The star in what has been a pretty poor show so far for the DS comes in the form of a cute pink ball
Many DS games seem like they have had the touch screen forced upon them, whether it be the whole game itself or certain portions and it just doesn't work. This game however uses only the touch screen and uses it in a very intriguing fashion, you will use only the stylus here which prevents any clumsy attempt to press a button mid-game. Touching Kirby with the stylus will send him spinning forwards, touching most enemies will stun them and therefore leave them vulnerable to attack and a whole host of other thing's within the game are interacted with in a similar way. Kirby will roll through levels at a steady pace but leaving him on his own will inevitably find you falling into a pit of spikes or a large chasm, here is where the main game mechanic comes in. You draw paths for Kirby to roll along using your stylus, this has so much potential and thankfully most of it is put to good use. These paths can be used to draw ramps for Kirby to boost up and over, you can draw protective lines to shield you from enemies, create bridges for him to cross and even use the paths in quite the opposite way by pushing Kirby under water. This is where the game shines, it gives you so much freedom to effectively do what you want and tackle the level any way you see fit. It is also worth a mention that your ink paths will run out if you use them excessively and this is where an added layer of skill comes in, you need to strike the right balance of what makes a level easy and what makes it possible.
The game has twists to what is a winning formula, for example you can consume certain enemies along your journey by either spinning into them or stunning them and rolling into them. This will steal the enemies ability and give you temporary new powers that can potentially put a new spin on the level at hand, for example some areas in a level will only be accesible through stealing an enemies ability. These abilities range from turning into a heavy boulder to zapping multiple enemies on screen with a lightning bolt and even though some of these powers only do the most minimum of tasks it works really well.
Canvas Curse is one of most most beautiful looking 2D platformers i have ever seen, some people might write thie game off as a gimmick or as a "kiddie" game but you only need to play this a short while to really appreciate all the hardwork put into the artwork in this game. The artsy-paint feel the game is going for is portrayed wonderfully and it really is a joy to behold. The levels are superbly desinged too and give for many varieties in the gameplay. The scenery throughout the game isn't half bad either and brings the places to life, bright colours are used were bright colours are needed and the same goes for levels that require a dark and dank look.
This game has superb value, there is so much to see and do here. Not only is there a story mode which will take you around 6 hours to complete the first time but there are also 3 hidden medals to collect from each level. Once you collect enough of these medals you can purchases some great items from the games shop, these range from new looks for your ink paths to brand new characters that each have their own unique properties that add a complete new spin on the game. There are 4 characters in all to unlock and fans of previous Kirby games should recognise them straight off, in order to complete the game you are required to play through the whole story with every character and while this may sound repetetive each character makes the experience slightly different each time. This isn't all the game has to offer though, it also has time trial and line trial modes which see you competing for more medals. Time trial see's you flying through various levels to beat the time set for you while the line trial challenges you to get through levels using as little ink as possible. They get trickier as they go on and some will require a fair amount of skill to complete. Finally there is a mini-game mode which pits you against the 3 bosses you will have faced throughout the story portion of the game, this time around you are playing to acheive a high score and a high rank which will see you get that all important 100% completion.
Unlike many handheld platformers this game doesn't try to do too much, it sticks to what it does well and looks amazing while doing it. If you combine all this with the on-the-go ease of a handheld system then you have a must for all Nintendo DS owners.
Gameplay - Addictive, frustrating, innovative, challenging and just plain fun for your handheld system.
Graphics - Some of the best 2D artwork in a platformer to date.
Sound - An impressive soundtrack plus an unlockable retro kirby soundtrack adds to the experience.
Value - Loads to see and do, no multiplayer here but a fantastic single player experience makes up for it.