Programmer Multiple: Option continues to release some of the most interesting homebrew titles out there, this time with Game Trivia Catechism. Billed as a casual game for hardcore gamers, this original title takes the bland and basic multiple-choice trivia format, spicing it up with an intriguing storyline, a gaming theme, and a chiptune soundtrack provided by artists like 8-Bit Terror and PDF format.
Instead of solving math equations or recalling historical facts, players will have to put their useless gaming knowledge to work and answer questions like "Which of these games was NOT designed by Yu Suzuki?" or "Which Mario game did Super Mario Advance remake?"
It's a short game -- you can probably finish it within 15 minutes -- but Multiple: Option deserves praise for creating an entertaining title that doesn't rely on the assets or designs of other developers. If you have the equipment to play homebrew games, we definitely suggest you try this one out. Let us know if you're able to score any higher than a "C" without cheating and using the internet!
Japan's eventual burial in highly-focused DS "educational"games continues unabated, with the announcement of Gakken Muu Henshuubu Kanshuu Choujougenshou Research File (Muu Magazine Editorial Department-supervised Supernatural and Paranormal Phenomena Research File), based on Japan's Muu magazine, a monthly publication about the paranormal.
The game features over 2,000 multiple-choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions about UFOs, cryptids, and other kooky stuff. Answering questions correctly will advance your rank as an "agent" in some imaginary men-in-black type organization.
We hardly think that trivia games are going to do much to sink the DS in Japan. In fact, a trivia game about the supernatural, featuring a guy in -- what is that, a bat suit? -- sounds pretty entertaining.
EA is bringing the card deck game Brain Quest to the DS, which sounds like North America's answer to Japan's Quiz Magic Academy and Europe's Super Brain Tease. Only, those of you familiar with Brain Quest will know that it's not as cool as Quiz Magic Academy, not to mention that it's for kids.
While such news probably seems like a bore to the majority of you out-of-the-demographic folks, we bet that a lot of young'ns will actually enjoy the game. This blogger remembers playing plenty of Brain Quest back in the day and loving it. Not only will it have multiplayer and single-player modes, but Brain Quest will also include a bunch of children's Sudoku puzzles on the side.
If you know any elementary schoolers who might be interested in this title, keep in mind that it comes out this September for $29.99.
Arcades aren't doing so hot in the U.S., but Japanese gamers still love frequenting them and inserting coins into the humble machines. Through arcades, series that most of us in the West are unfamiliar with become super-popular in Japan. Take, for instance, Quiz Magic Academy.
Since popularity often leads to system jumping, it should come as no surprise that the game is making its way to the DS. It's essentially a trivia title, but what makes it so appealing is its eight player Wi-Fi support. Trivia is at its best when you're competing against others and showing off your vast pools of useless knowledge, so this extensive use of online-play is most certainly appealing. Unlike games such as LOL (aka just LOL), though, you can still choose to solo your way through Quiz Magic Academy if you prefer to go it alone.
Other nifty features in this arcade-cum-DS title are that it transmits new questions wirelessly, and also links up to Quiz Magic Academy V, the as-of-yet unreleased arcade sequel.
All in all, it seems like Konami has taken trivia as far as it can go. Well, color us jealous.
If there was ever a game destined to really nail a niche market in North America, it's this game. Japanese-speaking Hanshin Tigers fans, with a deep knowledge of the team's history and players, will be all over importing this bad boy. There's a new twist to this heartwarming story of an underdog title coming out to compete against the big evil team game -- it's not just trivia anymore.
Along with a new batch of screens, we've discovered the inclusion of mini-games, good for letting your hair down after all that baseball question-answering work. You'll be hitting them out of the park in Home Run Contest, doing something else (we have no idea, sorry) in Lucky 7, and also enjoying a bit of karaoke ... somehow. Baseball is one popular sport, and importing Hanshin Tigers DS when it releases on August 28 will make you one popular gamer.
From the consistently high Brain Training sales in the UK, we have to assume that at least some of you Brits are nuts for the kind of games that give you a mental workout. Lexicon Entertainment is even banking on that assumption, as the company is releasing five different trivia games under the Super Brain Tease license. Each game will have a different subject, giving you a choice from the following:
Football (aka soccer, for those of us in the U.S.)
History
Geography
Music
Movies
We find it amusing that you Brits are so crazy about your soccer, er, football, that Lexicon has ditched a broader "Sports" category in favor of something so specific. All poking fun aside, though, should these titles sell well enough they'll only be the first of many.
The main allure of such games, we're sure, will be their budget price points, as each edition will be offered for £9.99. If the idea of trivia at such a cost interests you, you can expect to see the Super Brain Tease series hit retail in Q4.
This morning, we asked about realism in games, using MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars as an example of a deliberate move away from realism. Spike's Hanshin Tigers DS is in direct contrast to that title, in that it is absolutely realistic, lacking even the "fantasy" of pretending to play baseball. There's nothing more "realistic" than facts! While 2K's title is a baseball game that breaks away from accurate depictions of players and abilities, Hanshin Tigers DS is a strictly factual interpretation of baseball with no actual baseball involved.
Somehow, the Japanese game market is capable of sustaining this incredibly specialized game. It's not just a trivia game -- it's a baseball trivia game. About only one team, the Hanshin Tigers (who have been honored with pinstriped Gamecubes and Neo Geo Pocket Color systems!).
We thought this minigame in the Fist of the North Star DS game was awesome enough to warrant its own post. As the latest screenshot update on the official website illustrates, Raoh's storyline is playable in addition to Kenshiro's.
This follows outside of the main game as well, with this Raoh-spotting minigame. We've seen someweirdminigames in our tenure as DS fans, but this one may manage to be the freakiest yet. Given a selection of four details from manga panels, you are asked to pick which depiction of Raoh features Raoh crying over his brother Toki. That's actually not the whole of the game; it's a wireless multiplayer trivia game, which is a neat addition. Still, for us it's always going to be the crying-Raoh game.
Lest you think Raoh is weak, we should tell you why he's crying over his brother Toki: it's because he has just punched Toki almost to death, and is about to punch him all the way to death. You'd cry too.
Go get your "You Might Be a Redneck If" calendar and mark today as the day we finally saw the Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader game. And, if it's possible to be disappointed by Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, that's how we feel.
The two screens we are shown are nothing but text and the game/show's logo. The text in the trivia question is presented as writing on a chalkboard, but uses a typewriter font. At least they didn't try to fake handwriting with Comic Sans or something.
Anyway, the game sounds about right: 3000 questions, and you can get help from five fake children. You also have access to the helpful "cheat" options found on the show. Really, the only difference is that it costs you money, instead of giving you the opportunity to win money.
Here are a bunch of new screens for Touchmaster DS, which should awaken a few hazy memories. The collection of 23 minigames will be familiar to bar patrons everywhere, as they come from Midway's touch screen range.
The minigames include trivia, solitaire, and a range of card and puzzle games. You'll also be able to upload your high scores onto worldwide leaderboards. Better start saving that beer money now-- Touchmaster DS goes on sale June 11th in North America.
Posted Feb 27th 2007 11:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News
All Nippon Airways are no strangers to the world of bizarre Nintendo tie-ins. But ANA Original Gotouchi Kentei DS (Local Trivia DS) is a special kind of weird: an updated ANA-themed version of developer Spike's (non)game about Japan trivia. The original version covered writing, geography, and other concepts in order to test players' knowledge of their home country. We have no idea what the new ANA version will be about-- airline history? Identifying famous places in Japan based on aerial photos? Airplane safety procedures?
What we do know is how unlikely any of us are to see it. Only 3,000 copies are being produced, and they're being given away to ANA travelers along with DS Lites. So it's either flying the friendly skies or traversing the murky waters of eBay.
Why, it seems like we were just talking about Touchmaster DS, and now we've got all sorts of advertisement goodness! Well, some goodness, at least -- it's not the best DS ad we've ever seen, but it does do a good job of communicating what the games is and why you should buy it this summer, but in a Pepsi challenge, we'd probably take this one. Check out the video after the jump and let us know what you think.
If you've ever spent any time hanging out in bars (something we would never, ever do -- did we mention never ever?), then it's likely you've stumbled across Midway's touch screen games at some point. Now, in a marriage of gaming goodness that seems so obvious in retrospect that we're surprised it took them so long, Midway is bringing a collection of some of their best touch screen games to the DS. Entitled Touchmaster DS, the game will include 23 different games from the arcade machines, including trivia, card games, and puzzlers.
Sounds pretty average for a collection of casual games ... but there's a twist. Touchmaster DS will use the Nintendo WiFi connection to interface with Midway's own scoring system, so player rankings will be compared with those of people all over the world. Players will also be able to participate in tournaments.
Midway expects to release the game later this year.
Programmer Multiple: Option continues to release some of the most interesting homebrew titles out there, this time with Game Trivia Catechism. Billed as a casual game for hardcore gamers, this original title takes the bland and basic multiple-choice trivia format, spicing it up with an intriguing storyline, a gaming theme, and a chiptune soundtrack provided by artists like 8-Bit Terror and PDF format.
Japan's eventual burial in 
Arcades aren't doing so hot in the U.S., but Japanese gamers still love frequenting them and inserting coins into the humble machines. Through arcades, series that most of us in the West are unfamiliar with become super-popular in Japan. Take, for instance, Quiz Magic Academy.
From the consistently high 
This morning, we 
We thought this minigame in the Fist of the North Star DS game was awesome enough to warrant its own post. As the latest screenshot update on the official website illustrates, Raoh's storyline is playable in addition to Kenshiro's.
Go get your "You Might Be a Redneck If" calendar and mark today as the day we finally saw the 
Here are a bunch of new screens for 
All Nippon Airways are no strangers to the world of bizarre Nintendo tie-ins. But ANA Original Gotouchi Kentei DS (Local Trivia DS) is a special kind of weird: an updated ANA-themed version of developer Spike's 
Why, it seems like we were just talking about Touchmaster DS, and now we've got all sorts of advertisement goodness! Well, some goodness, at least -- it's not the best DS ad we've ever seen, but it does do a good job of communicating what the games is and why you should buy it this summer, but in a Pepsi challenge, we'd probably take 
If you've ever spent any time hanging out in bars (something we would never, ever do -- did we mention never ever?), then it's likely you've stumbled across Midway's touch screen games at some point. Now, in a marriage of gaming goodness that seems so obvious in retrospect that we're surprised it took them so long, Midway is bringing a collection of some of their best touch screen games to the DS. Entitled Touchmaster DS, the game will include 23 different games from the arcade machines, including trivia, card games, and puzzlers.
