loser.

At its best, Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber is among the finest on the DS thanks to its imagination and the huge potential its control system flourishes. It can look a little messy in areas, though, and when you come across enemies who clearly are not as easy as they should be to defeat you will scream a little. However, these only prevent the game from being fantastic and settle it nicely into the world of good. Oh, it has a chirpy little multiplayer mode for up-to four friends from just one cart, too. Tom now agrees it's probably a bit too hard toward the end, but he still got in trouble for spending an entire weekend playing it instead of Phantom Hourglass, delaying a review.

No, really: Creator Shigeru Miyamoto thought "donkey" meant "stupid" in English and so used it to convey a "stupid ape" to a western audience. I never knew that.

Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery

• Out now!
• Review

Where games tend to stand out on DS is in their ability to understand and use the unique controls to the best of their ability. Dawn of Discovery does this with flare, and shows us all why we thought empire-building games would work so well on the platform to begin with. Our only gripe was that in a fixed isometric view it can be a pain to lay roads behind buildings, but otherwise creating and establishing your colony is intuitive and never feels cluttered.

Plus, on-hand help menus and an enormous ANNOpedia of information ensure you never stare at your screen as if it was some kind of financial document.

Its campaign is thoroughly engaging too, as it lures you into your capitalistic ways - barging out locals as you stamp your ever-growing authority on the area. Campaign mode should keep you engrossed, sand-box mode lets you build until your heart is content, and multiplayer mode lets you and up-to four friends go bananas. Those of you used to the PC version may find this a little lightweight, however, but for pocket-sized empire-building this is virtually unmatched.

Anno what: Famous pirate Captain William Kidd was hanged in London in 1701. That's boring, I know, but I studied pirates a while ago so that's what you're getting.

Picross DS

• Out now!
• Review

Puzzle games are outwardly boring and like a stonewall to appreciate if you look on them with ignorant eyes. I should know, I do it all the time. Take Picross DS; it sounds like something my sleepy old neighbours would tackle after Sunday lunch, what with its logical grid-based problem solving malarkey. It's a game you can play on paper for crying out loud; why would you want to port it to DS?

Probably because you can fit hundreds upon hundreds of puzzles in a handy cartridge, I suppose, with initially irritating but eventually forgiveable controls. Or because you can furnish it with a splattering of mini-games and the usual Nintendo hallmark of charm and personality. Much of its success is owed to Picross being among one of the best logic puzzles ever dreamt-up, but this is the best version of it to date, so it should rightly claim its place in your DS slot. You can even download free puzzles from Mario Picross when you're done, which is always nice. More of these please, Nintendo!

Slow down: Logic is confusing, but nowhere near as tricky as answering a question with a question.