Say what you will about the terrible anime series or the potential animal cruelty factor of a game that is basically a non-stop onslaught of cock-fights, Pokemon was one of if not the most influential game of Nintendo's portable game strategy. 

Apparently created by a fan collective, Pokemon Online is a completely non-Nintendo project that aims to turn the Pokemon universe into a working MMORPG complete with quests, an open world, and opf course a great deal of pokemon fighting.

Taping into the most interesting, if basic aspects of the Pokemon games, this could prove an interestijng template for Nintendo to pay attention to--could the future of Pokemon reside in the MMO genre, and if so can Nintendo match fan expectations?

In South Carolina, a 12-year-old boy was arrested for opening his Christmas gift a wee bit early.

After the box was found to be empty, the boy's mother questioned him about where the GameBoy he was to get on Christmas went. At first, he denied taking the GameBoy and pleaded that he didn't know where it was. Then his mother threatened him with calling the police. He relented and gave back the GameBoy, but she had already called the cops. He was charged with petty larceny but wasn't jailed.

Now, this might sound a bit harsh for opening a Christmas present, but no, it's somewhat justified. You see, the boy has had a history of misbehaving. Being a single mother, she didn't know what to do with him. He has shoplifted, stolen money from her, punched a police officer, and is close to being expelled from school. Her justification for having her son arrested was to give him a wake-up call so she wouldn't have to get a call from the police saying he was killed.

See her side now?

[via NBC30 WVIT]

WOOT!

Ok, first off, a little background info since I'm new around here. I'm kind of big on anime. Not like "wear the same smelly Junin outfit for five days straight while sleeping in a 20-person-deep hotel room at a con" into anime. But enough so that the following video gives me a chubby.

As a point of refference I actually work for one of the major anime publishers in the US. That's right GA doesn't pay me to write this fine mess you're currently reading.

So, back on point. Jump Ultimate Stars (JUS) is basically a Super Smash Brothers-style game for the Nintendo DS that features all "your favorite shonen jump manga characters" fighting it out. It's actually the sequel to "Jump All Stars," the game that made me buy a DS in the first place. For those who don't know what shonen jump is, well, this might not be the game for you. But, to sum it up as simply as possible, about 75 percent of all the biggest manga/anime shows/anime movies ever started as shonen comics (aka: manga). DragonBall, Naruto, Bleach, Prince of Tennis, etc. all started out this way.

Source: GoNintendo

Jump Ultimate Stars is pretty much the Japanese equivilent of shoving all the Marvel Comics characters (and the good D.C. ones) together into the same fighting game. The same AWSOME fighting game.

I won't bore you with to many unnecesary details as the video is 20 minutes long, so I'll just say that I will definitly be getting this and if you like SSB or shonen and own a DS you should, too.

EDIT: A slight oversight due to my excitement: This is a Japanese game! Tu no habla Japanese? Tu bad por you. You will need a translation to get through all the missions and unlock everything. Thankfully the original was completley translated online within a month of its release so I can't imagine this will take any longer than that. Hit up www.play-asia.com to score a copy.

Thanks MR_COW

With the recent (but heavily delayed) release of the PSP's v3.0 firmware, it finally looks as though you'll be able to play PS1 games on the move. Sony has stated that, starting tommorow, you will be able to download some, err, classic PS1 games.

While some are to be celebrated, such as Bishi Bashi Special and Resident Evil, others are certainly not, such as Hot Shots Golf 2. What worries me the most is the lack of bloody brilliant games. Where is Tekken 3? Where's Gran Turismo 2? Where's Syphon Filter? Where's Soul Blade? Where on earth are the classics? Surely the release of such a service would prompt Sony to come out with all guns blazing!
Saying that, there are positives -- they don't cost too much, at only £2.35 a pop, and you are getting at least one Tekken game.

As many of you may already know, version 3 of the PSP's crippling (you can't play Doom on 2.8!) firmware has been awaiting release for quite a while now. PSP fanboys all over the world have been crying out for support of the (unreleased) camera and (just released, but PS3 necessary) PS1 games, as well as the (unreleased) GPS system.
It does, however, offer a much needed link up between the PSP and PS3, so now they can play nicely together just as Sony promised.
Joystiq has the full list of improvements, and I'll repeat it after the break.

Continue reading "PSP v3 Making Rounds"

Contact was one of my most anticipated games of the year and I beat it last night.  I beat it, but I didn't actually finish it.  I beat it as in, I saw the credits roll, but I'm not finished because I didn't do many of the optional side quests and I didn't get most of the skills offered in the game.  As you can tell, Contact is complicated.

For those not in the know, Contact is an RPG on the Nintendo DS developed by Suda51's grasshopper studio. You know, the same guy who brought you Killer 7. You play yourself, but you have to control Terry, the boy who lives in another world.  You have to control Terry to help the Professor, who must obtain some gems that broke into a couple pieces and is now scattered throughout some islands.  In the typical RPG fashion, it's up to Terry to fetch these gem fragments, but the CosmoNOTs, who are also after the gems, poses as opposition.

Impressions after the jump.

Continue reading "Review: Contact"

Hey guys, it's Allan here. I've just returned (Okay, fine, it's been a while since this event. It was several days back. But I blame <another GA writer> for the delay.) from a long journey into the savage heart of... wait, no, it's just an EA Preview Screening of some upcoming holiday release games. That's right, I was at EA Play. It may not be the Tokyo Game Show, but at least it's something.

So down to the titles, the showcase had such games as: Need for Speed Carbon, Sims 2: Pets, Battlefield 2142, and EA Sports titles, such as Cricket 07, Hockey, and NBA. So follow the jump to hear more...

Continue reading "EA Holiday Preview"

First, a little background on my affiliation with handhelds. I haven't had one since the Game Boy Color. Back when Pokemon was cool. Back when I was a little (or at least, more little than I am now) kid. Since then, I haven't bought myself a handheld. Why? I find them a waste of money. Why buy some small little screen that has the capacity to do graphics from three generations ago, when you can spend that money on something for your next generation console, play it on an HDTV, with surround sound, and the impeccable Xbox 360 controller? What's the use?

Of course, I've played every handheld since, in one form or another, including the DS, while camping out for my Xbox 360. I enjoyed multiplayer Mario Kart DS, winning most all the rounds. It was a pleasant experience. Of course, I had been bored for seven or so hours, and I had seven or so left to go. But, recently, as most of you know, the DS Lite was released in America.

When shots of this handheld first came out, the redesign of the DS, I was very attracted by the sleek and stylish look, but thought nothing of it, as I found the library to be lame, and the idea of buying a handheld a waste. Then, I saw myself some New Super Mario Bros. videos. I'm a huge Mario fanatic. I love the guy. Of course, at a young age, I made a foolish mistake, selling my SNES/NES, PlayStation, and N64, thus loosing my Mario playability on the SNES/NES. I am, eventually, going to rebuy all my classic items (love you, eBay), but until then, I saw my opportunity to forgive myself with NSMB... It looked fun, new, and classic.

And this leads me to my review of the Nintendo DS Lite, New Super Mario Bros., Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario Kart DS, and Advance Wars. My return to the Handheld Kingdom...

Continue reading "The Big Surprise..."

Some Walmarts and Targets have been selling DS Lite 11 days before the official launch date Image. Reports of gamers finding stores selling DS Lite have been appearing all over, Joystiq now has a Frapper up from one of there readers which has people posting where the bought there DS lite or places where it cant be bought, this ranges from Texas to Minneapolis at the moment Link. The site Cheap ass gamer was the first to break the news heres the link to the original post CAG, several of there staff claim to have purchased a DS Lite

Tho officially there is no word from nintendo, so the official street date hasnt been broken by them, EB Games has apparently stayed with the original launch date, over zealous manager or store clerk its uncertain but if you want a DS Lite check your local store you might be in luck.

Updates as they come

One of the franchises having a huge presence at E3 this year is Final Fantasy. If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed it showing up on almost every platform: PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, GBA, even Xbox 360. FF's going to be a staple of the next gen and what's left of the current gen still has some love coming. Here's the rundown on what we know so far:

Dated:
Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, currently looking at August 22, 2006.
Final Fantasy VII: Before Crisis - You'll take your Final Fantasy VII on your phone and like it!
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - Discover the historic secrets of FFVII on your PSP!
Final Fantasy XII for the PS2, finally dated for October 2006. Finally!
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers (Nintendo Wii) Short CG trailer, looking good for fans of the mutliplayer FF.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (Nintendo DS) I think Crystal Chronicles would be
perfect for the DS.
Final Fantasy V and VI for the GBA, they're running out of sprites!
Final Fantasy III for the DS, first time in the U.S. and has a look all its own.

But probably the most intriguing iteration is Final Fantasy XIII, which will actually exist as three separate games. That pique your interest? Then read on!

Continue reading "Look At All That Final Fantasy"

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here with a roundup of today’s E3 news pending hearing from our merry fellowship heading to the Sony Press briefing.

Yes I realize it’s all from GameSpot, but this is just a placeholder till Sherveen comes in with everything ELSE that he’s got, and I’ve been a bit locked up with a son home sick.

In all seriousness we got:

Item One: Yuji Naka starts own studio.

Item Two: Wii COD3, PS3 Spidey, 360 Tony Hawk on Activision’s E3 plate.

Item Three: Zelda Wii sword fighting, next-gen WarioWare confirmed.

Item Four:  Square Enix announces trio of Final Fantasy games

Item Five: Virtua Fighter 5 to beat on PS3 exclusively.

Stories and snarky commentary after the jump.

Continue reading "Day 1: Final Press announcments before the real fun begins."

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes with an oh-so-quick rundown of some news items before Sherveen comes home and cranks out his super list:

Item One: Activision aquires James Bond license.

Item Two: DS Lite Hits US Next Month

Item Three: Oblivion re-rated an M, Bethesda replies.

Check the jump for info and rant comments.

UPDATE: DS Price is actually CHEAPER than reported!

Continue reading "Gaming News: 5/4/2006"

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here not with a rant, but some new news for you to digest:

Item One: DreamStation.CC has an interview with John Calhoun, the designer of "The Godfather" video game.

Had this pop into my inbox this morning:

Dear Gamer Andy,

My name is Chris Paladino and I am the Podcast Producer/Contributing Writer at DreamStation.cc, and I thought you guys may be interested in the recent The Godfather game coverage on our site.

Our latest episode of the DreamStation.cc Video Game Show podcast (Show #50) features an audio interview with John Calhoun, the designer of The Godfather game. The entire interview is two parts and will run over the course of two shows. The first part is located at the end of our latest show and next week's show #51 will feature the conclusion of the interview.

We also were invited to The Godfather Community Day at the Electronic Arts Studio located in Redwood City, California , last month and have coverage of it with photos and impressions of the game in the article located (here)

Any coverage of these two exclusive The Godfather features on DreamStation.cc would be appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Chris Paladino
Podcast Producer/Contributing Writer
DreamStation.cc

Now normally I don't pimp other websites, but I STILL listen to this podcast as its pretty damn funny, and has a guy who composes some pretty funny custom songs just for the show. Also their coverage of "The Godfather" was excellent, so I know this interview should be interesting.

Go for it

What's after the jump?

2) PSP Interface?

3) MS and Lionhead: In bed together.

4) Pac-Man and Galaga, Live Arcade Bound!

Continue reading "General News: 4/6/2006"

Hey guys,
Just got back from the Xbox 360 Preview Event in San Francisco and I gotta say, I'm totally bushed. The place was packed with average looking people just like you or I (if we were all in a San Francisco night club that had oddly garbed, yet strangely attractive servers and beds instead of tables) and the focus was (mostly) on the games. Sure, there was an open bar and sure there were yummy Seafood Cakes, but the focus was planted firmly on the games.

This isn't going to be a long article because I have to be awake and driving in a little over 7 hours to the next event, but heres all the dirt on the games that really stuck out for me one way or the other....

Continue reading "Xbox360 Spring Preview impressions"

Morning Folks,
Welcome to what I like to call "omfg 101".... It's monday morning, and that 800 pound gorilla just sat right down on your desk to have a talk about you coming in saturday (a la Office Space). Now, I realize I'm not making too much sense now so instead of blabbering on, i'm just gonna do some mad quoting

In a bid to capture the huge audience for handheld entertainment gadgets, Microsoft is designing a product that combines video games, music and video in one handheld device, according to sources familiar with the project.

Yep folks, you heard it right. During his research for his upcoming book about the making of the Xbox360, Dean Takahashi has gotten MS to officially confirm that the fabled Xboy is "coming soon"

...Some other quotes

The handheld project is still in its early stages. Microsoft is still figuring out which strategy to pursue in music technology, according to sources familiar with the matter. The code name for its music service, which would be the equivalent of Apple's iTunes, is "Alexandria.''

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Lot to think about....

Discuss!
-Andy

A slew of pictures of the PSP 3.0 firmware have apparently been uncovered, and it looks like the PSP will be getting some cool add-ons in the future. None of this is confirmed, however they look real enough for me.

PSP 3.0 Screen Source

So here's the rundown:

Sony Mail - The PSP gets its own email client (could this be hinting at something the PS3 will include as well?);

Sony Paint - Making little doodles in Paint is fun, for about 4 seconds. No biggie;

Alarm Clock - Might be useful to wake you up from a cat nap. Then again, don't most cell phones have this already?;

Sony Organiser - Interesting to say the least. PDA functionality seems to be Sony's next addition to the PSP's firmware;

Writepad - Um, there's nothing to write with, unless you consider typing at 5 words per minute with the PSP's keyboard;

Console Security - Protecting your email, organiser and internet browsing became easier;

Connect to Music Store - Finally putting their Sony Connect service to good use. Get all the music you want without touching a computer;

And last but not least:

PS3 Hard Disk - What's that? 14.6 GB of free space in the hard drive? After seeing this picture and a 20 gig hard drive reduced to 13 gigs on the Xbox 360, it makes me wonder if Sony might throw in a 20GB HDD and have about 5.4GB of space partitioned. Who knows, but I am still not counting on a hard drive coming with the PS3, and neither should you.

On another note, another analyst expects Sony to make a PS3 announcement soon. In fact, he expects a keynote address tomorrow morning. Expecting anything tomorrow is not something anyone should do, so just relax and be ready for some information from Devstation 2006 coming in just two short days.

Until then, Adios Esposito!

PS - Yes, I know, I spelled Organizer with an "s." That is how it is spelled in the image found here, so don't go ballistic on my grammar. :)

That's right folks, you can chat it up on AIM with your PSP thanks to www.aimonpsp.com. Sure, it takes quite a long time to type due to the absence of a keyboard, but its still pretty darn neat if you ask me. Don't use it to carry out long conversations (you'll be typing for a very long time my friend), but if you're just saying "hi" or seeing what someone is up to, then this is for you. It's a beta version, so it could bug out on you, but I have yet to experience this.

Adios Esposito!

So, I've been out for a while. I've been horribly sick and recovered... then got a job working way too many hours for a full-time student. Anyways, I'm back, but my posts may be a bit slowed due to the job. So... on with the news!

Xbox DVD Firmware Hacked!
The biggest underground news that happened in my absence was the hacking of the Xbox (1) DVD firmware by TheSpecialist. Basically, this means that the DVD drive is tricked into thinking it's reading a retail game, when in fact it's reading a homebrew DVD. Essentially, it's a modchip-less solution to modding an Xbox without risking the damage that a softmod can cause if done incorrectly. TheSpecialist declined to make a howto or tutorial, but enough information can be found on the XboxHacker.net forums for pretty much anyone to do the hack.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 Update Disables Kiosk Disc
This one is pretty self-explanitory. The new 360 update didn't do much except fix the "crashing when pulling up guide while in-game" problems, but it did remove the ability to play the kiosk disc. Honestly, it doesn't mean too much because the Hexic flash player was very limited.

Finally, the GP2X v2 has finally started shipping.
The GP2X, a low-cost, high-performance, linux-based handheld, had a few very large flaws at launch. So many, in fact, that many retailers refused to carry it. The manufacturer has now fixed all the flaws and the re-launch is looking to be going very steady. Since it's all linux-based and open source, the homebrew is coming along well and it's great for budding game programmers or just geeks in general. I may get one soon and do a review and/or a few columns about the homebrew software available.

That's all for now, folks!

Game ON!
-Matt

Stories like this either psych you up or creep you out.

It's no secret that Google has looked into contracting with the city of San Francisco to install and manage a free citywide wi-fi system.

As in, the whole city... the entire 49 square miles of San Francisco. Every bedroom, bathroom, restaurant and strip joint in city limits would be a wi-fi hotspot. For free!

But what's just coming out is that Google has been in talks... sometimes double-secret talks... with cel-phone and personal-media device firms about which tweak toys will play best with its network.

On that list, Nintendo and the DS and Sony and the PSP.

The possibilities are obvious. Not only would citizens and visitors to The City be able to play Prince of Persia together across town, but with the PSP's latest operating system and its rather slick web browser, anyone anywhere standing on SF's terra firma could pull up the net.

Think about it. You're female, and you're on a blind date. He seems nice. You excuse yourself to the ladies' room and can Google him right there and find out all about him.

Or, you're a guy, and you're on a blind date. She seems interested. You can excuse yourself, go the men's room and log into a porn site so you can see what you're probably not going to get because she already Googled you in the ladies' room and found out about your peeping-tom convictions and that you still live with your mom.

Restrooms will be the new coffee houses!

This is the "psych you up" part.

However there's a "creep you out" buried therein. Think "Minority Report" come true.

Continue reading "Your PSP: Best Friend or Big Brother?"

This isn't really relevent to most of you, but in a conversation today I was informed that to truly understand the awesomeness of the PSP, I need to try it out for a few days. Interestingly enough, the person in question can't seem to understand whats so great about the Xbox 360.

It is with this in mind that (As I trek back to my parents house, in all its dial-up glory) that I will be stopping in Richmond, 360 in tow, to swap consoles for two days. At the end of that time, I expect to come out with a "Meh" and she to rush out and buy a 360 because of the utter joy it brings.

Gentle reader, I do this for you. We'll discuss results in this weeks podcast.

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here with your Sony news for January 9th, 2006:

Item One: PSPCave: PSP acts a remote control for pimped up Honda Civic

Based on what was once a 94 Honda Civic, a pimped up concept car has gone on show at CES in Las Vegas that allows you to control everything from opening the doors, turning on the lights and even driving it down the street all via the PSP and a wi-fi connection.

The car which has been modified by Metro Electronics in America, who specialise in electronic amps, stereo racks, amps and in car dvd players is even eco friendly having its petrol engine ripped out in favour of an electric one.

Sad state of Sony news when my opening shot is a PSP that can control a 94 Honda Civic. Come on Sony how about helping out some developers so that the only two games worth buying aren't Lumines and GTA: Liberty City Stories!

I want a PSP, but I already have an iPod, I need it to play games. I know it sounds like a joke told over and over again, but we are coming up to a year since the PSP has been released, and it's a media player not a game device. And that sucks.

And also:

Item Two: Gamespot: Final Fantasy XII PS2 bundle coming to Japan.

The PlayStation 2 Final Fantasy XII Pack will include a charcoal black slimline PS2 console imprinted with a symbol from the game (pictured), a vertical stand, a Dual Shock controller, an AV cable, an AC adapter, and a special FFXII-branded strap for mobile phones. The package will also include a copy of Final Fantasy XII.

See this looks cool and all, but you already have the top selling game console in Japan, is there really someone there who DOESN'T have a PS2 yet?? This is probably half the reason the PS2 sells so much in Japan, they come up with this special bundles for popular games and the consumers eat it up. Good for you Sony.

Anyway, it's very pretty, but be warned:

Consumers thinking of picking up the bundle should note that the slimline PS2 (SCPH-75000 FF) included in the bundle uses the latest hardware model, which has been reported to have issues in playing a number of PS2 and PlayStation games.

And that appears to be today's news. Sorry bout that folks, Sony's taking it's time ramping up PS3 news.

Questions? Comments? STFU? Send them to Hawkes

Semper Fi!

Capcom of Japan have released a new trailer for Resident Evil Deadly Silence, you can go take a look at it here. Basically this is a remake of the first Resident Evil game, for the playstation, just with added features. Capcom have promised to utilise the features of the nintendo ds fully.

Continue reading "Resident Evil DS New Trailer"

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here with your news roundup for Wednesday, December 7, 2005:

Item One: 1up.com: ESRB Flunks National Institute for Media and Family.

Last week the National Institute for Media and the Family issued a "report card" to the videogames industry, assigning it a grade of D+ and calling the industry rating board, the ESRB, "broken beyond repair." The Interactive Entertainment Merchants' Association issued a statement questioning the methodology behind the report, and today the ESRB issued its own report card on the NIMF, giving the group an unequivocal F, saying that it has misled parents and gamers and is guided by political motives.

Well, duh.

You have to love 1Up and their subtle snarky comments. Well some people love it. Ok truthfully it smacks of trying to sound young and hip when they are actually a soulless corporation who cares probably only half as much about gaming as they do making money.

Wow did I ever digress. AHEM, where was I?

I've always gotten a kick out of these supposedly higher moral ground groups deciding grades on various forms of media and industry, I'm pretty sure this is the first time a group has hit back. Personally its nice to see the ESRB grow a pair, let's hope they keep up with it.

The grades were allocated thus:

Full Disclosure of Pertinent Facts F
Research and Analysis F
Documentation and Presentation of Evidence F
Working Well with Others F
Overall Grade: F

Plus Demerit for Neglecting Parents' and Childrens' Best Interests

Gee I wonder if this will get the same amount of attention from the mainstream media that NIMF's report received.

Continue reading "Gaming News: 12/7/2005:"

Yes, who wants some Rare DS games?

I mean Rare definition number 3.
Remeber That old Rumor that Rareware was starting a DS division? Well all you Rare faithful here you go.
NOTE What is said after this is a Rumor that has not been confirmed by me yet. Expect a confirmation later on.

I was tipped off by a friend that EGM is claiming that Rare is in fact making 2, count' em 2 DS games. With a new Banjo Kazooie to be one of them.
Looks like Rare really is back to making games (grabbed by the ghoulies :shudders: ).
What is the other game you might be thinking, well lets speculate.

Continue reading "Rare DS games"

Thomas here for a bit of a Nintendo DS update. Yes, time to give Nintendo some time in the spotlight. This time, its a bit of a preview of Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Continue reading "Animal Crossing strikes again!"

A PSP-TV adapter. Simple plug and play, from the sound of it.

"PSP Owners have long been interested in watching the UMD films and playing games on the TV, well now according to a report from Lik Sang they can, the new PSPTV being produced eventually by Gametech will be a no modification addon. From the article: 'The TV Adapter for PSP lets you hook up your PSP to your home television (NTSC and PAL) via Composite or S-Video and Stereo connectors. This adapter requires no modification of your PSP console. This new peripheral takes a completely different approach and clips on top of your PSP screen, with two screws to fit at the back of the handheld (in these two holes you can see on the top of the UMD drive). Some sort of pyramid grows from the base, with a precision lens and mirror system at the top, capturing the image and light, in a similar way a scanner or camera would. It then converts it into a video signal that is sent through video leads going from the adapter to your TV set.'"

~~~

On a side note, the PSP has hit 10,000,000 units shipped. This doesn't necisarily represent how many units are SOLD... but it gives you a good idea.

For today's update, we've got some quick PSP information and a short review on Madden '06 and Lumines.

Continue reading "PSP News"

Tiger Telematics are attempting to put their own portable handheld out onto the market to compete with the big dogs: Nintendo and Sony. Will they have what it takes? Will they have the cahones? Read on and find out.

Continue reading "Gizmondo!!"

Got some late night news in the world of handhelds. Got some info on the DS and PSP...

also a hint to my next article

Continue reading "Handheld news"

I would like to discuss the over abundance of violent media in the world today. It even has flowed into the handheld market. I am talking about Trauma Center: Under the Knife.

Continue reading "So much violence!"

Here is the second part of the History of Handhelds. we still have 1992 to the current systems. So sit back, pop open a brew... i mean... a Bawls *GamerAndy does not condone the cooool activity of getting drunk on alcohol* and get ready to finish off this history lesson on handheld videogames.

Continue reading "History of Handhelds pt. 2"

Handheld videogaming... though not as big to most gamers as the major consoles, its always been there. The first handheld videogame it believed to date back to 1976! There have been many attempts at handheld glory and only a few have survived long enough to be known by the casual gamer today. Just as in the big leagues, there have been some failures *Anybody remember the Jaguar?* and some victories *NES*. I will now go over a fairly extensive list of the handhelds throughout history. Some you may never have heard of, some you most likely have. Hell... most of these were even new to me.

Continue reading "History of Handhelds pt. 1"

Greetings fellow dorks and videogame losers!

The name is Thomas. Some call me the White Rabbit. Ok, so nobody calls me that... except for me. Its just my Halo2 tag :P I figured I might as well give a quick intro to myself since I'm a new writer here, so here goes.

Continue reading "Enter the Rabbit"

Nintendo announced today that starting on August 21st the DS will drop it's price down to $130 from $150. This move is conveniently timed to the day before Nintendogs US release. No news yet from Sony on a similar move for it's PSP. But if they want to stay competitive, having a handheld cost slightly less than twice as much is not the way to do it.

[Source: Reuters]

IGN has a preview of Battlefront II for PSP up on their site now. Check it out. From the article:

In keeping with the theme of most PSP games these days, this iteration of Battlefront is designed for gamers on the go. With that in mind, players can approach the game through Instant Action, a mode that serves-up 12 quick maps to battle in. This was in the original Battlefront, but it serves the nature of the PSP well. You'll battle across Mustafar, Hoth, Dagobah, and high above Coruscant. The whole goal is to take over planets one by one, and to eventually rule the galaxy in the name of your own faction: Rebels, Imperials, Separatists or the Clone Troopers.

It looks beautiful from the screenshots, and as long as the control scheme works out a little better than Coded Arms (which had a decent, but not perfect, layout) this may be a must-buy for PSP owners. I am, however, sort of mad at ad-hoc only multiplayer and with only four people. With me getting used to Xbox Live and Sony (supposedly) putting so much support into online play next generation, why are there only a few (lackluster) online games for PSP. Are we all stuck tunneling our games just like the days before Xbox Live?

On a side note, be on a lookout for my very own review of Nintendogs as soon as I get some good time into it, hopefully early next week.

/Matt

From DS Advanced:

Director of Sega's DS launch title,Feel The Magic, Takumi Yoshinaga, revealed yesterday that he is indeed working on a new project. While it has yet to be confirmed to be a direct sequel to the game, Yoshinaga declared that his next project will expand upon the world view of his previous DS title. What that means is still largely unkown as Yoshinaga was unwilling to reveal more about his new project. However, it is known that the goal of the next game for Yoshinaga is to "make people happy when they play it" and will leave a mark on the player.
Various internet messageboards and weblogs have reported that the sequel to Sega's 2004 DS title, Feel The Magic will be known as Akachan wa doko kara kuru no?. The title translates into english as "Where do babies come from?".

As of today, Sega's website was updated with a new subdomain for this developing title. The page does not include any content, but it does indeed confirm that the title is in development.

Not much is known about the project, however it is expected that the title takes on the same direction as its predecessor. Be sure to stay tuned to DS Advanced for continued coverage of this developing story.

That's right - "Where Do Babies Come From?" Judging by the audience of the DS (way more youth play the DS than PSP) this may not go over well with the ESRB. Expect to see an "American society friendly" version in the US, if any.

/Matt