Nintendo’s DSiWare service has been the butt of many jokes since its start, with a few notable games among a sea of worthless apps. That’s probably not going to change anytime soon, but one of this week’s releases definitely got my attention.
Alt-Play: Jason Rohrer Anthology features three of the independent game designer’s best games, including Passage, Gravitation, and Between. For those unfamiliar with the man, beyond having a fascinating life story, he’s also responsible for some of gaming’s closest attempts at fine art. That’s probably a bit pretentious, but the games speak for themselves, offering short, untraditional experiences that push the emotional boundaries of games in some exciting directions.
For anything more than the 200 Nintendo Points ($2) this anthology costs, it would probably seem a bit lacking. Still, I think the opportunity to play these games on a DSi, free from the distractions you get on a PC, make this an easy sell, especially for anyone who hasn’t tried them.
