Gamecock graciously sent a preview copy of Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi, allowing me to play it in an environment as non-E3-like as possible: my own home. And now, playing through it again, I've found that the only real problem I had with my initial playthrough isn't actually a problem at all. Which leaves nothing but cool platforming. I played through the initial few levels and found my mushroom hero guy saving the world by, uh, knocking over some cans! And moving a shoe full of mosquitoes! And then a fish got in my way and I couldn't make any more progress. Fish.
What won't come through in screens is just how nice the game looks. The bizarre lighting effects and high framerate lend Mushroom Men an extraordinarily crisp appearance that is especially nice for DS 3D.
We knew immediately when we heard that a new Bangai-O game was coming out that it would be something special. How could we be so sure of an unknown game? The answer lies in the history of its developer, Treasure, an offshoot of Konami who has been making idiosyncratic action games for years (as well as the occasional McDonald's game to fund said action games, but that's a story for another time).
They've made very memorable brawlers and platformers, but Bangai-O Spirits is part of a long tradition of innovative shooters with insane storylines and unique rulesets, which is why we've chosen to look at Treasure's body of work in that particular genre. If you don't consider run & guns like Gunstar Heroes shooters ... well, we debated that, a lot, and decided that since they're games primarily about firing projectiles at enemies, they belong in the same discussion as scrolling shooters. Of course, if you think enough about shooters to make that kind of distinction, you probably know all about Treasure already.
So we've tracked down ingredients, crafted our meals, and gobbled down the results ... but how effective is the Cooking Guide, really? Will it turn a total newbie into a master chef? Will it at least help you make dinner? The intrepid DS Fanboy "chefs" who undertook the cook-off are back for a deeper look at the title, which is headed soon to the U.S. Once it's out, should you give it a shot? Let us help you decide.
To be honest, the last time I played a Harvest Moon game, it was on the GameCube. We're talking years ago, folks. But, like riding a bike, Harvest Moon is an experience that doesn't change much over time. Fans like it that way, I imagine. And, just as I expected, Island of Happiness featured a lot of the same things previous titles in the franchise offered.
When hitting up Natsume's meeting room at E3, I kept catching myself wishing I wasn't alone. In fact, I wished that one specific person was with me, because all of these games that the company had on display were based on franchises I, frankly, didn't have the most experience with. That's not to say I went in biased, just that I prefer to be as well-informed as possible going in.
Imagine my surprise when I played Rune Factory 2 and it was like Harvest Moon had a baby with Secret of Mana.
It's been a very long time since I played Populous. In fact, the only version I ever got to play was the SNES port (the game first released on the PC, Atari ST-1 and Amiga) back in the day. But, I did play that port quite a bit in my youth, so seeing the game hit the DS is very exciting to me. Populous DS very much feels like the game of old, but in truth is nothing like the SNES title in both presentation and gameplay.
Space Invaders Extreme has been out in the U.S. and Europe for about a month now, so if you haven't bought this gem yet (and according to certain chartz, most of you haven't), we can only assume it's because you're still deciding which version to pick up.
As you probably know, the game released for both the DS and the PSP. One of the reasons that certain bloggers (namely, this one) were so excited for the U.S. release of Space Invaders Extreme in the first place was because its downloadable demo for the PSP was nothing short of awesome. You can imagine, then, how torn we were when it came to choosing between the DS and PSP versions of the game. We only figured that some of our readers were going through the same dilemma, and thus we ended up trying out both just so that you don't have to.
If you want to see how Space Invaders Extreme DS and PSP stack up against each other, just click on past the break for a pretty chart and in-depth category breakdowns.
As soon as the Cooking Guide was released in English, we here at DS Fanboy understood one thing: it was necessary that we put the software to the test in a bloody, violent, no-holds-barred, steel cage cook-off the likes of which would put Iron Chef (both versions) to shame. Sadly, budget constraints (and, uh, laws) prevented the sort of Thunderdome-esque event we hand in mind, though, so instead, we're just having a normal cook-off.
One hobbyist cook. One bachelor. One shot at three recipes, supported by the Cooking Guide. Will they be able to produce the same meal, with the same results? Will the Guide serve as a workable cookbook for the knowledgeable, and an aid for those who aren't? We put it to the test.
Oh, poor Konami. You're a little too late to your own party. Actually, more like way too late. With the company finally trying to grab a slice of the delicious music game pie, they're not only pushing Rock Revolution on home consoles, but also on the DS.
After having some play time with the title at E3, I feel safe in saying that the handheld game is pretty much going to be the best of the bunch.
I was always a big fan of the first Age of Empires game on the DS (remember when we did these?). When a sequel was revealed, I nearly wet myself with excitement (luckily, nobody can confirm or deny the wetting). Then, E3 hit and my cohort in crime, JC, informed me the game was available for play at THQ's booth.
I don't have to tell you just how odd Princess Debut is. For one, it's not the sort of title one usually associates with Natsume. Second, it's developed by Cave, who are usually behind hardcore shooters, and not titles like this. So, as odd as this all sounds, I was dying to get my hands on it when I hit up Natsume's booth at E3 just to see what this game is all about.
The Korg DS-10 is an incredibly interesting thing. It's not really a game, and it's not really a full-fledged synthesizer. Instead, it's like a perfect middle ground of both. And, it's also something that looked incredibly daunting when first loaded up.
What can I say about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia? You've played this game plenty of times before. Sure, there are some slight changes here and there, but, ultimately, this is pretty much the same as every other DS Castlevania title released. Don't take that as a bad thing, though.
MillionHeir is a very simple game. Sure, it has an overall story to it, but the meat and potatoes of the game has you staring at a large painting for several minutes, locating objects in the environment housed on a handy list. And, true to the Where's Waldo formula, finding these objects is not easy.
Holy crap is this the most awesome DS game! Seriously, when JC was talking up the title, I trusted the man's judgment, but he couldn't possibly prepare me for how utterly great the DS game is. And when I met up with the folks at Marvelous here at E3 to try out their titles, I had no idea that they were going to have to physically pull me away from Retro Game Challenge.
Lucky for me, I have a good grip. So I get plenty of play time with what is sure to be one of my favorite DS games this year.
Gamecock graciously sent a preview copy of Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi, allowing me to play it in an environment as non-E3-like as possible: my own home. And now, playing through it again, I've found that the only real problem I had with my initial playthrough isn't actually a problem at all. Which leaves nothing but cool platforming. I played through the initial few levels and found my mushroom hero guy saving the world by, uh, knocking over some cans! And moving a shoe full of mosquitoes! And then a fish got in my way and I couldn't make any more progress. Fish.
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