Hit up the poll below (new and improved!) and let's get the ball rolling toward next week's session.
Posts with tag wifi
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 10/18/07 aftermath
Hit up the poll below (new and improved!) and let's get the ball rolling toward next week's session.
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 10/18/07
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 10/11/07 aftermath
Hit up the poll below to decide what next week's theme game should be.
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 10/11/07
The latest from Warhammer 40k: Squad Command
[Via GoNintendo]
Gallery: Warhammer 40k: Squad Command
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 7/19/07
Welcome to Thursday, that wonderful day of the week where we all get together and get our game on. This week, we'll be playing a Game Night classic. So, we don't want to hear any excuses! head past the break and be prepared to enjoy some Wi-Fi DS action.
E307: Great while it lasted
Top E3 trailers:
- Contra 4 -- After all our Contragasms, you knew we were going to say this!
- Front Mission DS -- What can we say ... we're big fans of ass-kickery.
- Brain Age 2 -- We know you'll probably disagree with us here, but we can't help it. We a) dig a good, brainy challenge and b) think the selection of games looks even better than before.
- Professor Layton and all his mysterious locales -- Okay, we wanted this before. But it was mentioned in passing around E3, and now we're more rabid for it than ever!
- Nintendo Magic -- Another game we weren't sure would head our way, but that just sounds like fun.
- Advance Wars 2 -- The first is one of the best the DS has to offer, though it seems to rarely get a mention.
Insecticide, hands down. Please pass us some Dramamine on your way out.
Biggest disappointment:
Probably the missing wi-fi for Mario Party DS. C'mon, Nintendo, slip it in there! We promise not to complain about friend codes for at least a week.
E307: Picross and the painted pixels
The release of Picross is just around the corner for American gamers (none too soon!), and the title packs a huge punch considering the budget price. Not only does it look awesome, but it's been well-reviewed, and we'll have downloadable content. That's so great that Nintendo hardly needed to whet our appetites with a few new screens, but hey -- we're not complaining. Check 'em out below!
Did we mention the wifi multiplayer? How can it be included in a lower-priced game like this, but not in Mario Party? We love you, Nintendo, but sometimes, we just don't understand you.
Gallery: Picross
New details on Ecoris
The more we learn about Ecoris, the eco-centric RTS, the more we're planning to riot if the game doesn't get an English-language release. Get Atlus on the project right now!
The latest updates on Ecoris focus on the beginning of the game, and there are some new details on online play as well. As the story opens, our fruity hero, Durian (sometimes Dorian in non-Japanese articles) begins to notice that not all is well in the forest. Development and pollution are destroying the ecosystem. He's not alone in his observations; the squirrels have noticed the same thing. On their own, the forest creatures are too weak to fight back ... but if they team up, anything is possible.
Some other interesting facts about the game: apparently, there's a level-creation mode (we can only guess this comes in as you start to rebuild the forest), and once created, you can utilize those new stages in online battles. Our translation here may be a little rough, but it also seems as though Durian can either summon some sort of ancestral spirit, or take on its form, and you will need that power to pass certain sections.
Ecoris is sounding more fascinating every day. For those gamers for whom the language barrier isn't a barrier at all, this one is looking like it may just be a must-import title.
Monster Rancher DS Japanese box art
It's no secret around here that we love Monster Rancher, but the latest version headed to the DS has us a little wary, and the box art isn't making anything better. Is it just us, or does it seem like this image is striving for more of a Pokémon style? With the shift to RPG, we can't say we're surprised by that.The classic Playstation games (hailed by
But we're still willing to wait and see, with fingers crossed and fervent hopes.
Ecolis boxart reveals WiFi and panda support
Online support seems like a prerequisite for any decent RTS release, but it's never safe to assume with DS and Wii games. Thankfully, the boxart for Ecolis indicates that the InterChannel title will make use of Nintendo's WiFi connection in addition to its "download play" features. We're not sure if that means online duels, item shops, or a near-useless messaging system, but it's something -- a quantity that's arguably better than nothing.
If you haven't been properly introduced, Ecolis is a strategy title in which you command an army of woodland creatures against the pollution and deforestation taking over their homes. You'll also be tackling issues like global warming and recycling while you plant new trees to restore damaged forests. The eco-friendly message doesn't end there; as evidenced by the panda stamped on the game's packaging, a portion of Ecolis' proceeds will be donated to Japan's World Wide Fund for Nature.
Gallery: Ecoris
[Via Ruliweb]
Metareview: Planet Puzzle League
Planet Puzzle League has been known by many names over the years, but we really only need one word to describe it, and that word is awesome. It's not just us, either; the reviews have been pretty positive so far. The puzzler has even edged out Ouendan 2 score-wise, by a single point. That's quite a feat! Here's what the reviewers have had to say:
Nintendo Power: 85% - "Holding the DS like a book and pushing blocks with the stylus makes for an intuitive and fast-paced experience ... Planet Puzzle League lives up to the rich tradition of its heritage, and puzzle fans would be remiss to ignore it." (Issue 217, p. 97)
Game Informer: 85% - "Sure, it's not terribly original, but I'm not complaining about another chance to play one of the all-time greats – especially when this new DS version has been created with such care. The touch-screen functionality (which allows you to slide blocks with the stylus) fits perfectly, and Wi-Fi play means that you can take your skills online."
IGN: 90% - "... the core gameplay is identical in the Nintendo DS, but the biggest change is its control: instead of using a D-pad to control a reticule in the stack of tiles, now it's a simple matter of tapping and dragging the tiles left or right. While it changes the overall feel of the original Panel de Pon by increasing the pace of the game, that's the only thing that it changes. The puzzle game still has that same enormous amount of strategy -- much of the skill comes from shifting tiles around in a way that'll trigger the stack to fall multiple times for huge amounts of points, a technique that's absolutely important in Vs. play. But now it can be done a lot more quickly and intuitively with the stylus."
Games Radar: 90% - "It's not as inventive or charming as last year's Tetris DS, but that game's overwhelming Nintendo aura could easily have turned a lot of people away. Planet Puzzle League opts for a very clean, uncluttered approach that simultaneously makes it seem generic and intensely stylized. The ability to share this joy with people around you and then play them from anywhere in the world serves to make this one of the better buys you can make for the DS."
Poll results: Do friend codes ever keep you from playing online?
A week ago, we asked you how you really felt about Nintendo's friend code system on the DS, and it turns out there's a real difference in opinion out there. It's particularly interesting to note that nearly a third of our readers who voted definitely spend more time gaming online on other platforms. Maybe these are the kind of numbers Nintendo should be looking at when they evaluate the company's online future, instead of these numbers.
Thanks to everyone who took part!
Plundr: Dangerous Shores' location-based gaming weighs anchor on the Nintendo DS
The main idea behind location-based gaming is to transform the city around you into a new setting that can be interacted with and explored. In Plundr's case, you're the captain of a pirate ship looking to pillage and swashbuckle your way to the top of the buccaneer chain.
Using WiFi positioning to track your movements and superimpose landmarks over your neighborhood map, Plundr builds islands that you can set sail for and investigate. Taking a walk to that coffee shop two blocks away will bring up a trading post where you can buy spices and deliver goods. If you head over to the nearby park, there's a few unsuspecting merchant ships to test your cannons on.
Developer area/code originally designed the title with laptops in mind, but working with the R4DS homebrew platform, the Manhattan-based company was able to port the game to our scurvy handheld and show off the fruits of its efforts at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 Conference late last May. Though we're still waiting to hear more about the clever game, these first shots of Plundr: Dangerous Shores that we scoured up will tide us over for now. Yarr!
Gallery: Plundr
[Via slavin fpo]
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
_thumbnail.jpg "Prince of Persia: The Fallen King")
