When Nintendo released the DS system, one of the main selling points for its innovation above previous portable gaming systems was the touch screen. Through use of a stylus pen, new forms of handheld gameplay could be developed and fresh ideas could be brought to life in ways that were impossible on other systems. Yoshi Touch & Go was Nintendo's first stab at innovating the side-scrolling genre through touch control, but ultimately only teased gamers with its hollow, one-horse show. Kirby: Canvas Curse (known as Power Paintbrush in Europe) followed from HAL Laboratory, with the intent to demonstrate what that type of game could accomplish. While they did succeed in creating a game that achieved a new form of console gameplay coupled with some fresh ideas, repetitive level design and the underutilization of the game's artful direction keep it from being a DS masterpiece. Think of it more as a Thomas Kinkade painting (same thing, different background) instead of a Claude Monet (masterpiece after masterpiece).

Starring Kirby, one of Nintendo's more popular (and fluffy) mascots, Canvas Curse sees our pink hero saving Dreamland from an evil, art-loving witch. Not only has she cast a spell that changed the world into a painting, but she has also cast a spell that changed Kirby into a ball! But she must be new at this evil witch bit, as she also left behind a difference maker for him; a magic paintbrush. Obviously a much better plan would have been turning him into a painting or just offing the little guy - but I guess there would be no game that way, so I'll have to leave her poor judgment be.

With the help of the magic paintbrush, wielded by the player, Kirby must roll his way through eight worlds, three boss stages and a ton of extra levels in his quest to return Dreamland to its non-framed, non-hangable form. Canvas Curse's biggest departure from most Kirby games to come before it is that you have no direct control over Kirby himself. Instead of directly moving Kirby, using the magic paintbrush (which is represented in the real world as the stylus) you draw paint lines that guide him throughout each level to the goal. Most of your maneuvering results in drawing lines for him to follow, like a car on a track, though you can also use lines to stop, redirect and slow him down. You have free range of where you draw your lines and how long they are on the screen (as long as you have paint in your paint meter), but drawing pictures will most likely lead to Kirby rolling off a cliff or getting thrashed to death by enemies.

Kirby gains special powers by running over certain enemies (just like in previous games, where he typically inhaled them), which are activated the same way you make Kirby dash, by tapping him. These range from turning him into a wheel to giving him lasers, but for the most part they add very little to the game itself and could have been left out. This is the fault of the level design, as there are rarely any places that force you to use them throughout the main game, except for the extra levels based on each power. Special moves like these are staples for a Kirby game and it's a shame to see them so haphazardly implemented.

Musically, this game makes excellent use of the stereo capabilities of the DS. The songs bounce right out of the speakers, proving to be a nice compliment to the colorful levels. None of the tunes are overpowering or annoying; I found that they melted into the background, which is what good platforming tunes should always do. Although nothing special, the sound effects do their job and will be familiar to Kirby veterans.

Each of the eight worlds consists of three levels, each with its own unique artistic theme. The backgrounds and levels look awesome on the DS screen (even more so if you own a Lite). Each world is bright and imaginative, representing many different types of art, and it's obvious that a lot of care went into bringing these levels to life. It is a shame, however, that the same cannot be said for the characters and enemies; apart from Kirby, who has a very fluid, though unspectacular, rolling animation, every other enemy and object set within the levels look like they were ripped straight from the previous Game Boy Advance and Super Nintendo games. Not only does this mean that they appear stale and lazily rehashed, but it also means that the character designs take nothing from the artistic pizzazz of the levels. Kirby and company could and should have changed with each world, adapting different art genres into their character designs to give them a fresh look each time. Nintendo and HAL really dropped the ball byjust importing tried and true character designs into this game; what could have been just as inventive and special as the gameplay turns into nothing but only wasted potential.

While the gameplay doesn't fall under the category of wasted potential, it does eventually fall into a rut; though far deeper and engaging than the previously mentioned Yoshi Touch and Go, which really only has one level to speak of, as Canvas Curse progresses it falls prey to the same repetitive nature of Yoshi. The first half of the main game is thoroughly engaging and has more than enough variety to keep you interested - especially the awesome boss battles, each of which has its own twist. One has you playing a Kirby-themed Breakout, another is a food-powered race and the last one is a connect-the-dots battle. But after those are finished and the second half of the game begins, it loses steam, as each new level begins to feel like the same thing with a different background. Guiding Kirby away from spiked floors and ceilings, over and over again, had me wanting to just turn the game off - and a few times I did, only playing a level or so before becoming bored out of my mind. I saw the game through to the end, but it became an unnecessary chore to do so.

Thankfully, Canvas Curse is saved by a robust set of extras, including different paint colors and two extra modes. Nearly everything is unlocked by meeting simply requirements, many of which consist of nothing more than cashing in the medals found throughout the game. These modes include a boss mode, where you can replay all three boss stages, and Rainbow Run, which includes both a time trial and a paint trial mode (where you try to finish a level using as little paint as possible) for each of the worlds in the main game. I love Rainbow Run, especially when I tired of the main game, as the levels were new takes on those I'd already played. What seems like a short game is nearly tripled after adding all these features in and this brings the playing time to around fifteen to twenty hours for 100% completion. While the game stands well as a solo affair in the short term, adding some sort of two-player could have really lengthened the staying power of the game. At the very least, time trial races could have been a blast, especially with the ability to draw quick lines to halt or misdirect your opponent. Or boss battles, where one person was the boss and the other was Kirby (though this wouldn't have worked with the Breakout game). But, alas, no such luck.

Despite my eventual boredom with Kirby: Canvas Curse, as a game played in spurts it can be quite entertaining. The levels are fairly short and progress is saved after every one, making this a perfect game for that short bus ride or lunch break. However, sitting down with it for a couple hours will let the monotony creep in, as the repetition slowly numbs your brain. With better character and level designs, Canvas Curse could have been a contender for best DS game at the time of its release, but instead it glides nonchalantly across the finish line somewhere in the crowd of runners-up.

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).