The folks over at InLight Entertainment put their smart cap on today, citing their reasoning behind the DS's incredible success. While we all here who work at DSF and you, the lovely readers, would probably say that all of the great games on the system make it so wonderful, they said that ... uh, the great games and affordable price really made Nintendo's handheld. Well, how astute of them.
Darren McGrath and Mike Lowry from InLight commented "The DS captures the market we're targeting with this game - the ever expanding casual gamers sector." They went on further to add "Nintendo has been very smart with making a fun system that is affordable so everyone can enjoy games like ours without breaking the bank."
The guys know what games to take inspiration from, also, commenting that titles like "Elite Beat Agents, Feel the Magic, and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass have really made use of the touch-screen in unique and interesting ways that you wouldn't be able to accomplish on any other platform." OK, we agree, mostly. We wouldn't actually go around telling people that Feel the Magic XY/XX was one of the best uses of the handheld's touch-screen when there is probably a billion other better examples.
The first video of Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys is notably light on the aliens and brains, and the only thingys invading are rats. Invasion of the Kind of Large Rats doesn't catch the ear in the same way.
Speaking of not really generating interest, the game itself is pretty underwhelming. We didn't think we'd ever be able to say that about a game that stars a legless zombie on a skateboard, but even for the most sidescroller-obsessed of us, we find the footage uninspiring. Maybe some more aliens would help. The Voodoo Vince/Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy system of inflicting damage on the zombies to give them abilities is pretty cute, at least.
We're not yet sure where we stand on the DS version of The Simpsons. On the one hand, it's The Simpsons, and thus automatically has the potential to be pretty great. We also applaud the idea of parodying other games; even if other companies want to stomp their feet about being cutely mocked, that send-up of Nintendogs is just too irresistible. On the other hand, the gameplay itself, the meat of the package, looks just a little ... vanilla.
One thing it probably won't lack, according to producer Eric Dallaire, is top-drawer production values, particularly as it's EA throwing big bucks at this release. Chatting to IGN about the title, Dallaire spoke of "pushing the limits" of the platform, and discussed how the game will boast "the most audio lines and total FMV on a DS cartridge to date." How much, precisely? "We've crammed one-fifth of the audio lines from the console versions [and] the equivalent of a TV episode's worth of FMV onto the cartridge."
All of which will mean diddly-squat if they don't nail the gameplay, but it's always good to see boundaries being pushed, right?
Despite its similarly campy plot and titular promises of zombies, Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Brain Thingys (due next spring) won't be the spiritual successor to Konami'sZombies Ate My Neighbors. Yes, we were fooled too when we initially saw the game announced -- jumping off the couch and doing karate kicks in the air, such was our excitement -- but reading more about Ignition Entertainment's title revealed very few similarities with the SNES/Genesis classic.
Instead of fighting off zombies and their B-movie colleagues, you'll be playing as the undead in this comic book-styled adventure, choosing from one of three reanimated characters, each possessing unique abilities. You'll swap between the three to take advantage of their powers and defend the Earth against invading Alien Brain Thingys.
Also, while Zombies Ate My Neighbors was a run-n-gun shooter from a top-down perspective, Teenage Zombies will be a side-scrolling platformer supplemented with puzzles and stylus-based minigames. ZAPS! (Zombie Assembly Pop-up Screen), one of the minigames, has you collecting dismembered body parts to put together a zombie and regain "unhealth points."
Though Ignition Entertainment's short trailer for Teenage Zombies shows very little in the way of action or the actual game, we've embedded it past the post break anyway. To make up for the brevity and vagueness of the video, we've also pasted some lyrics from Salt-N-Pepa's hit single, "Let's Talk About Sex," reimagined as an ode to zombies. We have a lot of these "fixed" songs just lying around our hard drive, waiting to be shared with you.
Not wanting to steal Phantom Hourglass' title as the 2007 Game of the Year, DSI Games politely pushed the release of its Barnyard Blast to early 2008, January 15th to be specific. Yes, that's unfortunate for 2008's GOTY contenders, but there's a kitty with a thirst for its mother's milk whom you can refer your complaints to.
Being avid readers of our site, you'll remember that Barnyard Blast is a 2D action platformer styled after the original Castlevania games on the NES. You play as Robert Belmart, a cowboy pig and monster slayer, blasting your way through a variety of parodied horror levels, such as "the old creepy wooden jail" and "the castle of intolerable pain."
Developer Sanuk Software revealed more about the game in a recent interview with us just a couple of months ago. If you haven't read it yet, now's your chance to roll around in the mud with it!
You already know from our video spotlight last month that Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night for the GBA is the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, and the dog's bollocks, all wrapped into one game -- making it some sort of strange hybrid of insect joints, sleepwear, and gonads. Wow, that's really grotesque when you think about it.
Never mind all that. In fact, erase every one of those images from your memory. The only thoughts you need to have in your head right now are that the upcoming Spyro 2D platformer/beat-em-up looks fantastic and that Amazon has listed preorders for it at $19.99, likely reflecting a budget price that other retailers will soon recognize as well. Don't even bother showing your face around here after October 2nd, the GBA title's release date, if you don't have a copy of the game in hand. That is, unless you want your mother's private matters brought to public light.
Posted Aug 28th 2007 3:40PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
I didn't get as much time with Crackpot's Insecticide as I liked, but I got to mess around in both an action stage and the detective mode, at least superficially enough to know how they worked. I can tell you right away that all three Psychonauts owners, as well as LucasArts adventure fans, are going to want this.
The action mode looks and feels just like Psychonauts, with the exception of touch-screen integration, of course, and your character's use of a projectile weapon rather than melee. It's pretty much a standard 3D platformer. The graphics have taken a significant hit compared to the concept art, obviously, but the style of the game (like its neighbor at the Gamecock booth, Dementium) helps cover. The touch-screen control scheme was a little hard to manage, seeming to involve more limbs than a non-arthropod like myself had available. However, I quickly found that I could lock-on to targets with a button, and could therefore avoid the stylus altogether. I fell through platforms a couple of times, but that was actually a pretty common problem for some of the really early versions of games I played at PAX.
Remember how we laudedThe Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night on Game Boy Advance for being a beautifully drawn side-scrolling brawler with a nice combo system? Yeah, that's not happening on DS. Eternal Night on DS is a regular Spyro game, which for the DS means a PlayStation-looking 3D platformer for children. Which is fine for children. 1UP has new screens of all the polygons and such.
There are plenty of 3D platformers in the world. What we need more of is Metroidvania-style free-roaming 2D action games.
Sonic Rush's soundtrack polarized the platformer's fans, many believing that Hideki Naganuma's funk/hip-hop direction didn't match the blue hedgehog's, others praising the Jet-Set-Radio-style tracks for their fresh approach. We made it a point to cruise down the strip every Saturday, "Wrapped in Black" thumping out of our car speakers at full volume. All the fly honeys would try to chase our car down, screaming wildly like children running after an ice cream truck. Maybe it was the music? Or maybe it was the twenty-dollar bills we were throwing out the window? Who knows?
Sega's official Sonic Rush Adventure page has two new songs from the upcoming sequel that you can stream and listen to, free of charge. If you click the islands drawn out on the treasure map, there's also information on the game's story, two online battle modes, and four new characters. There's even a link to Sega of America's Sonic forums in which you can participate in discussions like "Why are Sonic games so bad now?" and "What if YOU had all 7 chaos emeralds?"
Our eyes must've been glazed over by Phantom Hourglass previews and Contra 4 face-rocking to have missed this Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night E3 Trailer. Forget whatever negative preconceptions you might have for the Spyro series; this game looks hotter than a June bride on a featherbed.
If you've been hoping for a platformer/beat-em-up to lay it down on the GBA, then look to this title for your down-laying needs. Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night has it all -- gorgeous backgrounds, slick physics, and a badical combo system. We would describe the combat as Devil May Cry meets Astro Boy: Omega Factor. Think we're pulling your leg? Swoop past the post break for a 50-hit combo clip. We had no idea games like this we're still being made for the dying handheld!
These new Drawn to Life screens make us so happy that we have decided to institute an impromptu holiday in the game's honor. Today is 2D Friday! Happy 2D Friday, everybody.
The most important way to celebrate 2D Friday is to play a 2D game. Hug your DS for letting you do this in 2007. Nobody's around-- go ahead, give it a little embrace. Look at the gallery of brand new screenshots and marvel at how beautiful they are. You should also spend some face time with Contra 4 today. We're just going to go walk in a straight line and jump on everything in our path.
Posted Jun 29th 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
Frequent readers know that we are infatuated with Drawn to Life. It's a 2D platformer that makes use of a fun gimmick that is perfect for the DS. What's not to love? So every time some news comes around about it, we're thrilled to post it.
GamesRadar interviewed Scott Rogers from THQ about the game, and got a little information about the story. You play "The Creator" who draws in the Book of Life to create champions and items, etc., in order to save a race called the Raposa from some evil drawings. It seems one of the Raposa tried to use the Book of Life, but his drawings came out all evil, and then the whole town was covered in ominous darkness. Dude should have read the manual first.
Posted May 25th 2007 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
Metanet's N is a physics-based platformer in which players run and jump around a big room collecting coins. It's a simple concept that is executed so well that it earned the game an Independent Games Festival Audience Award. Next on the list of honors: an official retail release on the DS and PSP from Atari, to be called N+.
We don't know how the game will be changed, other than the addition of, as Metanet puts it, "pretty cool new features and graphics." Really, we hope it isn't changed much at all-- especially the level-editing feature. Atari, we've never asked you for anything before-- let us make and trade N+ levels online.
You can download the Flash version of N here. Try it out and see how you'd feel about a DS version!
Posted May 24th 2007 2:25PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
1UP's Jeremy Parish was lucky enough to get to play 5th Cell's Drawn to Life, a game whose hype train we have already boarded, even before we knew anything about the gameplay. Parish's preview has gotten us even more hyped, because the drawing element, rather than being gimmicky window dressing, is integral to the gameplay in really unique ways.
One example given in the preview: players are asked to draw a clam to be used as a springboard. We don't know if the player's drawing affects the performance of the springboard (if, for example, the angle of the thing affects its power) but it seems logical.
The actual platforming, according to Parish, was just okay-- inoffensive, but not exceptional. We could chalk that impression up to its lack of novelty compared to the editing functions; and as long as the game isn't bad, we think the drawing will carry it.
A few more screens of 5th Cell's Drawn to Life have popped up, and we're glad they did. We're getting a warm, happy morning feeling from them, because in addition to being generally pleasant, they're also pleasantly surprising.
It turns out that not only do you draw your own (jointed) characters, but you are also tasked with drawing many other of the game's assets: background details, weapons, vehicles, and platforms. Opportunities to draw these items come up during the game as obstacles: you come across a blank area and are asked to fill it in.
As evidenced by the many hours we've spent in Fighter Maker, we perk up at the sight of user-created content. With the potential to draw this much stuff, Drawn to Life has just suddenly shot to the top of our want list. We've posted some screens-- feel free to save them and doodle on them in MS Paint.
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You already know from 
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These new 
1UP's Jeremy Parish was lucky enough to get to play 5th Cell's 
A few more screens of 5th Cell's 
