Unless you're a crossword puzzle aficionado, brain tease enthusiast or happened to have caught the excellent documentary Word Play (as if you needed another reason to love Jon Stewart), you probably aren't too familiar with the name Will Shortz. Simply put, Shortz is responsible for elevating The New York Times crossword puzzle to the near-reverent status it holds today; one of the most difficult and well-crafted versions of the black-and-white phenomenon in existence.

The New York Times Crosswords for the Nintendo DS is an almost perfect translation of this paper-and-pencil past-time to an electronic one. The game is mercifully free of the bells and whistles that plague some of Majesco's other "casual" games (such as the better-left-unmentioned Toon Doku), choosing only to harness aspects of the Nintendo DS that further gameplay, such as supporting local wireless and the touch screen. Use the "Y" button to zoom in or out of the puzzles, press the shoulder buttons to scroll through clues, and use a small black square in the lower right-hand corner of the touch screen to input your letters. Kept simple, not stupid.

Multiplayer, meanwhile, is an embarrassment of riches, with support for Co-op and Versus modes for up to four players and allowing connections even if only one person owns the game. Versus mode is the only one that allows you to see if you're entering a correct or incorrect letter, by virtue of adding or subtracting a point from your visible score, so it's the fastest way to complete one of the more difficult days of the week (The New York Times crossword puzzle starts off easy on Mondays and Tuesdays then ramps up to ridiculously difficult extremes by the weekend). Depending on the level of competition, point spreads in Versus can be total blowouts (damn you, Abbie!) or heart-breaking losses of single digits (damn you again, Abbie!)

Although the competitive streak in most gamers will probably have them sticking to Versus mode, the single player mode is incredibly well-rounded. In Challenge mode, the puzzles are separated into calendar days spreading over three years (there are more than 1,000 puzzles available!), and every time you finish a puzzle the date is stamped with an overall grade ranging from A+ to F. Pressing the tempting "hint" button to reveal a letter is the fastest way to lower your grade, since it adds a time penalty that is factored into your overall performance. Puzzleweek mode is exactly as it sounds, you play through a full week in chronological order, and once you finish the gauntlet, you'll unlock the Brain Buster puzzles.

Some minor quibbles with the title include a soundtrack that is basically a repetitive loop of instrumental twaddle (but you can turn it off) and a temperamental writing recognition system that may turn your "i"s into "l"s.

Still, in this day and age, a time when hordes of new users, "casual" or otherwise, are entering the gaming market, The New York Times Crosswords is tailor-made for mass market success. What's odd -- nay, unbelievable -- is that it has gone virtually ignored by all media, even in the paper that shares its name... until now. Better late than never?

TIP: In the main menu, press Up, Up, Down, Down, B, B, Y, Y to turn the screen black-and-white. Re-enter the code to switch the screen back to normal.