Holiday Game Guide: the best DS games of 2007

How is your holiday season shaping up, DS fans? How could it fail to be awesome, with all of the great DS games that came out this past year? This is the perfect time to catch up to unfinished business on your gaming calendar; there are certainly a lot of great handheld games that we missed or didn’t experience completely over the course of the past 12 months.

Earlier, we took a look at some of the best PSP games of 2007, and now we will pick a few of the outstanding DS releases of the year. Few people doubted the tremendous performance the DS would continue for this year, and indeed the ‘DS Fever’ didn’t stop, and shows no signs of doing so anytime soon. Nintendo’s prominent portable system enjoyed a great deal of support from first and third party development alike; so much, in fact, that making this list proved difficult! These are only some of the great DS games released this year, but they certainly merit special recognition, as they managed to stand out from all the great titles out there. Continue reading to find out if you have some of the best DS games of the year.

5. Dementium: The Ward
Renegade Kid’s first entry to DS gaming was one of the year’s greatest surprises. Dementium offered a tremendous experience of survival horror and FPS gameplay well translated to the touch screen, but what made the game so special was its ‘feel’. With a great atmosphere created by creepy environments / enemies and top-notch audio, this game made us utter a yelp here and there and kept us running away from shooting zombies and wards. This is a highly recommended title for anyone looking for mature content on the system, and just about everybody that appreciates good gameplay. What’s more, the developers could very well work on a sequel at some point, possibly expanding on an already great experience. REVIEW

4. Pokémon Diamond / Pearl
Diamond and Pearl are, without a doubt, the best standard Pokémon titles to date. With a total close to 500 creatures to collect, a new and well designed region, a superb soundtrack and great, addictive gameplay, D/P certainly kept Pokéfans happy, and introduced a bunch of gamers to the franchise as well. Not only that, but added features improved the game’s value to great extents; online battles and trades, more Pokémon to collect, and even connectivity with previous GBA versions all pinched in to the success. Don’t let the overall view of the franchise fool you; it’s certainly not the most mature game, but it offers a great RPG experience that shouldn’t be missed. We look forward to the usual ‘extended version’ of Diamond / Pearl within the next couple of years. REVIEW

3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations
The second installment of the series, Justice for All, proved early this year that Phoenix Wright was back and ready for more courtroom action. Trials and Tribulations put a golden seal on the first part of the Ace Attorney series this October, offering what some consider the best entry of the series to date. Serious courtroom drama and crime scene investigations are extremely well balanced with over-the-top hilarity and clever writing, and the entertaining storylines of each of the game’s five cases kept us glued to our systems until everything was said and done. New and familiar characters and locations kept things interesting, and the series could hardly have ended in a better way. 2008 will bring us Apollo Justice and, indubitably, more awesomeness. Indeed, the law has never been this fun. REVIEW

2. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Many thought a puzzle / RPG combination couldn’t really work; Puzzle Quest surely proved them wrong. The addictive premise of Bejeweled-style puzzle gaming was seamlessly merged with RPG elements such as item collecting, weapons and armor forging, and random battles with hit points, experience, and spell casting. Puzzle Quest, for both DS and PSP, took many, many hours of our lives, and we couldn’t be happier. Not only is it extremely addictive and fun to play, it also showed an innovative approach to both genres and offered a fresh experience to gamers. We hope to see more handheld ‘genre blends’ in the near future. REVIEW

1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
It’s hard to believe that not a single Zelda fan thought, at least for a second, that the touch screen controls of Phantom Hourglass could be a bad move for the series. Even with Nintendo’s past experience and quality of games, the move seemed risky; the potential was there, but it seemed challenging to accomplish. Fortunately, the game was released and our fears were put to misery. Most players agree that touch screen controls gave the game—and the overall series—a great and fresh approach while still translating many of the great concepts of the franchise and even eased the approach of casual gamers along the way. With a beautiful art style and a refreshing take on the concept, Phantom Hourglass captivated many Zelda fans and proved that new approaches aren’t always a bad thing. We would be surprised to see the DS go by without another Zelda title released for it; not likely next year, but 2009 looks good for it. REVIEW