Archive for the ‘Nintendo DS’ Category

You wouldn’t probably know it from just gawking at screenshots, but N+ for the PSP and DS (both independently developed from each other) is deceptively masochistic. Which is suitably funny when you consider it’s based off the heavily-praised and popular flash game of the same name. What it lacks in the lush sugar-coasting of other widely-popular side-scrollers like Mario and Sonic, N+ cuts through the fluff and gives fans of the genre (be it old or new) a no-frills but serious package of challenges woven in a silk of divine punishment. Is it for everyone? Nah, but for those who consider themselves true believers might want to back up and take notice.

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Nintendo’s recent interest in coming to India is certainly an odd creature. Their competitors Microsoft and Sony already have themselves grounded much before anyone even uttered to think what it would be like if the big N decided to join the fray. And even then, when you consider the console market in India isn’t all that big to begin with, plus the reports of global Wii shortages this coming holiday season, and least we forget the rampant piracy scene that our country is known for – Nintendo’s decision to come to India, to reiterate, seems awfully strange. Almost strange enough to have us think, “Why even bother?”

Despite whatever concoctions may arise (whether it’s yours or mine), there’s one thing Nintendo’s official distributor Samurai-India is sure of: Nintendo is happy to be in India. Granted, we may have missed out on a few generations of monumental games hither and thither (barring the Virtual Boy, natch), but what’s important is now. Besides, hello? Virtual Console? Samurai’s head-honcho Mahesh Toshniwal also reflects upon this by bringing up the pricing choice made for the Wii and DS:

In view of [the] very high taxes in India -34% import duty/ 2% CST/ 12.5 % VAT - the price is justified. In fact, it is very difficult to maintain this price as it was calculated and fixed at a dollar-rupee exchange of RS 42.00. Today the exchange stands at 45.5.

Be sure to check out Sam’s full interview with Mahesh on the availability of first-party software and accessories.

We’re still waiting for Forever, but here’s some relief to soothe the pain and eternal anguish we’ve been enduring as we wait for the King of Kick-Ass and Smutty Babes to return. After having been long forgotten, Apogee Software is all set to worm their way back into gaming by reviving a legacy catalog of over 30 titles, as well as working with new developers to create what we assume will be new IPs.

And what better way to kick start the whole thing than with Duke himself? And at E3 2008! According to Apogee’s Terry Nagy and Scott Miller, the company, working with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest LLC, will be producing the Duke Nukem Trilogy for release on the PSP and the DS, comprised of three new missions - Critical Mass, Chain Reaction and Proving Grounds.

The episodes will be released sequentially, with the first one appearing sometime in Summer 2009, and according to the massive feature list on the Apogee website, will include:

• 9 Different World Locations
• 36 Action-Packed Levels
• 3D Accelerated Graphics
• 3D Characters with Detailed Textures
• Real-Time Particle and Lighting Effects
• Multi-Mode Play with up to 5 Different Styles of Game Play Action
• Multi-Player Action
• Total Ass-Kicking Weapons

Frankly, as long as we can carry Mr. Arnold Toilet Mouth around on our handheld and squish alien piggy cops, we’re happy. Of course, if you don’t own a PSP or a DS, you could rather just wait for DNF to show up. And wait. And wait…

Shortly after its official announcement, Square Enix has gone ahead and shown off the first trailer to Chrono Trigger for the Nintendo DS. What have we learned so far? Well, let’s see. Akira Toriyama’s idenitfiable art style? Check. Yasunori Mitsuda’s memorable MIDI compositions? Also check. The Super NES quality-gaming grace we’ve come to know and love? A big red-marker colored check there. Assuredly, it doesn’t look all too different from its original iteration, but who cares? Time traveling, a fantastic battle-system, more than 12 unique endings, metal joints and silver points! If you don’t already own a DS, here’s Reason Number “A Billion and One” on why you should. If you have DS, buy another anyway and give it to your house pet.

Also, food for thought. What if Squenix decides to finally bring back Singing Mountain or Zeal Dungeon from the early prototype days as part of the newly planned content? Maybe even localise and pack in Radical Dreamers, while they’re at?

Every so often, I entertain the thought of giving a licensed game a crazy whirl, preferably based on some popularly, hyped motion picture. The most common perception being that a game specifically made to use a movie brand as a backdrop will most likely reek of fungus bread drenched in spoiled-egg stew, and that the accompanying vice-versa (movie based on a game franchise) will also hold true. Which is what’s so weird about Speed Racer for the Nintendo DS; despite being tailored in mind for people interested in the current-running, heavily-stylized reinterpretation of the Japanese-animated show from the late 60s, the DS version doesn’t borrow many assets from it – especially when compared to its console-counterparts. There’s virtually no story-line to speak of, and signature facets such as the Mach 5’s many whacky gadgets are nowhere to be found (Well, except for the one that makes the car jump – but every car in this game has that!). Even more bewildering, is that it’s a capable, if somewhat derivative, arcade-racer to boot.

More after the jump.

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The World Ends With You (Subarashiki Kono Sekai or “It’s a Wonderful World”), is the odd-child of DS gaming. The antagonizing, “don’t-give-a-damn” gathering of anti-social dispositions set against innate Shibuya cultural musings has been done many times in Japan — the manga Gantz and Jet Set Radio come to mind. Though it received it’s fair share of media attention, thanks in part to the Kingdom Hearts team (led by Tetsuya Nomura) collaborating with developer Jupiter (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and the under-rated Picross DS), no one expected the game to be this technically impressive. However, with it’s eclectic mix of Shibuya youth culture, a varied and excellently orchestrated sound track, vivid visuals of anime-esque detailing and graffiti mantels, sharp 2D sprite animation and background design, The World Ends With You presents a compelling, addictive and lengthy package for any RPG and DS gamer alike. And if that weren’t enough, it perfectly follows the guidelines for stellar Japanese game design: easy to get into, full of depth; original yet still staying in it’s carefully constructed mold.

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The month of May seems to have started off on a great note, what with E-Xpress Interactive playing Santa and leaving us a PC preview copy of the highly anticipated multi-platform game GRID. Knowing the rich history that Codemasters has when it comes to the racing games genre, the racing buffs in us were eager to try out the latest offering from their able-stables. Certainly then, braving the Mumbai traffic to rush back home was something that we were not really too keen upon. However, once back home and having installed the game, it just took us a couple of minutes into the game to know that all the trouble was worth it.
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