42 All Time Classics was the must have DS game for Christmas 2007, it was selling for silly prices on Ebay and I searched high and low to get a copy for my daughters stocking. Ten months on and it's one of the favourite games in our collection.
The game, as the name suggests, consists of 42 mini games all bundled onto one games cartridge. The games are split into eight categories, basic card games, intermediate card games, advanced card games, basic board games, intermediate board games, variety games, action games and single player games. I won't bore you by reviewing every game individually but will tell you about the ones we have loved or hated.
In single player mode you have the choice of either free play or stamp mode. In stamp mode you complete the games in order to gain stamps and unlock extra features. My daughter loved stamp mode but as you can only
register one player on the game I have not tried this
Initially I found the game quite boring, I picked it up a few times and was unimpressed by the simple graphics and games but I became hooked after my daughter got stuck on solitaire in stamp mode and passed it to me to complete. It is the traditional solitaire game and unlike real cards you can't cheat to complete it and it took ages to win the game.
My favourite game is backgammon. You play against the computer opponent by moving your pieces around the board making sure the computer does not capture your players. I love every aspect of this game from the lovely sound when you roll your dice to the suspense of wondering if the CPU will roll a double six and steal the game from you. Each game only takes around 10 minutes to play so it is ideal to pick up if you have a few minutes to spare.
Another favourite is bowling in both single and multiplayer modes. You play in a realistic looking ten pin bowling alley with proper scoring. You need to throw the ball perfectly straight to get a strike and you will hear loud groans coming from my direction if I get a gutter ball, unlike a real bowling lane you cant ask for the kiddy bumpers to be put into place to save you!
A real gem for me is the maths game escape where you have to move blocks around in order to let your playing piece escape from a room. It is a game that starts out easy but gets fiendishly difficult as it progresses and it's a really great strategy game.
My daughter loves word balloon, a simple word guessing game like hangman, billiards and the card games. I find these are too easy for me but it's good there are games catering for different levels.
A few of the games are not great for the single player but come alive in multiplayer mode. You can connect up to seven DS consoles using one game card and this is when this game really comes alive. We spent a miserable wet weekend in August in a caravan and this game provided us with hours of entertainment. One of our favourites in this mode is balance where you have to place your block on a simple weighing scale making sure you don't tip the pile over. It's similar to Jenga in the levels of suspense it provides when you get near the end of the game.
This game is not perfect. The biggest flaw for me is only having one player slot on the game card meaning only one person can play in stamp mode. When you play against two or more CPU opponents then one always plays a rubbish game and one provides a credible opposition and this can become boring and predictable. Some of the games don't translate very well onto the small screen including field tactics, shogi and dominos. Also are all of the games really classics? I have never heard of some of them before such as koi-koi or the pointless soda shake.
42 All Time Classics is available for £15-£20 from all the usual places making it one of the cheaper DS titles, make sure you shop around to get the best deal. You won't like all 42 of the games but I'm sure there is something in there for everyone and it is brilliant if you have a friend with a DS to play with. It's the perfect game to pick up and play for a short time to unwind or kill some time and have some fun.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
42 All-Time Classics brings all the best-loved card, board and parlour games to Nintendo ... more
DS for anyone to play; with simple touch screen control and a multiplayer mode that pits your skills against players across the world! With no boards to set up ...
Postage & Packaging: £4.50 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
42 All-Time Classics brings all the best-loved card, board and parlour games to Nintendo ... more
DS for anyone to play; with simple touch screen control and a multiplayer mode that pits your skills against players across the world! With no boards to set up ...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Oct 10th, 2008
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (98%):
