The second bit is the one we found more interesting, and potentially either horrifying or fantastic. Graphically, they're planning on keeping the DS installment as true to the look of the Guitar Hero franchise as possible. The series has a pretty distinct look that has grown more and more detailed over time, and we can't wait to get a glimpse of how they plan to translate that to the dual screen experience. It sounds like they've set themselves quite a challenge here, and we hope they can pull it off. After all, DS gamers already have some of the best rhythm games ever made ... our standards are high. But the Guitar Hero series is all about fun, so if done well here, it should fit right in.
One of our favorite touches of the new Phantom Hourglass' trailer shown at this year's 
The Pokemon machine just doesn't stop. Pokemon Pearl was available at GDC on a pretty pink DS Lite, and while no one was looking, I got to get my hands on it. While the Pokemon franchise isn't known for its graphics, the first thing I noticed as a long-time Pokemon fan was how improved the graphics have become. The screens may not show it off too well, but the game features much better character sprites in the game world. Looking at the aliasing issues in the game, it appears that the world may even have a psuedo-3D engine behind it as well. Unfortunately, the battles haven't received as nice of a makeover: they still look incredibly primitive, even by GBA standards: the uninspired battle animations certainly don't leave a good impression.
Ever since The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass made its debut at last year's GDC, the project has essentially been hidden within a solar eclipse. Now, on the 
Under any other circumstances, dismissing a game titled Barnyard Blast from an unproven developer would be easy. Given the dozens of games announced every week, it would be an effortless reflex. But upon hearing that Barnyard Blast brings together 
Jetlag won't stop this intrepid blogger from giving you the news you want. Live from San Francisco, DS Fanboy will be giving you the latest GDC news, straight from the show floor! We're going to update constantly throughout the week, so stay tuned. Here are some highlights from what we have planned:
Chris Kohler is reporting that, due to a pending stock trade, Nintendo will reveal no new information at next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. We would feign surprise, but Nintendo's been keeping a lot of secrets from us lately. Also, we're used to going long stretches without hearing anything about The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Do you think Nintendo should be a little more open about what's to come? We'd love to see 
None other than legendary Nintendo composer, who has worked on many a Mario and Zelda game, Koji Kondo is set to perform during Video Games Live! at the conclusion of this year's GDC (Game Developer's Conference). This is to take place on March 9th of this year and will be joined by video game pianist Martin Leung, as well as a full-on orcestral performance of tunes from past LucasArts titles such as Monkey Island, Outlaws and a little-known title by the name of Grim Fandango.
Since failing in a spectacular fashion is so much fun that they wanted to do it again, Nokia is gunning hard for their second generation N-Gage, according to UK site Pocket Gamer. If you haven't been following the story, this time Nokia's not attempting to make a dedicated handheld-phone hybrid, but rather a platform for gaming that can be used with their N-series smart phones. Is that a better recipe for success? It will depend on the execution, of course, but apparently Nokia's been meeting with some big developers lately and they have plans to reveal the platform at next month's Game Developers Conference.
_thumbnail.jpg "Matchman")
