Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends

Simulation Miscellaneous Virtual Life Virtual Pet

Players care for and train their puppy by petting it, walking it and buying it supplies to play with. As a puppy competes in obedience and agility trials, owners can win money to purchase other puppy breeds. The pups will vary in gender, coloration and personality. Players purchase one of several breeds available at the beginning, then start spending time with their pup. They throw flying discs and balls to improve the pup’s agility, bathe it when it gets dirty and use their own personal voice commands to train the dog to do tricks. If players train it well enough, they will excel in obedience and agility trials and disc competitions, which will earn money that they can use to buy other supplies and puppy breeds. When players earn enough cash, they can buy even more puppies to live with their original pup. Players can socialize their pups by walking them around the town, where they will meet neighborhood dogs, and maybe even find new toys. Trips to the park and gym offer valuable training time to prepare for agility trials and disc competitions. Over time, the pup's stamina will increase so players can explore farther and farther. Players also can interact wirelessly with their friends' Nintendogs – they can set their DS to bark whenever another puppy is within wireless range. [Nintendo]

Star Fox Command

Action Simulation Shooter Flight Third-Person Combat Sci-Fi Arcade

Star Fox returns to its roots with a blistering space shooter on Nintendo DS. Lylat needs help. Players hop into their Arwing fighter and fight through a unique branching storyline of missions, all rendered in gorgeous 3-D. Star Fox DS brings a new strategic element to the series with a commander's view of the mission. Using the touch screen, players can draw the routes they and their teammates will take, then battle the enemies they encounter as they take over bases and strategically advance across the map. Players can blow their friends out of the sky as they dogfight with up to eight players over a local wireless connection or take on up to four players from around the world on Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. [Nintendo]

Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times

Simulation Miscellaneous Virtual Life Virtual

(Also known as "Enchanted Folk and the School of Wizardry" in the UK/EU) Set in a magic school, the game entails mastering a series of spells and incantations in order to achieve a Magician Licence and become Master Wizard. To this end, the player enrolls in the Magic Academy where alongside over 150 fully interactive pupils, they must learn and implement key spells and use them wisely. During the course of a term, however, the player is asked to solve a series of puzzles by mysterious beings that appear once a week throughout the game. Doing so will reward the user with extra items for use in their magic, and contribute towards the player's advancement.The other inhabitants of the School are key to the player's progress. They can make friends with anybody in the school and through these friendships learn new spells and abilities, as well as go shopping or take up hobbies, join bands to play music together, and even go on dates. Similarly, the school is rife with gossip related to available mysterious events, romance, stories among the pupils and players can even lend their character to friends in a unique 'Study Abroad' scheme wherein they are imported to a friend's game world for tutoring - and will even discuss their adventures on their return! Different stories and adventures will be revealed depending on what bonds are formed with the game's characters and how the player chooses to solve each of the 52 adventures. With its truly immersive game world and adaptive gameplay - all of which is played in real time courtesy of the DS internal clock - Enchanted Folk and the School of Wizardry is a truly magical experience. Packed with unique items for use in magic, the player faces many long and hard challenges as they strive to attain the coveted five-star rating that will earn the Master Wizard accolade. [Konami Europe]

Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise

Simulation Miscellaneous Virtual Life Virtual

In Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, players inherit a neglected garden on Pinata Island and turn it into a pinata paradise by tending to all aspects of cleaning the garden, growing and maintaining vegetation, caring for and breeding pinatas, as well as attracting new pinata species. The game features seven all-new pinata species, each with new requirements, houses and unique cut scenes. Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise also includes twelve full motion video clips that serve as tutorial levels within the game. The videos feature the stars of the Fox 4Kids Viva Pinata TV series, including Hudson Horstashio, Fergy Fudgehog and Paulie Pretztail. The brand-new Playground mode allows players to create a lush garden full of exciting and exotic pinatas in a very short amount of time. In addition, certain rare pinatas can only be acquired by using the Nintendo DS local wireless connection, where players can transfer items from their garden to a friend's garden. [THQ]