Posts by David Hinkle at DS Fanboy

David Hinkle
York, PA - http://www.dsfanboy.com

David Hinkle first got his start in the gaming industry as a reviewer for a small time website in early 2004. After getting tired of little pay and the lack of recognition for his hard work, David sought employment elsewhere, eventually landing a job with Weblogs Inc. in March of 2005.

In October of 2006, David left his day job working for an Air Conditioning company in Florida to blog full-time. He is still trying to convince friends and family that he actually has a job and doesn't just sit around the house all day in his underwear.

David can be reached through his email at david [at] dsfanboy [dot] com.

Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel announced for Japan

Posted May 9th 2008 6:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News, Imports

Everyone who dug Professor Layton and the Curious Village (see: the entire DS Fanboy staff and its readers), then you'll be happy to know the series continues on unabated in Japan, as Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel has been announced for the region. Level 5 has confirmed that the title will release to eager gamers in Japan sometime in the fall of this year. As it stands right now, this is believed to be the last entry in the series of games.

A teaser site has launched, which you can check out here (or by clicking the "Read" link below). Who else is ready for another dose of Layton goodness?

[Via Go Nintendo]

2K and Konami reveal MLB Power Pros 2008

Posted May 9th 2008 3:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

Fans of baseball, be excited. The MLB Power Pros franchise isn't going away, as 2K and Konami announce the joint venture of bringing MLB Power Pros 2008 to a DS near you this fall. The game will feature real MLB players, along with the a promising Franchise mode that lets you take over the role of general manager and control your team's destiny.

The game will also feature two story-based game modes, in the Success and MLB Life modes. In Success mode, players take part in the story-based career of rising players in the Double-A Minor League system, where MLB Life lets players simulate the exciting life and experience of being a Major League Baseball player over the course of a 20-year career.

[Via press release]

WRUP: Expand your vocabulary edition

Posted May 9th 2008 2:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: What are you playing?

The majority of this week's releases have one goal in mind: increasing your knowledge. Thanks to the release of the Nintendo Channel, you've all undoubtedly checked out the Crosswords DS demo, among others. So, will you be picking it up this weekend?

For those of you not getting your down and across on, what will you be playing this weekend? One of the other new releases? Or, are you playing something older?

Gallery: Crosswords DS

How NOT to make your DS look classy

Posted May 8th 2008 7:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Fan stuff, Accessories

We're all about the cool arts and crafts people come up with (especially our readers), but this is just too much. King, the company responsible for the ugly DS you see above, will take your handheld and, for a nominal fee, jazz it up with all kinds of different decorations. We're all for classing up our sleek and simple handheld, but these decorations just come off as too busy and tacky.

Of course, such a service is only available to folks in Japan. For once, we're glad that is the case.

[Via Game | Life]

Nintendo dev leaves company, heads to Microsoft

Posted May 8th 2008 4:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

For those of you who keep track of developers and programmers like children keep track of baseball cards, this bit of news is going to be old hat to you. For the rest of the Nintendo loyal, prepare to light some torches and sharpen some pitchforks, because longtime programmer Colin Reed has bailed on Nintendo and taken up a position at Microsoft.

Reed was with Nintendo for 11 years, working on such titles as Metroid Prime: Hunters and Pikmin. He now joins Microsoft's Turn-10, an internal studio that is responsible for the Forza Motorsport line-up of games.

Enjoy this bounty of LEGO Indiana Jones videos

Posted May 8th 2008 12:45PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Video

IGN has uploaded a nice variety of trailers for LEGO Indiana Jones. The trailers show off different aspects of the gameplay, including using Indy's famous whip to navigate through environments. Aside from that, we also get to look at the game's retelling of a very famous scene from one of the films, as well as other game footage. After giving the videos a watch, we're convinced that we want to get our hands on this.

Head on past the break for the other videos. After that, read IGN's hands-on writeup of the game.

Continue reading Enjoy this bounty of LEGO Indiana Jones videos

DS Fanboy presents: Game Night [update 2]

Posted May 8th 2008 11:15AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Game Night

Update: The staff has left the Game Night chat, however there were tons of folks still in there, getting their game on. Try your luck by entering the chat here.

True, last week we weren't able to get our game on because Nintendo's servers were down, but we anticipate tonight will be different. We've got the DS charged, put fresh batteries in the Wiimote and have been doing stretching exercises all day. We're pumped to get our game on tonight!

So, be sure to hit up the site around 7pm ET tonight to get the lowdown on where to go for the Game Night chat. After that, connecting with your fellow readers for some gaming action will be a snap. Hope to see you there!

Plugging in the Guitar Hero: On Tour peripheral

Posted May 7th 2008 8:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Screens

You know, for how much we've seen on Guitar Hero: On Tour, we haven't seen too much on the peripheral. But now, thanks to a German gaming site that got their hands on the device, we all have something to look at. The images not only show an up-close look at the peripheral that attaches to the DS so that you may rock out, but also the whole set-up all ready to go and in someone's hands.

Click the image to the right (or right here) to check out the images of Guitar Hero: On Tour's peripheral.

Gallery: Guitar Hero: On Tour

Rumor: Metallic Rose DS Lite inbound

Posted May 7th 2008 12:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Rumors

Go Nintendo is reporting a rumor that those of us here in the United States could be getting a new DS Lite model soon, in the form of the beauty you see above. Keen observers will notice that this is the same color that came in the Nintendogs bundle that released alongside the Phantom Hourglass bundle, only without the paw print.

This rumor comes from "a few GameStop insiders," so we're not sure we entirely believe this model is releasing. Until we get official confirmation, we aren't going to hold our breath.

See also: The DS Life: Puppies at play

Accessories your DS can't live without

Posted May 7th 2008 11:15AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Features, Accessories

When it comes to the DS, great games may be the order of the day, but when you're unprepared going into your gaming session, everything suffers. That's why we decided to take the time and put together a little list of accessories any DS owner shouldn't live without. It's by no means the be-all, end-all list for all time, so if we missed something, let us know! We want to know what you all have out there as much as inform any unaware gamers what's available on the market.

So, without further delay, click the button on the bottom right to get going. Then be sure to come back here and let us know what you think!

DS Daily: Now is not the time

Posted May 7th 2008 9:00AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: DS Daily

For how much some of you enjoy your DS, we'd think you had a pouch for the device grafted into your skin. As such, we thought about what kind of effect playing all the time could have on someone's life. We then thought about the addiction of enjoying great DS games, and how they could drive a person to play when it's not really appropriate to.

Have you ever whipped out the DS and played at an inappropriate time? Perhaps you were caught solving cases in Apollo Justice while in the chair waiting for the dentist to inspect your teeth? Have you been yelled at by friends or family for playing when you should've been listening to Uncle Carl talk about his trip to some boring location? When have you enjoyed your DS when you probably shouldn't have?

Nintendo sponsors UK Gladiators

Posted May 6th 2008 10:30PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

To tell you the truth, we never knew you folks in the UK got your own version of American Gladiators. Growing up, we would catch the show after our usual dose of Saturday morning entertainment, as the sugar would take effect from all of the Lucky Charms we had while catching our toons, fueling our thirst to see folks get knocked into the water during Joust or tossed down several flights on the gigantic pyramid. Oh, to be young again.

But, hey, with the show's revival here in the States, it kind of feels like that again, if only a little. And now, with some thanks to Nintendo, our friends across the pond can partake in bulky men and woman tossing around scrawny participants, too! Nintendo has shelled out £1m to make sure you can get your Gladiator fix, ensuring that those of you watching in the UK won't get the annoying ads that we do in between the carnage. Instead, you'll see ads for Wii and other Nintendo-related goodies. Better, no?

Nintendo reaches out to alternative retailers

Posted May 6th 2008 4:00PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

The Game Factory's Damien Sarrazin is spilling the beans on Nintendo. Apparently, Nintendo is looking to reach out to alternative retailers, as the company has pretty much done all it can with the traditional video game retail space, says Sarrazin.

"There is nothing more you can do in the usual places where you would expect to find videogame hardware and software." says Sarrazin. He goes on further to say "So, the only way they can expand their presence is to access alternative retailers - and in order to do that, they need to come up with the right offering." And Sarrazin's company believes they have the right offering in Zenses, a line-up of DS puzzle games targeted at female gamers.

Nintendo met The Game Factory recently at their media summit to see if Zenses was a title they'd be interested in. "We've created a game so that you can take a break from your daily routine and sort of take a mental vacation," he says. No word on if Nintendo was interested in the title, though.

Germany: Give Mom some smarts this Mother's Day

Posted May 6th 2008 2:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News

Flower service Fleurop in Germany is suggesting something other than the usual bouquet and pleasant card for your mom this Mother's Day. It would seem they're teaming up with Nintendo to suggest your mom get some good old Brain Training in. And buy some flowers, of course.

For 199 Euros, customers can get a nice floral arrangement with a DS Lite and Brain Training. Sadly, we have no idea what DS Lite model consumers will be getting in this bundle.

DS Daily: Let's talk Sonic Chronicles

Posted May 6th 2008 9:00AM by David Hinkle
Filed under: DS Daily

We've had Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on the brain recently. It's an important title for us, because it can prove that Sonic is a worthwhile gaming character again, much like his golden days. But, that's not to say there aren't a few things that scare us about this game.

For one, Sonic is entirely out of his element here. He'll be in his first RPG, but we totally trust Bioware when it comes to the role-playing games. Also, there's Bioware's promise that we'll do the impossible, which has us incredibly worried. That's not to say there aren't things about the game we're incredibly excited about, like the targeting rings shown in the latest video for the game.

We're kind of stuck at a crossroads, as we're very hopeful this will be a great game, yet fearful of Sonic's latest endeavors in games. How about you all? Are you as worried as we are, or are you certain this is going to be a great game?

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