Okay, so the first installment of "The Game Gap" was a bit of a letdown. (To my credit, I had a pretty big article before I found out that most of the titles I'd written about had already been announced.) To make up for it, here's an extra-juicy update on the games that Japanese gamers will see at launch, and you won't.

ZOO KEEPER Success

The animals at a local zoo are on the rampage! You have to use your skills as an animal trainer to get them back under control. In this puzzle game from Success, you try to line up 3 of the same type of animal to clear out the playing field. The pieces are moved with the stylus, but on the whole this game doesn't look like it makes particularly interesting use of the DS' touch screen. Still, it might be a fun little puzzler.

"Make your brain sweat" Game Series 1: COOL104JOKER & SETLINE (Aruze)

And, in the "Messed-up Game Titles" category, we have... a laughable "Game Series" name and a card game whose title sounds like your little brother's AOL screen name.

In "COOL104JOKER" you are dealt 5 cards which you try to match, either with suits or numbers, with cards on a pile. The idea of the game is to capture all the cards in the deck. Additionally, occasionally an IM window from "COOL104JOKER" will pop up on the top DS screen asking you "a/s/l/pic?" and "u wanan cyber?"

"SETLINE," by contrast, is a board game in which tiles are set up in a hexagonal pattern, and by drawing "lines" between the edges of the hexagon, you attempt to take control of all the tiles on the board (somewhat like Othello). Bonuses are awarded for capturing all the tiles on the board in a short time.

Mahjongg Championship (Koei)

In (yet another) (!) (?!!?!?!) Mahjongg game, you face off against 10 or more Mahjongg players, forming leagues or playing "survival mode" for the title of Mahjongg Champion. Nintendo's official site calls this a "classic-style (oldskool?) Mahjongg game," so for those of you who were hoping for a less "kiddy" Mahjongg experience, it looks like Koei has got you covered. Wireless mode is enabled for this game, so you and your Mahjongg buddies can all gather round and enjoy.

Puyo Puyo Fever (Sega)

Next (and last) is the obligatory "rot-your-teeth cutesy puzzle game," courtesy of Sega. The DS version, like the GameCube version, stands out from all the other puyo titles because of its "Fever Mode." Various game actions or puzzle combinations increase your "Fever Gauge" which, when filled, lets you enter "Fever Mode," in which you can create huge explosions and connect huge chains of puzzle pieces.