Nervous Brickdown - Nintendo DS

I asked my husband to get Nervous Brickdown because of good reviews in Nintendo Power magazine. From the moment I got it, I could hardly put it down! There are 10 worlds, 4 of which are unlocked when you first start. There are boss levels (SP) on each world. You are given 6 lives for each game. Depending on how good you are, you can complete one world with a few or all lives remaining. Before you start each game, there are graphic instructions on what you have to do for that level or world, then after clicking on the button below twice to show you read the instructions, there will be a hint on how to earn a medal or get more points or complete the level on the top screen.The first world, Ipow, is classic Breakout the way I remember it: hit the bricks on the top screen by hitting the ball with your small horizontal paddle on the bottom. The game doesn't allow you to go to the next levels until you have tried the previous levels before it, so you are able to develop your skills as you progress through each level. After you complete the whole 9 levels, you enter the boss game, which is where the game gives you a clue that this isn't just Breakout anymore. You could actually get hit by the character on the top screen of each boss level, so you lose one life each time.After Ipow, the rest of the worlds are creative and imaginative spinoffs on Breakout. The second one is called Paper. You're supposed to reveal hidden pictures on the top screen with the ball. The third one is Ghost where you have to navigate through haunted mansions by blowing ghosts away and on illusory blocks to materialize them, while at the same time aiming your ball to hit the blocks and other obstacles without getting killed by the same obstacles. Then there's Water where you rescue falling people while struggling to also hit the ball without letting the people die. After that it gets interesting and more challenging as you enter the world of Speed where the ball becomes a ray of light, and trying to hit it becomes trickier because it speeds up. I haven't even gotten to the other worlds yet, but what I've seen so far have kept me up some nights trying to see what's next! The graphics are colorful and just plain awesome and makes playing each world a totally new experience every time.

I keep hoping that someday, someone will release another Breakout-type game as good as the all-time (and extremely underrated) masterpiece Thunder and Lightning, made in 1990 for the NES. This is not it.The graphics and gameplay in two of the four "worlds" initially open, Pow and Ghost, are fine. However, the boat and the school assignment worlds are silly and have repetitive, uninteresting game play.Also, there is no comparison between the quality of the game structure of this vs. Thunder and Lightning. In the older game, the types and spacing of the power-ups made each level a new experience each time you played it, and also gave you a reasonable chance of occasionally making it far into the game. The game was continuous, so you had more of a definite objective than you do here.No one should attempt to make a new Breakout-type game without studying, and, I would say, imitating Thunder and Lightning.

It's O.K. I don't understand how to play some of the games as it did not come with instructions!!! The level called Speed is IMPOSSIBLE to out of the 1st level..... Level 9 of Shoot is practically IMPOSSIBLE to win!!!!!

Item as described. Games are a little boring.

Nervous Brickdown is an awesome revisiting of retro Breakout-style gameplay, wrapped in a much prettier and more innovative package, with many cool worlds to unlock. Highly recommended for those of us who are older gamers!

It's just like Break Out. So don't expect too much. But the DS version has added enough to make it fresh and fun. If you aren't the best at Break Out, prepare to get stuck. A lot. I get very frustrated with this game and have to put it down or I will throw my DS. I don't have the most patience, so maybe it's just me. Other then the frustration level, this game has enough to keep you busy for awhile. The $19.99 price tag makes it even more sweet. If you like puzzle games, Nervous Brickdown is a must have for your DS collection.

If you like the brick breaking blockout type game genre, you will love this game. The touchscreen brings to the game the ease of moving the paddle that you've always wanted. The different types of games involved branch out from the basic genre of 1-paddle in a fixed line into sometimes multiple paddles, being able to LEAVE the paddle and just bust things yourself, 3-d movement, and much more. I only give this 4 stars because you NEED to like this genre to like this game, but if you've ever spent way too much time breaking bricks with little bouncey balls, this is TOTALLY your game!

I'm about as new to the Nintendo DS as I am to "gaming," but this card is really fun. It's probably not very challenging to a real gamer, but it's simple enough to hold even a beginner's attention. I'm usually more into the puzzle types of games, but this is pretty cool for an old lady.