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"The Sudoku craze from the last couple of years seems to have died down recently. Well, at least to the point where the morning commute is no longer populated by every second person holding a pen-and-paper in hand. Maybe they're all playing it on their Palm-Pilots or iPods now ... either way, this hasn't stopped developers from doing what developers do, as a steady stream of Sudoku-based games are still finding their way into the market. This latest title provides a bit of a twist - Zendoku, for both the DS and PSP, manages to twist the Sudoku formula and is released at a somewhat budget price.
Still, these factors have never really guaranteed the success of a game, and we still haven't answered the big question; what on Earth is this Zendoku business about? Basically, the game is split into two halves. On the one hand, you have a fresh twist on the traditional Sudoku formula, making it look like it was inspired by the mercurial Puzzle Fighter. On the other, you have the option to play pure Sudoku. Most of your time will likely be spent in the Zendoku half."
Full Source:
PALGN
"Ever since the DS and sudoku both became popular, Nintendo's handheld has been flooded with countless sudoku games. Most of them are completely forgettable and incredibly generic, only adding to the number of DS games you'll be able to find in the bargain bin at stores like Gamestop.
The good news is that Zoonami and Eidos' new sudoku game, Zendoku, isn't like these other games. In fact, it's well ahead of other sudoku titles currently available on the DS, even with some of the game's flaws."
Full Source:
Blogcritics.com via
Gonintendo
"I like Sudoku. I like video games. I like fighting games. It seems as though Zendoku should be a win-win-win situation for me then, right?
For those of you not familiar with Zendoku, it’s essentially the Super Puzzle Fighter of sudoku games. For those of you not familiar with sudoku, well, I’m not sure how you’re seeing this review right now, because sometimes it feels like I can barely turn a corner on the internet without seeing the word “sudoku” somewhere. Sudoku is a Japanese mathematical puzzle game that started to absolutely sweep the nation a couple of years ago. There are 81 squares arranged into a grid pattern, and traditional gameplay requires each square to be filled with a number from 1 to 9. Each square group of 9 squares (of which there are 9 total in the 81 space grid) must be filled with non-repeating digits, and the same goes for both horizontal and vertical columns. The challenge in traditional sudoku games lies in the decoding of the layout and making sure that nothing ends up in the wrong place. Zendoku is a completely different animal."
Full Source:
GameAlmighty
"Nintendo DS game developers are going to drive me to drink if they keep producing Sudoku games on the system. Well...drink more, anyway. After being able to count the amount of Sudoku games on two hands, I'm now running out of fingers -- how many versions of the newspaper puzzle game do we really need, anyway? Zoonami's and Eidos' take is, at the very least, unique, featuring a multiplayer competition focus on top of the established grid gameplay. This focus definitely separates Zendoku from the umpteen other Sudoku games, but you know what? It doesn't really make it all that much fun of an experience."
Full Source:
IGN
"Let's face it, sudoku can be a bit dull. A case of filling gaps with numbers, there's little of the panache required when struggling with a tricky crossword. Not only does trying to unlock cryptic clues provide real brain training – if you fail, you can always learn something when you check the answers in tomorrow's paper. Compared to that, sudoku is merely a logical progression, with frustration the most likely outcome if you make any mistakes.
Maybe that's why sudoku needs ninjas, special attacks and head-to-head battles. For these very reasons, Zendoku is the sort of sudoku we've been waiting for – battle action sudoku."
Full Source:
Pocketgamer.co.uk
"Pseudoku? That's what you might be thinking when you first spot Eidos' irreverent replacement of Sudoku's traditional numbers for seemingly arbitrary eastern symbols. But rest assured, this is the same orthodox pen and pencil puzzle game that depressingly saved British newspaper sales in all but name and face.
Of course, the recently ubiquitous Japanese puzzle loved by commuters and evangelised by Carol Vorderman has never had anything much to do with numbers anyway - it's a pure logic puzzle. Played on a 9x9 square grid, the aim of the game to fill every row, column and 3x3 sub-box with one of each number from one to nine. There can be no repeats and only logic (no guesswork) can be used to fill the grid. Manage to slot everything in its right place and the panic will go away for a little bit and maybe you'll sleep at night believing you really are in control of your life."
Full Source:
Eurogamer
