Introduction: Ever since the DS was introduced it was clear to developers that the stylus and touch-screen combination was one of the system's strengths and as a result we've had an endless flow of titles exploring this. Wario-Ware is probably the best example of the party/mini-game direction, replicated most recently with Atari's Arthur and the Invisibles. It's not just these collections though, even movie tie-ins, regardless of their genre, are expected to have a handful of mini-games. Touch Master makes no secret of the fact that it's simply a collection of mini-games but given that they are simply 23 existing games, which are generally freely available elsewhere, is it worth paying for?

GamePlay: Given that these are all arcade based titles you can expect the majority to be of the 'pick up and play' variety and not exceed five minutes. They are all are selected from a main menu and while the developers have attempted to place the games into various sections, such as cards, skill and puzzles, it's probably easier if you just look through and see what appeals to you. Selecting a game will give you a brief introduction and a screenshot of the game in action but, given that none of them are exactly 'hard core', it's always pretty obvious what you should be doing. You'll also have the option of single or multi-player although the latter is not available on all games. The games themselves are quite varied: there are a number of card games, action games and some puzzlers and there are also the standards like Mah Jong, Checkers and Pairs.

Unusually, the developers have also included a quiz. This is puzzling given that dedicated carts such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire have problems with question repetition so you can imagine the problems here. The biggest criticism you could levy against the word based games here though is just how Americanised the subjects are. There's been no attempt to change the sports from NLF and Basketball to football (or soccer as it's known in the US). At the end of each game you'll get the chance to enter your name on a high score chart. There's even a worldwide ranking, thanks to an online link, but while the developers have made the rest of the game simple to navigate the same can not be said of this section and you're likely to simply give up before seeing how well your scores compare to someone in Japan.

Control: You know with a title like Touch Master that this is going to be all stylus interfaces so there's little to say in this section.

Graphics: Given the type of games on show here the emphasis is on clarity more than anything that is going to win any awards. It's also all been lifted from the original arcade machine but most important, you are never squinting to see what's going on and even the Word Search and Quiz sections are entirely legible even if they don't always make sense.

Sound & Music: As with the visuals, this is all bare bones stuff with the tempo only showing signs of excitement when you manage to win something.

Dual Screen Use: While Telegames have been pumping out these types of compilations for some time it's clear to both gamers and developers that the touch screen is far better suited to these type of games than the traditional controls ever were. Using your stylus here really helps with the more speed-focused games especially quizzes and word searches.

Final Comments: While the overall presentation is average at best, Touch Masters appeal is pinned on just how many of the 23 games you find enjoyable and whether you already own them in any other form. Having them all in one place is a plus though and if the on-line feature was a little more user friendly Touch Master would probably have scored higher but the fact that it's there at all is a definite advantage. One other problem, for European users, is the clear American bias in both the Trivia Quiz and Word Search but if you do happen to follow US sports it will probably be more challenging that irritating. Overall though this still represents excellent value and adds to the already bulging 'casual gamer' library.

Pro: Good Value, On-line Scores.
Con: American Bias on Some Games.
Final Score: 7.5


Reviewed by: Andrew Blanchard