Magnetica [DS]

Lost in all the Wii hoopla of Nintendo's E3 presence was a little something called "Touch Generations." This new line of DS games is geared towards casual and inexperienced gamers. Magnetica is one of the line's first titles, but it's not exactly starting out on the right foot.

Developed by the same people responsible for Polarium, Magnetica is a simplistic puzzle game that attempts to use the DS stylus and a quantity of levels to keep players hooked. Those familiar with Zuma. will find identical gameplay here. A conveyor of colored balls winds across the screen. You shoot balls at the line, attempting to match three like-colored spheres together. If the row makes its way to the bottomless pit of despair, you lose.

The hook here is that you use the stylus to aim balls. It's a lot more intuitive than a digital pad or analog stick -- allowing for very precise shots. It's also just really easy to play, meaning the learning curve is nonexistent. Various modes attempt to mix up the formula, but they're not different enough to add much value to the package. Playing multiplayer with one cart isn't too shabby, though.

Magnetica doesn't have the Zen factor of a game like Tetris, where you can play until your eyes dry up and your DS battery drains to nothing. You'll likely find yourself getting bored after the second level. It's lacking in the satisfying strategy of Tetris or other titles, because you're just shooting balls at the screen to match colors. Thus, its simplicity is also one of its downfalls. You also get the feeling the computer is trying to pull one over on you, refusing to give you helpful colors or speeding up for no apparent reason.