Pokemon Platinum and DSiWare on the Go

So, once again no time to play Rock Band 2 last week Still reviewing Red Steel 2, playing through Mass Effect 2, playing with my DSi XL, and Bioshock 2 came in the mail from Gamefly as well. So, I'm all about the sequels right now. I've also been playing quite a bit of NBA 2K10 because March Madness and the NBA Playoffs got me in the mood for it.We took a trip up to NJ for my Grandma's birthday so I ended up putting a chunk of time into playing DS and DSiWare games.

Its funny, when I was younger, even in High School, I was being driven around a lot more and had much more time to play Gameboy and DS. Since that time has passed I've tried a few things to get some more portable gaming in but it hasn't always worked.When Pokemon Fire Red came out I tried playing it on my GBA during workouts at the gym. It made the treadmill less tedious, but also made me queasy. When I first got my DS I tried playing it in bed before I went to sleep. Unfortunately, it often got me too wound up, especially while playing intense games like Contra 4 or Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. I bus commute to work everyday and that would be an ideal time to bust out the DS, but I like to use that time to catch up on my sleep. Also, after staring at a computer screen for 8 hours, I really don't feel like staring at another LCD screen. So now the majority of portable gaming happens on long family trips or long trips were my wife and I switch off driving.

Anyway, a few thoughts on the DSiWare shop. The majority of my DSiWare gaming has been with Art Style:Pictobits, Starship Defense, and the previously mentioned Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again.

It took me a while to wrap my head around Pictobits and not approach it like Tetris. I think I've got it down now, but I'm still getting overwhelmed at the end of levels. I may need to adjust my play style once more.

Starship Defense is Tower Defense game where you try to protect your ship. It has a cool Study Hall activity look with line drawings over a graph-paper background. It is a more accesible Tower Defense game than most as well. It teaches you weapons and strategies slowly and has a fast-forward button so you're not wasting away waiting for the next wave.

I would have spent more time with the DSiWare titles but the road was very bumpy and that made it hard to look at the shapes and react quickly. Couldn't play those games effectively because of that. So the majority of my time was spent with Pokemon Platinum. Before the trip I traded myself between my Pokemon Pearl and Pokemon Platinum games. So now on Platinum I have two starter Pokemon.

I think it was a success pile of shame wise. I acquired my 6th badge,my Monferno evolved into an Infernape, and my Prinlup evolved into a Empoleon. I did spend quite a bit of time wandering around wondering what to do. Then I realized that since I had just acquired the HM Surf I had to Surf somewhere. It's a bit funny how little direction there is sometimes in what is supposed to be a kids' game.

Anyway, this is starting to be too long of a post, so I'll save my Pokemon history for another post. Back in the normal pile of shame, I am looking forward to some Rock Band 2 this week!