Wired: "Take Master of the Monster Lair, for instance. This is a Nintendo DS game in which you're tasked with digging elaborate holes in the ground and filling them with adorable monsters to further the ailing tourist industry of your town.
There's no epic, world-spanning quest; there's no ultimate evil threatening your very existence. You never once have to squeeze off a headshot on an enemy soldier -- and yet the game is deeply engrossing and a lot of fun.
One afternoon, your avatar, a young male denizen of the tiny town of South Arc, happens upon a shovel. Far from an ordinary shovel, this one happens to talk and, in typical Japanese role-playing game fashion, proves to be the key to the rest of the story."
