Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
© 2009 Nintendo of America
Innovative and fast-paced, you can tell this Nintendo DS only title was made by Nintendo. Our tester (9) loved it, but found it "requires a lot of thinking." In the story, Bowser eats a magic mushroom that causes him to inhale everything around him, including Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach. There are two storylines. On the top screen, Bowser must stop the arch-villain from taking over his castle. On the bottom screen, a microbe-sized Mario & Luigi try to find their way out. You can switch between the two storylines at any time, swapping screens if necessary. What happens inside Bowser affects what happens outside, and sometimes Mario & Luigi must solve puzzles and challenges in order to help Bowser overcome various obstacles. In addition, Bowser may grow so large that you have to turn the DS sideways and blow into the microphone or tap on the touch screen to keep up with the action. There are two game save slots, and progress is saved automatically. Brett (9) loved this game, playing it for eight hours. He found the game to be similar to Mario & Luigi Partners in Time. Buy it.
$35, Nintendo DS
Teaches: logic, spatial relations, some reading
CTR Rating: 94%