If you’re set for a long journey somewhere this weekend then you might want to pick up a copy of new DS title Travel Games For Dummies. Aimed at providing a fresh way to learn and play new games on the go, the title will feature tutorials and game play for three popular pastimes – solitaire, sudoku and crossword puzzles.

“Players begin learning the basics, such as rules and vocabulary, through a simple tutorial mode,” says publisher EA. “Then, they participate in practice mode where a coach guides them along offering tips and advice. Finally, when they are ready, players engage in game play on their own, putting their new skills to use!” Sounds good to us, plus it’s always more fun to play these types of games using the DS stylus and touch screens than it is using a pen to scribble on the back of a newspaper.

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Disney will release Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force on the DS this week, marking the UK debut of the smash hit internet-based game on Nintendo’s handheld console. The title is based on the popular Club Penguin online world that launched back in 2005, a snow-covered virtual island where children can play games and interact with friends in the form of colourful, personalised penguin avatars.

“Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force will introduce kids to all new adventures in the Club Penguin world, giving players a chance to complete secret agent missions, solve mysteries and connect with friends in new ways,” says Disney. “The game allows players to take on the role of a covert agent in the Elite Penguin Force. Players embark on missions utilising familiar and all-new gadgets, accessories, vehicles and locations to investigate mysterious events in the Club Penguin world.” Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force proved to be a major success when it released in the States late last year and we expect it to perform equally well over here.

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Combining number based games Sudoku and Picture Logic, Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles is due to hit stores this Friday. There are 500 Sudoku puzzles on offer, in addition to 500 Picture Logic challenges – such as the one in the screen below – which require you to solve puzzles in order to build a picture.

As we wrote a couple of weeks back, the game’s “designed to relax and stimulate your mind” and “may also improve your mental skills”, although recent research questions such improvement claims. You can pre-order the game via the link below.

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Deep Silver will release four new titles from its kid-focused Let’s Play series this Friday – Let’s Play Firemen, Let’s Play Fashion Designer, Let’s Play Pet Hospitals and Let’s Play Schools. The publisher says that the Let’s Play range of titles has been designed to provide “interesting and exciting non-violent content” for children, offering the opportunity to try out various jobs. The titles are said to feature amusing mini-games that ensure a “well-balanced, motivating mix of fun and education”.

We know that children like to take on various grown-up roles and therefore on the whole the idea of introducing them to various professions at an early age certainly seems like a sensible enough one to us. If none of the jobs listed above take your fancy then Let’s Play Shops and Let’s Play Mums will also be released in June. If you fancy pre-ordering any of the games coming out this week then just click the Get The Full Story button and we’ll direct you to Amazon’s pre-order pages.

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If you dream of working with animals one day then this could well be the game for you. Targeted at young female gamers, My Pet Shop’s set to deliver care and nurture gameplay plus an engaging storyline. Following your move from the metropolis of Gold City, it sees you endeavour to run the best pet shop ever seen in your new home, the colourful world of Green Town.

You’ll have to find and care for over 40 cute – and sometimes unusual – pets including dogs, cats, pigs, pandas and bears. Caring for and playing with the pets will earn you money to buy fashion accessories for them and you can also teach them tricks, all of which will help when entering the town’s photo and fitness contests. You’ll also be able to show off and share your pets with your friends using the DS wireless connection.

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Oxygen Games has revealed Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles, the debut entry in a new range of DS games “designed to relax and stimulate your mind”. The company says that the title, which combines number based games Sudoku and Picture Logic, will deliver hours of entertainment and “may also improve your mental skills”. We see no reason why it wouldn’t do both, but then that’s hardly a novelty considering the plethora of brain training and puzzle games currently available.

In fact, the screenshots make the game look like it really would relax you, probably to the point of sending you to sleep. Perhaps that’s a little unfair though, because it’s not as if Sudoku puzzles look any more exciting in the back of the paper. Plus they’re pretty addictive, and playing them with the DS and stylus – 500 challenges are included – gives you that extra interactivity a pen and pencil can’t.

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No we’re not telling you off, you can turn the air blue if  you want (God knows we do sometimes), what we’re on about is the new range of language games coming to the DS from PlayV.

Mind Your Language comes in French, German, Spanish and Japanese with more languages to follow later in the year. Features include over 1000 recorded words so you can perfect your pronunciation, and 8 different types of game which ensure you have an understanding of the written language also. (My Coach was criticized for only building vocabulary and not emphasising on the grammar enough.)

Now regular readers will know how much we love words and ‘learning’ on this blog and we await this series excitedly. Only a few more days before it is released. So which language will it be?

Mind Your Language is out on February 13th. The games are £17.99 and available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk now.

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If you have children at home, you may recognise the hero of this game.  Yes, this is Ben Tennyson from Ben 10, the hit Cartoon Network series.  He is back in an all new storyline , ready to transform into some hardcore alien form and kick both extra-terrestrial and terrestrial butt!

The game begins five years after Ben put away the DNA-scrambling Omnitrix, but now Grandpa Max has gone missing and the planet Earth is in grave danger.  Gamers can play as Ben, cousin Gwen or enemy-turned-ally Kevin, in addition to the five alien forms Ben can transform into. 

All this might not make much sense to you, but believe me you’re kids will know what’s going on. Ben 10: Alien Force is the follow-up to Ben 10: Protector of Earth which has sold over 2.5 million units worldwide since it’s launch in November 2007.

Ben 10: Alien Force is out on February 13th and available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk now.

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What are your resolutions this year?  Lose weight, get fit, stop smoking, learn a language? 

The usual right?

And tell me how many of those have you made, year after year and broken?…   Hmm… Exactly!

This year is going to be different! 2009 will be the year you stick to them, with the help of your Nintendo DS of course…

  The brillant ‘My Coach’ range will help you – there is one for each of those resolutions with more titles being introduced over the coming year. Did I tell you we are giving these away?  Keep reading to find out more about these games… and what you have to do in order to WIN THEM ALL (including the cute little games case)!

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Do you know what a Kindle is?  It’s an e-book reader from Amazon and it’s pretty amazing, it’s completely sold out in the US and costs $359.  You can also buy a Sony E-Book Reader which is similar, and will cost around £200. Or you could just use your DS Lite..

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