Mixed Messages Hands-On

Remember the telephone game? How about Eat Poop You Cat? Can't say I'm all that familiar with the latter, but Mixed Messages is an upcoming DSi Ware game that is essentially telephone on paper (which is also known as Eat Poop You Cat.) Thankfully, it has nothing to do with poop or cats--not unless you want it to be. The first player jots down a complete sentence (anything you want, so go nuts) and it's up to the next player to illustrate what the sentence represents. The following player will then write a sentence based on the picture and so on. When there's an even number of players, the program will generate its own sentence. See below for an example.

Pencils still exist?

Shaun, Brian, Kevin and I played a couple of rounds of Mixed Messages. Can you guess what Shaun's drawing is supposed to represent?

Hint: Drunk baby falls down the stairs. Again.

Mixed Messages is a multiplayer-only game for up to 21 players. It's not the type of game that you'd want to gather 21 people specifically for, but if you're stuck at a boring cocktail party and they somehow ran out of drinks and food, you can bust this out on your brand spanking new DSi and get a few chuckles. No artistic skills are required and good grammar is optional. The more absurd the sentence you start off with is, the better the end result. It's hilarious to see what people come up with, just think of the possibilities! Ninjas, flying monkeys and drunk babies are just a few ideas. The interface is easy to use and you can save multiple game sessions on the DSi.

The game continuously saves after each turn so you never have to worry about losing your progress, in the event that the DSi falls into the hands of someone who can't read and decides to push random buttons. After each turn, the game will tell you to pass it on to the next person, and then he or she taps the touch screen to continue. It's all laid out very clearly and it'll even ask you to input your name before your turn, so your piece of art is tied to your name forever.

Yeah...we're not that good.

Mixed Messages works extremely well on Nintendo's latest system, and as long as you have friends who are willing to kill some time while standing in line for the next Harry Potter movie, this will definitely keep you occupied. We haven't been able to confirm a price point yet, but it should be released in the near future as one of the first third-party titles (developed by Vicarious Visions)to hit the system.