The week of May 18
Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4 Demo
Tomy gives us a nice free sample of the next Naruto game on the Nintendo DS, showing off some solid brawler action on the dual-screen handheld. The demo is only the early bit of the game and lacks a soundtrack, but it's a cool taste of things to come.
Knights in the Nightmare Tutorial Demo
If you want a really good sampling of Atlus' just-released tactical strategy game, download this demo. It'll walk you through the tutorial and show you how to command your troops and take out enemies using the clever touch-screen controls.
Puffins: Island Adventure Demo
Ever wanted to be a crazy looking bird? This game will let you live out your avian fantasies. The demo gives you just a taste of life as a puffin, or rather an egg of a puffin: use the stylus to whack the egg around the environments collecting fish along the way.
Up Demo
It's the first time that you'll play as Ed Asner on the Nintendo DS! THQ gives us a sampling of the gameplay that Altron has put together, based on the upcoming Pixar movie. Sorry, it's not in Disney Digital 3D.
Nintendo also keeps a selection of first party titles up for download. They're not cycled out as often and most of them have been there since the Nintendo Channel launched.
Rhythm Heaven Demo
From some of the team members responsible for the crazy Wario Ware series comes a brilliantly off the wall music-focused Nintendo DS that tests your tap-and-flick skills. The demo is surprisingly robust, walking you through not only the tutorial, but also offering up full versions of the first and second challenges...and an abridged version of the third. Don't forget to buy the game to encourage more crazy awesomeness from Nintendo.
Personal Trainer: Cooking Mac & Cheese Demo
The Nintendo DS cookbook is now available in stores, and to give owners a little taste test (ha ha) Nintendo's thrown a freebie demo of the software up on the Nintendo Channel where you can follow along, step by step, to make some truly kick-ass macaroni and cheese.
Personal Trainer: Math Demo
If you're unsure if math can be fun on the Nintendo DS, give this demo a download: you'll take part in the game's Kageyama method in solving math problems using the touchscreen to hand write all the answers as quickly as possible.
Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
The demo offers one of the levels for the hide and seek portion of the game. Players are given five minutes to find eight items in the level. Upon completion, players can start again, and find eight different items. We played it three times without having to repeat items.
Brain Age Demo
The older sibling of the Brain Age 2 demo. It's the same kind of deal. There's a Brain Age Test minigame that has players shout colors into the DS microphone. The training game is a simple math problem test that uses the touch screen to write. Sudoku is in this one too, which means you've got two free sudoku puzzles you can play if you get both demos.
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day Demo
The Brain Age 2 demo features three quick play modes. There's the Brain Age Test that will give the player an approximate brain age based on a verbal match of rock, paper, scissors. There's also a quick play training mode that shows off the rotating letters minigame, complete with touch screen letter recognition. Finally the Quick play sudoku lets players enjoy a quick sudoku puzzle in one of the better presentations for the system.
Flash Focus Demo
Flash Focus is a game designed to improve focus and hand-eye coordination. It features a simplified Eye Age test where players remember the direction letters are facing as they flash by on the screen. The training game is more hands on. It's a baseball minigame where players have to tap the ball to hit it. The pitches get harder each time the player connects with the ball and the game ranks you at the end.
Crosswords DS Demo
For the non-Sudoku inclined, Crosswords DS features the classic crossword puzzles that have been gracing newspapers long before number puzzles. The demo features the classic Crosswords mode, one of three gameplay modes in the final version. Players can select the difficulty of the puzzle, as well as the option to turn on an assist mode that lets the player know if the answer is right or wrong. The whole demo uses the touch screen so players can see how well the letter recognition system works.
