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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Puzzle Developer: Hudson Publisher: Nintendo |
It is a game that has taken newspapers, bookstores and even videogame systems by storm, Sudoku. With nine numbers, 81 squares
and millions of different possible challenges for players to attempt, the game is fairly cut and dry and proves to be a game that is hard to
screw up because of the fact that there isn’t much creative freedom for developers to take. Nintendo’s “Sudoku Gridmaster” is the first
Sudoku game that is exclusively being offered for the Nintendo DS, and the game proves that it is in no way broken. The game is just a
little bit underwhelming considering what the company had offered out to players only three months earlier as a side game in the “Brain
Age” title that they released. Even with four times the number of puzzles included with this version of the game, many players would
probably rather play Sudoku in the “Brain Age” titles instead of picking up a game that is specifically dedicated to the puzzle game.
For those who have no idea what Sudoku is, it is a number puzzle game where players use the given clues, which are numbers, to
arrange the number one through nine in each row, column and three by three box in a nine by nine square game board. None of the
numbers can be duplicated in those locations, which means that there is only one answer to each specific Sudoky puzzle. It is a very
simple concept with a lot of different ways to play through each puzzle and each puzzle in ranked in difficulty based on the amount of
clues that are given at the start of the puzzle.
“Sudoku Gridmaster” is obviously a product done by a completely different development studio than “Brain Age” was created by. In fact,
the game feels a lot like a contract requirement that Nintendo and Hudson had with each other, Nintendo already had a Sudoku hit with
the version in “Brain Age,” but instead of building off of that engine that already works, the company instead went with a totally different
product with a presentation that doesn’t’ look or feel anything like “Brain Age.” Though the version of the game in “Brain Age” is barren
but very functional, the version of the game in “Sudoku Gridmaster” is barren and nonfunctional, sadly.
There honestly isn’t really anything that is bad about “Sudoku Gridmaster,” and for a price tag of only $20 players get more than four
hundred different puzzles that are timed, ranked and can be saved at any point in the puzzle in order to come back to later. Players can
compete in four different challenges if they earn enough credits solving the different Sudoku puzzles. However, that is really everything
that can be said about this specific title, but “Sudoku Gridmaster” has more sleek environments with more attention paid to the visual
presentation, though the game proves to be more about a simple nine by nine grid with numbers to organize. The only problem with the
sleek environments in the game is the fact that Sudoku is not the type of game that needs to worry about visual appeal, except for a few
black lines and numbers.
Unlike the Sudoku mode that can be found in “Brain Age,” players can input numbers by either tapping on a keypad on the right hand
side of the touch screen, or they can write in the numbers of the puzzle using the handwriting recognition software. This handwriting
engine isn’t handled nearly as well as it is handled in “Brain Age,” so for those who put a little look in their twos or write their fives like
the letter “S” with a flat top will have to work a little bit on their penmanship before using this form of answering the puzzle. Also, since
players are writing the numbers in a data entry grid that is detached from the main Sudoku grid instead of scribbling the numbers
directly into the specific square, it is not as intuitive to input numbers in this way. It is also a little bit clumsier this way since players
have to trigger note mode if they want to enter smaller, unofficial numbers into the square to keep track of possible entries for the puzzle.
On the plus side of things, there are a few cool features that are in place to help players, like the ability to highlight all of one row,
column and quadrant by tapping the L or R trigger. Players can also cause all of a single number to flash on screen by double tapping
that specific number, a handy tool to spot any possible mistakes made in the puzzle. On the downside, the game only holds a single
user profile and can only save one active puzzle to the memory at any time.
For a game that is specifically dedicated to the game of Sudoku, it just seems lacking sitting next to a game that offers a better version
of the game as a secondary mode. “Sudoku Gridmaster” can’t even figure a creative way of using the second screen, other than
duplicating the exact same grid that is interactive on the touch screen. Players will more than like rather play Sudoku in the Nintendo DS
vertical book made that is offered in “Brain Age.” “Sudoku Gridmaster” is possibly the worst entry in Nintendo’s much touted Touch
Generations line of games. For those that are looking for a few Sudoku challenges and nothing more, that is what is offered in this
game. For those looking for a creative version of the game, there will be some searching involved, because it won’t be found here.
and millions of different possible challenges for players to attempt, the game is fairly cut and dry and proves to be a game that is hard to
screw up because of the fact that there isn’t much creative freedom for developers to take. Nintendo’s “Sudoku Gridmaster” is the first
Sudoku game that is exclusively being offered for the Nintendo DS, and the game proves that it is in no way broken. The game is just a
little bit underwhelming considering what the company had offered out to players only three months earlier as a side game in the “Brain
Age” title that they released. Even with four times the number of puzzles included with this version of the game, many players would
probably rather play Sudoku in the “Brain Age” titles instead of picking up a game that is specifically dedicated to the puzzle game.
For those who have no idea what Sudoku is, it is a number puzzle game where players use the given clues, which are numbers, to
arrange the number one through nine in each row, column and three by three box in a nine by nine square game board. None of the
numbers can be duplicated in those locations, which means that there is only one answer to each specific Sudoky puzzle. It is a very
simple concept with a lot of different ways to play through each puzzle and each puzzle in ranked in difficulty based on the amount of
clues that are given at the start of the puzzle.
“Sudoku Gridmaster” is obviously a product done by a completely different development studio than “Brain Age” was created by. In fact,
the game feels a lot like a contract requirement that Nintendo and Hudson had with each other, Nintendo already had a Sudoku hit with
the version in “Brain Age,” but instead of building off of that engine that already works, the company instead went with a totally different
product with a presentation that doesn’t’ look or feel anything like “Brain Age.” Though the version of the game in “Brain Age” is barren
but very functional, the version of the game in “Sudoku Gridmaster” is barren and nonfunctional, sadly.
There honestly isn’t really anything that is bad about “Sudoku Gridmaster,” and for a price tag of only $20 players get more than four
hundred different puzzles that are timed, ranked and can be saved at any point in the puzzle in order to come back to later. Players can
compete in four different challenges if they earn enough credits solving the different Sudoku puzzles. However, that is really everything
that can be said about this specific title, but “Sudoku Gridmaster” has more sleek environments with more attention paid to the visual
presentation, though the game proves to be more about a simple nine by nine grid with numbers to organize. The only problem with the
sleek environments in the game is the fact that Sudoku is not the type of game that needs to worry about visual appeal, except for a few
black lines and numbers.
Unlike the Sudoku mode that can be found in “Brain Age,” players can input numbers by either tapping on a keypad on the right hand
side of the touch screen, or they can write in the numbers of the puzzle using the handwriting recognition software. This handwriting
engine isn’t handled nearly as well as it is handled in “Brain Age,” so for those who put a little look in their twos or write their fives like
the letter “S” with a flat top will have to work a little bit on their penmanship before using this form of answering the puzzle. Also, since
players are writing the numbers in a data entry grid that is detached from the main Sudoku grid instead of scribbling the numbers
directly into the specific square, it is not as intuitive to input numbers in this way. It is also a little bit clumsier this way since players
have to trigger note mode if they want to enter smaller, unofficial numbers into the square to keep track of possible entries for the puzzle.
On the plus side of things, there are a few cool features that are in place to help players, like the ability to highlight all of one row,
column and quadrant by tapping the L or R trigger. Players can also cause all of a single number to flash on screen by double tapping
that specific number, a handy tool to spot any possible mistakes made in the puzzle. On the downside, the game only holds a single
user profile and can only save one active puzzle to the memory at any time.
For a game that is specifically dedicated to the game of Sudoku, it just seems lacking sitting next to a game that offers a better version
of the game as a secondary mode. “Sudoku Gridmaster” can’t even figure a creative way of using the second screen, other than
duplicating the exact same grid that is interactive on the touch screen. Players will more than like rather play Sudoku in the Nintendo DS
vertical book made that is offered in “Brain Age.” “Sudoku Gridmaster” is possibly the worst entry in Nintendo’s much touted Touch
Generations line of games. For those that are looking for a few Sudoku challenges and nothing more, that is what is offered in this
game. For those looking for a creative version of the game, there will be some searching involved, because it won’t be found here.
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