gamrReview 2010 Game of the Year Awards - Nintendo DS - Article

After an impressive six year run that saw the Nintendo DS sell well over 140 million systems, the king of portable gaming may well be on its way out. With the Nintendo 3DS (supposedly) arriving in early 2011, the old DS may have seen its last year as the dominant handheld platform. But don’t be sad for our dual-screened friend, as 2010 was a banner year for the DS, with titles in every genre raising the bar for innovative games on the go, and if this really was the Nintendo DS’s last season well, it sure went out with a bang.

Now, with a tear in my eye, I present to you gamrReview’s Nintendo DS Game of the Year awards for 2010.

It sure has been a while since the name Sonic has been mentioned in the good graces of gamers, but  2010 was definitely the year of the hedgehog. Sonic Colors brought back classic ‘Sonic’ platforming and  spiced it up with Wisp powers and zany 3D effects that helped breathe new life into a franchise long  thought dead.

 Runner-up: Ivy The Kiwi?

 Reader's Choice: Ivy The Kiwi?

You read that right; in 2010 it was a DSiWare title that took home our award for best action-adventure on the Nintendo DS. This follow up to the Game Boy Color cult classic sees the return of the titular, purple haired genie Shantae in an all new adventure to thwart the evil pirate Risky Boots. Everything from the graphics, animation, gameplay and sound put this downloadable game far above the competition, easily giving it our best DS action-adventure award.

Runner-up: Alice In Wonderland

Reader's Choice: N/A

It was a close race between the third Professor Layton title and Super Scribblenauts for our best puzzle game award, but in the end it was the man in the big hat that won out. Combining the brain crushing puzzles that the series is known for with a memorable story and loveable characters that fans have (and continue to) grow up with proved a winning combination for developer Level-5 and earned the series its second consecutive best DS Puzzle game award.

 Runner-up: Super Scribblenauts

 Reader's Choice: Professor Layton And The Unwound Future

Sonic speeds past the competition to grab his second DS Game of the Year award. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing brought all the fun of speeding through imaginative tracks in wacky karts to the Nintendo DS in 2010 and reminded us why kart racing is such a joy to play in video-games. Featuring an all-star cast of classic SEGA characters and the same addicting kart racing action that Mario Kart made popular, it’s easy to see why Sonic and friends take home the award for best DS racing game.

Runner-up: (Tie) Pop Island: Paperfield and Motor Racer

Reader's Choice: Sonic & SEGA All-Starts Racing

It was a crowded field this year for RPG’s on the Nintendo DS but in the end it was pocket monsters that took home the (Heart) gold. This re-imagining of the Game Boy Color classic brought back everything that was originally crammed into the 8-bit original while adding even more features (like online battles and trading) that added a few more (hundred) hours to your already massive play time. This should be considered the blueprint of ‘how to successfully remake a game’.

 Runner-up: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies

 Reader's Choice: Pokémon: Heart Gold / Soul Silver

Trust me; I’m using the term ‘game’ here very loosely when describing 100 Classic Books, but that’s not a bad thing. Offering (actually over) 100 classic novels for readers to enjoy, this is like owning a small portable library of some of histories greatest literary works. Sure it may not contain massive cinematic explosions or in-depth gameplay but100 Classic Books is one of the best titles on the Nintendo DS at doing what it advertises, this is a book lover’s dream.

Runner-up: Art Academy

Reader's Choice: America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking

She does it again! In a landslide decision Shantae takes home her second DS Game of the Year Award, this time claiming the best DSiWare game award. In this, its second year the DSiWare service gained some serious traction with publishers both big and small releasing some great games, also big and small. But it was our favourite genie that came out on top. The best part? Priced at only 1200 DSi points (that’s $12!) this fantastic game is real bargain.

 Runner-up: 3D Mahjong

 Reader's Choice: Photo Dojo

If you’re going to ‘catch ‘em all’ you might as well be looking at something pretty in the hundreds of hours it’ll take you to fill that Pokédex. Pokémon: Heart Gold / Soul Silver took the look that gamers had grown up with for three handheld generations and added some modern flare to the experience. But the biggest philosophy guiding this remake is that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ as building on the already very pretty engine from Pokémon: Diamond / Pearl / Platinum is a sure fire way to earn our nod for great graphics.

Runner-up: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn

Reader's Choice: Professor Layton And The Unwound Future

What happens when two great games both blow away the competition and both come out deserving of a win? Well you do the honorable thing and give the prize to… both! Golden Sun: Dark Dawnand Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies left us impressed with the gorgeous tracks that their respective developers crammed into those tiny DS cartridges and helped make these two very different sounding RPG’s evoke the same feelings of grandeur from our DS’s.

 Runner-up: Sonic Classic Collection

 Reader's Choice: Professor Layton And The Unwound Future

The original might have been praised for its innovative concept, but when Super Scribblenautslanded we finally felt as if we were given the power to create whatever our sick little minds could come up with. Now gifted with the power of adjectives you could take on all the games challenges with whatever tools you wanted. And yes that does include a gentlemanly purple spotted tiny Cthulhu. Now that’s innovative!

Runner-up: Ivy The Kiwi?

Reader's Choice: Super Scribblenauts

Maybe it was the terrible camera system, the uninteresting plot or the iffy presentation, or maybe it was changing the series long-standing gameplay from traditional turn-based RPG to a more action oriented style, whatever it was Lufia: Curse Of The Sinistrals left a bad taste in our mouths. It also didn’t help that the game came out on a system that is already flooded with great RPG’s and was promptly forgotten a few months after its release.

 Runner-up: Sonic Colors

 Reader's Choice: N/A

Now this one is bittersweet, because really, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge deserves to be played by as many people as possible. Sure it doesn’t help that the game is a download only title for the Nintendo DSi, which severely limits its reach into players palms, but gamers everywhere should immediately (well after you’re done reading this article) put down what you’re doing, grab a DSi, hop on the DSiWare service and download this gem. You will not regret it.

 Runner-up: (3-way Tie) Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light, Super Scribblenauts and Ivy The  Kiwi?

Reader's Choice: Daniel X: The Ultimate Power

Well maybe this isn’t quite the last great year for the Nintendo DS. With so many great titles coming up in 2011 for the little handheld that could the category quickly became rather crowded. In the end it was OkamiDen, the DS-only sequel to the PS2 and Wii cult classic that narrowly beat out the heavyweight contender; Pokémon: Black / White to take home our award for the Most Anticipated Nintendo DS Game.

 Runner-up: Pokémon: Black / White

 Reader's Choice: Professor Layton And The Specter’s Flute

I told you the Nintendo DS had a stellar year. We here at gamrReview were so hard pressed to find a title deserving of our award of the Best Nintendo DS Game of the Year that we decided to bestow that honour to the two games that represent the system’s qualities of innovation and tradition the best. Super Scribblenauts, with its ‘imagination first’ concept proves that Nintendo struck gold with the innovative DS and allows gamers to play in a whole new way that wasn’t possible before. While Pokémon: Heart Gold / Soul Silver takes a beloved classic and re-dresses it for the modern gamer, complete with online gameplay and additional downloadable content. Truly this was the year where all the Nintendo DS’s capabilities were on display at their best.

Runner-up: Shantae: Risky’s Revenge

Reader's Choice: Professor Layton And The Unwound Future

 Be sure to check out our other Game of the Year Awards here!