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Joystiq hikes the handheld pigskin in Tecmo Bowl Kickoff


Joystiq managed to get their dirty hands on Tecmo Bowl Kickoff, and really enjoyed the redux of the old classic. According to our evil incredibly smart and good-looking overlords, the game both looked and played well on the DS -- what more can you ask for?

When it comes to the controls, players have the option between using the D-pad/buttons or the stylus. Joystiq thought that the D-pad option was the better scheme, and was intuitive enough to make the game accessible to all gamers, not just those who've spent hours upon hours training with Madden. They also really enjoyed the addition of super moves, even though this new feature isn't an extravagant change to the gameplay. The point is, though, that Tecmo football didn't need a big overhaul.

Their one major concern, though, was the WFC play. Not the fact that it exists, clearly. Yet, Tecmo Bowl Kickoff's customization scheme might be a little too deep for its own good, thereby ruining online play. You see, Tecmo cleverly worked around EA's NFL monopoly by adding tons of customization options (as seen in the video above). Player names and stats can be changed, among other things. In terms of multiplayer battles, however, we can foresee many gamers abusing such statistics in order to create an advantage over their opponents.

Hopefully that won't be too much of an issue. In any case, pop on past the break to see some gameplay videos, or go here to read the unabridged impressions from Joystiq.

Gallery: Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff

Continue reading Joystiq hikes the handheld pigskin in Tecmo Bowl Kickoff

NMS08: Crosswords DS impressions

One surprising gem of the Nintendo Media Summit was Crosswords DS, Nintendo's most recent puzzle game. Not letting itself get overshadowed by all the other stuff at the convention, Crosswords DS managed to rack up favorable impressions from many a gaming site.

IGN found the title to be "awesome," and was very impressed by the diversity in the game. Even though it's called Crosswords DS, there's more to it than crossword puzzles. The game also includes word searches and anagrams. According to the site, the controls are very intuitive, and even easier to understand because of the great interface.

Game|Life also enjoyed the software, finding the anagram mode to be even more addictive than the crosswords themselves. From what we can tell by Game|Life's comments, the anagram puzzles look almost identical to those in the online game Text Twist, which this blogger can confirm to be the computer equivalent of crack cocaine.

GoNintendo describes this title as a "must-have" if you like crosswords. RMC reported that the puzzles are challenging (although the ones shown in the gallery must be from the "easy" setting), so don't worry about a dumbed-down experience.

Also, don't be put off by the game's lame box art -- it seems like this title is definitely something to look forward to!

Gallery: Crosswords DS



Read: IGN's impressions
Read: Game|Life's impressions
Read: GoNintendo's impressions

ASH wins over Siliconera

After hearing some negative impressions about Archaic Sealed Heat, the beautiful-yet-apparently-flawed SRPG from Mistwalker, Rolando of Siliconera approached the import with some understandable trepidation. He tried it anyway, however, and that worked out -- it seems ASH wasn't as bad as he expected. While he promises a full review later to come, for now he talks about the interesting combat system and the heavily stylus-dependent gameplay. It seems that if you're not a fan of stylus-based title, ASH is not for you ... but if you like SRPGs and don't mind the language barrier, this could be an import worth spending a little time with. Late game, he added later in the comments, things really pick up.

In Zelda, even walking can be an adventure


We don't have to tell you that a lot of people weren't exactly fans of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker; Nintendo fans who loved it (and even those who didn't) heard the complaints over and over again. That's made a few people a little wary of the upcoming Phantom Hourglass, and we understand. Really, we do, even if we don't necessarily agree. But from every scrap we've seen from the latest handheld entry in the franchise, it's shaping up to be a real adventure -- which is the biggest complaint about the series as time goes on. We've seen it. We've done it. We've been been heroic through the ages, and though we love every moment spent in Hyrule, sometimes, we crave something a little different. From the looks of things, we're about to get just that, and more.

Our own JC Fletcher spent some time with Phantom Hourglass recently at PAX, and his report is nothing short of glowing. Everything in the game feels fresh and new, and what's more? It's just plain fun. There are all the elements we need for a Zelda game: familiar enemies and tasks, but the smooth stylus-based controls turn the forests and seas of Hyrule into a whole new world. We've been waiting for this one for a long time, but the closer we get to release, the more it seems that it's all been worth it.

We've tucked a video behind the break that offers up a short glimpse of simple navigation that shows off the stylus-based movement, so you can see for yourself. Just watch out for the trees.

Gallery: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Continue reading In Zelda, even walking can be an adventure

LifeSigns resurfaces at GC

It's easy to forget about LifeSigns, since it seems to keep coming and going, but the medical sim showed a few signs of life in Leipzig, and the good folks at IGN got in a little hands-on time. All signs point to good, with heavy realism in the surgery department, and the same sort of ass-kickery we've come to expect from surgery games. Thank you, Trauma Center. At least in LifeSigns, players don't have to choose their own tools -- it's done automatically -- so that's one less step for us to screw up while we're sweating over someone's heart operation.

The most recent word is that the game is for-really-real scheduled for October ... but since we've seen dates both in June and this very week slip past, we're not holding our breath. We just hope it comes out eventually.

Good news from The Ward

Can there ever be good news from the insane asylum? Only if it's coupled with news of a worthwhile gaming experience, and it looks like that just might be the case with Renegade Kid's Dementium: The Ward. Our evil masters at Joystiq got a little facetime with the shooter at E3, and they only had good things to say on the subject.

The controls are smooth, says Alexander Silwinski, and certainly reminiscent of Metroid Prime Hunters, but since Dementium's pacing is a little slower, the game is easier to handle. Item selection is apparently a breeze, with the exception of a shortcut to the oft-needed flashlight, and puzzles make sense. The only downside is that the game apparently only takes about seven hours to complete, but maybe the story -- on which we have very few details at this time -- will make up for it.

Gallery: Dementium: The Ward

Hands-on: Contra 4


Contra 4 is, for better or worse, a new Contra game. It looks and plays just like Contra games before it: it's classic 2D side-scrolling action gameplay, with a notoriously difficult 1-hit KO system. Of course, would Contra fans have it any other way?

Those worried that the Nintendo DS would not provide the hardware capable of offering a decent looking Contra can rest their fears: the sprites are fairly impressive, with a good amount of detail and animation. The game's action takes place over both the top and bottom screens on the DS, but it seems like interaction with the top screen is fairly minimal at this point. That's a good thing: if too many things were firing from the top, the player would certainly be at a serious disadvantage. The game promises a lot of vertical platforming, which certainly sounds exciting to us. The new grappling hook helps players get to higher areas faster ... but didn't seem too consequential to gameplay. Maybe they can take a few pages from Bionic Commando?

The legions of Contra fans have a lot to be excited about, but for everyone else, there isn't much new to appreciate about this DS-exclusive sequel. We're sure that it'll be a good game, but without any noteworthy gameplay additions to the game, we can't say that we're too heavily excited for it.

Spotlight on Luminous Arc

GameSpot recently spent some quality time with Luminous Arc, the strategy RPG Atlus is bringing to the US in August, and things are looking good. Of course, all we really need to know is that Luminous Arc offers online battles -- a feature missing in other popular DS strategy games -- and even if it were low quality, we'd probably be lining up to give it a go. Character, story, gameplay? That's just gravy. Give us our WiFi battles!

Luckily for us, Luminous Arc seems to have it all: an interesting story, both new and familiar SRPG mechanics, and a choice between stylus-based controls and traditional controls. The only issue the folks at GameSpot could find to really pick on -- in this early preview, at least -- is that players can't rotate the camera, which can occasionally lead to some targeting issues. The build available to them didn't seem to have finished voice acting, either, which we assume means that the game will in fact be dubbed. But let's not be picky here. Because it's Atlus, the localization will be effective, and we'll get right into managing everyone's relationships. We're just glad to hear that we'll probably have fun while doing so.

Gallery: Luminous Arc

NMS: Brain Age 2 confirmation and impressions


The mocking head of Dr. Kawashima is officially a go -- he will be back to taunt you a second time. Joystiq's own man on the scene got a chance for a little hands-on (brains-on?) action with the good doctor at this week's Nintendo Media Summit. There's really not a lot to "fix" when it comes to Brain Age, except perhaps some of the more famous glitches, and that seems to be where a lot of the improvements focused. And there's an exciting extra: an unlockable, fully playable version of the original NES Dr. Mario! Hear that? It's the sound of thousands of retro-lovers squealing in delight.

We will definitely admit that we're excited to give the sequel a chance ourselves, but mostly, we're looking forward to another few years of Photoshop fodder. The head of Dr. Kawashima is filled with comedy, and the above screenshot is just about the best thing we've ever seen in a video game.

Import impressions: Nodame Cantabile

Hey, you guys like rhythm games, right? Maybe just a little? They seem to be kinda popular. Just a guess. Game|Life's Chris Kohler got his hands on the latest non-Ouendan rhythm game to hit Japan, Nodame Cantabile, and served up some melodic stylings on the manga-based title.

Unfortunately, it seems Nodame's classical music studies can't quite compare to some of the other rhythm games, but there's some good news to balance the bad. Nodame Cantabile seems somewhat import-friendly -- from the sound of it, you can skip a lot of the dialogue and just run around and hit the performance spots instead. Better still? The price is dropping like a rock, so it may be cheaper to import when compared to certain other hot Japanese titles. The interface changes up some of what we've learned to expect with Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents as well; rather than hitting fixed points, the input circles move, which adds a little more challenge to the mix, but not enough to make it a stand-out. Still, with the possibility of budget prices, this one may be a nice choice for fans of the manga or the rhythm game explosion.

Some Portrait of Ruin impressions

Pretty cloudsCubed3 has received a full copy of the upcoming Portrait of Ruin for the DS, the next in a seemingly endless line of 2-D portable Castlevania games (Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow). Is the best? An excerpt below:

"...you will come across Brauner's magical paintings. Each of these portraits acts as a warp through to another location, such as a desert, forest and old-fashioned townscape. This works similar to how the system in Super Mario 64 did, and adds an even greater sense of exploration to the already fantastic series. It certainly does help to break up the play and prevent monotony setting in."

Some interesting points of the review are the new two-character control system, and the rather short length of the game (8-10 hours). Check out the full review if you're interested in whip-cracking.

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl impressions

Dual boxes!So, we know that Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl sold more copies in one day than the number of plant cells in an oak tree. Certainly, the game must have blind, fanboyish loyalty excellent gameplay to warrant such sales! One of those silly "bilingual" people over at IGN got their hands on a copy, and relates his experiences accordingly.

Though the basic gameplay remains the same, he makes special note of the addition of Wi-Fi battling and trading. The system appears to be streamlined and effective, and more importantly, it gives you twenty-something year old Pokemon players a way to actually trade and battle without publicly humilating yourselves.

Well ... we're looking forward to that, anyway.

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