With the release of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords today, the good folks behind the game have done something that many others have not: offered a free demo of their game online. That's right, the proposed puzzler with RPG mechanics is available to try online and after giving the game a whirl, we have to say that Infinite Interactive made the right move in letting people try the game online first. It really sold us on the blending of RPG aspects with puzzle gameplay.
So what do you guys think? Did the demo sell the game to you or turn you away?
One of our favorite touches of the new Phantom Hourglass' trailer shown at this year's GDC event was its use of the reworked Hyrule Castle theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. If there's one thing we love, it's retro tracks brought back for another round. That's why we're featuring a medley of songs from the original Zelda game (NES) remixed by electronica musician Ochre, for your Sunday listening pleasure.
We imagine that trying to add anything on top of Koji Kondo's classic work without ruining it is a difficult task, but this arrangement doesn't miss a step. Ochre's interpretation blends the 8-bit pieces with his own playful style, taking the listener through a six-minute daydream of Link's adventures. If you're a fan of lush synths and summery rhythms, we definitely suggest downloading this song along with Ochre's other remixes and original offerings at his site.
We're not much for breaking the law ourselves, but a secret this good cannot be kept to ourselves. It's like our Kryptonite, this Phoenix Wright fella. And now, this collection of music from his games has us on our knees and praising to any higher deity that will listen. We're thankful this individual who crafted this page took the time to help us out and bestow upon us this wonderful collection of music. Wait, what are we saying, we already had all this music ...
Not to be confused with the PSP game Every Extend Extra, this is actually Every Extend, the game for the PC that paved the way for the PSP version. As of now, the game is in the very early stages and lacks any of the specific DS functionality that sets it apart from its competitor, like stylus use. Also, no word on when this project is going to be complete, either, but you can bet that we're interested.
Sometime during this weekend, homebrewster Noda is going to release a new game based on the Tower Defense mod from Warcraft 3. By looking over the available screens for the game and going down the laundry list of promised features, we find ourselves excited at the possibility of some fresh RTS gameplay on our DS (we're RTS fiends).
Of course, there are some graphical limits that prevent more than a set number of towers and units from being on screen at once. The translation is a little vague; we do not know if it's 40 towers and 40 units on screen at once, or if it is 40 total. Towers themselves The ten available powers for each tower include:
slow fox trot
poison
critic ramming
pierce
fire magic
toilets magic (?!)
lightning magic
wind magic
splash ramming
reveal invisible monsters
So, anyone plan on downloading this over the weekend?
In one of the best ideas we've seen in a while, Delta Airlines is partnering with Nintendo to bring DS download stations to the airport. What better time to test out a new title than a four hour flight? The new program is currently in place at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, though we expect it will expand if successful. If your holiday flights include a stopover in Atlanta, try to patronize one of the stations at a Delta terminal -- this is one test program we want to support!
Currently, demos of Elite Beat Agents, Brain Age, and Clubhouse Games are available at the terminals in Atlanta.
The website for Konami's Lunar Knights game has received a monstrously massive update, complete with new artwork, screens, TV commercials and music. With each media update that site receives, and subsequently we all receive, our excitement grows. Soon, it will reach epic proportions and be seen from space by vampires. Then, we will launch ourselves into space and slay that vampire, just as Lunar Knights would want us to.
Much to the surprise of, well, just about every person we come in contact with on a regular basis, we still play Animal Crossing: Wild World. Perhaps we aren't alone though, because word on the street is that Nintendo is issuing out another free goody to celebrate the launch of some game called Zelda on the Wii. We're going to be keeping a close watch on this situation due to our continued support for the game and love of all things free.
For those who would like to join us, the time to log into Wi-Fi Connect is during the week of November 17th through the 24th. Upon connecting, players will receive the rare gift enclosed in a letter, which will be patiently awaiting them in their mailbox outside of the house. It's totally legit information, originating from the 210th volume of Nintendo Power magazine.
Taken from Nintendo World 2006, this embedded video reveals more on the battle system for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Featuring a turn-based system, it appears that the player will have a roster of 3 monsters that are out, in battle, by default. Also, is it just us, or does this game look amazing?
As if the current Sonic game available on the DS isn't enough, you can now look to the homebrew community for some ring-gathering, side-scrolling action. In the alpha build of his project SonicDS, coder Bonic's first game looks to bring the speedster's style and addicting action of old to the handheld. The current build is a very early version of the game and has many bugs, so be warned.
Comic Book DS, a nifty little homebrew application, allows users to view comics or pictures on their DS. We haven't given it a whirl yet, but you can check out some impressions from 4cr here. Eric over at 4cr also gives a step-by-step rundown on how you can get your comics onto the DS, as well as navigating them through the application.
Personally, we're looking forward to scanning some of our Berserk mangas and having at it. Anyone else give the program a whirl?
A new trailer for Star Trek: Tactical Assault has hit the net. As you may already know, the Star Trek franchise was recently taken over by Bethesda (those guys who did that Elder Scrolls game) and this title is their first entry into the series. While the title has received far more press and raised eyebrows alike on the major consoles and PC, that's not to say that the DS version is without its appeal.
On the DS, the game is to feature 2 full campaigns to play through, as well as the usual real-time strategy and tactics elements accompanying a title with such a ... well, title. The game is to feature head-to-head multiplayer (sorry, no Wi-Fi connect), five playable races (Romulan Warbird FTW) and a skirmish mode. Star Trek: Tactical Assault is to release this Fall.
Now that the Tokyo Game Show has come to a close and you've been assaulted with numerous videos, we can all finally take a deep breath and carefully scrutinize all of this new data following the event. For Nintendo having no presence of their own at the show, the Wii was out in full-force. Before we get into what we liked and didn't like from the show, let's recap on what the show brought us, for both the DS and Wii:
So how did Nintendo do? As for the Wii, it had a smaller presence through third-party publishers this year. Konami had the award-winning Elebits on-hand for eager attendees, as well as Sega tossing down the red carpet for their mascot with Sonic and the Secret Rings. Nintendo failing to make a unified presence themselves could've hurt their momentum going into launch, but we aren't worried. If we should be, then why?
We can't forget about the DS, either! Even though the DS was literally bombarded with nothing but RPGs, it still had a great show. A slew of new content will keep the already incredible platform from going stale. Those with an insatiable appetite for turn-based battles and potions will get their fix with Square-Enix's incredible lineup of RPG games to come.
For all of Joystiq's Tokyo Game Show 2006 coverage, click here.
[Update 1: Added in the interview with the Final Fantasy III developers.]
One of our fine readers sent us in a scan from Nintendo Power that tells of yet another promotional team-up with toys conglomerate Toys 'R Us. This time around, rather than handing out gifts for your virtual town, DS Fanboys may hit up their local chain for a free Pokemon. While the news that this Pokemon is not in fact a real living, breathing, lightning-shooting creature upsets us, we'll still take it.
So those of you who decide to brave the elements and arrive at a Toys 'R Us on the 30th of September will be rewarded with a free download of the pokemon Mew. Arming yourself with a Pokemon game of choice (as long as that choice is either Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, or LeafGreen), you'll be free to get with the downloading come the 30th.
We journalists like to hog things. Especially if it means hogging it from gamers. It's a kind of na na na boo boo thing you learn in journalism school that means "we are better than you because we are playing Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and you aren't! In yo face sucka!"
Yeah, they have rehab for that power trip and now they have ways to let you download stuff, the same way we do so we can all hold hands and feel equal.
In all seriousness, this How-to Download DS Demos from the Net for free with your PC Wi-Fi card by Robert Howells from Pocket Gamer is really helpful in teaching even computards like me how to make this an easy, smooth process instead of tearing up your computer in frustration. He even provides links to make sure you've got the right stuff before you get halfway through and realize you're screwed.
Just follow the steps he's outlined and botta-bing-bang-boom! You're one of us now. Welcome to the dark side.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
[Please excuse the typos in the previous version of this post]
With the release of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords today, the good folks behind the game have done something that many others have not: offered a free demo of their game online. That's right, the proposed puzzler with RPG mechanics is available to try online and after giving the game a whirl, we have to say that Infinite Interactive made the right move in letting people try the game online first. It really sold us on the blending of RPG aspects with puzzle gameplay.
One of our favorite touches of the new Phantom Hourglass' trailer shown at this year's 
We're not much for breaking the law ourselves, but a secret this good cannot be kept to ourselves. It's like our Kryptonite, this 
Not to be confused with the PSP game Every Extend Extra, this is actually Every Extend, the game for the PC that paved the way for the PSP version. As of now, the game is in the very early stages and lacks any of the specific DS functionality that sets it apart from its competitor, like stylus use. Also, no word on when this project is going to be complete, either, but you can bet that we're interested.
Sometime during this weekend, homebrewster Noda is going to release a new game based on the Tower Defense mod from Warcraft 3. By looking over the available screens for the game and going down the laundry list of promised features, we find ourselves excited at the possibility of some fresh RTS gameplay on our DS (we're RTS fiends).
In one of the best ideas we've seen in a while, Delta Airlines is partnering with Nintendo to bring DS download stations to the airport. What better time to test out a new title than a four hour flight? The new program is currently in place at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, though we expect it will expand if successful. If your holiday flights include a stopover in Atlanta, try to patronize one of the stations at a Delta terminal -- this is one test program we want to support!
The website for Konami's Lunar Knights game has received a monstrously massive update, complete with new artwork, screens, TV commercials and music. With each media update that site receives, and subsequently we all receive, our excitement grows. Soon, it will reach epic proportions and be seen from space by vampires. Then, we will launch ourselves into space and slay that vampire, just as Lunar Knights would want us to.
Much to the surprise of, well, just about every person we come in contact with on a regular basis, we still play Animal Crossing: Wild World. Perhaps we aren't alone though, because word on the street is that Nintendo is issuing out 
As if the current Sonic game available on the DS isn't enough, you can now look to the homebrew community for some ring-gathering, side-scrolling action. In the alpha build of his project SonicDS, coder Bonic's first game looks to bring the speedster's style and addicting action of old to the handheld. The current build is a very early version of the game and has many bugs, so be warned.
A new trailer for Star Trek: Tactical Assault has hit the net. As you may already know, the Star Trek franchise was recently taken over by Bethesda (those guys who did that Elder Scrolls game) and this title is their first entry into the series. While the title has received far more press and raised eyebrows alike on the major consoles and PC, that's not to say that the DS version is without its appeal.
One of our fine readers sent us in a scan from Nintendo Power that tells of yet another promotional team-up with toys conglomerate Toys 'R Us. This time around, rather than handing out gifts for your virtual town, DS Fanboys may hit up their local chain for a free Pokemon. While the news that this Pokemon is not in fact a real living, breathing, lightning-shooting creature upsets us, we'll still take it..jpg)
We journalists like to hog things. Especially if it means hogging it from gamers. It's a kind of na na na boo boo thing you learn in journalism school that means "we are better than you because we are playing Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and you aren't! In yo face sucka!"
