Kim Possible: Kimmunicator is the series' first leap into 3D and onto the Nintendo DS. With these leaps also come a few added game features and an improvement in the overall feel, at least for the most part.

Like I said, Kimmunicator is a 3D game, but still sticks to its side-scroller roots. How does that happen, you ask? The environment is fully 3D, while you can only move in a set path across the screen. The 3D world means that the path Kim follows can move away from the camera, towards the camera or even turn corners.

Unfortunately with the transition into the 3D realm, the game also seems to lose some of the flair and vibrant color that the previous versions had. In older Kim Possible titles, the backgrounds and environments seemed to come straight from the series. Colors were bright and full of detail. Granted they were pre-rendered and could afford to have that kind of detail in them, but the 3D models found throughout the new game are bland and lack any real definition. Though the 3D effect is nice, the fact that the system is on par with the N64 (as far as the number of polygons it can push) makes it feel like the Kim Possible games have taken a step back rather than forward.

Also, because the camera is so far removed from Kim's position on the screen, she typically comes out looking small and with very little detail. Typically she looks more like a beefed up stick figure rather than a genius, crime fighting, cheerleading teenage girl.

The game's music and sound effects still fit the license. The music is either a direct port from the show or sounds close enough like it that it could be used in any of the episodes. Like its predecessors, Kimmunicator doesn't sport any voice work, so between-mission cut scenes will have you reading text from the screen to find out what is going on in the story.

Kim Possible: Kimmunicator's jump onto the DS and its 3D makeover aren't the only changes that this game brings to the Kim Possible line. There are a few new aspects that seemed to be put in purely because there is a touch screen on the system.

The first addition that seemed tacked on is the "thumbprint scanner" that you have to go through every time you turn on the game. Basically, before you even bring up the game menu, you have to press your thumb to the touch screen for a few seconds while the system "scans" your thumbprint. This is an interesting dynamic, at first anyway. The fact that you have to do it every single time gets a bit annoying after a while and only takes up precious gameplay time when you just want to jump in and try a level while on the bus or in the car.

The worst part of that is that it adds no real gameplay value and simply takes up time. That isn't the case of the other new mechanic. Occasionally, you will find yourself in front of a locked door. In order to hack your way past its electronic defence, you use your stylus to trace the path of a green line without touching any of the red lines. If you can complete the circuit, then you will have unlocked the game. This was a great addition and ended up adding to the game's challenge, especially with the time limit, but these locked doors only occurred two or three times in the entire game.

So why is this game named after Kim's communication device? Wade, the science-geek and Kim's techie, has been kidnapped by Dr. Drakken and Shego. You have been enlisted to man Wade's side of the Kimmunicator (where Wade normally is) and help her fight through toasters, mutants and robots in order to free Wade.

Along the way, you will also meet a few of Kim's major enemies like DNAmy, Frugal Lucre and Jack Hench. The game is divided into four worlds, one for Hench (the tutorial world), one for Lucre (a shopping mall), one for DNAmy and one for Drakken himself. At the end of most of these levels, you will have to face off against either the villain him/herself or some creation that he/she has created, like DNAmy's skunk-scorpion hybrid.

And of course, what would a Kim Possible game be without Rufus the naked mole rat. There is typically one or two occasions in each world where you will have to guide Rufus through ventilation in order to chew through various wires.

Kim Possible: Kimmunicator is not hard. Most gamers will be able to plow through a level without having to repeat it, and if you have an hour or so to play the game, then most likely you will be able to beat it in one sitting. Since this game is for the portable market, it is easy to see how it will actually take a few sittings to get through the game (if you only have 10 or 15 minutes of time per play-session, that is). But still, the only times I had to retry a level were when I went up against the last couple of bosses. And even those went down quickly when I figured out what had to be done.

Like other Kim Possible games, Kim Possible: Kimmunicator will have you running, jumping, flipping and swinging your way through side-scrolling levels. What makes Kim Possible different from a lot of side-scrollers is its use of Kim's signature gadgets. Tools like the grappling hook, hairbrush lock pick and night vision goggles all make their appearance in this game. You activate these gadgets by tapping the R button and you select the tool you want to use by tapping the gadgets' image on the touch-screen with your thumb.

There is one other game mechanic that could not have been done on the GBA and would only have been possible with this version of Kim Possible. Late in the game, you will try to guide a parachuting Kim down the mouth of a volcano. You guide her with the shoulder buttons and when you need a bit of an updraft, you blow into the system's microphone (similar to the sailing mission in Feel the Magic: XY/XX). But again, this type of level only occurs once and though it is an interesting aspect, it feels out of place with the game's overall feel.

All in all, Kimmunicator is a fun game for Kim Possible fans who already own a DS. If you don't have the system yet -- then this game isn't worth buying the system for, but if you do get it, make sure to go back and pick this title up.