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Tend to your garden or take over the galaxy as DS welcomes Spore and Viva Pinata

The next eight days in handheld games

Tend to your garden or take over the galaxy as DS welcomes Spore and Viva Pinata
By Jon Jordan
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DS + PSP

It has been said in many ways - boom/bust, feast/famine, everything he kicks ends up in the back of the net/he couldn't hit the proverbial barn door - but after weeks when we wondered if the DS was doomed to games based on plaitting pony manes, picking thorns from hamster paws and burping babies, we have a Hurricane Gustav-worth of DS excitement in the shape of four games that in any other week would qualify for the top spot.

Indeed, it's not too far fetched to assume than one or other of Spore Creatures or Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise could end up being our DS game of 2008 when we come to draw up that particular list.

Although it's also worth tempering our enthusiasm with the thought that the majority of these games are ports of games originally developed for other consoles. Final Fantasy IV has turned up on the SNES, PlayStation and GBA before DS, Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution was mainly a PS3/X360 game while Spore is obviously a PC-focused title and Viva Pinata launched on X360 before going all PC.

Of course, maybe that's just the way it is with handhelds, but it does set you thinking about how long any console can be sustainable without its own, truly original, dreams?

Europe: Out September 5th
Dinosaur King (DS)
Final Fantasy IV (DS)
Gravity Zero Racing (DS)
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (DS)
Spellbound (DS)
Spore Creatures (DS)
Vegas Casino: High 5! (DS)
Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise (DS)

Europe: Out September 12th
Bakushow (DS)
Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen (DS)
Jewel Quest Expeditions (DS)
PictoImage (DS)
Pirates: Duels on the High Seas (DS)
Pony Luv (DS)
R-Type Tactics (PSP)
Subbuteo (DS)
Tim Stockdale's Riding Star (DS)

US: Out to September 16th
B-Boy (PSP)
Bratz Ponyz 2 (DS)
Dragon Quest IV (DS)
Cabela's Legendary Adventures (PSP)
Igor (DS)
Hell's Kitchen (DS)
Line Rider 2 Unbound (DS)
Lock's Quest (DS)
Mazes of Fate (DS)
My Secret World by Imagine (DS)
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir (DS)
Red Bull BC One (DS)
Slingo Quest (DS)
Spore Creatures (DS)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (DS/PSP)
The Price is Right (DS)
Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (DS)

Click on any of the above European games to buy them. We alternate between linking to either Play.com or GAME, depending on which offers the cheapest deal.
Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.