Taxonomy
DS Casual: Doing the Brainwave
In the inaugural edition of DS Casual, we dissected a pair of brain games from Nintendo, Big Brain Academy and Brain Age. Taking different approaches to neurological stimulation, both are winners in their own unique hemispheres.
Now Majesco is seeking to capture our brainwaves with its own pair of head games -- Brain Boost: Beta Wave and Brain Boost: Gamma Wave.
Wii for Victory
Congratulations, casual gamers - you've just won a major victory for mankind, common sense in general, and the entire interactive entertainment industry as a whole. So go claim your trophy: Its name, Nintendo's Wii.
DS Casual: A House Full of Games
"Wanna play a game?" As a kid, that question was usually followed by a mad dash to the hall closet where our hoard of games was stashed. Among its treasures were Monopoly, Clue, Life, Scrabble, and several other favorites.
One item in particular stands out, though. It was a cheesy plastic attaché filled with a gamut of gaming goodness. Think of a classic table game and chances are good it was in there.
Cloning Clyde Adds Platform Puzzling to Xbox Live Arcade
Despite a promise by Microsoft that Xbox Live Arcade games would provide new casual game experiences for a console audience, the large majority of games for the service have been ports of arcade classics like Pac-man or popular PC casual games like Zuma Deluxe. So it's nice to see a game like Cloning Clyde that brings an original experience that is well-suited to the console.
DS Casual: Landing in the Drop Zone
I love puzzle games! I can play them for hours on end...and usually do. It's just so easy to lose track of time when I'm "hard at work" on a mind-bender. If that's your story, too, read on as we get our handhelds dirty with a pair of addictive brainteasers, Tetris DS and Pokémon Trozei!
Card Games Come to the Xbox
People used to playing online Hearts and Spades on their computers might be interested to know that competitive card games are making headway on the Xbox Live Arcade. Two recent releases, Uno and Texas Hold 'Em Poker, show the promise of the system for online card games, despite some flaws in presentation and game design.
DS Casual: All The Marbles!
In the inaugural edition of DS Casual, we indulged in some cerebral gaming via Big Brain Academy and Brain Age. Now, functioning with a much enhanced cortex (though, my wife won't confirm it), I'm going to turn our attention to a more action-oriented indulgence.
And, what's that? Well, read on and I'll spill the marbles.
DS Casual: Bring on the Brainiacs
When you think casual games, Windows is the obvious choice. It offers a veritable smorgasbord of gaming goodness. But, it's not the only platform for casual fans. A less obvious alternative is Nintendo's DS, now available in a "Lite" version (more games, less grams).
Geometry Wars - The Bejeweled of the Xbox Live Arcade
Geometry Wars is a casual game, but it's not the kind of game you play casually. It's the kind of game you play on the edge of your seat, your gnarled hands making visible dents in the controller as the adrenaline pumping through your body makes you shake. It's the kind of game that makes you cry out and throw the controller down when you lose, only to pick it up again and try to beat your high score in just "one more game."
In other words, it's the kind of game they don't make much anymore.
Xbox Files: X360 & Casual Games - A Match Made in Heaven?
The Xbox 360 might not seem like the most logical choice to bring a casual game revival to your living room's video game consoles. After all, the 360 is the most powerful console currently available -- home to sprawling, graphically rich. Why would anyone want to use all this power on a casual game? The answer is Xbox Live Arcade.
