The list is shorter this year, because frankly I felt 2005 was a weak year for gaming. There were a lot of very good releases, but there was no game that stood above the rest, immediately recognized for its strengths or unique contribution to the medium. World of Warcraft made great strides in capturing audiences worldwide in 2005 – what is it, five million concurrent subscribers now? The XBox 360 launched with one of the worst lineups since the Saturn, with an engineered product shortage that somehow convinced people they actually needed one. But in terms of a singular victory on any platform, I am hard pressed to name one. I also could have easily padded a list with the other games that I played last year that left me satisfied, but to do that would lessen the meaning of the other selections. These are, after all, the best games I played from last year, and as such should come across as titles actually worth playing, not just looking into.

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I find Castlevania in its current form irresistible.

As much as I love to complain about a lack of exciting new concepts in games, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow continues to refine the formula that makes the portable version of this series so appealing. When you aren’t mentally replacing the main character with one that wears bionic armour, the gameplay remains gripping. The need to collect better armour, weapons and more powerful spells (the souls that first appeared in Aria of Sorrow) drives the game forward. Ever since Symphony of the Night, Castlevania has turned into a kind of “Castleroid”, adopting the exploration to acquire new power to unlock new areas methodology. Though what Castlevania adds is experience points. It gives purpose to repeatedly visiting the same rooms during those long sessions of trying to figure out where to go next. Except this is not really an RPG, because the player has no control over the main character’s stat progression. And yet somehow the entire system manages to work.

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It’s hard to imagine a Nintendo console without a version of Mario Kart. Ever since the mold was cast on the SNES, there have been numerous imitations. Even Nintendo’s own following iterations didn’t seem to capture the same charm as the original. This time Mario Kart DS provides the entire package, borrowing only those components from its ancestors that worked well and created one of the best games I played last year.

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I own a dog. She’s five months old, and has been a ridiculous amount of work. But my wife and I love her. Despite whether the favour is returned or not, we spend time on her. Housetraining, obedience, and general manners – it’s all important if you want to be able to live comfortably with a pet. It’s because of these efforts she is growing into a fantastic animal companion for us. When I read about Nintendogs I see that exactly 8% of what I’ve spent the last five months doing is actually represented.

With hints of the Tamagotchi craze of the mid 90s, Nintendogs takes the features of DS and creates an entirely new interactive experience with a virtual pet. From a technology perspective, seeing how the voice and touch screen elements of the DS come together makes Nintendogs sound like a genuine accomplishment. Reading through some of the reviews, it seems that the underlying simulation is lost amid the praises for using the DS’s capabilities to their fullest. Let’s take away the fact that there is a cute puppy on screen waiting to be played with. What is the ultimate goal?

Nintendogs can hardly be considered a “game” in the traditional sense, as it takes elements from what we have come to expect from a “virtual” pet with that of a simulation of sorts. You can record yourself saying “sit”, and your dog will eventually learn to do it on command. After three or four tries. You can “walk” your pup around the neighborhood where you might find accessories for your new dog, like a new…hat. You can enter your dog into obedience and frisbee catching competitions and win awards to buy more stuff for your dog. You can feed your pup to keep him happy, but he will never grow. It all might seem very appealing to some people, and it’s entirely possible that Nintendogs’ undeniable cute factor will prompt new sales of the DS. Though what I’d be more curious about is whether this game causes someone to go out and actually buy a dog. They’ll be in for a surprise.

Where I thought this game would excel is in player-to-player interaction. A proper component of raising a dog is socialization, so what better way to exploit the DS’s wireless connectivity? Through something called “Bark Mode”, Nintendogs players can meet each other’s pups in a generic-looking play room. However, all you’ll be seeing is a “local” version of the other player’s puppy; none of the activity is happening in real time. That means the other player can’t call his dog back to him, or throw a frisbee and the both of you watch your dogs go after it. With the inclusion of dog competitions in the single-player game, it’s all the more unfortunate that players can’t compete with each other in obedience trials or even something simple like a race.

The most notable aspect of multiplayer interaction is that the game assumes the dogs will get along. You don’t need me to tell you that every dog behaves differently, regardless of breed. Walking your dog through a park with other dogs usually results in friendly play, but you will occasionally go through the harrowing experience of having to put up with an aggressive dog and an owner that can’t control it. Nintendo obviously chose a selection of lovable, cuddly breeds to include in Nintendogs, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be – or become – aggressive. It’s obvious this game was made for kids, but is there any kind of reaction for poking your dog repeatedly with the stylus? Or neglecting it for long periods? Something tells me the experience is intended to be short term, with the results of this negative parenting never affecting the development of your virtual puppy.

I enjoy gaming because it’s an escape from reality. This is main reason why I avoid sports games: as much as I can appreciate the “fantasy” aspect of controlling one’s favorite team, I’d sooner go outside and play the real thing (which rarely happens anyway). The same can be said of Nintendogs. Where’s the fun of actually walking with your dog? How empty would you feel yelling into a machine, only to have the insolent collection of pixels disobey the command? Would you show this virtual pet to your friends and expect some kind of reaction? This process of thought made me question where games in general are going. To simulate real-life physics to put a player in the middle of a compelling fictional setting is certainly an admirable goal; simulating the triviality of real life seems wasteful and indulgent. I’m sure a direct relationship can be found between obsessing over virtual lives with the popularity of reality TV.

While the thought of spending $40 plus the cost of a DS for a “dog” is probably appealing to some parents, the fact of the matter is you can still turn off the game. Your dog will never die of starvation or neglect, it will never run away, and will remain a puppy forever. I’d hardly call that a simulation, and it simply reinforces a fundamental flaw in game design: the lack of any real consequence.

it’s a perfect day to lock yourself inside

A strategy I never anticipated for the DS was to host a series of PC ports. I should probably call them “re-imaginings”, though, because an initial inspection of Age of Empires DS reveals only a passing resemblance to its forebear. The game has been turned into a turn based strategy title, with battles looking like something out of Advance Wars as opposed to the RTS classics of yesteryear.

Strategy First followed this up with news that turn based franchises Disciples and Jagged Alliance would be available for the DS as well. Along with Age of Wonders, Disciples helped re-galvanize the weakened state of turn-based fantasy epics and secured a position in my catalogue of PC favorites.

On a similar note, Paradox announced last month that their turn-based Europa Universalis II would be available for the DS sometime in 2006, with seemingly little visual modifications.

Nintendo has always been known to capitalize on past successes, as any Gamecube or Gameboy Advance owner can tell you. Instead of simply re-releasing old games, however, developers will be taking advantage of the DS’s interface. The buttons coupled with a stylus will attempt to mimic the mouse and keyboard, the PC gamer’s requisite control scheme. With two screens at a player’s disposal to display information, I can see these titles succeeding in concept, though what remains of the gameplay will be the ultimate deciding factor.

The trend continues in homespun ports, with agile programmers utilizing a growing number of DS development tools to get SCUMMVM running on the DS. I’ve only seen photos of The Secret of Monkey Island running – but that’s enough to get the gears turning. I’ve said before that Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is easily one of my favorite games of all time; to think that I would be able to play it on the DS has me considering the purchase of a wireless network card to interface with my DS.

Based on my experiences with Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, the first person shooter is another genre that has the potential to broaden the DS’s library. Case in point: Heretic DS. Forget for a moment that Heretic was a feeble attempt to recapture the success of Doom. The programmer responsible for the port has not only managed to get the game to run with both screens in operation, it appears that he has essentially copied the design concept of Metroid Prime Hunters. Do not think for a moment that the lack of an analog control stick somehow cripples the DS. When you realize that the touchscreen is an extension of the control pad the potential for this platform becomes perfectly clear.

he hands the drill to his son