Before playing Crosswords DS, I asked myself, “How am I going to review a game with a foundation built around a collection of crosswords?” However, after obsessively playing the game to the point of crossword-induced dreams, Crosswords DS had me in a headlock that would not let go.

As part of Nintendo’s “Touch Generations” line, Crosswords DS melds ease of use with sexy aesthetic to form a solid package of crossword puzzles, anagrams, and word searches. The menus are easy to navigate due to their giant-sized input buttons and lend themselves to the casual audience the game is geared toward.

Even the most casual of gamers will have no problem becoming familiarized with Crosswords DS’s control. Outside of the main game, there are training exercises that gear up the player with tips as to how the game plays. Although slightly abbreviated and not a necessity, the training exercises are a welcome addition for people new to the gaming world.

The bulk of the game is centered on – as the title suggests – crossword puzzles. Within the main game, there are over 1,000 different crossword puzzles waiting to be solved. The puzzles are separated into different difficulty levels that do a good job at gradually moving the player up the scale. Unlike other crossword games on the system, Crosswords DS is played holding the DS on its side like a book. This holding position allows the player to see the crossword in its entirety on the left screen, while the touch screen on the right is open to zooming in and writing the proper letter in the proper location.

I found the word search to be an afterthought when compared to the crossword section of the game. The word searches require no skill, which in turn creates a boring atmosphere that feels less like an enjoyable game and more like an arduous homework assignment.

The anagrams, on the other hand, can be extremely difficult even when on easy mode. As a writer, I pride myself in knowing many words, but the anagram mode of Crosswords DS was still very difficult. Unlike the word search, though, when I discovered a new anagram out of the letters provided, I felt as accomplished as any wordsmith could bearing the situation.

Overall, I found Crosswords DS to be an enjoyable, albeit average, game. For $20, it is definitely worth picking up.

Activision today announced that Pitfall: The Big Adventure is currently being developed by Edge of Reality, the folks who are in the motions of creating Cipher Complex and The Incredible Hulk, and who also brought us the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games on the N64.

The Big Adventure is set in the Peruvian jungle, combining reptile dodging, vine swinging and puzzle elements. The game is touted to have over 60 levels, spanning rainforests to glacial mountains.

Moreover, every action has been designed to take full advantage of the Wii’s motion sensing controls, from escaping traps to discovering lost treasure.

Look forward to some Tarzan-esque vine swinging action this Fall.

ACTIVISION SWINGS INTO ACTION WITH “PITFALL: THE BIG ADVENTURE” FOR Wii™

SANTA MONICA, CA – MAY 12, 2008 – Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today “Pitfall: The Big Adventure” for Wii™ is in development at Edge of Reality and will swing onto shelves this Fall. With more than 10 million Pitfall titles sold to date, Pitfall: The Big Adventure will introduce the franchise to a new generation of gamers while bringing a fresh Pitfall experience to long time fans.

“Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote™ to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!”

Set in the Peruvian jungle, Pitfall: The Big Adventure combines the action of reptile dodging and vine swinging with clever puzzles. The game will feature over 60 levels spanning lush rainforests, creature-filled caves, and glacial mountains. Within these dynamic worlds, players will explore cavernous jungles, discover lost treasures, battle shamen, narrowly escape treacherous traps and outwit creatures using innovative, accessible game mechanics developed specifically to take advantage of the Wii motion sensing controls.

“Wii is a natural and perfect fit for a Pitfall game, and it’s been fantastic to revolutionize this classic franchise through the application of the innovative Wii game mechanics. It’s a completely new experience for the gamer,” said Binu Philip, President, Edge of Reality.

Think of how LittleBigPlanet will transform our preconceptions of platform gaming on the PS3. Then consider, in the same light, that Boom Blox is creeping onto the radar to do just as good a job for the puzzle game genre on the Wii.

EA and none other than film producer, director, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg have teamed up together to produce Boom Blox, a game that is shaping up to be just as unique as LittleBigPlanet. With over three hundred levels, a good variety of activities, and over thirty characters, Boom Blox is looking to shake up the usually formulaic approach to the average puzzle game.

Boom Blox allows the player to interact with an unusual cast of characters, from the likes of Blox-laying chickens to a beaver that likes to make them explode. But there is also a Create Mode, which places the player into the role of level designer.

In this mode, virtually anything can be built using any of the levels within Boom Blox. These levels can be remixed by the player, using props, blocks, or characters that have previously been unlocked during gameplay. The player can then share his designs with friends or challenge them to solve their puzzles via WiiConnect24.

EA’s Boom Blox will offer this new level of creative puzzle-solving challenges via single player, co-op, and versus gameplay, in early May.

Now that Puzzle Quest has seen the light of day on PC, DS, PSP, Wii and XBLA –- whew, that was a mouthful – publisher D3 has seen fit for an expansion to be released exclusively on XBLA. Oh, and the working name sure does spark creativity and excitement: Puzzle Quest 1.5. They need your naming help, and they know it.

Starting March 21st, you can visit the Puzzle Quest website and see about helping them come up with something a little more awe-inspiring than “Puzzle Quest 1.5”

I never really delved past the first few battles in what GFW Radio has called Bejeweled with mana, so I’m not entirely sure that I’m one to judge when it comes to the “incredible amount of content”. That’ll be something for fans to look forward to.

The new content includes four new hero professions in the form of a Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock – along with 25 “challenging” quests, 50 new spells, and 40 new magical items.

And oh yeah, there’s a new ultimate baddie of the universe — Antharg, the Lord of Plague, sibling of Lord Bane. I’m guessing he’s the baddie from Puzzle Quest 1.0?

The only inkling we have as to a release is spring and for now, only on XBLA.

Source: BusinessWire via Joystiq

Puzzle Guzzle should be available in a store near you, according to the latest press release from Agetec. It is the latest budget-priced PSP title available in North America, available for only $19.99 with an ESRB rating of “E”.

Taken from the press release:

“The premise of Puzzle Guzzle is simple: players attempt to turn different shaped pieces into shapes with 90 degree angles on each side. However, as the pieces appear faster and faster, and your opponents get more devious, this simple challenge soon becomes a maddeningly fun experience. As players defeat opponents, they steal their character’s appearance, features and special abilities, so the more you play, the more the game changes!

Puzzle Guzzle features hundreds of challenges that will tie players’ brains in knots, and it also features a wealth of downloadable puzzles to keep things fresh. Over 50 challenges are now available for free download. Puzzle Guzzle owners simply need to select “Launch Website” from the game’s title screen to access these new puzzles.”

Previously a free demo of Puzzle Guzzle was made available through the Playstation Store in early February. The 11mb download offered a sample of what the gameplay and puzzles would be like. The download is still available there, so if you’re interested in trying before buying, head on over.

Agetec’s “Puzzle Guzzle”, a PSP puzzle game said to feature three puzzle modes and over ten original gameplay styles, is now available for your demo puzzling pleasure on the Playstation Store.

The basic concept behind the title (as I understand it) combines traditional puzzle solving skills with the popularity of the social networking craze. Puzzle aficionados will be able to create their own puzzles and share them with other members, in addition to exchanging profiles and feedback via the PSP infrastructure.

The full version of Puzzle Guzzle is set to hit retail later this month, but you can try out your social network/puzzle solving abilities right now by downloading the free demo.

“Heroes?! In MY Labyrinth?!”

Have you ever gotten lost in a dungeon? Frustrated, confused, swamped by enemies with not a single health potion left in your inventory? Well, have you ever wanted to be the jerkface that designs those soul-killing labyrinths you loathe so much? If so, then you clearly need to play “Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaiki da,” or “Brazen In Spite of Heroes.”

In this puzzle-RPG hybrid from Japanese developer Acquire, you play the role of a quite-possibly-evil dungeon master trying to build the ultimate hero-killing maze. Laid out in Dug Dug-styled strata, you carve out all the tunnels yourself, culling slimes from moss-covered rock. These most-basic-of-basic RPG baddies will then proceed to ooze around and fertilize other tiles or feed on them and multiply. When rocks start to turn white from this process, you can break them to release nasty bugs or even more effective lizardmen. Figuring out how to structure your dungeon and cultivate more powerful creatures is the key to success. It’s a delicate ecosystem so think of it as a kind of “monster ant farm.”

Soon enough, the surface’s mightiest champions will descend into your lair in an attempt to abduct you and drag you topside for some buff rewards from the locals. Yeah, now you know how all those bosses you’ve killed over the years feel. Anyway, once they enter, you’re asked to place yourself somewhere in the dungeon, and though the grace period has ended, you can continue to create new tunnels and unleash new monsters as the adventurers hack their way through your minions. Each hero type has different attributes and weaknesses, as well as the ability to level up, increasing their strength and restoring their health. Striking a good balance between having monsters powerful enough to pose a challenge and not littering your dungeon with experience point fodder takes some getting used to.

Though it may sound somewhat complex, it actually plays out quickly. This is an arcade game through and through, which means it’s hard to tell exactly how deep it gets from the three-level demo. But, hey, it’s got great aesthetic appeal (original Dragon Quest era sprites and pipey music) and hallowed review house Famitsu gave it an impressive score (36/40). Try it for yourself in Japanese (it has a low language barrier) and hope that someone plans to publish the full game in the West at some point. Below you can find the promotional trailer and instructions on how to obtain the demo yourself.

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As getting demos, especially foreign ones, on to your PSP can be a trial of patience, you can try following these instructions:

1. Download this file to your PC. That’s the EBOOT file you’ll need to run the game.
2. Stick your PSP-formatted Memory Stick Duo into your computer if you have an appropriate reader OR use a mini-USB->USB cable to connect your PSP (with Duo inserted) to your computer.
3. Either way, the Memory Stick should show up on your list of drives. Open it and go to the /PSP/GAME directory.
4. Create a new folder with the title “NPJG90009″
5. Place the EBOOT file in that folder.
6. On your PSP, go to “Game” on your XMB and scroll down to “Memory Stick.” You should now see an icon for the game.
7. Click it and play!

By the way, you’ll need Firmware 3.72 to run it!