DS: 12 Games of Christmas

Puzzle Series Vol. 5: Slitherlink

• Out now!
• Review

Slitherlink is the best do-it-at-your-own-pace puzzle game on the DS. There are no falling blocks so it avoids some obvious comparisons, but otherwise it is so good and so stuffed with content that it will keep you going back to it for months.

It's another of those conundrums you've probably seen on the back of a newspaper, and it obviously does away with the need to carry around books of different challenges to keep you occupied when boring people talk. The idea is to fill in a single connecting loop around a grid using numbers within squares to guide you. If one has a three then it will need three edges to be filled in. BUT WHICH THREE. Simple. Puzzling. Wicked.

As you go, the grids get bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger, eventually 20 times larger then they were at the start. The colours on the DS make it easy to spot patterns and the controls fit fantastically, plus there are some tip screens to turn to when you're stuck for ideas. Logic always dictates the answer, and Slitherlink is an absolute must for anyone with a hankering for a puzzle - and if you own a DS the chances are you do.

I know where to put you: Slytherin. Slime bag.

Pokémon Diamond/Pearl

• Out now!
• Review

Chances are you know what Pokémon is about and have never played it, either because you have been bombarded by the cartoon or heard your little brother harp on about it so you thought it was for kids. Travelling around the world as a spiky-haired youth and collecting fantastical creatures in balls might sound childish, but for anyone with an RPG hankering this is absolutely unmissable.

Once again the controls stand out as absolutely superb, and everything is much bigger and better than you should reasonably expect from a handheld game. You can fight your friends both close and distant, or just trade creatures like some black-market animal cartel.

Even your old favourites from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire can be transferred across, although Diamond and Pearl contain all the creatures from that entry and many, many more. There's enough in this to keep you glued to it for unhealthy amounts of time.

Science bit: There is actually a gene called Pokemon that is responsible for the evolution of cancer. Sorry, got a bit serious there.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

• Out now!
• Review

Puzzle Quest is a role-playing game where you battle enemies using a Zoo Keeper-style grid of gems and things. By now you have probably heard all about it, too, given Tom's incessant rambling about it and how it is so magnificent. Problem is, he's right - the two ideas mesh together so well it only leaves you surprised no one has done it before.

From the start the puzzle mechanic is simple, balanced and meaningful, and not so far away from role-playing conventions as it appears. After all, battle systems normally revolve around doing things in the right order so you don't run out of health before you opponent anyway. Plus, between these skirmishes you get to tackle sub-quests to boost your character's statistics and pop back to your Citadel to do a spot of building. Erect a Mage Tower, for instance, and you will be able to research and use the spells your enemies have been casting at you. On top of this is all the usual nattering to kings and queens and saving the day, as well as a decent local wireless multiplayer option to spice things up. And if that wasn't enough, you can also ride around on a giant rat. Thoroughly recommended.

Cupid: Tom rather likes the Puzzle Quest and also the evil woman who pops up near the end called Liandra. "I'D DIE FOR HER?!!!" he wonders and shouts. He's the Glenda Slagg of tile puzzles.