Atlus has unleashed further shots of its dungeon-building RPG Master of the Monster Lair. Mostly, these depict some of the rooms that will be available to players from the get-go, including a musty cellar (apparently, hobgoblins are drawn to these), a warrior's dojo, a king's bedroom, and rooms featuring a hearth or water features. No jacuzzi in which orcs and goblins can unwind yet, but there's still hope, right?

There's also a brief glimpse of the game's local wireless mode, in which players can share their dungeon creations with friends; we're only sorry that none of our friends are likely to buy this. We need new friends, frankly.


[Via press release]

Forget all about the brutality and violence of ancient Rome by playing a happy chappy puzzle game! It used to be a PC game (no surprise there), but Cradle of Rome now wants to invade the DS, build an empire and bask in the magnificence of togas and sandals. It's a standard "swap colored tiles around to match three colors" puzzle game, but the goal is to collect resources from each tile in order to build Rome itself.

A unique twist on a formula everyone is familiar with can't be all bad. You'll eventually be able to build, several historical monuments, including the Arch of Titus, the Temples of Venus and Saturn and everyone's favorite bloodbath, the Coliseum.

Cradle of Rome is set for an October 10th release in Europe, but on account of Rome being a Europe-exclusive city and all, there's no word of a release in other regions. Well, that's probably not the reason it isn't coming to America, but it should be import-friendly all the same. The first screenies are awaiting a thumbs-up or thumbs-down in the gallery. Make your decision heard!


[Via press release]

It seems quite likely that Atlus's release of Master of the Monster Lair and Marvelous/Rising Star Games' European release of Dungeon Maker will share the same English translation. In that case, these screens of Dungeon Maker should also be screens of Master of the Monster Lair -- and even if they aren't, we can accept the possibility of seeing the same Japanese phrases translated two different ways, if only in the name of international accord.

Of course, our understanding of the game is that it's about a kid who uses a magic shovel to create dungeons, which fill up with monsters that he then kills. Who could tell when something like that has been translated accurately?

We all owe Rising Star Games several evenings' worth of drinks at the bar, for without them we western folk may well have missed out on some potentially magnificent games.

And here's another one! After its recent confirmation that Dungeon Maker was coming to Europe, the company has settled on a release date of September 19th (those of you in the states needn't despair; after all, Europe is one small import away), and whipped the covers off of the PAL boxart. Doesn't that golden shovel hint at amazing possibilities? What deadly traps will it help us lay? What rare and exotic monsters and treasures will it help us ensnare? We'll know soon enough!

[Update 1: First English screens! Hit the gallery!]


[Via press release]

We're convinced that Rising Star is the best thing to happen to Europe since the Euro usurped the dollar (grumble). After the rumor that the company is localizing Lux Pain in the continent, Suda51's upcoming DS port Flower, Sun, and Rain also showed up on Amazon UK's website. If you haven't taken notice of this game, it's like Groundhog Day, only with less Bill Murray and more bomb on a plane.

These Amazon UK listings better have some weight behind them, or the hearts of niche gamers in Europe will be broken. Won't someone think of the children?



[Via Siliconera]

We won't bombard you with more details about LOL (we can really only LOL so many times in one day), but news just rolled in that Rising Star would be bringing the game to Europe. Instead of being called LOL, though, it will be titled Bakushow, which means "big laugh" in Japanese.

There's no word yet on whether Rising Star will follow in Agetec's footsteps and make the game available online only, but even if it is available in stores, we're sure it won't be the easiest game to find. Rising Star also gently reminds us that "Billy No Mates need not apply," since this software includes no single player mode. You probably already knew that, but we just wanted an excuse to write "Billy No Mates."

If that doesn't deter you, we've added some new screens to our gallery (for the love of all that is holy, we get it, you can ask people to draw pandas!) should you feel so inclined to check them out.



[Via press release]