The Nintendo DS with it’s innovative stylus control and touch screen technology has resulted in many different types of games and even new genres being developed over the course of the past 3 years. Many of the best games on the DS make full use of it’s many features.  There is one game that doesn’t, but happens to be the one of the best on the diminutive system.

New Super Mario Bros. (NSMB) was released in June 2006 and has been one of the biggest selling titles to this day. Going back to a two dimensional format, the game saw Mario again trying to save the princess, this time from Baby Bowser, using a host of old and new powers. The game stands out because of it’s use of two dimensional backgrounds with three dimensional characters, creating a unique visual style. Like many of the other Mario games, 2D and 3D alike, your charged with traveling through different themed worlds, from snow to desert and forest to lava, defeating boss characters and destroying their castles. One thing which has changed from Mario’s newer games is that NSMB didn’t request that you collect specific numbers of stars, instead harking back to the original Mario Bros. game on the NES with Mario having to jump to a flag and hopefully set off fireworks at the end of the level.

It is this mixture of old and new which makes NSMB such a special game and even though it can be completed in a few sittings, you’ll be tempted to go back and enjoy it again and again, such is the unabashed fun of the game. Featuring the normal bright colors and signature sound effects, this game (developed by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto) is perhaps one of the purest and best Mario and indeed platforming experiences on any system out today.

One of the most important games on the Nintendo DS since launch, and helping it become the global phenomenon that it has become is Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training. A simple yet incredibly compelling titles which shows that it doesn’t take the millions of pounds like some console games to create something truly unique and special. The “game” revolves around you beginning with a test to check your “brain age”. Basically the answers you give to the test and how quickly you do it determins how close the software believes your brain to be to the ideal brain age of 20. On most first plays, brain ages reach into the upper 40s and 50s, even higher if your not used to the interface but the game doesn’t let you get discouraged, in fact, it actively prompts you to start training your brain!

Each day you’ll be welcomed by the friendly tron-like face of Dr. Kawashima and invited to do various exercises to train up your brain. These range from word games like reading aloud and maths test training your quick thinking numerical skills. Each exercise is quick and fun, and odd as it sounds, it does feel like it is working. On completing your tests you get to put a stamp on your virtual diary and have the chance to take another brain age test hoping to better your score each time. Aside from the tests there is also a fully functioning sudoku game too with hundreds of different puzzles at different levels of difficulty, good for a change of pace and they can be saved, making it perfect for quick train or bus journeys.

Brain Training has been the biggest success story from a whole heap of Nintendo DS success stories and is the premier game used in the huge amount of celebrity advertising. If you haven’t played this game and don’t believe the hype, please don’t be discouraged, Brain Training is one of the greatest pieces of software you can get. It may not be a game in the normal sense but it far surpasses in pure enjoyment and interest than many other regular games out there.

For all that the DS has going for it, one of the main thing is the amazingly different games on offer, one of the best of these games is the film noir inspired Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The story features an ex-police officer, now traveling salesman on the hunt for his ex partner who betrayed him. His work and indeed his search leads him to a small hotel in the middle of nowhere called Hotel Dusk, and it is here that the story takes place.

Featuring an art style not seen since A-ha’s “Take On Me” music video, the wonderful animation and style captures the feel of the whole piece. Lots of text does make it a task sometimes getting through some of the conversations but it’s well worth it, as the plot is top notch and some of the puzzle’s within the game are the most ingenious seen in a video game in quite some time. The game may be simple, and a little difficult to get into but once you do it turns out to be a very rewarding experience, with well thought out and developed characters and near mouse like controls.