New York Times Crosswords (DS) Review
The New York Times Crosswords is not a traditional video game and it is not aimed at traditional video game players that much should be obvious from the title alone. It instead encapsulates what Nintendo have set out to achieve with the touch generations label. A game that is designed to appeal to the more casual end of the gaming market, and to older gamers looking for something a little more cerebral from their video games.
At its core, the game presents 1000 crossword puzzles straight from the pages of The New York Times. Perfect fodder for that daily commute to and from work and enough to keep the average adult entertained for quite a long time. There is a single-card multiplayer mode, but like paper-based crosswords, it is mainly a single player experience.
The mechanic of entering words into the grid works extremely well, with the handwriting recognition spot-on and the puzzles themselves easy to navigate. There is a QWERTY keyboard available by pressing the SELECT button, but the handwriting recognition is good enough that it really shouldn’t be necessary.
The game’s only negative aspect is the high level of difficulty, with even the easiest puzzles taxing the brain. The clues are also very US-centric, as you would expect from a New York-based newspaper, meaning some of the hints will be lost on an Australian audience.
The timing and score system are a good bonus and provide something that pen and paper crosswords cannot and allow you to keep track of your progress. It isn’t Brain Training by any means, but it is certainly nice to see how much you have improved.
Overall, The New York Times Crosswords succeeds in delivering the kind of experience that it promises, allowing players to work through over two years worth of crosswords direct from the pages of The New York Times. The interface works well and it is easy to use making it simple for the more casual gaming crowd to get right into. Puzzles can be on the hard side and the US-centric nature of the clues can cause some problems, but the hint system ensures these issues never get in the way of finding the answer.
That being said, this game is not for everyone. It would make a great gift for those DS playing adults who have grown tired of Nintendo’s Brain Training games or for anyone who enjoys crossword puzzles, but your average hardcore gamer is probably not going to enjoy it. It is a great game for its market though and really stands head and shoulders above other third party’s casual game efforts.
