WORST GAME EVER: Friend Code DS (Nintendo DS)

Back of the Box Description: "Join the party and jump into the fastest growing Nintendo DS sensation on the planet. This is Friend Code DS and it's about to unleash a whole new world of three-player action. Do you have what it takes to enter a friend code? Find out now and put your skills to the ultimate test in Friend Code DS!"

Brief Synopsis: Found on all online Wii and Nintendo DS games, friend codes are sweeping the nation. While other game systems allow you to easily find and keep track of your buddies, Nintendo has proven once again that when it comes to making friends people prefer long lines of random numbers. How else can you explain the overwhelming success of both the DS and the Wii? In December alone the Wii managed to sell some three million units, while the Nintendo DS continues to dominate in the handheld market. At this point it's impossible to overlook the success of Nintendo's friend codes.

Perhaps that is the reason that we're seeing the inevitable next step for the friend codes - their own video game. This is Friend Code DS, the game that takes everything that you love about inputting friend codes and mixes it with the variety and excitement of Mario Party. Play against up to two other real people to see who can input the numbers the fastest, who can guess their friend's 12 digit code first and many more mini-games. What's more, thanks to Nintendo's WiFi you can connect to the internet and play against real people from around the world. Better still, Nintendo will be making new game modes and themes available via downloadable content. For example, Nintendo will have a Super Smash Bros. mini-game within the first three months, along with a Tetris DS mode and something called Pokemon Friendachu.

Sample Review: "Who knew that feverishly tying numbers into your Nintendo DS could be so much fun? While the competition has boring retreads of games like God of War and Resistance, Nintendo is breaking new ground with their numerical masterpiece. In twelve months every company on the planet will be making rip-offs of Friend Code DS, and why not, this is yet another brilliant example of why Nintendo is the most innovative company on the planet. [...] Gather up your friends and get ready for the most exciting three player game on the Nintendo DS. Thanks to some interesting power-ups (including one that simulates entering a friend code while drunk), amazing level designs (the Wii Fit themed level is a must see) and great mini-game challenges (a favorite being the one where you have to enter friend codes for 15 of your best friends before anybody else), Friend Code DS proves to be yet another winner from a company that can do no wrong."

Fun Fact: If rumors are to be believed, we could be seeing the end of Friend Codes in Wii and Nintendo DS games in the near future. According to IGN, a hotly anticipated online game (read: Conduit) will be ditching the Friend Codes and instead opting for a more tradition friend's list. If this is true and future Wii and DS games follow suit, then Friend Code DS may be the only place where you can get that authentic Friend Code sensation. Score!

This is definitely a tough decision. While it's true that entering a bunch of 12 digit friend codes is annoying and the idea of turning it into a full game is ludicrous, I hate to admit that I've gotten kind of used to it and this game is no more ludicrous than, say, Wii Music. Yoshi's Fart & Go, on the other hand, is so over the top that Nintendo would never even attempt such a thing. I can see Friend Code DS being a real game, but there's no way Yoshi's Fart & Go would get past quality control. So, for the time being, Yoshi's Fart & Go remains the WORST GAME EVER.