Reviews// Feel The Magic

It's not just the overtly pop-arty looks that make this game suitable for drug-addled hippies though. The nature of the mini-game setup also means that it requires little or no long term concentration, as it skips merrily from basic task to basic task without ever really letting the player settle into one particular rhythm. The entirely touch-screen based controls also make the game immediately accessible to all but the most dexterously challenged. So, in essence, the finished product is an extraordinarily shallow affair. This is both a strength and a weakness.

There's little doubting that the mini-game format works superbly on handhelds when executed as effectively as possible. Wario Ware fans will agree with this entirely, as it offers the same quick-fire instant hit satisfaction for those more diminutive windows of gaming opportunity. You can have a whole 'go' during a TV commercial break, queuing at the bus-stop, or simply answering the call of nature.

However, many gamers have come to expect a little more for their £20-£30. And although making the mini-games any longer would draw them closer to the 'midi-maxi' status, in this instance, a greater quantity of tasks does seem to be required. Feel The Magic seems to be a mini-game composed of mini-games: and being presented with such a tiny Russian-Doll of entertainment when we had been hoping for something significantly more statuesque is a real shame.

What is there is, for the most part, solidly entertaining. There's a good breadth of variety amongst the games and the consistently varied control techniques make a good case for many of the DS's unique functions. But many gamers will demand more. One of the mini games, called Steal, sees your hero progressing along an on-rails path through a room filled with torch-wielding guards. To distract the security, you'll have to tap on one of four cats sat on each edge of the screen, so that the torch beams point to the source of the noise and away from your skulking sneakery. It's a great idea, works superbly, it blends puzzling and reflexes… all good. But there are just 5 tiny levels for this mini-game. And considering the entire story mode can be comfortably completed within a couple of hours, one wonders if they couldn't have significantly extended each of these more enjoyable missions to make it all feel more substantial.