Bangkok-based Studio Nocturne has kept busy cultivating its games and shopping them around for interested publishers, so it's understandable that we haven't heard much about Housewife Superstar or Makeup Diva since last year's Game Developers Convention.

As chauvinistic as Housewife Superstar's title sounds, it's a tongue-in-cheek production in which players master a collection of minigames in their quest to become the perfect stereotypical Japanese housewife. Those minigame activities include mochi making, flower arranging, traditional fan dancing, and, of course, hosting a tea ceremony. Sounds like a bizarre scenario, right? Well, that's what people thought about Cooking Mama, and look at how that turned out!

Studio Nocturne has brought in Insert Credit's Brandon Sheffield to handle the game's story, a name some of you might remember from his wonderful work on Barnyard Blast's script with Sanuk Software, another Thai developer.

Let's go through these details one more time:

• offbeat title from a little-known, DS/Wii-exclusive developer
• strong, colorful art direction
• peculiar premise for strange minigames
• promises of a humor-filled script

Color us excited! Color us badd, too, because we want to sex this game up. Hit the gallery below for screenshots and artwork from Housewife Superstar.

Before we huff, puff, and blow our Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night review down, let's have a quick look at the Castlevania parody's cover design. Notice anything wonky? Look directly underneath the game logo and awesome subtitle!

We were quite proud of ourselves for contributing the subtitle to Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night, but Insert Credit's Brandon Sheffield was actually brought in to help rewrite the script! Why don't developers ever hire us to help plot out their projects? We have this wonderful idea for a game in which you play a cat who has to wake people up from their nightmares.

Though Brandon doesn't exactly give the Castlevania parody his vote of confidence, citing its linearity and difficulty as rough points, he does promise a plethora of "retro game meme" references.

Robert: Julia, I alone can save our son!
Julia: Robert, my love! I just want to tell you ...
Robert: No, no, don't try to stop me, Julia!
Julia: Get some bread while you're out, okay?
Robert: ...
Robert: The time for bread has passed ... perhaps forever. I'm off!
Julia: It's dangerous to go alone! Take this.
Menu: Get equipped with: Slayer Whip

Jeuxvideo already has an unflattering review posted with new screenshots (viewable in the gallery below) and video from the first eleven-and-a-half minutes of the game's French release. Koji Igarashi apparently tried out the game and gave Brandon advice on possible improvements, so if enough copies sell, maybe we'll see a much-more-polished sequel? Barnyard Blast will be available for public purchase this Friday, but you likely won't find it anywhere outside of Amazon, where it's listed for a bargain $19.99.


See also: DS Fanboy interviews Barnyard Blast's Yan Marchal

Read - Barnyard Blast out Friday
Read - Jeuxvideo review

Continuing its praiseworthy support for the Nintendo DS, Square Enix has announced DS Style, a new line of software for the casual gaming audience. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, the company is venturing away from its RPG franchises for a moment, focusing instead on leisure activities like yoga, classical music, and gardening. It might not sound as exciting as SRPG battles or Chocobo mini-games, but different strokes for different folks.

Square Enix will also be releasing DS travel guides based on the popular World Walking tour book series in Japan. These guides will provide maps and other useful information for sightseers visiting countries like France or Thailand. Check past the post break for the full list of destination guides and verbose titles from Square Enix's DS Style lineup.

[Via NeoGAF]

A young boy of only 7 years old passed away recently during a family vacation in Phuket, Thailand. The cause of death for Connor O'Keefe is electrocution as the boy was unplugging his Game Boy charger after a recent swim in the hotel pool. Still wet, the charger ended up electrocuting the child, leaving him to be discovered by his mother.

Of course, as with any tragic news involving video games in any shape or form, the gaming system is going to be looked at as a scapegoat in this whole ordeal. Now, we do not wish to be cold or heartless, but the child was wet when touching an electrical socket, something everyone knows is not a good idea, so hopefully this will all blow over and public outcry for the boycott and destruction of all things Game Boy will not come to pass.

Our sympathies go out to his mother and family.

Update: Looks like Nintendo has officially responded to the news of Connor's death here. Nintendo says the "details involving Connor's accident are unclear" and prevent them from commenting any further at this time.

A pair of Nintendo commercials illustrates just how useful their new "traveler's notebook" translation software is when it comes to communicating to the people of a strange and foreign country. After a few taps on the touch screen, the DS displays a translated version of whatever message the young lady is trying to convey and is promptly shoved into the face of some hapless local. If that doesn't work, it can also read the sentence to you in a non-threatening electronic voice.

Allowing one to haggle a hat-seller or carefully avoid ordering food that might explode halfway down your throat are just more examples of how the DS is spreading its tendrils into the realms of non-gaming.

[Thanks yoorin!]