Review: Picross DS (NDS)

Nintendo’s aim of attracting non-gamers seemed an almost unattainable dream when the DS was first announced (a feat almost as lofty as seeking the Holy Grail), but few can deny the Kyoto giant’s goal of making games that everyone can pick up and play has worked well. Non-gamers enjoy the odd spot of Brain Training as much as the most dedicated Osu! Tatake! Ouendan player. With the introduction of the “Touch Generations” series on the DS last year, Nintendo’s achievement has been realised beautifully, making the DS fly off the shelves at an incredible rate. Sit in any waiting room or look across the platform at any train station, and chances are you’ll see someone playing Backgammon in 42 All Time Classics, or shouting “Blue. Yellow. YELLOW!” at Brain Training’s Stroop Test. The inclusion of Sudoku in the latter title has eaten many hours of Gamestyle’s time, but with the release of Picross DS this has changed.

Picross has been around for some time now (some of you may remember the original Mario-branded Game Boy version), but the way its puzzles are solved are similar to Sudoku. The player is presented with a grid (ranging from 5x5 squares to 20x20). Above and beside the grid are numbers which dictate how many squares have to be filled in vertically and horizontally. Then it’s simply a process of elimination to decide which squares need to be filled or left blank so the picture can be uncovered. It may seem an uninteresting prospect on paper, but the player can become engrossed. The “just one more go” syndrome associated with the best puzzle games features here too. There are no time limits as such, but time penalties are incurred for filling in the wrong squares, so the picture can be uncovered at the player‘s pace. The real goal comes in trying to figure out each puzzle in under an hour, upon which you are presented with an animated colour version of the picture you’ve unearthed. Okay, it may not quite be the most rewarding trinket for your quick thinking, but it gives the player something to aim for, the sense of achievement for solving the puzzle in good time can leave you with a smug grin of accomplishment (at least it did for Gamestyle, especially on the harder difficulty settings).

Control over the game is, as expected, given to the stylus. Tapping away at squares is the best way to play Picross, and hitting the zoom, scroll and “x” options on the top left of the screen allow for movement of the grid and the marking of squares you think should be left blank. Once into the game a little deeper however, Gamestyle found using the d pad to select these options the control system of choice. When the larger grids are in play, this makes for easier navigation, and on occasion allows for “in the zone” moments of synchronisation between brain and hands.

A puzzle title such as Picross has little room for any extra options. It’s not the type of game that requires online multiplayer, for example, but it does have a Picross editor where you can make your own puzzles by drawing them on the screen. Combined with the ability to send your fiendish creations (and download others) via Nintendo wi-fi, this is a wonderful little addition to this neat little package, adding a few more hours to a game that has devoured so much of your time already.

So, it’s not the most exciting game on the DS, but it will hold your attention for some time. There are plenty of puzzles available from the outset, a daily challenge mode (in a similar vein to Brain Training) and the aforementioned editor and wi-fi connection. Picross can entertain you for five minutes or make you lose an entire afternoon. It’s easily accessible, frustratingly annoying at times, and also quite relaxing. There’s little that can be added here, and, at a £20 price tag is worth a purchase if you’re into puzzlers. Picross DS is yet another fine example of what “Touch Generations” is all about, and is a great addition to the series.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Dan Gill