Nintendo DS

An article in the November 2008 issue of IEEE Spectrum Online describes how Guitar Hero is being used to help "train" artificial arms for amputees. It's part of the Revolutionizing Prosthetics (RP) 2009 project, sponsored by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). One of the RP 2009 project's goals is that:

[i]n four years, DSO [the Defense Services Office] will deliver a prosthetic for clinical trials that has function almost identical to a natural limb in terms of motor control and dexterity, sensory feedback (including proprioception), weight, and environmental resilience. The four-year device will be directly controlled by neural signals.

Drawing a Line is About as Fun as it Sounds

HIGH The aesthetic and core concept are pretty adorable.

LOW The difficulty of later levels is ridiculous.

WTF In a game all about drawing lines, why is it so hard to connect or erase them?

Game Description: In Line Rider, the sled-stealing scumbag Chaz is up to no good and only you, as the clever and cunning Bosh, can defeat him. For Bosh to save his true love Bailey, players must solve over 40 mind-bending puzzles created by the #1 Line Rider player in the world, TechDawg.

You Dug Your Hole, Now Be Bored in It

HIGH Some of the writing elicits genuine chuckles.

LOW The vast amount of surprise-free grinding.

WTF Since when did cooking replace leveling up?

Game Description: The quiet town of South Arc is about to have some monster trouble. Foul creatures with serious attitude problems have infested nearby forests and are now slowly moving into the village. The townsfolk, fearful for their safety, do not even dare to leave their homes. Calls for help have gone unanswered, likely because every other town in the Kingdom is similarly troubled. As a young lad off in search of your calling, you stumble across a talking shovel. The verbose tool forcibly binds you to the task of digging a dungeon on the outskirts of South Arc, hoping to bait and trap the scrounging monsters. Looks like you found your calling, Master of the Monster Lair. Now start digging!

The real mystery is... why is there no mystery?

HIGH Spotting hidden items is actually enjoyable in limited doses.

LOW The grinding repetition necessary to reach the game's end.

WTF Why is the country-western singer a vampire?

Game Description: Spot Clues to Find the rightful Heir! It takes a keen set of "private eyes" to identify the heir in this search-and-solve detective story. Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir presents a new generation of search-and-solve games for a new generation of Nintendo DS owners. Whether you like to play for minutes at a time or hours a day, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir has your game experience covered. Delve into the latest evolution of search-and-solve fun! The game showcases highly detailed interactive scenes in which players look for cleverly hidden items in order to solve the case, an experience made for the added ease and interaction of stylus controls.

Calling something ‘hardcore' doesn't prevent it from sucking

HIGH Having a robot for a main character is always a perk.

LOW Everything else.

WTF The utter lack of a difficulty curve: it's all just this side of infuriating.

Game Description: In this DS remake of the classic Bangai-O, you take the roles of Riki and Mami and strap into the powerful Bangai-O suit to undertake the task of catching criminals red-handed. Bangai-O Spirits provides gamers with shooter gameplay and punishing supermoves, along with strategic and tactical elements. The game also offers co-op, competitive multiplayerfor 1-4 players via local wireless, and a powerful level editor tool which allows players to edit in-game levels or create new ones from scratch.

That's right, a pedometer . No Nintendo DS Advance for you!