A guess-the-drawing game well-suited to Nintendo DS
Pictionary **1/2 stars Nintendo DS; $29.99 Age rating: Everyone Pictionary is a natural fit for Nintendo DS, with its touch screen and stylus handily standing in for the pencil and paper used in the traditional version of this guess-the-drawing board game.
Pictionary
**1/2 stars
Nintendo DS; $29.99
Age rating: Everyone
Pictionary is a natural fit for Nintendo DS, with its touch screen and stylus handily standing in for the pencil and paper used in the traditional version of this guess-the-drawing board game.
Up to four players can participate in a game by passing a single system around or connecting multiple DS units and Pictionary copies.
Solo players can try to guess what the computer is drawing, though the game often draws an image that could be referred to by multiple terms, but will only accept one.
This version comes with several modes beyond the basic board game. Pictionary Mania assigns a restriction to each drawing - a player might have to draw a picture blind, or using only straight lines. In Pictionary Quiz mode, players try to guess what the drawings are without the board-game component. Players can also create their own custom "Pictionary" clues.
Enslaved: Pigsy's Perfect 10
*** 1/2 stars
Microsoft Xbox 360 (Xbox Live download), also for Sony PlayStation 3 (PlayStation Store download); $10 (800 Microsoft Points
Age rating: Teen
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West's post-apocalyptic take on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West had a memorable duo in main characters Monkey and Trip.
Their sometime-sidekick Pigsy now stars in his own adventure, as the rotund marksman searches for the parts he needs to build himself a robot friend in Pigsy's Perfect 10, a downloadable add-on that tweaks Enslaved's game play enough to stand on its own.
Pigsy is slower and much less agile than the limber Monkey, but his grappling arm helps him reach faraway ledges and he has "trouble vision" to mark out dangers. He can fire his trusty rifle in several styles, including semiautomatic, burst-fire and sniper modes, and his little robot buddy Truffles finds points of interest.
But Pigsy has to be more cautious and tactical than Monkey - he's vulnerable up close, with only a shock prod to stun attacking robots for a moment, and he can't soak up much damage. He eventually gains special equipment to help him out, like a holographic distraction and a powerful bomb.