Clue / Perfection / Aggravation / Mouse Trap

During the 90s, board game manufacturers across the country launched a massive campaign to get players gaming on the go. Not with video games or some other handheld device, but with travel-size versions of Battleship, Connect Four, Guess Who?, Yahtzee, and many others.

Since that time, games have shifted to the virtual world. Board games are still a viable source of entertainment in their classic setting. I mean, who wants to play monopoly with a game controller? But while you may not be able to find a local friend to play Scrabble at four in the morning, you can always find someone playing the freebie digital version online.

This, and the goal to make games as travel-friendly as possible, have led to the creation of titles like Clue/Mouse Trap/Perfection/Aggravation – a four-game pack of board game hits.

 
Mouse Trap

It Ain't Perfection, But...

Perfection: the timed puzzler of odd shapes. The objective, as most of you are likely aware, is to place the given pieces (there are 25 of them) in the slots on the Perfection machine. You have to do this in 60 seconds or less; upon completion, players have to press the stop button to kill the timer and solidify their win. For an even greater challenge, set the clock to 45 seconds.

In this Nintendo DS conversion, you'll choose any of the 25 pieces – which are laid out evenly for clear viewing and quick selections – by tapping the screen. Tap once to highlight, tap twice to select. Once a selection has been made, the piece is enlarged and two arrows appear on the piece's left and right sides. Touch the arrows to spin the piece in either direction. After lining up the piece with its appropriate slot in the Perfection machine, tap it again to set the piece and claim your victory. Well, almost. You'll have another 24 to spin and place before the game is over.

For those who have been confused by the original Perfection, this version clearly shows when you can and can't use a piece. If the piece won't fit, the arrow icons don't appear. You can't spin the piece because it's the wrong size. This allows you to instantly start looking for the right indentation.

 
Perfection

Seriously Aggravating

Aggravation, the game that's loosely based on Chinese Checkers, is without the touch screen controls you'd expect from a DS board game. The D-pad is used for rolling the dice and for selecting where to move the balls – press the A button once you've made a decision.

Like Parcheesi, you can knock your opponents back into their starting position. The goal, of course, is to circle around the board, re-enter your own color's territory, and make it into the safety zone before an opponent catches on and sends you packing.

Get a Clue

Clue’s virtual adaptation is packed with clickable menus and easy character movement. The core mechanics haven’t changed. To win, you’ll have to think hard and/or make a few good guesses.

Help! I'm Trapped!

Mouse Trap isn't much of a game, at least not on the DS. The game plays itself – all you do is tap the screen to advance each move.

The Clue/Mouse Trap/Perfection/Aggravation compilation delves deeper into the DS’s graphics processor than most other board game ports. The camera is controlled automatically, so you won’t get to alter the view in Clue. But the auto-cam changes are somewhat effective. Clue is by far the most detailed, with interesting visuals on both screens. Mouse Trap looks decent but lacks interactivity. Perfection isn’t too flashy or too ugly, and though Aggravation is presented with a 3D view, its cartoon graphics are a little distracting.

But really, it could have been better. After you’ve played through the games as normal, there isn’t anything to do. Perfection could have been reworked as a deep puzzler (similar to what Chessmaster did with its training games). Clue could have been turned into a strategy game. Same goes for Mouse Trap. I’m not sure what could have been done with Aggravation… A Bust-a-Move-inspired mode, perhaps?

Any of these options – or any other addition – could have added hours of replay value to the game. But what you get is exactly what’s available in board game form. After a while, that can be very boring.

Gameplay: 5.0
Mouse Trap is good for the under-5 crowd that’s too young for most games but would like to have a display of visuals to go along with their one-button-does-all mechanics. Perfection is right for the puzzle fanatic that doesn’t want to be bogged down for more than 60 seconds. And if you like the board game of Clue or Aggravation, you’ll like these versions as well.

Graphics: 5.5
A decent array of effects that should’ve been taken much further, starting with a user-controlled camera.

Sound: 2.0
Not the worst music ever, but it’s close.

Difficulty: Easy
Aggravation and Clue provide a slight challenge. Perfection is pretty easy, and Mouse Trap doesn’t provide any challenge at all.

Concept: 5.0
Four classic board games brought to the world’s leading handheld. No additional content, no upgraded features, nothing new to speak of at all.

Multiplayer: 3.0
Board games should be playable on one DS. After all, they’re turn-based. But in this game you’ll need multiple systems and multiple game cards to play with family and friends.

Overall: 5.0
As a collection, there is something for everyone – up to a certain point. It’s a time-killer, for certain. But don’t expect it to make an entire car trip’s worth of time go by in a flash.