Bleach: The Blade of Fate - DS/DSi

Girl (or boy) troubles, acne, peer pressure, not being able to get served cider down the local off license, strange things happening to your body... you thought you had it bad back in the tough old days of puberty, right? Well, looking at Ichigo Kurosaki, your teenage days were a sunny walk along the riverside. Imagine throwing in dealing with otherworldly nastiness and the ongoing battle between good and evil too.

Such is the world of Bleach. Blessed or cursed (depending on your feelings on this sort of thing) with the ability to see spirits from the afterlife, 15 year old Ichigo spends a lot of time being able to see Soul Reapers. These helpful chaps defend us from other 'not of this world' creatures called Hollows. When Ichigo stumbles across Rukia, a wounded Soul Reaper, he must take on her fight against the bad guys.

The Blade of Fate presents players with furious 2D beat 'em up action with a twist. While facing off against hordes of enemies lifted straight from the animated series as any one of 28 characters, players will be able to switch at will between the upper and lower screens.

Players can also build Spirit Card Decks so that they can strategically deploy their power-ups for special attacks, healing spells, displacing opponents and blocking them from using their own Spirit Card Decks.

If nothing else, Bleach ought to make you feel a bit better about your own days of angst and self doubt... more