Sudoku Challenge (DSiWare) Review for Nintendo DSi: Why Should You Have this Sudoku Title for Your DSi?
Sudoku Challenge DSiWare Review (4 out of 5)
Sudoku is a plain number placement puzzle that looks deceptively easy with its 9x9 grid. It took the world by storm in 2005 when it was first featured in Conway Daily Sun newspaper in the United States. Solving a Sudoku puzzle is not quite easy, even the experts have to devote some time to get to a perfect solution. The popularity of Sudoku puzzles initiated numerous electronic versions including several editions for internet, mobile phones and Nintendo DS. Sudoku Challenge is one of several Sudoku games for Nintendo DS which never lets boredom engulf a puzzle enthusiast.
Gameplay (4 out of 5)
Sudoku games for Nintendo DS are a great pastime for those who are in search for randomly generated electronic puzzles. Popular games include Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Edition, Sudoku Mania, Sudoku Gridmaster and Platinum Sudoku. One of the latest entrants in the NDS Sudoku arena is Sudoku Challenge. Built exclusively for the Nintendo DSi, this neat puzzler contains over one hundred million different Sudoku puzzles. The game has several challenging puzzles like Grand Sudoku and multiple difficult options for novice and advance players.
A similar title hit the Wii Shelves in 2008 (by the same publisher), but did not please both Sudoku fans and reviewers because of its non-variety and blandness. Nevertheless, it seems that Sudoku Challenge for the DSi has learnt from its mistakes and so it offers multiple levels and variety.
Playing Sudoku Challenge requires you to solve puzzles by holding the DSi like a book. The touch screen-based controls require the stylus to solve puzzles. After tapping “Start Game”, you will have to select one of four profiles, enter your name and start solving puzzles. The initial setup will also ask you if you are left-handed or right-handed.
To avoid boredom, the developers have introduced two modes of puzzle play: the normal Sudoku and the complex Grand Sudoku game. The normal Sudoku game is played in a 9x9 grid while the Grand Sudoku game consists of a complex layout of five interlinked 9x9 grids. Grand mode is quite fun and challenging for gamers who need some variety and are looking to go beyond the plain Sudoku puzzles. Both modes have three difficulty settings (Easy, Medium and Hard), designed for novice and expert players.
If you compare both versions, i.e. Wii and DSi versions, then the DSi version fares better than the Wii in terms of variety and challenges. You will not find any Hints in Sudoku Challenge for the Nintendo DSi, which makes every puzzle require some serious thinking.
Graphics and Sound (4 out of 5)
There are no outlandish backgrounds or fonts used in Sudoku Challenge. The game resembles plain paper and pencil Sudoku puzzles. There are no photographed backgrounds or swanky highlighted fonts. The fonts are simple and easy to use and the subtle backgrounds feature clouds, trees and other simplistic Japanese artwork. This makes people concentrate on just one thing—solving puzzles!
In the audio department, Sudoku Challenge has average sound effects and music. A sound clip is played repetitively to create an instance of music. The sound effects associated with number input and deletion as well as menu selection is simple and bland.
Overall (4 out of 5)
Before buying this new Nintendo DS Sudoku game, you will certainly think twice on whether there’s an advantage of playing a console Sudoku puzzle over solving a paper-pencil puzzle. Well, a simple answer to your confusion is that Sudoku Challenge has over one hundred million different puzzles that will take an entire lifetime to solve. You can choose a difficulty level which randomly generates puzzles associated with the difficulty setting or play the Grand Sudoku Challenge to enjoy some variety. This game is one of Nintendo DSiWare games that can be accessed and downloaded from your Nintendo DSi Shop via the DSi menu.
