Most people know what the Guinness Book of World Records is. In it you’ll find the World’s tallest man, the record for the longest fingernails, tallest building, and other records and oddities. There are a lot of records out there being held and with this game, I can say that I hold several Regional, National, and yes…even some Guinness World Records. Go me!

This is the second game that I’ve discovered recently where the DS is held in a different way than I am accustomed to doing. You don’t hold this like you would for most games; instead you hold it like a book. You don’t need the D-pad or the buttons for this game as it relies heavily on the Touch-pad and stylus so holding it this way doesn’t “feel” wrong or get in the way.

Guinness Book of World Records: the Video Game is really a collection of mini-games. You start off the game by picking and creating your avatar. It’s the basic things; male, female, hair color/style, eyes color/shape, clothes, accessories, and some locked items that you can buy later on in the game once you’ve unlocked them/earn money.

This avatar of you is then placed on a map of the world and you guide your mini-me around the map to different destinations. In those destinations you’ll find three mini-games. The first one is automatically unlocked, the second one will cost you 1000 coins, and the third one will cost you 5000 coins. You’ll soon see that some of these mini-games are more “serious” records like the World’s tallest building while others are oddities like most tattoos or most piercings.

Each mini-game is different from the next. Some are pretty easy while others are a little bit more complex. The Skyscraper mini-game plays out like Tetris. You get a couple of Tetris-like blocks and you have to fit them into a predetermined space as quick as you can. If you get it done before the timer runs out, you move on to the next set of blocks. If you fail to fit the blocks before the timer runs out, then your game is done. One of the easier but harder to do ones is the World’s biggest bubble. Here you simply blow into the DS’ mic for as long and as steady as you can. Simple because all you’re doing is blowing, hard because you need to be steady and keep blowing to break any kind of record.

There are a variety of mini-games in this collection and while some will only keep your interest for an attempt or two at the World Record, there are several games that are pretty fun and will keep your attention well after you’ve gotten the Regional, National, and World Records. At the end of each attempt you earn coins, these coins can be used to buy avatar items or to unlock other mini-games around the globe. So the more you attempt certain games, the more coins you’ll earn and more games you’ll be able to play until you’ve unlocked them all.

One nice feature with this game is the ability to play and compete against other players. On the local level I’ve played a couple of these mini-games with my 4.5 year old son and he enjoyed them, especially the World’s Highest Video Game Score. He wasn’t able to do some of the games as they involved more than simple directions/controls but there were several that were easy enough to understand.

When I saw this title in Amazon’s game list, I was a little surprised since this doesn’t seem like one that would translate well into the Video Game world, but it did and it does. There are some fun games that are included and I’m proud to say that I hold the Regional, National, or World Record in most of the mini-games in it. This won’t be your longest or most returned to game in your collection but it’s a good play through and a good game for kids as well. Think you can best me? Give it a try, I dare you to break my Guinness World Records…