Nintendo's DSiware Fighting Game

Nintendo's latest DSiware title is just 200 DSipoints, so it's probably experimental. That's good, because one look at it, and you'll definitely want to experiment.

Titled Fight With Photos: Photo Fighter X, this original fighting game has you use the DSi hardware to create fighters and stages. You use the camera to take pictures of yourself in various poses. You then record sounds and voices for your punches and special moves. After giving yourself a name and a type, which changes your fighting style, you're done creating your fighter. But you can still choose to create a background, also using the system's camera to take pictures of real life settings.

You can store up to eight custom fighters. These can be used in both single and two player modes. In single mode, the game plays like a side scrolling action game where you must defeat 100 opponents to win. Two player mode plays like a one-on-one fighter, where you attack your opponent to make his life deplete.

Even in two player mode, you'll only use a single DSi to play Photo Fighter X. Nintendo has come up with a control scheme that allows both players to share the system.

When played in single player, the controls look like this:

From top top bottom, the moves are move, jump, duck, kick, punch, fireball, and special move.

Left and right moves your character left and right, up jumps, and down ducks. Any of the face buttons can be used as an attack. Attack used on its own will result in a kick. To punch, you push right plus attack. Fireball is left plus attack. Special skill is down plus attack.

In multiplayer mode, things get a bit tricky:

For the 1P side, L is the attack button. On its own, it performs a kick. With down, it performs your special skill. Brace yourself. When facing right, right and L performs a punch and Left and L performs a fireball. When facing left, left and L performs a punch and right and L performs a fireball. Does your head hurt yet?

To be honest, the controls probably won't matter much. Once you see the videos at the game's official site, how can you resist handing over 200 yen just for the novelty of finding things to turn into fireballs.

You'll get a chance at Nintendo's customized fighting game on the 16th. The asking price is, again, just 200 DSi Points.