Way back in 2005, Nintendo teased us with a preview of their “Digitylish” series. Several early versions of the games were shown at E3 2005 and then there was nothing until earlier this year. The series was renamed “bit Generations” and scheduled for release in late July.

Each bit Generations game is based on a simple recipe – a concept that will appeal to nongamers and gamers alike with a thick layer of style smoothed over the surface. Every game in the series has excellent music and a fairly interesting visual style. To top this off, the games were released at a bargain price in beautiful packaging.

Join us as we take a look at two of those titles – Dotstream and Orbital.

Remember that racing scene from Tron? At first glance, Dotstream will remind you of that exciting moment. You are a beam of light that is in a race with four other beams of light. Dotstream does away with the accelerate button found in most racing games. Instead, you travel faster when going in a straight line. Your beam slows down when you move up or down to avoid obstacles. The B button also lets you slow down. Pressing R activates the boost feature.

Dotstream can be very difficult at times. You have a life bar that goes down whenever you slam into an obstacle or when you use a boost. The other beams of light can also throw you off course by pulling front of you. Their after trail will push you into another “lane.”

The campaign mode is split into five different Grand Prix tournaments, with each Grand Prix consisting of five tracks. Each Grand Prix has its own theme and dangers for your little beam of light. For a quick fix, you can choose the Spot Race mode and play any of the tracks that you’ve unlocked in the Campaign mode. There is also a third unlockable mode – Formation. In Formation mode, you race while collecting colored pieces to fill up a life meter on the bottom of the screen. As you complete each GP, Formation mode adds additional sections.

The phrase that truly fits Orbital is, “Easy to learn, difficult to master.” The game is best described as Katamari Damacy in space. You are a satellite floating in space. The goal is to absorb the other objects (called stars) and grow larger. The twist? You must use the gravity fields of nearby systems to move around. The A button attracts and the B button repels.

Orbital is a very relaxing game, perfect for right before you go to sleep. You can hurdle around between systems at your own pace. You get a better score if you complete the level faster, but sometimes it is fun to just let your satellite drift for awhile. The graphics and music all come together in a beautiful little package.

There are six “galaxies” with five levels in each. Once you complete all of those, you will unlock an extra galaxy with five bonus stages. If you collect the “moon” (a special item that grants you bonus points) in each of those, you’ll get one more “final” galaxy.

Both of these titles are completely import friendly. In fact, they’re entirely in English except for the packaging and instruction booklet. Don’t worry about being ripped off because they are based on fairly simple concepts. With either of these, you get a whole lot of game for your $25. Nintendo has been coy about a domestic release, so go ahead and import. You have no reason not to; it’s worth it for the beautiful packages.

Purchase Dotstream: Yes Asia ($18.99), Play-Asia ($24.90), Lik-Sang ($29.90)
Purchase Orbital: Yes Asia ($18.99), Play-Asia ($24.90), Lik-Sang ($29.90)

Official bit Generations Site
Official Dotstream Site
Official Orbital Site