Nintendo DS / Nintendo DSi 2010 Holiday Gift Guide

(Role-Playing, Rated E10+) - Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light is another RPG experience for fanatical fans of the genre. If the challenge of intense exploration coupled with job classification and inventory management sounds like music to your ears, you'll love this.

(Puzzle, Rated E) - Picross is a popular Japanese puzzle style that is a bit like Sudoku combined with picture-making. In the case of Picross 3D, you actually "sculpt" a 3D image by correctly figuring out how many blocks in a row need to be chipped away. A perfect combination of logic and creative expression that will engage puzzle veterans and beginners for hours.

(Puzzle/Role-Playing/Adventure, Rated E10+) - Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes was released at the tail-end of 2009, but it'd be a shame not to recommend this excellent blend of puzzle and role-playing. Using strategy, foresight, and a little luck, you match up same-colored troops to take on the enemies' front lines. With a little more luck, you'll save the world.

(Adventure, Rated E10+) - True to Zelda tradition, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks gives Link a huge world to explore. But enormous swaths of land are no match for a man with a train. When Link isn't conducting, he docks in dungeons, unsheathes his trusty sword, and proceeds with the enemy-slaying and puzzle-solving that's necessary to win the day against evil.

(Educational, Rated E) - Art Academy offers surprisingly complete lessons in sketching, coloring, and painting that make full use of both Nintendo DS screens. With personal one-on-one lessons courtesy of your new instructor, Vince (don't worry, he has both ears), you might find you've always had an eye for art that just needed a little focus.

(Action/Adventure, Rated E10+) - Relive Harry Potter's formative years at Hogwarts -- Lego style. Players experience Harry's first four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which includes a lot of collecting, exploring, spell-casting, and dark wizard-busting. What, you thought you'd be reciting the multiplication tables?

(Role-Playing, Rated E10+) - Etrian Odyssey III is an advanced role-playing game that tasks you with building almost everything from the ground-up. This includes your characters, your own guild, and even your own map. It's hardly a chore, though, as the game gives you everything you need for you to wholly enjoy the customization process.

(Beat-em-Up, Rated E10+) - Fans of Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon will love the game adaptation WayForward put together for the Nintendo DS. At its heart, Brave and the Bold - The Videogame features classic 2D beat-em-up action, but there's a bit of an added bonus. Using the Nintendo DS version, you can join in the fun on the Wii version of the game by playing as the irrepressible Bat-Mite! He's rambunctious, but he means well.

(Minigame, Rated E) - The D.I.Y. stands for "Do It Yourself." If you're wondering, "Hey, why should I pay to make games?", consider this: How much fun would it be to put together a minigame that sends your friends into a panic of tangled reflexes? Exactly.