Licensed games typically have a well-earned reputation for being pretty bad. Normally, I would have looked at this, seen that it was based on a James Patterson book, and walked away, shaking my head. And to be honest, the budget price wouldn't have boosted my curiosity either. I'd have put it back on the shelf and walked away... and missed out on the most fun I've had on the DS in months. It's as though someone read my mind while I was asleep, and created a game targeted directly at all my sweet spots.

All right, it's a license game so a lot of people will be familiar with the back story, but it's one based on a book, so let's go over the plot quickly. Daniel X is an alien. He looks human, but he's not. His parents were killed when he was a little kid, and he took up their mantle as "Alien Hunters", protecting the galaxy from all kinds of baddies. Because he's an alien, he has some super powers, like the ability to shapeshift. And move things with his mind. And create things out of thin air.

And kick evil alien hindquarter all over the place.

That's all explained in a cutscene in the first couple minutes of the game, which then leads into Daniel laying the beatdown on a particular baddie he's been chasing. Their spaceship crashes into a planet, and Daniel spends the rest of the game exploring, powering up, and eventually triumphing over evil. It's like a Metroid game without the ability to shoot anything. (Daniel even shapeshifts into a soccer ball to get through tight areas).

Combat (and there is a lot of it in this game) is tough, but fair. I never found myself frustrated at the GAME when I got beat. I learned from it, used some of the powers that I tend not to use (like, say, the block button?), and went back for more. Baddies can shoot at you, though, and that can get a little frustrating when you can't return the favor. What you can do instead, though, is grab the bad guys telekinetically, and hold them up for a moment as a shield, then throw them at other bad guys, so it's a tradeoff I was more than willing to make.

As you move through the game, your powers grow (yes, it's the ol' "The Crash Somehow Removed Your Powers" scheme, but I didn't mind it at all), and you gain new abilities. And if you don't like the abilities you've "purchased" with experience points? Cash 'em in and switch things around. You can "Upgrade" Daniel at any save point, and that includes the ability to remove prior combat and powers upgrades and swap them until you have something that fits your own personal play style.

Now, Daniel's powers of creation are somewhat limited in the game. They're used to create terrain pieces that block security laser grids and things like that. To create them, there's a drawing mini-game that I also enjoyed. (Fill in all the lines without going over the same line space twice - I enjoy that). If you've got kids who are frustrated by it, though, they can skip it by changing the settings in the game.

There's one thing that had me a little... weirded out, though, and that's Daniel's friends. See, being an alien hunter is a tough and lonely existence, and Daniel's not that old. So he has some... imaginary friends. And of course, being able to create things with his mind, occasionally they become not so imaginary. Something about seeing kids poof in and out of existence makes me wrinkle my brow a little, but that was pretty much the only thing that did.

Other than that, it's an enjoyable romp.

There's one other feature that's specific to the DSi - the ability to take pictures of people around you and "scan" them to determine if they're aliens or not. Apparently, I'm some kind of scaly thing from beyond the stars under all this. Who knew?

Seriously, though. This is a fun romp, and I'm looking forward to laying the smack on the final baddie. (Which would have happened last night, had my DS not died. Darn battery.) It's got the "Defeat Wave after Wave of Baddies" element of a Bad Dudes, the exploration and upgrading of a Metroid, and the occasional brain teaser element of a Brain Training. It's like three great tastes that taste great together. And it's convinced me to buy the Daniel X book and read it. And that - that wanting to read the book this game is based off of - that may just be the Ultimate Power.

UPDATE: After beating the final boss, you get the opportunity to replay the game - maintaining all of your experience points and health / damage / defense upgrades you've found in a Chrono Trigger-esque "New Game +". Like I said, it's like they sat me down in a room and asked me what would constitute a really fun game for me.

Buy "Daniel X: The Ultimate Power" from Amazon!
Buy "The Dangerous Days of Daniel X" (the book) from Amazon!