Hal Laboratories

Block like a Man

HIGH You gotta love the "click" that happens when dozens of minutes of frustration give way to a natural, logical conclusion.

LOW Please play me a different song on this next puzzle!

WTF My insurance provider doesn’t see Picross-related carpal tunnel syndrome as a viable reason for treatment.

It's like Picross, but in 3D!

 

HIGH A fantastic sequel to a great puzzle game.

LOW The step-by-step progression to reach harder puzzles.

WTF That's supposed to be a horse!? Really!?

Game Description: Picross 3D is the single player sequel to the popular Picross DS puzzle game. The original game was a number-based grid puzzle that challenged players to reveal a hidden picture. Picross 3D ratchets up the challenge, moving the action into three dimensions. Blending the logical challenge of a sudoku puzzle with the excitement of discovering hidden images, Picross 3D is a must-have for any puzzle fan on the DS. Additional features include multiple categories of puzzle challenges and wireless functionality that allows puzzles to be shared both via the Internet and over a local Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.

Game Description: Engage the rage with Super Smash Bros. Brawl! The third installment of the incredibly successful Super Smash Bros. series is now on the Wii, The roster islonger than ever, but that just means more butt to kick across over a dozen different, graphic-rich stages with original moves, new modified moves, and a brand-new super attack called Final Smash! Old favorites like Mario, Link, Peach and Kirby are now joined by such exciting newcomers as Wario, Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog. With a variety of new modes, an absolutely epic soundtrack and the ability to play with distant friends through online multiplayer, this is a game you'll have to break your own fingers to put down.

Nintendo makes the game accessible to anyone right from the start. Melee is easy to learn, but it takes a lot of time and effort to truly master even one character. And when you consider that the game features more than 20 playable characters, mastering the entire game would be a tremendous undertaking.

Nintendo incites a "teddy bear" complex for me. I started playing video games with the original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. Fifteen years later my matured taste in games led me to buy a Playstation 2. However, I keep coming back to Nintendo. I have an attachment to it, much like people are attached to their old teddy bears.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Comic Mischief, Mild Violence

Game Description: Super Smash Brothers Melee is a great fighting game where you put your favorite Nintendo characters against each other, to find out who's the toughest of them all!

The premise of the Pokémon Stadium games hasn't changed with the new sequel. Anyone who's ever played the original knows exactly what to expect with Pokémon Stadium 2. The main idea is still to take Pokémon trained on the Game Boy versions (which now include the most recent Gold and Silver ones) and transfer them over to the Nintendo 64 via the Transfer Pak so that they can battle in a much grander and more vivid three-dimensional arena.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Animated Violence