First-person truth about the latest games.

• 
• Neopets Puzzle Adventure - DS
• Neopets Puzzle Adventure only delivers half of what it promises in the title. While the puzzle elements show a faint bit of innovation, everything else in the game feels too simple and kid-oriented, even for casual gamers. Oddly enough, Neopets Puzzle Adventure would have been a better game without the story, characters, or sparse RPG elements.

• 
• Chrono Trigger
• Normally, when I hear that a classic game is being ported to a handheld, I become skeptical because the usual result is a no-frills port meant to cash in on gamers' nostalgia. But thankfully, Square Enix isn't that kind of company. They put a lot of care into their ports and I'm incredibly happy to report that they truly went the extra mile with Chrono Trigger DS. The

• 
• Age of Empires: Mythologies
• So how do you spice up a turn-based strategy game previously based on classical figures and historical battles? According to THQ, you add mythological monsters and make the battles more fictitious, because if there's one thing school has taught us, it's that "history" and "facts" are not fun. THE BOTTOM LINE: Age of Empire fans beware: while this game

• 
• Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
• Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff runs back the clock to an era of pre-franchise mode football sims with 8-bit sprites and cut-scene laced arcade gameplay. THE BOTTOM LINE: Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff attempts to provide an audible experienced for uninitiated or lapsed players bewildered by current fantasy-football sims like Madden and 2K.

• 
• Robocalypse
• I'm surprised there aren't more RTS titles on the DS. The stylus and dual screens seem like a natural fit for the genre but aside from a handful of titles, it's sort of slim pickings for RTS fans. Robocalypse aims to fill that void with a robotic take on the genre that, for the most part, succeeds. THE BOTTOM LINE: An interesting take on the RTS genre

• 
• Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
• Even if you're a hardcore Pokemon freak, minor gameplay changes and a yawn-inducing story means this kiddy DS title just isn't worth the price for more seasoned gamers.