The top five unexpectedly awesome DS games of 2008

As a counterpart to my earlier list of disappointing Wii games, I’ve put together a year-end list of the best unexpected surprises on Nintendo’s handheld. Like the last list, these aren’t just notable games – they’re titles that weren’t looking so hot (or they arrived under the radar), and they turned out to be awesome. See gamers? Happy endings are possible.

Keep these puppies in mind for holiday shopping – everybody loves a good handheld game in their stocking.

5. Legend of Kage 2
A game that came out of nowhere, Kage 2 is a sequel to a so-so arcade and NES game from the mid 1980s. This sort of description usually doesn’t bode well, but Kage 2 was incredibly fun, with tons of old-school ninja ass-kicking action and challenging boss battles. Pick this one up if you’re craving seriously meaty action on the go.

4. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
This game may have gotten a bit more exposure than many others on the list, but I personally wasn’t expecting it to be so good – or so challenging. Blending adventure with seriously tough puzzles, Professor Layton proved the perfect fit for brainy gamers weaned off of all the sudoku and crossword games on the DS.

3. Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood
The idea of a Sonic The Hedgehog turn-based RPG is diametrically opposed to all things holy in Sonic games – speed and platforming. Lo and behold, Bioware was able to step it up, and Dark Brotherhood turned out to be the best Sonic game in years.

2. Space Invaders Extreme
This game came out of nowhere and blew critics away with its smart, intuitive, and totally revolutionary gameplay. Despite it’s stupid name and budget price, the title represents one of the very best retro-revival games I’ve ever seen, taking the 1977 classic and updating it with a deep power up system, tons of new enemy types, and a hyper, techo-neon aesthetic.

1. Ninjatown
I beat Ninjatown weeks ago, and I’m still planning strategies for later maps – I’ve got this game on the brain. I certainly wasn’t expecting much from this humble, super-cute little “desktop-defense style” strategy title, until I literally couldn’t put it down. It’s really that good.

Read [disappointing Wii games]