Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword is a brilliant game. In this polished and challenging adventure, there is not one bit of wasted space or a moment of B.S. time-killing. Every encounter, decision and action serves the central swordfighting gameplay–and that’s a very good thing, because the fighting system is fun beyond belief. Easy to learn, tricky to master and full of fast, on-the-fly strategy, it propels the quest forward so addictively that you probably will need to heed the innkeeper’s advice to take a break every thirty minutes. (more…)

A recent arrival for North American home video, Professor Layton’s movie debut is that rarest of creations: a genuinely good game-based movie that completely captures the charm and appeal of its source material. If you’ve ever played a Layton game and wondered how the story would hold up without the hands-on puzzle gameplay, the answer is: extremely well. These sharply-written characters, taken straight from the games with no alterations, can carry a feature film. Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is a winner.

The plot, centered around an opera singer whose voice might unlock the secret of eternal life, fits right into the Layton universe and would have made a great entry in the game series. Fans will chuckle at the many references from the franchise: all the expected supporting cast make an appearance, Luke practices his finger-pointing pose, and the closing credits are laid out as if you were watching the two screens of a DS. (more…)

The eShop’s climb to excellence continues; Zen Pinball is amazingly good, combining great gameplay with a lifelike presentation only 3DS can deliver.

Many of today’s gamers have never played a real, hand-built pinball machine, but I grew up near a terrific pinball arcade where gaming nights involved staring down through glass cabinet tops (marred by old cigarette ashes and drinking glass rings) into mazes of ramps, bumpers and targets, all wrapped up in great, gaudy fantasy artwork.

A lifelong fan of flipper buttons, I’ve played a lot of virtual pinball on everything from the pre-2600 Atari Breakout box to the Electronic Arts Pinball Construction Set (EA used to be a small, lovable company), Metroid Pinball, Mario Pinball and the many collections that have appeared on consoles. I’m a pretty good judge of virtual pinball.

So, trust me: The 3DS eShop version of Zen Pinball captures the feeling of playing a real pinball machine better than any other release in videogame history. (more…)

Nintendo’s software winning streak continues with Pushmo, another brilliant eShop title. In this odd, ingenious puzzle/platformer, you play a roly-poly little guy named Mallo on a mission to save children who’ve gotten trapped on Pushmo climbing walls, created by a loveable old carpenter who’s made it his life’s mission to build incredibly dangerous playground equipment.

The game’s 250 levels involve pushing and pulling puzzle-wall sections to create a climbable/jump-able pathway to the trapped youngsters. It starts out simple and rapidly gets brain-bendingly challenging. You can pass on levels that have you stumped, but the game will guilt-trip you into returning: no one gets left behind! (more…)