I only ever play my DS in order to kill time on the bus or at the airport, so I don't really keep up on new releases but I do pick up a game or two whenever I know that I have a lot of travel time ahead of me. So, when I went to pick up Space Invaders Extreme (which is excellent) I happened upon Super Dodgeball Brawlers. Although it is an update/remake of one of my favorite games ever, I had no idea of the games existence.

If you've ever played the NES Super Dodgeball then there isn't much to say about this game as it retains the look, play, and wacky humor of the original. It's the kind of game that is ideally suited to the DS; you can pick it up for a quick play if you want, but it has enough (just enough) depth to keep you interested for more than fifteen minutes.

Unlike the NES original, there are a number of added play modes and pre-match option screens; you can buy power-ups a la River City Ransom and substitute teammates. I could have done without these elaborations, especially the ability to punch & kick and use weapons. In my opinion, they just distract from the core gameplay. Fortunately, you can switch them off so I can't say that the additions detract from the game as a whole. That makes all the difference. To me, this game is a fine example of how developers should handle a classic property; throw as many bells and whistles as you want on top of the game, just let me turn them off on the options screen.


The ice cold glare of determined world-class dodgeballers.