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games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","Introduction","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/ProfessorLaytonScreen1.hmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Professor Layton and the Curious Village'", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Nintendo", "242", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>If ever there was a time for hand-held gaming, it&#146;s the holiday season. Not only do these portable games fit nicely into stockings hanging by the fireplace, but they&#146;re a good way to keep the little kids (and the big kids) entertained during the sleigh ride to grandma&#146;s house.</BR><br>And so, for your sleigh-riding convenience, we have collected here a list of the Nintendo DS games that have been very <I>very</I> nice this year. Check it once, check it twice, and you&#146;ll find out that there&#146;s a game for just about everyone on your list (naughty or nice.)<br><br><br>Check out the list then <a href=\"http://kristink.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/15/2215482-best-nintendo-ds-games-of-2008\">tell us which Nintendo DS games</a> you liked best in 2008.<p></br><P ALIGN=RIGHT><i>&#8212; Winda Benedetti</i></P><br><p ALIGN=LEFT><a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25128965\"><img src=\"http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Interactives/_swf/tonytesting/gamewidget/Grab_top5_widget_button.gif\" border=0></a></p>";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Ninjatown' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/Ninjatown.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Ninjatown'", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "SouthPeak", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>Ninjas have never been so adorable as they are in this cute, well-crafted, immensely fun tower defense-style game which has you protecting a town populated entirely by, well, ninjas. With a <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28039906#28164833\" target=\"_blank\">zany variety of ninja types</a> at your disposal (Sniper Ninja, for example, fires wasabi peas) you must use the DS&#146;s touch-screen to smartly place your defenses to best protect the town from the advancing waves of Wee Devils. The game incorporates some amusing elements to spice things up &#8212; blowing in the DS microphone to blow the enemies away, for example. The characters &#8212; based on the wacky Shawnimal toys &#8212; are off-the-wall adorable, the writing is funny and the gaming is downright addictive.";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'The World Ends With You' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/TheWorldEndsWithYouScreen.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'The World Ends With You'", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Square Enix", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>This deep and thoroughly innovative role-playing game is one of the best games out there for the DS. \"The World Ends With You\" follows the story of a misanthropic 15 year old who wakes up to find himself taking part in a mysterious, otherworldly game that he's not so sure he wants to be a part of. Set in the busy streets of Tokyo, the game is packed with stylish visuals and great music, and it offers up a unique battle system that has you taking two characters into the fight at once, controlling them with both touch-screen and d-pad commands. All in all, there's a ton of gameplay packed into this one very cool package.";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Professor Layton and the Curious Village' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/ProfessorLaytonScreen2.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Professor Layton and the Curious Village'", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Nintendo", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>This endearing and unique puzzle/adventure game finds the famed puzzle solver <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23509773/\" target=\"_blank\">Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke</a> on a mission to solve a brain-teasing mystery. Before kicking the bucket, a wealthy baron hid a treasure within the eccentric town of St. Mystere. Here you must search the town for puzzles to solve all while trying to get to the bottom of what this hidden treasure is and where it's been squirreled away. The puzzles themselves are of varying difficulty and styles, and many of them are wonderfully old-school in nature. There are logic puzzles, geometry puzzles, perception puzzles, riddles, mazes and more.  ";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Advance Wars: Days of Ruin' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/AdvanceWars%20%282%29.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Nintendo", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>This year the <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23105582/\" target=\"_blank\">\"Advance Wars\"</a> franchise got a makeover &#8212; not one that made the much-respected military strategy game prettier, but one that made it darker, meaner, grittier. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, \"Days of Ruin\" finds the player controlling what remains of the armed forces as they try to help the last of humanity survive while fending off power-hungry barbarians and a host of other terrible troubles. The game does an excellent job putting the DS&#146;s dual screens to use. And, changes aside, this superb turn-based strategy game remains as deep and absorbing as ever.   ";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Soul Bubbles' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/SoulBubblesScreen2.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Soul Bubbles'", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "Eidos", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>Don&#146;t worry, you won&#146;t have to get all woo-woo metaphysical with this hand-held puzzle game. No, <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28039906#28161780\" target=\"_blank\">\"Soul Bubbles\"</a> is less cutesy and far more clever than perhaps its name implies. As an apprentice spirit shepherd, your job is to help guide soul-filled bubbles to the great beyond. Using the DS's touch-screen, you'll maneuver bubbles to where they need to go, using various skills you pick up along the way to alter the bubbles and manipulate them past an array of obstacles and enemies. \"Soul Bubbles\" is a light-hearted casual game that offers the kind of creative and addictive play perfect for passing the time on this physical plane.  ";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Viva Pi&#241;ata: Pocket Paradise' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/VivaPinataPocketParadise.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Viva Pi&#241; nata: Pocket Paradise'", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "THQ", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>Get ready for a cast of colorful pi&#241;atas to spring to life on your DS with this great game for the whole family. <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28161753#28161753\" target=\"_blank\">\"Pocket Paradise\"</a> does a nice job translating the pi&#241;ata-raising experience (which originated on the Xbox 360) into a hand-held experience. Here it&#146;s your job to transform a sparse garden into the kind of lush paradise designed to accommodate a growing herd of paper beasts. The DS&#146;s touch-screen interface makes customizing your garden and tending to your virtual pets&#146; needs a breeze. And with more than 60 pi&#241;atas to collect, this game has lots of life in it. ";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Lock's Quest' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/LocksQuest.vmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Lock's Quest' ", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "THQ", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>Robots are invading, and young Lock <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28164798#28164798\" target=\"_blank\">must save his homeland</a> using his \"archineer\" skills. That is, he&#146;s half architect, half engineer, which means he has some mad building skills ... and so do you. The game will keep you busy constructing walls, turrets and other structures to stop advancing enemies. Meanwhile, \"Lock&#146;s Quest\" does a great job of blending a variety of gaming styles &#8212; tower-defense, real-time strategy, and action/adventure &#8212; into one unique, deep, and highly enjoyable game.  ";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/Castlevania2.hmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia'", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Konami", "192", "256", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>For some seriously top notch side-scrolling, monster-slaying, platform-romping action, DS owners need look no further than this latest installment in the much-respected <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28164070#28164070\" target=\"_blank\">\"Castlevania\"</a> series. This, the third game on the Nintendo DS, finds players filling the boots of Shanoa, a member of an organization sworn to destroy Dracula and his many foul followers. With an updated battle system and some awesome enemies to take on, \"Order of Ecclesia\" kicks some serious blood-sucking booty. ";

games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i++] = new Array("","'Chrono Trigger' ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/ChronoTrigger.hmedium.jpg","","Image: 'Chrono Trigger'", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Square Enix", "273", "364", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
games_holiday_081212_Nintendo[i-1].body = "<headline/></br><br>Originally released in 1995 for the Super NES, <a href=\"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28039906#28164058\" target=\"_blank\">\"Chrono Trigger\"</a> has remained one of the most beloved role-playing games of all time. The time-traveling, world-saving adventure has now been transported to the hand-held DS, bringing with it everything that made it great &#150; its time-bending story, its unique battle system, and its array of endings. Though much remains the same as the original, the DS version does a great job integrating the machine's dual-screen system, and it now comes with new dungeon areas, a monster battle mode and a cleaned up script. \"Chrono Trigger\" not only plays with the passage of time, it stands up nicely to the passage of time, too.<br><br>Check out the list then <a href=\"http://kristink.newsvine.com/_news/2008/12/15/2215482-best-nintendo-ds-games-of-2008\">tell us which Nintendo DS games</a> you liked best in 2008.";

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