While it's pretty easy to translate Dragon Ball Z into video games in which nothing happens but spikey-haired glowing dudes fighting and growling at each other in the air, its predecessor, Dragon Ball, featured all kinds of weird stuff. For example, the big noodle-serving/fighting guy here is actually a shape-shifting pig who saves the world later by wishing for panties.
A stylus-controlled adventure in the wacky Dragon Ball universe sounds infinitely more appealing than playing another game about Goku floating in the air and "powering up." Dragon Ball DS will be out in Japan on September 18; no announcements have been made elsewhere.
Who doesn't have dreams of Brendan Fraser looking all cool as the swarthy hero Rick O'Connell? Honestly, The Mummy movies are pretty fun, and the upcoming movie The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor should be equally righteous. Since the movie will be tops, there's no reason the associated game of the same name won't be just as good, right?
Well, swashbuckling journeys have a certain special place in the DS library, but we're not sure if TM:TOFTDE will be quite the same. It's an action-adventure spanning many locations around the world, culminating in a battle with a DS-ified Jet Li -- after all, he's the bad guy in the movies. Provided the control is smooth and combat responsive (not unlike the reasonably okay Pirates of the Caribbean game), we might just have an epic journey worthy of taking along on another epic journey of bus and train-like proportions.
We knew this was coming, thanks to retaildatabases, but we had no idea what the actual game was going to look like or how it was going to play. Konami has officially unveiled the sequel to the Wii launch window game Elebits, this time on the DS. The Adventures of Kai & Zero trades the original's first-person perspective for a top-down Zelda-style 2D look. The gameplay still revolves around finding Elebits, but this time the environments are more varied, as are the Elebits: the "Omega Elebits" you hunt have more environmental abilities beyond electricity.
The new game features a Wi-Fi multiplayer mode for two players and local multiplayer for four. IGN has the first screens. We wonder why Konami decided to reveal this now? They'd almost made it all the way to E3.
French site Wiiz has several screenshots of Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, Big Fish Games' new detective adventure game and leading candidate for most groan-worthy pun-based title of 2008.
As we know next to nothing about the game (typically for a Nintendo-published title, little has been revealed, despite its release date of September 8th being really close), these allowed us to indulge in some detective work of our own. Grabbing our deerstalker and magnifying glass, we discovered that the game's shameless punnery extends to the characters (see: Cole Minor, a gem prospector), and that the DS's microphone will come into use. Whether you're for or against implementing the mic in games, it doesn't look as though developers are ready to give up on it yet.
In case you haven't seen the ridiculously popular anime or read the Wikipedia page, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is about an impulsive high school girl who also happens to unwittingly possess the ability to control reality. Her friends in the "SOS Brigade" after-school club, who all have supernatural or extraterrestrial connections except for irritated Everyman Kyon, attempt to keep her from getting bored (and thus remaking the universe) while also hiding the true existence of aliens, psychics, and time travelers from Haruhi.
We had to explain all that for the concept of the new DS Haruhi game from Sega to make any sense. It's a board game in which the SOS Brigade rushes to solve unexplainable incidents and destroy evidence of otherworldly activity before Haruhi shows up. At least, that's as much as we can figure out. Not that it matters -- sales of this game will occur based entirely on the strength of whatever preorder bonus Sega and Haruhi publisher Kodansha decide to throw in.
Once more we must subject ourselves to the horror of Nanashi No Game, which is gloriously portrayed in this new trailer. The RPG of death is back with a vengeance here, and the video shows off many in-game exploration scenes along with suitably creepy sound effects.
The more media we see, the more we want it. The DS is hitting all the right chords with its continuous barrage of mystery, adventure and horror games, and this looks to be the most technically impressive and emotionally disturbing outing ever seen on a handheld console. Japanese gamers will be picking this up in just a few days on July 3rd, while American gamers cry silent tears and re-watch The Ring.
Nintendo is proudly boasting that it won't be waiting until E3 to reveal some of their biggest upcoming games. The new DS announcements for today are Kirby Super Star Ultra and Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, both with new screens in the galleries below!
As a remake of the original SNES favorite, KSSU will use the touch screen to breathe new life into the existing mini-game compilation. Yeah, if the DS does anything well, it's mini-games. It'll be a totally revamped experience, with new Revenge of the King and Meta Knight Ultra modes in the works, including local wireless play. Kirby has done everything right so far on the DS, so we should expect greatness from the little pink blob on September 29th.
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Yes, yes -- anothermysteryadventuregame is on the way in the form of MillionHeir. Get over that delightful play on words, and check out some of the previous games in the Mystery Case Files range. The DS entry will be a "painted scene" point-and-click adventure, where a cluey detective needs to find the rightful heir to a fortune. It seems like the standard pixel-hunt for inventory items and evidence -- but a multiplayer mode is also included, which is a pretty nifty addition for an adventure game. MillionHeir hits the stores on September 8th.
Because we didn't. Seriously: we had totally forgotten about Roachy Carruthers and Insecticide even existing. The noirish bug detective title launched in the U.S. over three months ago, and as bloggers' memories are famously only fractionally longer than those of goldfish, there was little chance of ... um. Dang it, happened again.
Anyway, we deemedInsecticide to be a fairly inspired adventure romp that was held back by some tedious platforming sections, but if you're one of those Europe-based folks who enjoy great adventure games with horrible platform bits (a small group, for sure), then you'll be pleased to know that Insecticide is coming to your part of the world in August. Yes, it's five months late. But at least it's coming. Hurray.
NIS is including extra stuff with the DS version of Rhapsody, in addition to the inevitable Etna/Prinny cameos that will ensure that PS2-era NIS nerds will desire this PS1-era NIS remake. Cornet's trumpet-playing has been expanded into a minigame in which Cornet plays trumpet in the town square to earn Imotium chips from the townspeople. This takes the form of a minigame in which you blow into the microphone in time with an onscreen indicator.
Other new stuff includes a "Kansatsu Notes" feature, in which not only does the game provide a database of information about its characters and monsters, but the main characters offer commentary as well. Dengeki has posted tons of screens of these modes and other parts of Rhapsody.
Take a dash of trenchcoat, a hint of hat, and a pinch of grizzled police chief. Bake it for 24 hours under a forensic microscope, and BAM! Unsolved Crimes is born. The lack of realistic detective work on the DS needs to be addressed, and these new gallery screens for the upcoming adventure look extremely promising.
You'll be treated to fully 3D environments, a rather detailed case inventory system, and perhaps even driving segments. If Empire Interactive can replicate intricate investigative scenarios and rustle together a reasonably complex detective tale, then Unsolved Crimes won't stay unsolved for long. That is, people will buy it. And finish it.
In a platform game, it's important that you be able to actually move from one platform to the next. Action game? It's similarly important that you be able to fight and move, in order to progress through the game. Few people would argue those points -- so why is the text in a text adventure often less than great?
Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles could have been a great game. The potential is there, and there are a lot of great little touches. Unfortunately, the localized script is sloppy, and that, combined with the missing cases, makes this much more a miss than a hit.
This tempting deal applies to brick and mortar stores only, but some eagle-eyed Cheap Ass Gamers noticed that Orcs and Elves is available at Gamestop for $9.99. The game may be a cell phone port, but $10 for John Carmack's fantastical dungeon-crawler is a more-than-fair price.
Ten bucks appears to be the going rate at all Gamestops, but we'll throw in a "your mileage may vary" warning just in case. Unfortunately, you won't be able to snag the sweet-looking wand stylus with this purchase, but cheap gamers like us just have to cut corners sometimes.
You may not be able to buy the game online, but by clicking on the picture or the "Source" link below, you can see if it's available at a Gamestop near you.
We're all going on a holiday to Syberia in the near future, and it looks to be a rollicking good time. If that wasn't enough, creative prodigy Benoit Sokal is back to offer DS owners an even greater holiday destination -- Paradise. Well, it used to be Paradise, but the original PC adventure title is being ported to the DS as Last King of Africa. Hang on, a port? Of an adventure game? That sure shows these guys a thing or two.
You'll be taking up the point-and-click reigns of Ann Smith, daughter of King Rodon. Unsurprisingly, she is struck down with amnesia on her way to visit her pop, and must journey within fictional African country Maurania to unravel her own mystery.
The first screens are in, and apparently the game has been seriously reworked for the DS -- even the story and dialogue itself has been streamlined. This is pretty good news, considering the original wasn't particularly well-received compared to Sokal's other work.
Last King of Africa is vaguely scheduled for a release at this end of this year. It's another addition to the growing adventure library on the DS, which is nothing but pointy, clicky awesome.
We know getting our hopes up about a "book turned movie turned video game" always ends disastrously, but this time we really can't help ourselves. Perhaps it's because the software in question is inspired by one of our favorite writers, Neil Gaiman (the genius behind Neverwhere and The Sandman, to name a few).
Based on his novella Coraline (which is being made into an animated 3D film this February), the game is a multi-platform "surrealistic adventure" developed by D3. The story revolves around a young girl who enters a parallel universe that's like her own, only more fantastical.
There's no definitive date for this title (only Q1 2009), but we'd expect it to come out near the movie's release.
It seems like only a few days ago when publisher Aksys Games announced that it would be localizing Super Dodgeball Brawlers and Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (Tantei Jinguji Saburo), much to our delight. Though both titles have been met with mixedreviews, we can't help but be thankful that someone took the risk to bring over these titles that likely would have stayed in Japan otherwise.
With both Super Dodgeball Brawlers and Jake Hunter now on store shelves, we chatted with the studio's localization crew -- associate producer Mike Manzanares, assistant associate producer Frank deWindt, and marketing director Gail Salamanca -- about the two titles and Aksys's future. Jump past the break for details on Super Dodgeball Brawlers' unlockables and Jake Hunter's abridged case load!
While it's pretty easy to translate Dragon Ball Z into video games in which nothing happens but spikey-haired glowing dudes fighting and growling at each other in the air, its predecessor, Dragon Ball, featured all kinds of weird stuff. For example, the big noodle-serving/fighting guy here is actually a shape-shifting pig who saves the world later by wishing for panties.
We knew this was coming, thanks to 
French site Wiiz has several screenshots of 
In case you haven't seen the ridiculously popular anime or read the Wikipedia page, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is about an impulsive high school girl who also happens to unwittingly possess the ability to control reality. Her friends in the "SOS Brigade" after-school club, who all have supernatural or extraterrestrial connections except for irritated Everyman Kyon, attempt to keep her from getting bored (and thus remaking the universe) while also hiding the true existence of aliens, psychics, and time travelers from Haruhi.
NIS is including extra stuff with the DS version of 
Take a dash of trenchcoat, a hint of hat, and a pinch of grizzled police chief. Bake it for 24 hours under a forensic microscope, and BAM! 
This tempting deal applies to brick and mortar stores only, but some eagle-eyed Cheap Ass Gamers noticed that 
We know getting our hopes up about a "book turned movie turned video game" always ends disastrously, but this time we really can't help ourselves. Perhaps it's because the software in question is inspired by one of our favorite writers, Neil Gaiman (the genius behind Neverwhere and The Sandman, to name a few).
_thumbnail.jpg "Prince of Persia: The Fallen King")
_thumbnail.jpg "Mega Man Star Force 2")
