Doshin the Giant GCN

Bigger than Goliath and a whole lot friendlier, Doshin the Giant stomps exclusively onto Nintendo GameCube with a unique brand of strategy gaming.

Nintendo's newest, biggest and yellowest star begins his career by rising from the ocean and stepping onto a sparsely-inhabited group of tropical islands. The wide-eyed locals name their new friend Doshin - after the sound his size 368 feet make as he plods around - and from then it's your job to control the big guy's every move, and help (or hinder) the villagers using your unique giant-sized powers.

Soothing strategy-style play is the order of the day. The main aim is to raise and lower land and transport trees, helping the locals build new settlements - settlements that start off with a wooden hut here and there, then build into bustling communities comprising temples, farms, ornamental gardens, and a great big monument to their big yellow hero plonked in the middle.

For every act of kindness - from swatting away a tornado to taking a little girl for a sky-ride in your palm - you'll be gifted with hearts by the grateful islanders. And for every 21 hearts you collect, you'll grow in size, until you're large enough to walk from one end of the map to the other in around ten steps, and your head no longer fits on the screen!

Doshin the Giant exudes a leisurely atmosphere all its own, with a restful voiceover delivered in your language, and no time limit or level structure bearing down on you. As the sun rolls lazily around the sky, you can aim to collect all the monuments as you foster many different settlements around the archipelago; embark on a tour around the island; take a dip in the hypnotically reflective ocean; or simply sit back and watch the villagers and animals live their simple lives as the captivating scenery is bathed in the slowly-changing light of morning, day, evening and night.

Best of all, at the press of a button you can transform into an evil red giant (Jashin), with the ability to crush villages with fireballs and soar over the landscape with powerful wings. Angry villagers will throw skulls at you - but because they're as good as hearts at helping you grow, striking a balance between good and evil is crucial for anyone who believes size truly matters...

Bewitchingly beautiful, refreshingly non-linear - and, above all, different - Doshin the Giant proves that it is possible to be both big and clever. And this strategy spectacular is only available for Nintendo GameCube.

Last updated on 10 December 2007