The DS has been out for a while now, but it’s still the best portable gaming device for people of all ages. If you don’t have one yet, or need to get a second one so you don’t have to share with anyone on those long trips to visit family during the holidays, there’s some great bundles available. The Pokemon bundle comes with a blue DS lite, and a starter kit, and two Pokemon games for $199.99. Once you’re ready, DS in hand, check out the games that the girls at Gaming Angels.com recommended checking out this season. Since all these DS games are good for the gamer at almost every age, the list is sorted by price, with the higher priced games at the bottom. Happy Shopping!

Game Name: Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir 
Publisher: Nintendo/Big Fish Games 
Age Rating: E for Everyone 
Release Date: Sept 2008 
Price: $19.99  
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Recommeded By: Yukino

MillionHeir is a great game for anyone who loves search & find, puzzle-style games. Whether it be younger kids or an older crowd, it is a nice game that you can pick up and play for as little or as long as you would like.  

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Game Name: Personal Trainer: Cooking (also known as “Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat?”)
Publisher: Nintendo 
Age Rating: E for Everyone (ESRB)
Release Date: 24th November 2008 (USA), 3rd July 2008 (AUS)
Price: $19.99 (USA, at Gamestop), $47.99 (AUS, at JB HIFI Online)
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Recommended By: Naomi

When I first heard about this my first thought was “ANOTHER cooking game?”, but I was pleasantly surprised when I actually bought it. This game is in fact not a game but an electronic recipe book. It has over 200 recipes from around the globe, and it takes you through step by step so that you can cook at the same time (which is the idea of it anyway). It has videos on how to do certain things if you are a cooking novice, and it also has a shopping check-list so that you can mark ingredients that you need to buy and take it shopping with you! Some of the recipes origins are questionable though because I am wondering why “Grilled Vegetable Salad”, “Sautéed Lamb Chop” and “Potato Wedges and Sour Cream” are considered Australian. Anyhow, this is an awesome idea, and I personally think they could go a bit further and make versions of this on the individual cultures. 

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Game Name: Crossword DS (also known as “CrossworDS”)
Publisher: Nintendo 
Age Rating: E for Everyone (ESRB)
Release Date: 5th May 2008 (USA), 12th June 2008 (AUS)
Price: $19.99 (USA, at Gamestop), $47.99 (AUS, at JB HIFI Online)
Official Website
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Recommended By: Naomi  

If you like Crossword puzzles and find that some lovely person has beaten you to the paper, or have found it too hard, then this DS game is for you! If you like wordsearches or anagram puzzles, then you will find it in this game as well! Generally this game is easier than say the New York Times crossword game for the DS, but it isn’t entirely easy.  If you aren’t sure what an answer could possibly be to one of the crossword questions, then there is a hint button available as well. There is room for 4 people to have their own save file, so the only thing you will have to share is the game cartridge! So if you want to keep your mind sharp without the added frustrations, definitely pick this game up! 

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Game Name: Harvest Moon DS Cute 
Publisher: Natsume 
Age Rating: E (all ages) 
Release Date: Summer 2008 
Price: $29.99 (new)
Official WebsiteGaming Angels Amazon Store
Recommended by: media_girl

Harvest Moon is a niche series that mainly focuses on farming crops, cooking dishes, attending various festivals, raising animals, and wooing various potential spouses and befriending villagers through giving them gifts. However, this is a broad generalization that doesn’t even begin to explain the fun of the series. In fact, it’s hard to understand the appeal of the series until you play it for yourself, as it certainly sounds strange in writing. One of the latest editions to the DS line of Harvest Moon games, Harvest Moon Cute, is basically like the original Harvest Moon for DS, except with much improvement. It doesn’t have the annoying bugs of the previous version and you play as a girl instead of a boy. All in all, this is a great game to pick up for kids 6 and up, as it not only provides that rare thing, a positive girl role model within a video game, it also contains hours and hours of fun game play, decent graphics, and a well-balanced level of difficulty. 

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Game Name: Professor Layton & the Curious Village
Publisher: Nintendo 
Age Rating: E for Everyone 
Release Date: February 2008 
Price: $29.99  
Official Website 
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Recommeded By: Yukino

If you love brain teasers, math problems and other riddles, then Professor Layton is definitely the game for you. It is a wonderful way to get children to read and engage their brains, and also for those of us who are a little older and need to get our brains working a bit harder.   

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Game Name: Ninjatown
Publisher: South Peak
Age Rating: E for Everyone
Release Date: Oct 28, 2008
Price: $29.99
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Recommeded By: Yukino 

Defend your Ninja Village from the evil Ninjas in this strategy game based off the awesome plush toys from Shawnimals (www.shawnimals.com) . Build ninja huts, acquire new Ninjas with unique skills and keep the enemies at bay. Shawnimals creator Shawn Smith is a former EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) editor, and has successfully combined his plush toys and his love for video games into one massively addictive title. 

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Game Name: Kirby Super Star Ultra
Publisher: Nintendo 
Age Rating: E for Everyone (ESRB)
Release Date: 22nd September 2008 (USA), 27th November 2008 (AUS)
Price: $34.99 (USA, at Gamestop)
Official Website
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Recommended By: Naomi  

Kirby Super Star Ultra is the DS remake of the Super Nintendo (SNES) version, but with a little bit more. It has added levels, 3D cutscenes and a couple of extra games thrown in for good measure. From what I remember of the SNES version there was plenty of choices to pick from as to what you wanted to play, ranging from mini-games to full-fledged quests, with enemies granting Kirby new abilities when he swallowed them. The Kirby series was also created by Masahiro Sakurai, the director of the Super Smash Bros. series.

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Game Name: Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings 
Publisher: Square-Enix 
Age Rating: E (10 and up) 
Release Date: Winter 2007
Price: $36.99
Official Website
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Recommended By: media_girl

If you like strategy games that don’t make you through your DS in frustration, yet aren’t so easy they are insulting, then this is the game for you. In spite of the fact that it came out over half a year ago, the graphics are some of the best on the DS still (with CG cut scenes that must be seen to be believed) and the plot, while not quite up there with the pinnacle of strategy games, Final Fantasy Tactics, is quite good and propels along the action nicely. The game-play is superb, with a surprising level of depth, great controls and interface, and some of those star characters we know and love from Final Fantasy 12. In fact, even if you aren’t big on strategy games, I recommend this game, as it is a lovely introduction to the strategy genre. 

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