12 Games For Christmas - Game #8

8. Rittai Picross (Nintendo DS)

Not every game on this list was released into English. This is the fate of Rittai Picross – a HAL Laboratory developed entry in the Picross series, which received a major boost in the form of an excellent DS game. The sequel (also on DS) takes the already established formula, and transposes it into the 3^rd dimension. And unlike many games that had to go through this transition, Rittai PIcross works nothing short of a wonder, providing one of the most compelling puzzle game experiences you’ll play on the DS this year.

If you’re not familiar with the series, the Picross games are essentially collections of nonograms; logic puzzles in which cells placed in a grid are coloured in or left blank based on numbers given on the sides of the grid. For instance, a line may feature the numbers “5, 2, 5”, which require you to fill in sets of five, two and five squares in that line, with blank spaces in between. By filling out these squares, you’ll begin to create a picture, which is the ultimate task at hand. Here, you’ll need to whittle down a 3D cube, until you get a shape.

It’s very hard to describe why you’ll keep coming back and playing the game, but you just will. It’s something that once you figure it out, becomes instantly addictive and just plain fun. Creating your own puzzles is also something interesting, and the sheer number you get with the game is also something that’ll keep you going for a while.

The only thing that remotely sucks about the game is the fact that it may not be released in English anytime soon. If you want to get it, you’ll need more of an experimentation knack than a knowledge of Japanese, as you can get by the game without knowing the language. All well and good, but some of the more advanced options you’ll come across are completely locked to you unless you can actually read Japanese.

Despite this, Rittai PIcross is one of the absolute DS gems of the year. It takes an already great puzzle game and finds a way to make it better and much more addictive. Sure, it may take a bit of work to play it in Japanese, but otherwise, it’s great stuff.