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Nintendos DS handheld has been the home for more than 1.000 titles, since its inception back in 2004. While the majority of available games will do little more than improve your hand-eye coordination, an exclusive few – e.g. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training has tried to apply the DS to our betterment and not just idling time away.

With the launch of the DSi, Nintendo started to provide games through digital downloads, amongst them the painting school program Art Academy. Developer Headstrong Games creative offering is now available as a full blown cartridge, bundling the two semesters that previous were released on the DSiWare service as separate titles.

Tutor me up
Art Academy is subtitled Learn painting and drawing techniques with step-by-step training, which precisely captures what the game is all about. The main feature is a portable art course, thatll take you through basic knowledge that budding artists should find useful. Under the gentle guidance of master painter Vince youll be treated to classes ranging from basic pencil techniques to advanced methods and ideas such as multi-layering and the colour wheel.

While the title never will be enough to create the next Bacon or Monet, the game delivers a thoughtful and considerate curriculum. Lessons are presented with clarity and easy understandable guidelines, and youll be taught skills like shadowing, colour mixing, under drawing, wet versus dry paint and grids.

Studies range from still life pictures of citrus fruits to mini lessons on how to create the impression of water movement. Several areas for instance light and shadow are covered in detail, with examples drawn from the works of famous painters like Albrecht Drer or Paul Czanne.

Short cut to Louvre?
The DS touch screen works surprisingly well as a painters canvas, and a handy zoom function gives you that extra bit of precision when working on tricky sections. Drawing tools are kept to a minimum, but what made the cut are taught in depth.

Working you way through the course will take you a while, but when youve completed all ten main chapters, theres precious little to keep you occupied. Acquired skills can be applied in the free paint area, where a number of included reference pictures can be used as inspiration – lucky DSi owners can use the handhelds camera to extend their library.

Menus and icons are simple and close to self explanatory; after initial guidance younger family members should be able to express them selves at least with confidence, if not style. A soothing ambient soundtrack underpins your brushstrokes, and a few sound effects e.g. scraping noises from pencils add depth to the experience.

Artistic aspirations warranted
Art Academy enters the precious short list of edutainment titles on Nintendos handheld with all flags flying. Parents seeking to add a bit of variety to their kids DS library, teaching them a ting or two in the process, should consider Art Academy as a serious contender for their next purchase.

Verdict: Get it! (Verdict list: ‘Get it!’, ‘Rent’ or ‘Never mind’)

For in-game screenshots and additional portable game reviews, please check: Review – Art Academy Nintendo DS.

More reviews and news from the handheld video game scene at Burning Thumbs.

Article Source: Review – Art Academy (Nintendo DS)