Joystiq hands-on: EA Playground (DS)

EA Playground for the DS follows the general theme of the Wii game. Players compete in nine games to become the king of the schoolyard. While up to four players can battle on a local network, every competitor is forced to buy a copy of the game. I recently sampled all of the activities; a few stood out, but I anticipate that playing them mostly against AI opponents would grow boring over time.

If you've got three other friends with a DS and copy of the game, EA Playground might be fun. Younger gamers might also like it. The rest of us? The longevity is questionable.


Kicks uses the same name as the Wii version of EA Playground but drastically differs. Players use stylus or D-pad controls to rapidly fire soccer balls at a net. (There's no volleyball crossover.) It was mildly interesting but grew repetitive without deeper rules.

Hopscotch is a Simon Says rhythm-matching game. Patterns light up a grid of four squares, and you have to tap the squares in the right time with the beat. While the name threw me off -- I guess I wouldn't call this four-square either -- Hopscotch fits well with the handheld's controls.


RC Racers easily evokes RC Pro Am, with a mostly-overhead perspective. D-pad controls steer the car around tracks, where powerups help fend off foes. The game includes only three tracks, but hopefully that's enough to stay entertaining.

Trampoline uses stylus-only controls in a two-player competition. Characters bounce on the same trampoline at the bottom of the screen and fly upwards to grab balloons to score points. Random crows fly by, knocking a rising player back down. But a falling player will bounce up off a crow, or characters can even bounce up off each other. My brief game was fun, but again, I have doubts about how well Trampoline will last playing only against the AI.

Spitballs is a sniper-type game, where you seek out a highlighted enemy wandering around the playground. The stylus pans and tilts the binocular-perspective view. When the target is lined up, blowing on the mic launches a projectile. Spitballs felt creative and fun, and the blowing mechanic generally held up. After my game, I was told that I could have fired with the L shoulder button, a good option for playing outside.

Bug Hunt is a stylus-only arcade-style game. Swarms of butterflies drift in from edges of the screen, and you get points for capturing them. But bees mingle in, and too many stings ends the round. Like many of the others, I liked Bug Hunt in my brief game, but I'm concerned about how long it would hold my attention.

Dodgeball is one of the more complicated games. Players use the stylus to run around and pick up balls. Tapping the top quarter of the screen throws, and unlike the Wii version, players control their own aim. Tapping the character catches an opponent's toss. Because of its depth, I liked Dodgeball when I tried it.

Hoops is similar to Kicks, but with a basket instead of a goal. Gamers move with either the stylus or D-pad, in a race to pick up and shoot basketballs. Tosses from multiplier circles earn bonus points. Hoops wore thin for me against the AI fairly quickly, feeling like a race to scoop up balls.

Skate & Sketch is one of the most DS-fitting games. Players automatically skateboard up and down in a cross-section of a half-pipe. While in the air, gamers use the stylus to connect numbered dots to perform tricks. The dot patterns get harder each time, occasionally putting numbers in unexpected orders. Skate & Sketch felt like an Elite Beat Agents mini-game. It was a fun diversion and something I might like to play more.

While EA Playground for the Wii should broadly appeal because of its multiplayer competition, the DS version will have a smaller target audience. Younger gamers may like the pace and simplicity of most games, and a few will interest any player. But if you have friends with copies, the portable version might retain a lot of the fun competition of the Wii edition. Look for it on October 23.