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Metal Slug 7 holding out for a hero



We would never have associated gravelly-voiced Welsh songstress Bonnie Tyler with Metal Slug, but some genius at Ignition combined the two for the latest Metal Slug 7 trailer. Against all expectations, the rousing '80s power anthem "Holding out for a Hero" is the perfect companion piece to SNK's game.

Not that we're Bonnie Tyler fans or anything, obviously, because we only listen to totally manly music like, uh, Slayer and stuff. Yeah. As for the game itself, it still looks awesome, despite some importers suggesting it's not all it should be.

Gallery: Metal Slug 7

Continue reading Metal Slug 7 holding out for a hero

Outrage! UK media up in arms over DS games

It's rare to see DS titles being held responsible by the mainstream media for society's ills. Usually, such treatment is reserved for home console releases, but in the last 24 hours two DS games have triggered a bout of misguided bleatings, both from British papers that amazingly aren't the Daily Mail. That's right, readers: two titles. Welcome to a special, double edition "Outrage!" post. Double the horror! Double the controversy! Double the irrational fear!

We'll start with the obvious one, then. We sensed there'd be a backlash against Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars as soon as we saw these shots, but even we were impressed by the speediness of The Sun's error-strewn report. Next to an incorrectly captioned picture of Grand Theft Auto III, the paper reveals how a game about selling drugs will soon be playable on the "family-friendly" Nintendo DS, and remarks that, "Experts predict the final edition is unlikely to feature explicit criminality." They're in for a surprise, then.

Next up in the stocks is a far more surprising scapegoat: the rather innocent Advance Wars. According to the Daily Telegraph, police investigating the stabbing of a 20-year-old who was also a massive fan of the game (to the extent that he ran an Advance Wars fansite) are now investigating whether the killer was a fellow "internet gamer." Of course, that's just one of several potential links being examined by the authorities, but the newspaper still leads with the Advance Wars angle. Why? OUTRAGE!

Source: Grand Theft your child's INNOCENCE [Via Game Politics]
Source: Advance Wars: Murder Weapon [Via Game Politics]

Point/Counterpoint: Does Castlevania need new blood?


We're about a month away from getting our hands on the third Castlevania game on the DS, and yes, we are enthused. We loved the last DS game, as we did the one before it ... and the three Game Boy Advance games before that.

Producer Koji Igarashi has definitely found his recipe for Vanias, and he's changed very little since hitting upon the combination of side-scrolling action, free-roaming exploration, and light RPG elements that made Symphony of the Night such a startlingly new experience ... back in 1997.

Let's be clear: both of the bloggers participating in this debate love them some Castlevania. But the issue of the series' increasing potential for staleness is a real one, and worth discussing even just as a thought exercise. Has Metroidvania run its course? Read on and find out ... what two people think.

Gallery: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia



Killer Fish and the Order of Ecclesia

Konami really wants us to get accustomed to Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, for some reason. It's as though they think we won't embrace the title or something, since they keep waving around screenshots and soundtracks. We're surprised they're not shipping free demos and complimentary massage oil or something to potential buyers at this point. But listen, we're not complaining. We'll watch Shanoa beat down fish any day of the week. It's very important to keep those killer fish under control, you know.

Gallery: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

IGA talks Castlevania, plays Castlevania


IGN has several minutes of new gameplay footage of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, showing off new environments, new enemies, and new glyphs, which include a hammer, a giant scythe, and magical attacks like ice and fireballs. According to IGN, it's Koji Igarashi himself on the controls, playing his own game. Surprisingly, his playthrough looks like pretty much anyone else's -- Igarashi takes damage from normal enemies fairly regularly. Maybe he was just nervous with a bunch of IGN guys staring at him.

He also spoke in a video interview (available via the sidebar in that video player) in which he describes the premise behind Order of Ecclesia, including who the Order is and what Shanoa is doing invading the demon castle. While describing the differences between this and past Castlevanias, IGA also says that the animation of the enemies has improved. He must be referring to the ones that have new sprites!

IGA reveals the extra modes in Ecclesia: a hard mode accessible by completing the game, and a mode with a higher (255) level cap unlocked by beating that hard mode -- or by connecting Judgment on the Wii with Order of Ecclesia.

We believe in Metal Slug 7 videos

We've heard some pretty bad things about how the Japanese version of Metal Slug 7 turned out, and that's so sad! Because it continues to look so awesome in trailers! Look at this one, in which a giant walking robot mows down tanks, trucks, helicopters, and even another giant walking robot!

We're just going to continue thinking it's awesome until we play the final US version, for our own sakes. It's a lot more fun to watch videos like this (and several more new videos at IGN) and look forward to playing it. There'll be plenty of time to be disappointed later. And at least it isn't Commando: Steel Disaster.

Gallery: Metal Slug 7

Taito producers talk Exit DS, The Legend of Kage 2

We spent most of this year enthralled by the prospect of Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid DS. Now that they've shipped, we've transferred our Taito game anticipation to the two upcoming games The Legend of Kage 2 and Exit DS.

Jeremy Parish interviewed the producers of each game, learning interesting factoids about both. For example, Lancarse, part ofthe Etrian Odyssey development team, is responsible for Kage 2. And for the first time that we've seen, a Taito developer acknowledges the NES Demon Sword as a Kage series game -- before dismissing it. We had been wondering about that! And despite being a Taito side-view game with a lot of elevators (and, yes, some action), Exit was not inspired by Elevator Action.

Gallery: The Legend of Kage 2


Gallery: Exit DS


Source - Kage 2
Source - Exit DS

Back to the beginning with Dragon Ball: Origins

If you've been admiring the footage of Dragon Ball DS, then perk up: it's headed outside Japan this winter. According to a press release from Atari, the game will hit U.S. shelves in November under the title Dragon Ball: Origins, with Europe to follow in December. We expect a few people will peeking under a certain skirt around the holidays.

We've got new screens, too! Check 'em out below. Look now and get bonus character portraits, just because we care.

Overlord to quench your insatiable thirst for power

Power. Glorious, undiluted, corrupting POWER. That's what we crave as we slave away at our tiny desks working for The Man, and that's what Codemasters will be bringing us soon. The publisher has announced a DS version of the Pikmin-inspired Overlord, in which players must use a crack team of minions to maintain control of their kingdom.

Giblet, Blaze, Stench, and Zap are your unquestioning servants throughout Overlord Minions, and instantly win points with us by resembling the Gremlins. Unlike the home console editions of the title, you'll be controlling your willing slaves remotely with touches of the stylus. By combining their scaly assets, the four can help you solve puzzles, duff up enemies, and generally further your despotic desires.

The polygon-saving omission of an Overlord avatar aside, this looks pleasingly close to the fairly well-received original, and we're promised that all of that game's humor and physical comedy will have made the leap when it releases next year. We command you to hit the jump for a second screen.

Continue reading Overlord to quench your insatiable thirst for power

Rumor: Survey 'reveals' GTA Chinatown Wars details

A UGO reader participated in an unspecified survey about an "upcoming game," which, judging by the kind of information presented in the questions, is definitely Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. For example, question 18 begins with the premise "The title of this new game is called Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, by Rockstar Games."

If this is a real survey, then it has backhandedly revealed previously unknown gameplay information about the new handheld version of the mega-popular franchise. However, that information is of the "glaringly obvious" variety that you could "learn" by pretty much imagining the game.

For example, one question asks responders to rate the importance of features like "OPEN WORLD" and "MATURE STORYLINE." To be fair, this question does go on to mention genuinely interesting new features like ad-hoc multiplayer, replayable missions, and stylus-based minigames, but if you're just now learning from this survey that GTA has "mature storylines," you'll be very excited to hear about its new "car theft" feature in which you totally steal cars.

Dragon Ball DS trailer doesn't disappoint its audience


We were pretty impressed with the trailer for Dragon Ball DS at first. Not just because the game's 3D graphics are so impressive, but because we thought we were witnessing the first Dragon Ball DS media not to feature Bulma lifting her skirt.

We thought this for one minute and twenty-three seconds. We get it, Banamco! It's a famous scene from Dragon Ball, and it makes a clever use of the DS screens, and also it's good for pervs. Move on!

Speaking of moving, the game continues to look really awesome -- fast-paced and action-packed in a way that the real Zelda games never were

[Via NeoGAF]

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia grapples a new trailer

The Castlevania series has found a great home on the DS, and despite the fact that it's side-scrolling action in every game as usual, there's usually some kind of twist to spice up the action. The new trailer for Order of Ecclesia shows exactly that, as Shanoa the vampire slayer uses a grappling hook to shoot around the level and reach unreachable areas.

Every fan of the series should be on an ultimate high for the game's imminent release in Q3 this year. Why, the fast slingshot action almost makes up for sluggish gameplay and boring combat, evident in all Castlevania games. We love Castlevania here at DS Fanboy. It looks great!

Gallery: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Comically ill-divided Dragon Ball screens

Sometimes, DS screenshots just don't look quite right. They're often a little rough around the edges -- even with games that look fantastic in motion -- but worse, the split between the screens sometimes ends up in odd places if a developer is trying to use both screens to tell a story. That happens a lot in these Dragon Ball DS screens, sometimes to comic effect ... so often, in fact, that it seems like it was done on purpose, particularly when it results in images like the one to the right.

Check out the full set in the gallery below. They're just begging to be adapted into a game of a different sort.

Tornado to blow through Europe

Ignition won't be forgetting about Europe when it comes to localizing Tornado, Success's Katamari Damacy-esque action game about a bunch of heroic cats who employ tornadoes to tidy up the mess left by a devious galactic Prince who wants to claim all possessions on Earth. Hey, it could happen!

The game is currently slated for a fall release in Europe, but Ignition might want to hurry up -- the game still lacks a release date in its native Japan. While we wait for something more concrete, let the wind guide you gently towards our gallery and a dozen new images.

Gallery: Tornado


[Via press release]

E308: Dinosaur King unearths a trailer


Our unfaltering love of dinosaurs makes us want to also love any video game having to do with such awesome and mighty creatures, like Dinosaur King. Yet, once again, the juxtaposition of cartoonish graphics with real-world imagery leaves us uneasy. We were really feeling it until the anime sprites showed up out of nowhere. Perhaps we need to actually see the show this is based on to understand the allure.

At the same time, thoughts of digging up fossils, having a dinosaur compendium, and fighting dino battles are incredibly tempting. Too bad Sega didn't forgo the license and just hunt for the meat of it all. The music in the trailer makes one thing clear, though: dinosaurs rawk. Not that we needed another confirmation of that fact.

Interested parties can also check out the new screens in the gallery below.

Gallery: Dinosaur King

Next Page >

Gaming to Go!We debate the hot topics!

This Month's New Games

Name Date
Bleach: Dark Souls
Oct 6
Legend of Kage 2
Oct 6
Crash: Mind Over Mutant
Oct 6
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals
Oct 6
My Japanese Coach
Oct 14
Korg DS-10
Oct 14
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 Oct 14
FIFA Soccer 09 Oct 14
Populous Oct 14
Rock Revolution
Oct 14
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Oct 21
Theresia
Oct 21
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Oct 21
Away: Shuffle Dungeon
Oct 21
Tornado
Oct 21
Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
Oct 21
What's Cooking? With Jamie Oliver Oct 21
MySims Kingdom
Oct 28
Ninjatown Oct 28

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