The majority of the puzzle games on the DS can be played without the touch screen, Puzzle League has controls for using the touch screen but players can play with the D-pad. Unfortunately, most other developers have decided not to use the touch screen to its fullest potential. On top of this , when developers decide to use the screen, usually it is just a couple of times during the game and could easily do without, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow comes to mind. That being said, Puchi Puchi Virus is a unique puzzle game that is played using only the touch screen and does a very good job of using it.

At the beginning of the game players are introduced to Doctor Kevin A. Longfellow, Nurse Honeydew and, George the Chicken. The three of them invented the Puchi Buster DS to eliminate the dreaded Puchi Virus, a small slime like virus that mutates it's victims into wild aptly-named creatures. Each case is unique, and must be cured in different ways. The basics of the game are very easy to grasp and even easier to get addicted to. Puchi Puchi Virus is played by threes, in order to eliminate the virus, players use the touch screen to select three of the same color viruses and tap one of the selected viruses to remove them. Any virus caught in between the three can be used to select two more and create a chain.

In order to finish stages, each has a unique goal. Some are completed by reaching a certain score, others are conquered by creating a certain number of chains. There are many different ways of beating a stage. Each one with its own goals and rules, and each getting progressively harder as the stages are completed. Don't worry, however, if you are stuck on a stage, players can go back and play previous stages and get practice. There are more than 100 stages to challenge players with various difficulty levels, and with a multiplayer mode, Puchi Puchi Virus will keep players going for hours on end. Although the game is not quite as addicting as the original Tetris, or Dr. Mario, players will find themselves wasting hours of their free time playing this one.

The best thing about Puchi Puchi Virus is that the developers didn't make it a 3d game. Everything is in 2d and it works very well for this title. The company also decided to make the game very cute, and although not a bad thing in general, it may be a turn off for some of the more mature gamers.

Overall the game is exceptionally fun. With a market full of sequels and repeats of ideas (Planet Puzzle League comes to mind), Puchi Puchi Virus breaths a little fresh air into the genre. DS owners will enjoy the ability to just pick it up and play for five minutes or five hours, and either way it's sure to be a fun experience.