Nintendo DS

Video Game Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – If you’ve ever played a solitaire matching game online like “Bejeweled Blitz” or “Chuzzle” then you’ll be familiar with the basic structure of D3’s remarkably addictive “Puzzle Quest 2,” now available on Xbox Live Arcade and for the Nintendo DS. And if you’ve ever been addicted to one of those popular solitaire matching games, clear your schedule and tell your friends that you’re going to be busy for a while. This is the best game of its kind in a long time.

CHICAGO – DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” is one of the best movies of the year to date; a remarkably enjoyable experience that works for children and adults and deserves to be doing even better at the box office. Don’t miss it while you still have the chance. The game that ties in with it? You can miss that.

CHICAGO – There really is a void in the center of the first disappointment of 2010, a game that sucks in too much of its incredible potential into classic traps of the gaming world like thin storytelling, mediocre graphics, and, most damagingly, sketchy controls. “Dark Void” isn’t horrible but that’s faint praise indeed when one considers the expectations for this title and the cleverness of its concept.

CHICAGO – Timed to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz” and its accompanying Blu-Ray collector’s set, the world created by Frank L. Baum is getting its own Nintendo DS role-playing game. Sort of. “Beyond the Yellow Brick Road” uses elements of both what we know and love about Oz and what gamers enjoy about RPGs to make an odd hybrid that could appeal to both genre newcomers and diehard fans.

CHICAGO – Majesco’s Nintendo DS game “Gardening Mama” is a pleasant series of mini-games targeted at younger audiences and fans of the original “Cooking Mama” release. There’s nothing revolutionary or overly remarkable about the title but not all mini-game collections are created equal and “GM” stands slightly above the average. You could do a lot worse than a trip to this garden.

CHICAGO – Rockstar Games has done it again. Like “Grand Theft Auto IV,” they’ve released a game that we all thought would be really good but they’ve somehow found a way to surpass expectations and delievered even more than most fans thought possible. There have been some excellent games in the first quarter of 2009 - “Killzone 2” and “Resident Evil 5” stand out - but “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars” gets my vote for game of the year to date.

CHICAGO – The development team behind the massively successful “Final Fantasy III” and “Final Fantasy IV” remakes for the Nintendo DS have joined forces with the creative minds behind the “Harvest Moon” and “Rune Factory” series to release one of the more creative handheld RPG titles of the year to date with the clever and fun “Avalon Code,” a game that may be far from perfect but is unique enough to warrant a look for all RPG fans.

CHICAGO – Activision sent over the news today about two new titles that are sure to get music game fans excited - “Guitar Hero Greatest Hits” and “Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits”. The two new titles in the “Guitar Hero” family will debut in June and we have screenshots and details on these newly announced games below.