This week’s first featured downloadable game is Inferno Pool for $9.99 on the PS3. But this isn’t the old school game of pool we all know and enjoy. In fact, this game takes pool to a whole new extreme challenge for up to four players. In this game players can compete locally or online to pocket as many balls as they can to clear the table and knock their opponents out of the race by stockpiling their balls to unleash total mayhem. Because every ball a player pockets drops on their opponent’s table, check it out:

The next downloadable game this week is Zombie Tycoon for $7.99 for the PSP. In this game players create and control the zombies roaming the city for the brains of helpless victims. Check out Zombie Tycoon:

Price Drops

PSP Game Sales
Note: The following games for the PSP are 50 percent off until November 4, 2009 other price drops may only be temporary unless specified.

• Super Stardust Portable
• Echochrome
• Myst
• Brain Challenge
• Unbound Saga
• Manhunt 2 (PSP/Price Drop $19.99)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (PSP/$4.99)
• Crystal Defenders (PSP/$9.99)
• LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival (PSP/$14.99)
• Darkstalkers Chronicles: The Chaos Tower (PSP/$19.99)
• Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (PSP/$19.99)
• NBA 2K10 (PSP/$29.99)
• Petz Dogz Family (PSP/$29.99)
• Petz Hamsterz Bunch (PSP/$29.99)
• Petz Saddle Club (PSP/$29.99)
• Hasbro Family Game Night (PS3/$39.99)

Free Demos:

• Ratchet And Clank Future: A Crack In Time – Ratchet Demo (PS3/Free)
• Fat Princess Demo (PS3/Free)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Demo (PS3/Free)
• LocoRoco Midnight Carnival Demo (PSP/Free)
• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Demo (PSP/Free)
• Crystal Defenders PSP Demo (PSP/Free)
• Petz Saddle Club Demo (PSP/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• PAIN – Celebrity Character Elvira (PS3/$1.99)
• Trivial Pursuit Sports Pack (PS3/$4.99)
• DJ Hero Extended Mix Pack (PS3/$5.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Packs:

• All Hallows Eve Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Gor Gor” by GWAR (PS3/$1.99)
• “Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson (PS3/$1.99)
• “Astro Zombies” by The Misfits (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• Wolfmother Pack 1 (PS3/$8.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Sundial” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “Pilgrim” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “Woman” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “White Unicorn” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “New Moon Rising” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)

• Rob Zombie Pack 01 (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Superbeast” by Rob Zombie (PS3/$1.99)
• “Dragula” by Rob Zombie (PS3/$1.99)
• “Burn” by Rob Zombie (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Song Tracks

• “Sugarbaby” by Morningwood (PS3/99 cents)
• “Best of Me” by Morningwood (PS3/99 cents)
• “Rock Me” by Liz Phair (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “My Old School” by Steely Dan (PSP/$1.99)
• “Kool Thing” by Sonic Youth (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes – Mastering the Cell Processor (PS3/Free)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes – Online Technology (PS3/Free)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes -Thinking Like A Dog (PS3/Free)
• The Saboteur – Irishman In Paris (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 – Post-Moves Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Just Cause 2 – Vertical Gameplay (PS3/Free)
• Just Cause 2 – Panau Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Just Cause 2 – Announcement Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Front Mission Evolved – TGS 2009 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age Origins – Warden’s Calling (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age Origins – Dalish Elf (PS3/Free)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Squad Story 1 (PS3/Free)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Squad Story 2 (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II – Dev Diary 1 (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II – Dev Diary 2 (PS3/Free)
• PAIN – Celebrity Character Elvira Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Story Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Timbaland Trailer (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Intro Trailer (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Sessions: Max & Clay (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Sessions: Artist Series 1 (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Sessions: Artist Series 2 (PSP/Free)
• Thexder Neo – Launch Trailer (PSP/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Skull Bash Theme 1 (PSP/99 cents)
• Skull Bash Theme 2 (PSP/99 cents)
• Infantry Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• Apache Gunship Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tanks Theme 3 (PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tanks Theme 4 (PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tank Theme 2 (PS3/$1.99)
• Lingerie Football League: Dallas Desire Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Skull Bash Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• South Park Dynamic Theme (PS3/$2.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Love

The Hate

Full Story » | Written by Jessica Moen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

One of the best things about Japan are the unexpected gadgets that find life there. You know what I’m talking about, the cute, tiny things whose sole reason for existance seems to be that they’re utterly adorable. These kinds of treats typically don’t fufill any necessary need, but they do make our lives a bit brighter.

Thankfully, you don’t have to live in Japan to have access to these items. Many online retailers stock some of the cute and unusual gems, so you can own one no matter where you live. And even if you don’t really feel like spending money on one of these charming items, it’s always fun to window shop.

The USB Robot Owl

It’s an owl. An adorable, tiny, owl that is powered by being plugged into a USB slot on your computer or game system. Once plugged in, it sits there and stares it you. Occasionally it will tilt its head, as if it’s judging you to see if you are truly worthy of owning its cute self. It comes in four colors - white, brown, gray and pink. Thanks to fellow Gamertell writer Lucy (who’s fortunate enough to actually own one) for the heads up on this sweetheart. The image you see at the right is a picture of her USB owl that she took.

Available at ThinkGeek for $19.99

Robo-Q Tiny R/C Robot

They’re remote controlled little robots, only much, much, much smaller. Think about the size of a child’s pinky. You get a little robot, its remote control and its toy soccer ball. You can then control the robot yourself with the controller, or let it run on its own, chasing after the ball. It’s batteries are rechargeable, which makes things easier. There are two different styles of robot, future or retro, and each style comes in two different colors.

Available at ThinkGeek for $39.99

Edamame, Bubble Wrap and Beer/Soda Can Pull Keychains

There are few things so simple, fun and satisfying than popping bubble wrap, pushing soybeans out of their casing or pulling the opener of a can. And yet, these are all fleeting pleasures. One you perform the action, it’s all over. That’s where these keychains come in! The Electronic Popping Bubble Wrap feels and sounds like popping bubbles, the Edamame soybean pod feels like popping out beans and the Electronic Beer/Soda Can Pull feels and sounds like opening an aluminum can of soda or beer.

Available at Strapya World, The beer can pull is $8.68, the edamame is $6.92 and the bubble wrap is either $8.57 or $5.33, depending on the model you choose.

Sega Toys Almost Living Cutest Twitter Chick

What’s the perfect gift for someone who can’t have a pet in their apartment and loves adorable things? A robotic chick! This toy is the size of a real chick and looks a lot like one too. It’s covered in soft yellow or blue fur. It will peep and flap its little wings. How cute is that? If you prefer, Sega Toys also makes Robotic Rabbits and Yume Hamsters.

Available at Strapya World for $28.02

Nohohon Zoku Hinatabokko Pochama

Nohohon Zoku are fairly well known, solar powered bobble heads created by Tomy and sold mainly in Japan. One of the latest designs is the pokemon Piplup, the water starter pokemon in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. The Piplup sits happily on a tree stump, and if you place the solar panel in direct light, its head will glide back and forth. I don’t actually own this exact Nohohon, but I have a similar one with a lucky cat design that moves its head and paw. It’s sort of soothing to watch, like a lava lamp.

Available at Play-Asia for $9.90

Pecha Kucha Ku Cha

With a Pecha Kucha Ku Cha, you’ll never be lonely. It’s a brightly colored, wide-eyed, electronic bear sitting in a chair. It recognizes your voice and is happy to engage in small talk with you. It’ll greet you, tell you the time and even tells you what your horoscope looks like for the day. It’s available in four varieties/color schemes - a blue bear in a yellow chair, a yellow bear in a green chair, a pink bear in a blue chair and a brown bear in a pink chair.

Available at Japan Trend Shop for $67.00

Important Importables is coming up on its 100th column! If you have any suggestions as to what you’d like to see the 100th column cover, let me know in the comments!

COMING NEXT WEEK: It’s Important Importables 100th column!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the Haruhi Suzumiya phenomenon.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Apple supposedly has an announcement to make this week, probably trying to steal some thunder from the Windows 7 release this Thursday (October 22, 2009). What could Apple possibly announce? Who knows at this point, we really haven’t heard if they are officially announcing anything. But feel free to place your bets below.

I will venture a guess that whatever Apple announces it won’t have anything to do with your iPhone or iPod Touch but this week’s list certainly does:

What’s Free

Domineering Lite
“Domineering is a very easy to learn strategy game where each player takes turns placing their dominoe. Each player tries to force the other player into not being able to place their piece on the board. One player may only place dominoes horizontally, and the other may only place them vertically.”

Geo Warfare Lite
“Protect your city from an alien invasion by battling against enemy spaceships in their attempt to conquer Earth. Your goal is to destroy indicated targets before they reach any alien aircraft. Failure to do so will cause UFOs to fire lasers towards your city.”

Piyo Blocks Lite
“Your task is simple – swap adjacent Piyo Blocks to match 3 or more of the same kind to capture them. To level up you will need to capture a target number of each kind of Piyo. The real skill comes into play when creating combos, which multiplies your score for capturing the Piyos. The bigger the combo you create, the greater score you’ll get!”

Total Soccer
“Total Soccer is a clone of the original Soccer game released by Atari in the 70’s. With a simple tap and drag interface and a totally configurable game, Total Soccer is THE app for the classic gamer.”

Real Soccer 2010 Free
“Try out the free version of Real Soccer 2010, - the #1 soccer game on the App Store and discover the thrill of the greatest football matches: Barcelona vs. Manchester or Brazil vs. Spain!”

Word 2 Word
“This word changing puzzle game will test your brain as well as your vocabulary. A fresh new take on word ladders, your goal is to transform one word into another, making new words along the way, by changing just one letter at a time. Do you have the smarts to master all 50 puzzles?”

What’s New

Action

ASTROBOY: FLYING ACTION: Price: $2.99
“oin in the adventures of Astro Boy, the young robot with astonishing powers, super strength and an ability to fly. Journey with him through Metro city and beyond and take on his arch rivals with special weapons. The first OFFICAL Astroboy game available for the iPhone and iTouch, lets you take control of your favorite character through 6 action packed levels. Your goal is to cross all hurdles in your path, destroy all the vicious villains for a final showdown with Pluto, the world’s strongest robot.”

Air Force Online: Price: $0.99
“Air Force Online is a game that lets you relive your childhood memories of playing the planes game. The game lets you navigate a World War II Japanese fighter plane and your mission is to bring down enemy aircraft by rotating your plane clockwise or anti-clockwise in the skies to avoid enemy fire as well as to chase after the enemy aircraft.”

Tap-Fu: Price: $3.99
“Tap-Fu is a casual beat-em-up inspired by games like Karateka, Double Dragon, and Castle Crashers. Features rich 3D levels and striking 2D characters, with unique and easy to learn control systems and fast-paced combat with combos and Style Points.”

A Lyndon Wicked Tale: Red Rage: Price: $0.99
“Lyndon’s Wicked Tales: Red Rage is an epic story that takes the story of Little Red Riding Hood and turns it on its head. The game fully embraces the true nature of the story and creates a dark and intriguing tale that pits Red on an engaging journey against wolves, vampires, and werewolves. Of course there are many twists throughout the game that propel the player forward and continue the story.”

Adventure

Pang Mobile: Price: $2.99
“Test your reflexes in this highly addictive official remake of the 80s arcade classic, “Pang”, also known as “Buster Bros” in the US. Travel from Japan to the tropical shores of Hawaii as you take up the task of saving civilisation from dangerously bouncing bubbles that threaten city landmarks across the planet. Can you save Mount Fuji from being flattened by spherical dangers? Will your reactions be good enough to defend the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty? Or can you wear them down while saving your own skin? Everyone’s favourite from the arcades, Pang is easy to learn but difficult to master as you progress through 17 locations saving the world’s attractions with an assortment of weapons from the grappling hook to the twin harpoon. Use various power-ups including a force field and time freeze; anything to give you the edge to avoid their fatal touch.”

iMPig: Price: $0.99
“Help Piggy shoot the wolves and keep back the wolves’ attack. More wolves are killed, more props you will get, and even become more powerful as green giant, spider man, or bat man. But meanwhile more difficult the obstacles become. Move on, protect the little piggy and become a really bat man.”

frog jumping adventure: Price: $1.99
“Once upon a time there was frog prince. The frog was jumping around the world to find princess to be prince again. Your frog prince’s greate adventure is ready to go. It’s simple one button Jumping game.”

Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet: Price: $3.99
“Take on the role of a homicide detective in this spine-tingling mystery by bestselling author JAMES PATTERSON. Study murder scenes, perform forensic analysis and find evidence as you try to solve a series of ghastly murders in San Francisco.”

Arcade

Polapoly Blue: Price: $1.99
“The ultimate figure swapping puzzler! Now it is in polygon. More twist, structured story, reasonably leveled missions and dazzling action than any other figure swapping puzzlers! Feel the extreme pleasure as you swap adjacent Poly to match three or more colors in 6 different directions! Unlike other typical figure swapping puzzlers, Polapoly let users to select various ways to play the game.”

Watergame - (Old water toys): Price: $0.99
“The most refreshing experience for the iPhone! Remember when you used to play with those old water toys? Now Anyplays will take you back to your childhood with WaterGame. Turn your iPhone/iPod into a water tank and try to place all coloured balls in the corresponding baskets to complete every mission.”

Geo Warfare: Price: $0.99
“Protect your city from an alien invasion by battling against enemy spaceships in their attempt to conquer Earth. Your goal is to destroy indicated targets before they reach any alien aircraft. Failure to do so will cause UFOs to fire lasers towards your city.”

Board

Domineering: Price: $0.99
“Domineering is a very easy to learn strategy game where each player takes turns placing their dominoe. Each player tries to force the other player into not being able to place their piece on the board. One player may only place dominoes horizontally, and the other may only place them vertically.”

Card

3 Kingdoms Landmaster: Price: $1.99
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight for your own fortune! Take over your opponents’ land to level up your own land. You could make more money with more land, so take as much land as you can!! Use as many cards as you want on your opponents. From taking over others’ land to playing some tricks on your opponents, the special effect on this cards will overwhelmed them! So buy as many cards as you want! Characters from the famous 3-kingdom Chinese history will join this game. Their cuteness, unique personalities and facial expressions will blow you away! Don’t ever trust anyone when you are rich! Even when they claim to be your friends… If you’re not in the mood for tricks and fights, go for the free mode. You change the game settings in your way Bet small or play big; it’s all up to you! Play the game just the way you like. We have 2 different ways of control for you. It’s ok if you don’t know how to play. We have the best tutorial for you to guide you into the overwhelming world of land wresting!”

Casino

NOTHING

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

Math Brain for Kids: Price: $0.99
“Test your ability to solve different math operations.”

Touch Touch Typing: Price: $3.99
“This application is a “Flick Japanese Input” training application. You can lesson Japanese flick-kanji-input with fun. The basic lesson is for a beginner and special lesson is for experts. The challenge mode allows you to challenge the speed, accuracy of “flick-kanji-input”. With tapping the logo area of the main screen, you can change the mode to “Touch Typing” training mode. In this mode you can try to input kanji with no-key-top-keyboard. When you master “Touch typing”, you’ll be able to input kanji so fast.”

Memory Commander: Price: $0.99
“Train your brain with “Memory Commander”! 65 levels with increasing difficulty train you to remember up to 10 symbols. Remember the symbols at the top. Once they disappear try to find the symbols as fast as you can. The faster you are the more points you get. Become “Memory Commander” on your phone first and then compete worldwide via the online HighScoreList.”

Cut Word: Price: $0.99
“An original word game from M.G.Studio. In this game,Cut Word offers you 45 levels to challenge.Each level has a series of words which is both in Chinese and English.We all know Chinese word is a square word,it’s hard to remember,but each word has its character. Since the game began,the word’s order has been reordered,so in a limit time,you need to drag them to the right order to finish this level’s challenge. This game can lead you to find out the Chinese square word’s magic,then help you remember it.You can show off the word you have got by your hand. It’s awesome!”

Family

Squeeballs Party: Price: $2.99
“Family friendly video game for kids ages 9 and up. You will slice, dice, fire and shock the toys as one of our testers through over 70 mini games found in 5 different game genres that provide endless hours of fun for everyone.”

Magnoid Plus: Price: $0.99
“Magnoid Plus…..... is a very interactive and addictive game. As you progress with the game by removing the bricks, it becomes more exciting. The speed of the ball will gradually increase without you even knowing, which makes this game really exciting. It will act as your favorite pass time, while traveling or when you are getting bored. Being the initial version, we have made this application simple and Addictive. Our enhancements are going on that will reveal more features and information which you will really love in our next enhanced version. We would welcome your ideas as to what all things you would like to have in the application so that we can try and incorporate it in our next version.”

The Snow Queen: Price: $0.99
“Digital Media is proud to bring to you classical story made famous by Hans Christian Andersen. Join Gerda on her journey to find Kay and bing him back. And after watching story you can color scenes from fairy tale in coloring book.”

Cinderella: Price: $0.99
“Digital Media brings you new animated version of classic fairy tale - Cinderella. Inspired by Charles Perrault writing we created a funny and eye catching application where your kids can watch Cinderella’s story and play with coloring book where they can let their creativity free with dozens of colours and textures on 10 scenes from this beautiful tale.”

Music

NOTHING

Puzzle

Cash Cow: Price: $0.99
“Cash Cow makes pocket change add up to loads of fun! Help Buck the Cow and his friends save the farm in this original game of coin-counting. The objective is simple: earn money by counting up your loose change. Small coins make big coins, and big coins make dollar bills. Things get trickier when you add counterfeit money, ladybugs, gold nuggets, glowing coins, and powerups into the mix. With its unique challenges, fantastic graphics, and catchy soundtrack, Cash Cow is one app you’ll keep playing again and again!”

Piyo Blocks: Price: $0.99
“Your task is simple – swap adjacent Piyo Blocks to match 3 or more of the same kind to capture them. To level up you will need to capture a target number of each kind of Piyo. The real skill comes into play when creating combos, which multiplies your score for capturing the Piyos. The bigger the combo you create, the greater score you’ll get!”

PuzzMon: Price: $1.99
“Apprenticeship magic knight’s Mint clears the trial given because it becomes an independent magic knight. The mission of each level is put out, and if monsters of a specified number are knocked down in time, the level is clear. It is possible to knock it down by moving the monster up and down and right and left, and arranging the same three monsters or more sideways.”

Racing

NOTHING

Role Playing

NOTHING

Simulation

Anna Montana: Price: $1.99
“You start the game as Anna Montana, a desperate co-ed turned housekeeper, who tidies up houses at Glamour Lane, which belong to some very diverse and eccentric individuals. You will need to pick up laundry and drop them off at an automated washer & dryer, pick up the scraps, vacuum the floor, clean and mop the rooms and do everyday household duties. Successful completion requires following instructions given by the fussy home owners and completing multiple housekeeping tasks. The quicker you tidy up the houses, the more Glamour $$ you earn. Efficiency not only earns you a higher tip from these well-known stars but also additional elegant awards.”

Lone Wolf - Lion’s Den: Price: $0.99
“Lone Wolf - Lion’s Den is Donoma Games’s second entry in the sniper genre focusing on stealth and strategy. Lion’s Den challenges the player to find different ways of completing each mission without alerting the other guards. The latter half of the missions focuses on quickly eliminating the enemies.”

Fail Boat: Price: $0.99
“Are you ready to set sail on the high seas? Fail Boat puts you at the helm of your very own ship to deliver cargo to ports all over the world. Find the most lucrative jobs and climb to the top of the leaderboards with the most gold! Traveling between ports is in real-time, so after you set sail, you can go about your business and check Fail Boat whenever you want to see when you’ll arrive. Good luck captain!”

CrazyBumb: Price: $0.99
“Bumb, crazy bumb. You must touch the correct position to perish the bumb. Note that where you touch, where the rocket go and explosion. And there are many kinds of item can boost up youself.”

Sports

PaperJet: Price: $1.99
“Paper Jet is a game where a paper plane is thrown three times and players compete for the highest total distance thrown. Make full use of all the different items in the air and on the ground to fly your paper plane further and further. Hit a ‘nitoro’ and you’ll go even further! Hit a bird and you’ll slow down! Who will be in command of the heart pounding battle that looms in the sky?! With the ranking function you’ll know where you rank among players from around the world. So aim to have the world’s best throw!”

Hockey Allstar Shootout: Price: $0.99
“Beat the best goalies the world has to offer in this addictive, easy to play hockey shootout game! Choose between nine different countries as you attempt to deke out top class goalies. Will you try and beat the goalie five hole? Decide to go top shelf? The choice is yours.”

Ragduck Hunt: Price: $0.99
“Blast ducks from the sky and witness their fall in glorious 3D with full ragdoll physics enabled! Test your marksmanship by collecting all the coins.”

Strategy

Abductor: Price: $0.99
“Humble Gaming offers you an extended, fun filled and unique Match 3 type Puzzle Game, with loaded features offering good value. All the fun of a typical Match 3 puzzle game with additional twists of power plays and a mission specific to celebrate the Halloween spirit. An UFO, during a routine visit is intrigued by how Earthlings celebrate Halloween. They decide to abduct the ‘spirit’ of Halloween, by taking with them any and all objects and artifacts that represent or symbolize Halloween.”

Trivia

Explosion!: Price: $0.99
“Explosion! is a skill game that will try out your memory, reflexes and timing in an attempt to defuse a dangerous bomb, before it esplodes! Thanks to the e-Defuser™ in fact, you can enter certain codes, using the keypad, in order to prevent the explosion. Find the highest number of hidden words, organized into different categories, as fast as you can… but be careful! Guess each word before time runs out, otherwise the bomb will esplode, ending your game! It won’t be an easy task to decipher the sequence of 50 hidden words, because after each error (wrong letter) the timer will increase its speed, getting you closer and closer to a very explosive epilogue!”

Word

NOTHING

iPhone and iPod Touch Links

AppleTell: [Appletell reviews Elgato’s EyeTV for iPhone] [App it Up: The Fright Factory] [Free Apps roundup for October 16th, 2009] [In-app purchases now available in free apps]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

One of the most popular icons and characters in Japan is a brown haired girl with yellow ribbons in her hair named Haruhi Suzumiya. People mimic the opening dance from her anime, dress up like her, collect toys that look like her character, read about her and even play video games where she is the star.

Thanks to companies like Bandai Entertainment, Little Brown Books and Yen Press, people in North America can start to read and watch Haruhi Suzumiya’s adventures. However, no video game publisher has taken a chance on her eclectic games.

Before we look at five video game adventures, lets take a brief look at what Haruhism is all about.

Who’s Haruhi Suzumiya?

Haruhi Suzumiya’s the star of a series of light novels, manga volumes, anime, movie and video games. The series began in June, 2003 with the light novel The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Pay close attention to the title, because it’s the start of a trend. All the Haruhi Suzumiya media are titled in a similar manner. Two manga series followed shortly after in the spring of 2004 and winter of 2005. The anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya ran in 2006, and was expanded and rerun in 2009.  Another manga series began in 2007.

Right now, the new run of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is going on with additional episodes, there’s a new spin-off manga called The Vanishing of Yuki-chan Nagato and a movie, The Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya is being prepared for a 2010 release.

Haruhi Suzumiya is an etcentric high school girl with an interest in the extraordinary. In order to find these strange phenomena, like espers, aliens, robots and the like, she creates a school club called the Spreading Excitement All Over the World with the Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade, or SOS Brigade. She convinces/badgers/drags her classmate Kyon, the only person she talks to, into joining. Three other people, Yuki Nagato, Mikuru Asahina and Itsuki Koizumi, also end up joining as well. It turns out that the three other people didn’t join because they’re interested in the supernatural.

Instead, Yuki, Mikuru and Itsuki join because they are supernatural. Apparently, Haruhi somehow holds, or developed, the ability to change reality at her will, and the three of them have been sent by different organizations to monitor her and sort-of keep her in check. So, out of everyone, Kyon’s the only normal person. He also tends to be narrator for the events.

So, each form of media deals with a new adventure that Haruhi and the SOS Brigade gets into. Currently, the following Haruhi Suzumiya media is available in English in the U.S.:

• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Complete Collection DVDs of the anime series.
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya manga volumes 1-4 by Nagaru Tanigawa.
• Haruhi Suzumiya Yearkbook: A Guide to the Many Moods of Haruhi Suzumiya fanbook by Kazuhisa Fujie
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya, the first two volumes in the original light novel series by Nagaru Tanigawa.

The video games of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Not surprisingly, the success of the Haruhi Suzumiya series has spawned a number of video games. Here’s a brief overview of what’s available, in chronological order. Keep in mind, the games all contain quite a bit of fanservice.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku aka The Promise of Haruhi Suzumiya (PSP)
This is essentially a visual novel/adventure game with occasional mini-games thrown in. This game follows the part of the light novel/manga/anime where the SOS Brigade is creating The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina. It’s the only Haruhi Suzumiya video game to not have an original storyline. Mainly it’s a visual novel, but there are some mini-games. Warning to importers: Text heavy!

Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi aka The Perplexity of Haruhi Suzumiya (PS2)
This is essentially a visual novel/adventure game with occasional mini-games thrown in. Haruhi wants to make a video game, and gets the SOS Brigade involved. There are quite a few different games you can make, like an RPG, card game or Princess Maker clone. Warning to importers: Text heavy! Also, the PS2 isn’t region-free, so this only works on Japanese PS2s.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekidou aka The Excitement of Haruhi Suzumiya (Wii)
Dance along with Haruhi Suzumiya and the SOS Brigade. Haruhi’s found a flier for the dance competition, and has decided that she and the SOS Brigade are entering. There are Story and Free Play Modes. Remember, the Wii isn’t region-free so don’t buy it unless you have a Japanese Wii.

Suzumiya no Heiretsu aka The Parallel of Haruhi Suzumiya (Wii)
Yet another visual novel adventure game. Haruhi’s won a cruise trip, and she’s bringing the SOS Brigade with her. Once they set sail, a number of improbable and unusual adventures take place. Warning to importers: Text heavy! Also, like I mentioned before, the Wii isn’t region-free.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Chokuretsu aka The Series of Haruhi Suzumiya (DS)
This is an adventure game, along the lines of Lux Pain or Phoenix Wright. Haruhi, Kyou and the SOS Brigade use the summer to investigate the school’s seven, unexplained mysteries. Warning to importers: Text heavy!

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at five Japanese gadgets which exist for no other reason than to be absurdly adorable.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables suggested 35 video games you could play on Hello Kitty’s 35th anniversary.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

On November 1, 2009, Hello Kitty celebrates her 35th birthday. Funny, she doesn’t look that old. It’s also her twin sister Mimmy’s birthday too, but she’s not the famous one so nobody really cares about her. She’s just part of the entourage.

In honor of Hello Kitty’s 35th, Important Importables has put together a list of 35 video and board games with Hello Kitty themes or where Hello Kitty is the star. This way, if there’s a game that looks or sounds interesting, you have enough time to get the games before the first. There are games for US and Japanese systems, old and new, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding something to suit you. In fact, there are two free computer games on our list, and some very affordable iPhone/iPod Touch titles.

Without any further ado, here’s Important Importables Hello Kitty game list!

35 Games to Play in Honor of Hello Kitty’s 35th Birthday:

1. Hello Kitty no Hanabatake (NES): NES systems weren’t region free, so don’t import unless you own a Famicom.
2. Hello Kitty World (NES): Again, NES units weren’t region free.
3. Hello Kitty Yume no Kuni no Daibouken (Playdia): If you’re one of the few who actually owns a Playdia, there’s a Hello Kitty game for kids out there to play on it.
4. Hello Kitty Asobi no Mochabako (3DO): Likewise, if you’re a fan of old systems and Japanese games, there’s a 3DO Hello Kitty game waiting for your time and attention.
5. Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy (PS1): It’s sort of a puzzle, action game where you have to create chains of similarly colored cubes and also have Hello Kitty walk on all cubes on the field.
6. Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy (GBC): Don’t have a PS1, don’t worry! The preceding puzzle game had a Game Boy Color adaptation as well. Be forewarned, the PS1 version is much better than the GBC one.
7. Hello Kitty: Lovely Fruit Park (Dreamcast): Sega released a puzzle game starring Hello Kitty for the Dreamcast in 1999. It’s a Japan exclusive, but if you have the right boot disk you can play it on your Dreamcast.
8. Hello Kitty no Magical Block (Dreamcast): It’s a puzzle game from Sega with a Hello Kitty theme released in 2000. Again, this is a Japan exclusive.
9. Hello Kitty no Waku Waku Quiz (Dreamcast): Another Japanese Hello Kitty game from Sega that was also released in 2000. This time, it’s a quiz game where you answer various trivia questions to succeed.
10. Hello Kitty no Onnaru Mail (Dreamcast): One more Japanese Dreamcast Hello Kitty game! Well, application. It’s a combination email program and web browser, starring Hello Kitty. Hurray!
11. Hello Kitty Bowling (PS1): Spend the day bowling with Hello Kitty. This was a Japan exclusive, and due to region locking isn’t playable on US PlayStations.

12. Hello Kitty Collection: Miracle Fashion Maker (GBA): Help make Hello Kitty even more stylish by designing new cloths and playing dress up.
13. Hello Kitty to Dear Daniel no Dream Adventure (GBC): Platformers are always fun. This portable one sends Hello Kitty on an adventure to reunite with her boyfriend, Dear Daniel. Once again, region-free means anyone can enjoy this action-packed adventure.
14. Hello Kitty no Happy House (GBC): If you’re looking to relax with an older system, get out your Game Boy Color and pop in this Japan exclusive.
15. Hello Kitty Boogie Woogie! (cell phone): This is an older game, so your cell phone may not be able to get and play it. It’s a dancing game where you use the keypad to make Hello Kitty dance to a few songs.
16. Hello Kitty: Dream Carnival (PC): You could always pick up an this carnival themed action game starring Hello Kitty for your PC.
17. Hello Kitty: Cutie World (PC): Or, you could always play some casual puzzle games, like Mah-Jong or matching, with Hello Kitty.
18. Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals (GBA): Hello Kitty wants to throw parties for her Sanrio friends, but she needs your help! You have to deliver invitations, organize the event and make sure everything goes well for her.
19. Hello Kitty: Bubblegum Girlfriends (PC): Another collection of Hello Kitty themed, casual mini-games for your computer.
20. Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue (GC): You can always pull out your GameCube, or your Wii, and take off with Hello Kitty as she skates off to rescue her friends.
21. Hello Kitty Daily (DS): Need help organizing your life? Pick up Aspyr’s Hello Kitty themed day planner.
22. Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (DS): Hello Kitty has moved to the city. You can help her make friends with other Sanrio characters and hopefully, one day, move into the penthouse of her dreams.

23. Hello Kitty no Panda Sport Stadium (DS): What’s cuter than Hello Kitty? Hello Kitty dressed as a panda! This is a Japanese-exclusive sports game that lets Hello Kitty participate in a variety of sports events. The DS is region-free, so you can enjoy this game no matter where you live.
24. Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise (iPhone/iPod Touch): For $4.99, you can play an action/puzzle game where you guide Hello Kitty on a parachute jump.
25. Hello Kitty Camera (iPhone/iPod Touch): Add a little extra cuteness to your pictures with this $2.99 program.
26. iHelloKitty Tokyo (iPhone/iPod Touch): Hello Kitty loves to dress up, and you can help her do so in this $2.99 application.
27. Hello Kitty Online (PC): Its in the closed beta phase right now, but Aeria Games is bringing the free Hello Kitty MMO to the states. You may not be able to play immediately, but you can sign up and wait for the betas!
28. Hello Kitty’s Sunny Day http://www.sanrio.com/fun_and_games/arcade (Browser-based): You could always sample Sanrio’s free, online action game starring Hello Kitty as she tries to keep it from raining.
29. Happy Party with Hello Kitty & Friends (DS): The latest Hello Kitty release just came out in Europe, so if you’re in Europe and reading this, you can celebrate Hello Kitty’s birthday with a party on your DS!
30. Hello Kitty Flip ‘n’ Match (board game): Improve your memory and beat your friends with the help of Hello Kitty.
31. Hello Kitty Chess Game (board game): Of course, Hello Kitty is queen and Dear Daniel is king.
32. Which Hello Kitty Are You? (board game): Haven’t you always wondered whether you identify more with the classic Hello Kitty or one of the newer iterations (like punk Hello Kitty)?
33. Hello Kitty Toss Across (board game): If you’re not a big fan of Hello Kitty, you may get some enjoyment from tossing beanbags at blocks with her face on them.
34. Hello Kitty Monopoly Junior (board game): With all of the various, special editions of Monopoly, you couldn’t honestly think there wasn’t a Hello Kitty one.
35. Hello Kitty Big Roll Bingo (board game): I can’t help but thing it should be K-I-T-T-Y instead of B-I-N-G-O.

Important Importables is coming up on its 100th column! If you have any suggestions as to what you’d like to see the 100th column cover, let me know in the comments!

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables talks about the Haruhi Suzumiya phenomenon, and the games that go with it.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed the Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World (The World Ends with You) Original Soundtrack.

Read [Gamertell] Site [Sanrio.com] Site [35th Anniversary Hello Kitty Colors (English)] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Tomato Adventure
Price: Originally $48.90. It’s now out of print, but Amazon.co.jp has people selling it for as low as ?420.
System(s): GBA
Release Date: January 25, 2002
Publisher (Developer): Nintendo (AlphaDream)
ESRB Rating: N/A
Pros: The Gimmick system offers an interesting way to attack and keep the game interesting. Its bright and colorful with really cute characters. (Even the enemies are adorable.) It’s a good RPG for people just starting to learn Japanese, since it’s all pretty much in hirigana and katakana.
Cons: The story portion may be a bit too simple and unappealing for older players. The music is only so-so.
Overall Score: 8/10

A few years ago, Play-Asia had a massive sale on Game Boy Advance games. I decided to use it as an opportunity to pick up the first entry in the Starfy series, Densetsu no Stafi. While shopping, another game also caught my eye. It was bright and colorful RPG designed with children in mind, so I knew it wouldn’t be too taxing when it came to kanji. Plus, it was $4.90. I bought it on a whim. Little did I know how much I would enjoy Tomato Adventure, that impulse purchase.

The story of a tomato-hating boy that saved his girlfriend and the world.

DeMille hates tomatoes. In most places, this is no big deal, but when you live in a land called the Ketchup Kingdom, it kind of makes you a pariah. DeMille and all the other tomato haters have been banished to a single village called Kobora. The only way to escape is to embrace tomatoes and a tomato-loving lifestyle. DeMille isn’t all that unhappy there though. He has friends and a girlfriend named Pasaran.

King Abira, ruler of the Ketchup Kingdom, kidnaps Pasaran and wants to drain her power of heart so he can turn the entire Ketchup Kingdom and all of its residents into a massive toyland filled with toys. DeMille immediately heads to the Gimmick Palace to rescue her, but learns he can’t even get in unless he beats King Abira’s six super kid minions to get toy parts needed to enter the palace and not only rescue Pasaran, but also save the entire Ketchup Kingdom. DeMille won’t be alone though - he’ll find three friends on his adventure, Aresa, Sofubi and Rereku.

Created for kids, but appropriate for all ages.

Tomato Adventure is reminiscent of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga in terms of presentation. You have characters exploring a big, bright fantasy kingdom. The battles let you use only two character at once. When you attack you use Gimmicks, which require you to push buttons again and perform little mini-games to perform special attacks.

You can also adjust the difficulty of Tomato Adventure by tweaking the Gimmick options. If you want very little challenge, you can make the Gimmicks easy to execute. If you want more of a challenge, you just make them more difficult.

It’s also a great game for people who are just learning Japanese. There’s very little kanji in the game. Plus, it contains all the RPG staples. So as long as you’re familiar with RPG structure, katakana and hirigana, you’ll have no problem playing the game. In time, you’ll even learn to recognize different key words, actions, menu titles and items.

The story is a bit fluffy. It’s cute and endearing, but something most RPG players have seen before. I think that, for most players, the younger you are, the more you’ll get out of the Tomato Adventure storyline. That isn’t to say that it’s bad. It just possesses a lot of common themes and story elements that aren’t going to leave veterans shocked.

A great RPG for beginners or people just learning Japanese.

While Tomato Adventure isn’t going to have the most sophisticated story, it is incredibly adorable and has a neat little system for attacking opponents. The language used is simple to understand, so young children and those just starting to learn Japanese could use this to practice their new language skills. Its also interesting to play it to see how an RPG for children handles issues like segregation, racism, discrimination and tyranny.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews the soundtrack for Subarashiki Kono Sekai ~It’s a Wonderful World~, aka The World Ends with You.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the Tokyo Game Show.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

New this week at the PlayStation store is a seek-and-find mystery game called Interpol: The Trail Of Dr. Chaos for $9.99. In this game you play as a detective that must travel around the world to international cities to investigate crime scenes for clues that can help bring Dr. Chaos to justice. You can solve the crime on your own or have your friends help you find evidence. Check it out:

This week’s PlayStation One Classic game is Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable for $9.99. Let the war of the lions rage again in the world of Ivalice as players control Ramza, a young nobleman and the friends he meets along the way. The game is about strategy, players can build up their strengths and abilities using one of many job classes to add to their army. Check out this original gem from the Final Fantasy world:

Here is what else is new:
Downloadable Games - PSOne Classics

• Tomb Raider III (PS3/PSP/$5.99)

Downloadable Games

• Switchball (PS3/$9.99)
• State Shift (PSP/$9.99)

Game Update Information
For those who purchased Lemmings a new version has been updated with a patch. The game is the same with two new features, trophies and rumble support. Those who downloaded the demo or thought about downloading the demo will find the game now has two extra free levels to try.

Game Demos:

• FIFA Soccer 10 Demo (PS3/Free)
• NBA LIVE 10 Demo (PS3/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum Insane Night Challenge Map Pack (PS3/Free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Pack 5 DLC (PSP/Free)

Guitar Hero World Tour Packs:

• AFI Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Beautiful Thieves” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “Girls Not Grey” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Missing Frame” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• Anvil Pack 01 (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “666″ by Anvil (PS3/$1.99)
• “This Is Thirteen” by Anvil (PS3/$1.99)
• “Metal on Metal” by Anvil (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Tracks:

• “Hand Me Down World” by The Guess Who (PS3/$1.99)
• “No Time” by The Guess Who (PS3/$1.99)
• “Rock Your Socks” by Tenacious D (PS3/$1.99)
• “Tribute” by Tenacious D (PS3/$1.99)
• “Pick Me Up” by Dinosaur Jr (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Wagon” by Dinosaur Jr (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence (PSP/$1.99)
• “Back from the Dead” by Spinal Tap (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• GT PSP Creator Interview (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 E3 Video (PS3/Free)
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 NYCC Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Vignette – AC130 (PS3/Free)
• Demon’s Souls Premiere Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Welcome to Need for Speed SHIFT Video (PS3/Free)
• Need for Speed SHIFT: Drift in SHIFT (PS3/Free)
• Need for Speed SHIFT: Exclusive Driver Profile Feature Video (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10 Official Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 Teaser 1 (PS3/Free)
• WipEout PULSE Trailer (PSP/Free)

New Movies to Rent or Own:
This week’s video store features the X-men collection with Wolverine: X-Men Origins available with bonus documentary to own for $14.99 in SD format. This film is a prequel that follows the origins of everyone’s favorite and most notable mutant Wolverine from the back woods of an 1800s Canada through two wars leading the steel-clawed mutant we know today. Check it out under a new category just for all things X-Men at the PlayStation Network Store in the video section. Check it out:

Here’s what else is playing:

• Crank 2: High Voltage. Rated R (Own/SD Format/$14.99)
• Fast & Furious. Rated PG-13 (Own/SD Format/$14.99)
• Fast & Furious. Rated PG-13 (Rent/SD Format/$3.99)
• Fast & Furious. Rated PG-13 (Rent/HD Format/$5.99)
• The Office Season 6. Rated TV-PG (Own/SD Format/$1.99)
• The Office Season 6. Rated TV-PG (Own/HD Format/$2.99)
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 5. Rated TV-MA (Own/SD Format/$1.99)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Fate/unlimited Codes Wallpaper 1 (PSP/Free)
• Fat Princess Wallpaper 2 (PS3/Free)
• Batman: Arkham Asylum: ‘Joker Theme’ (PS3/Free)
• Katamari Forever and NOBY NOBY BOY Final Theme (PS3/Free)
• Ghost Skulls Theme (PS3/$1.49)
• My Bloody Valentine Theme (PSP/$1.49)
• Transporter 3 Theme (PSP/$1.49)
• Bloody Escape Theme (PS3/$1.49)
• The Godfather Theme (PSP/$1.99)
• Star Trek – Terran Empire Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Star Trek – Original Series Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Natasha Yi Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• A Pirate’s Booty Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Light and Shadows Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Star Trek Dual Pack Themes (PS3/PSP/$3.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5
Price: $49.98
Format: DVD
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Publisher (Distributor): Universal Studios
Rating: Not Rated
Pros: The same great story, acting and effects we’ve come to expect and appreciate throughout the series. Most everything is nicely wrapped up without a dumb, dangling sequel-generating element.
Cons: Purely subjective dislikes that might include unusually paced scenes, the enigmatic Starbuck, the last few scenes and intentionally unanswered phenomena.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 95/100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of five.

The final half season of the groundbreaking revamp TV series, Battlestar Galactica, wraps up all of the mysteries, visions and even relationships that had been developing throughout the series. Even with all the bonus footage, extended episodes and commentary tracks, that doesn’t mean the ending will make any more sense.

But do not despair. This is the perfect followup to the amazing first half of the final season and a beautiful, even if somewhat intentionally enigmatic conclusion to the series.

So Watched We All

Caveat Emptor: Small spoilers ahead.

The story picks up with the disappointing discovery of a charred Earth which exasperates existing frustrations, causing bigger rifts and inciting dual civil wars. You’ll see surprising defections, lead characters being killed, at least one character unexpectedly returning and a lot of action. As for the Fab Five Cylcons, they eventually learn more about their past with seemingly random and uncontrollable events colliding into a grand climax even for them.

Baltar continues his twisty existence as a religious (and scientific) leader, resulting in the outing of a main characters’ resurrection. Adama gets a little more nookie and gets to fire off many shots. Starbuck, even though she finds herself, her strange past continue to haunt her as do musical echoes that will, of course, become very important later. And Tyrol continues to get crapped on, which, of course, makes him even more cranky.

Eventually Adama leads the crew and a deteriorating Galactica into one final mission which ultimately brings the series to a rather finite end. The series definitely goes in unexpected directions and, at every turn, it’s a joy to watch.

The pace of the final season swings between intense action, suspense and long, thoughty pauses, which is rather unusual compared to the previous seasons. Some of it is rather intentional, especially with the final episode, may annoyingly slow down the pace for some viewers down but, overall, even those moments offer slight respites and moments of profound background.

And, yes, the theme song from the original series does get its own moment in the final episode. Aside from that, the nods to the original series are almost completely gone save the re-emergence of an old foe for only a few brief moments.

Don’t Lose an Eye

For those of you looking for hard answers to those little mysteries, forget it. What you see on screen is essentially what you get in terms of deeper meanings although they do bring together a lot of the series’ images (the Opera House), resolve those little things that have been developing (Starbuck and her childhood childhood visions and recent musical interests) get couples together for good and even put the Galactica to rest. Even with all that, the series’ creators have intentionally left a lot up to be interpreted in many ways.

That means the commentary tracks will ultimately prove useless to those who need something more solid to help them come to grips with the end of the series. Instead, the writer, director and others talk about off screen experiences, hardly relating to whatever is happening on screen. When you see that key moment or two you’ve been waiting an hour to have explained you will instead be listening to the middle of some tangent about filming or set design. In terms of film education, that’s all useful information but, for fans that’s not necessarily what you want to hear right at that moment.

Deleted scenes also don’t add much to the overall experience (although I almost always enjoy seeing what was left out). The extended versions include footage that is blended well enough that it’s hard to recall exactly what you didn’t see when the episodes aired. It is nice to have the podcasts collected in one place.

Perhaps the most interesting revelation in the bonus features is that much of the success is due to a “manifesto” written by series’ developer, writer and producer Ron Moore (who gets a big ol’ cameo in the final scenes). Interestingly, it was meant for the sales team to use and was instead copied and accidentally sent out with copies of the script. As fate would have it, that page, called a “manifesto” by everyone except Moore, proved to be vital to the series being picked up, developed and getting a great cast. It’s hard to think that didn’t play into the series story lines, even if unconsciously. Even more interesting is that they did not want the series to become a “space opera,” though it certainly had operatic imagery, undertones and even tragedies.

I’ll Buy That for a Starbuck

If you get this set expecting to watch all of the bonus footage and listening to hours of commentaries to get all of your questions answered, you will be massively disappointed. That should not, however, deter you in any way from getting the final episodes to this amazing series. It’s worth a watch for anyone, even if only once.

The only reason not to get this and the previous seasons might be to save up and buy the pricey Blu-ray complete series set (MSRP $349.99). In any case, I cannot imagine why you would not (or not have already) complete(d) your Battlestar Galactica home video collection.

Read [Gamertell] Site [Battlestar Galactica DVD]

Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

In North America, E3 is the king of video game trade shows. In Japan, it’s all about the Tokyo Game Show. Held every fall, the Tokyo Game Show is the place to see the latest and most anticipated video games in Japan.

The 2009 Tokyo Game Show spans four days next week. The first two days of the event, September 24 and 25, are business days, where it’s press and industry members only. September 26 and 27 are the days to watch - those are the ways where anyone can come in and explore.

To help everyone get ready for this major event, Important Importables has put together a smattering of information on the history of the Tokyo Game Show and helpful things to know about the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.

The history behind the Tokyo Game Show:

The Tokyo Game Show is a fairly recent exposition and convention, with the first one being held back in 1996. From 1997 to 2001, it was a biannual event. There would be a show every spring and fall, showcasing new products in such. In 2002, the Tokyo Game Show was changed to a yearly event, with a presentation every fall.

The Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Japan is the standard location for the event, and it tends to take place either in September or October. Starting in 2007, the Tokyo Game Show has become a four day in a row event, with the first two days exclusive for press and industry members and the second two days open to everyone.

Each year, the Tokyo Game Show seems to get bigger and more impressive. The hallmark for this year’s Tokyo Game Show is the fact that, for the first time, there is an Advanced Mobile & PC section that looks at games for those cell phones and computers. Also, like the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, the event will run using green energy.

Foreshadowing and preparing for the 2009 Tokyo Game Show:

Since the Tokyo Game Show is only a week away, a lot of companies are starting to announce what games will be showing up or debuting at the event, and also letting people know what kinds of events they can expect to see. There is already a preliminary tally of how many exhibitors and games will be displayed - initial reports from the Tokyo Game Show detailed information report state that 55 exhibitors and 493 games were registered to appear.

Sense of Wonder Night is one of those events. It happens Friday, September 25, and offers attendees a chance to see games that are out of the ordinary. It showcases new ideas and gameplay concepts from around the world that haven’t been seen before. This year 10 titles are being shown off, six from Japan, one from Australia, one from Sweden and two from the United States.

There will also be the requisite Game Science Museum. This year it is set up in three halls, with each hall having a different focus. One is focusing on Feudal warlords, showing off games, armor and information on samurai. Another looks at the structure of modern consoles and the other is an exhibit for children that shows how game character models and graphics have advanced and changed over the years.

Many game companies will also be holding specific events for the show to supplement the official Tokyo Game Show staples. For example, Siliconera has already mentioned that D3 Publisher is holding a Dream C Club event September 26, 2009, where people can see the voice actresses who provide the speaking and singing voices for the hostesses in the game. Expect to see a lot of similar announcements on Japanese gaming sites and blogs announcing similar promotions from other companies.

The best thing to do is check out the Tokyo Game Show 2009 website. Under the Attendee Info header, you can see all of the exhibitors that will be attending the event, check out the TGS Forum for additional information and see a map that shows the layout of the event. There’s an English option, so no need to worry about language barriers. If you’re in Japan and want to attend, it’ll cost 1,200 yen this year per day. Children get in for free.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews the GBA game Tomato Adventure.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables was all about the Idolm@ster, in honor of the forthcoming release of Idolm@ster Dearly Stars.

Read [Tokyo Game Show 2009]  Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

I can’t deny it any longer.

I have all the telltale signs.

I have Avatar: The Last Airbender on my Gamefly queue.

I’m working on mathematical equations as to how to kill 53,000 zombies on Dead Rising and 53,000 infected on Prototype.

For Mario’s sake, stop making that an achievement. You taunt us addicts and completionists. I’m not doing that one anymore, especially not for 30 gamer points.

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that are oh-so satisfying. I don’t even know why that little “plink” noise and the words “Achievement Unlocked!” make my heart sing, I just know that they do. High scores have been around as long as gaming has but Microsoft has come up with a unique way to put them front and center.

Technically, these aren’t even all high scores. Some of them are low moments. Madden NFL 10 has one for throwing the ball away on fourth down titled “Well Played, Really.” 50 Cent: Blood on The Sand offers one for getting killed on Easy level called “Not Bulletproof.” If you need any proof of the success of Xbox Achievements, look at how quickly Sony adopted its own version with Trophies. Other companies don’t borrow concepts that don’t work right. One of the first things I do when a game I’m interested in buying comes out, even before checking reviews, is seeing what the achievements are and how easy or difficult they are to get.

The question comes up and is valid: “What have you earned here, B?”

In the grand scheme of things, nothing tangible.

I can’t spend these points to buy a shiny new pony or anything. But the same applies to when I beat any game or accomplish any in-game task. Perhaps, as a writer, what I really enjoy is the running chronicle of my game triumphs, tragedies and yes, even games I shudder to remember playing.

Achievements add replay value to the great games and give you a reason of some kind to play the horrible ones. Part of the fun among us “achievement point whores” is finding ways to trick the system. Not only are there achievements that aren’t disabled by cheats, there are games where entering a cheat code unlocks an achievement.

Naysayers complain that achievements are ruining gaming. Much of this hubbub comes from the new custom of “boosting” where gamers get together and play exclusively to get achievements that would be nearly impossible solo. I fail to see how gamers reaching out to each other and working together in admittedly unorthodox ways is a bad thing.

And I would tell anyone that the number one rule of achievement point whoring is that if it’s becoming work, just stop. The points really are supposed to be for fun. If tomorrow they told me that Bioshock 2  or Modern Warfare 2 was having all of its achievement points removed, I would still be looking forward to playing both those games. If you’re turning your nose up at a potential Game of the Year because it has online achievements you’ll never get, you are taking them way too seriously.

There’s a support group for that, too. Meet us on Xbox Live tonight but not too early, we’re boosting Gears of War.

Read [1UP] Also Read [Examiner]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

It’s a particularly retro-fantastic week on Nintendo’s downloadable game services, with more toy-based titles and neon colors than you can shake an arcade joystick at. Since Nintendo opted not to put out its usual press release (usually with some inane attempt to eke out a “theme” from a disparate collection of games, I’m going to give it to you straight:

On WiiWare, we have Spaceball: Revolution (800 points) and Gameloft’s Texas Hold’em Poker (600 points), the first being a puzzler and the second being - you guessed it - a poker game. There’s also the goofy looking Mart Racer (a kart racer, go figure) that will set you back 800 Wii points.

On the Virtual Console, we have the awesome-sounding Kunio sensation Crash ‘n the Boys: Street Challenge - a sort of crazy olympics-style game. Here’s Nintendo Life’s slightly more accurate description: “is the fourth English Kunio game available for Virtual Console. You might think that you’re not familiar with the Kunio series at all, but the truth is that you most likely are - Other games in the series include River City Ransom and Super Dodge Ball. This particular game is like a wacky version of the Olympics - Kunio (Called Crash in this game) and his friends compete against rival teams in a variety of crazy events, such as jumping over rooftops or a swimming race during which you’re allowed to beat each other up. Although it is somewhat of a button masher, it’s still quite fun to play, and definitely comes recommended.”

DSiWare is offering up art school lessons (sort of) in Art Academy: First Semester (800 points); with the platformer Oscar in Toyland (800 points) rounding out the possibilities.

Read [Nintendo Life]

Full Story » | Written by Danielle Riendeau for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Apple finally does something about the App Store people have been complaining about an,  I must admit, it looks mighty clean. Things are easier to find and, while it’s still not perfect, it’s a huge improvement over the previous iteration.

Apple also introduced a new iPod Touch to accommodate your gaming needs but you can read all about that in the links below. For now, howabout checking out this weeks releases? We kick things off with:

What’s Free

iTank Battle - Free
“Miss the simple joy playing a tank battle game? That’s what you find in iTank Battle. Simple rule: Eleminate all enemies before they blow up your base. Simple control: Go in 4 directions and fire! Move your tank around to chase the enemies or find the best spot to ambush them. Pick up items to speed up, boost your fire power, freeze enemies, recover HP… What’s more? You can challenge players all around the world for the highest score and the shortest clear time!”

Brain Training - Left or Right Free
“Challenge your limit! Left or Right will make you concentrate into and memorize something better while making decisions more quickly. To win the game, the only thing that you need is the instinct and swift choice.”

Brain 2: Global Challenge LITE
“Invest in your IQ and success! The smarter you get, the better are chances for your financial success. Improve your ability to deal with numbers quickly, and earn more money in your life. Invest your time in your IQ! This LITE version trains your one skill to add numbers. You learn to add your money, your stuff and your fortune in a split second. Besides you have all the features of the paid app including the Global Challenge.”

Battle of Midway
“The battleship is the classic naval strategy game where two players try to sink each other’s hidden ships. Battle of Midway is an awesome 45 degree angle battleship game in the iPhone. There is no relation between this game and the historical background, it just takes you to a fantasy navy field.”

What’s New

Action

Blades of Fury: $6.99
“Prove your bravery & establish your own fighting style through epic duels to cast your name among the greatest heroes, and be remembered in history. Alone against the computer or against your friends in multiplayer gaming sessions, experience an explosive and accessible fighting experience thanks to an arcade-style gameplay. Blades of Fury is the ultimate one-on-one fighting game, offering numerous game modes, and a wide array of playable fighters and fighting combinations.”

EMERGENCY!DOWNGIRL: Price: $0.99
“A girl is falling into the elevator shaft! Above her, the elevator has falling with augers, Behind, deep precipice is waiting for her. Please shake your iPhone/iPod Touch from side to side. And use scaffolds to save your life! More you steps, more score. Have fun with world wide people by getting high score.”

iTank Battle: Price: $0.99
“Miss the simple joy playing a tank battle game? That’s what you find in iTank Battle. Simple rule: Eleminate all enemies before they blow up your base. Simple control: Go in 4 directions and fire! Move your tank around to chase the enemies or find the best spot to ambush them. Pick up items to speed up, boost your fire power, freeze enemies, recover HP… What’s more? You can challenge players all around the world for the highest score and the shortest clear time!”

Adventure

Cassandra’s Journey: The Legacy of Nostradamus: Price: $1.99
“Cassandra is a young mystic, heiress and successor of her grandmother - powerful sorceress Serena. The girl helps people in a trouble relying on her magical ring. That magic ring helps her to have a strong power for prediction. Cassandra’s adventure begins from mysterious disappearance of Violet Smith’s brother. Of course kind and sympathetic Cassandra is going to come to aid, but her ring was found to be missing too! So now Cassandra can use just natural human means.

That’s how you come to be in the world of fascinating magical trinkets. Don’t be anxious about lack of experience because the spirit of famous Nostradamus will be your guide in a wonderful travelling. The quest consists of 30 beautiful levels where you meet diverse characters, accomplish a lot of tasks and progressively find a surprising key to the main riddle. Gameplay includes all the best and the most loved in casual games. It fabulously mixes hidden-object and card games, image and word puzzles, match 3 levels and magic tricks.”

Smashing The Opponent: Price: $0.99
“The Legend of the Black Shawarma tells of a pita so mystic, divine and tasty, that those who have a bite will be blessed with eternal life. Hearing this you find yourself in the Black forest, facing peril and hardship which you must overcome to reach the ultimate prize. Run through the Black Forest, meet the creatures who defend the treasure and SMASH them silly. Face the bosses and unlock new worlds. Search the Forest for weapons which will maximize your creative smashing skills, like bombs, shotguns and the chainsaw. Smashing the Opponent is an exciting new game brought to you by the sonic masters, Infected Mushroom. Creators of the psychedelic trance scene, I.Zen and Duvdev will blast your mind and set the vibe for the ultimate smashing. Featuring original infected music and never released trance tracks.”

Arcade

Magical Drop Touch: Price: $2.99
“Data East is back with its Brand New version of its Retro Classic Magical Drop. Magical Drop Touch is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This time World has summoned her favorite friends, Fool, Star, Devil, Chariot and Justice to compete in a Magical Drop Tournament and the winner gets to face the World for a chance to receive a wish of their own desire. Fully utilizing the revolutionary touch panel for the iPhone, try and swipe your way to victory by creating 3 ball chains and overwhelm your opponent with lines until they beg for mercy.”

MonsterKill: Price: $0.99
“hey’re cute, they’re cheeky - you just want to squeeze the life out of the little monsters! Hordes of tiny terrors have broken free of their chains and are running amok! Use touchscreen gestures to summon a variety of spells as you battle against these classic mini-monsters.”

Space Dock: Price: $0.99
“You begin as a lowly space station controller on the shiny new deep space station. Starships, space shuttles, and space fighters start to hyperspace into the station’s quadrant. Some ships are running from aliens, some from asteroids, some are low on fuel. You must dock them quickly and safely on the station. But wait, there is a problem? Aliens in the docking area? Are they dangerous, or perhaps wanting to make first contact? Did they just abduct your astronaut? Are the aliens actually probing our people?

You have to land the spacecraft quicker and quicker, but now asteroids are overwhelming the station’s defenses. Your spacecraft are being plastered by the asteroids, and spacemen from damaged ships are floating stranded in space. They are your crewmates and are in grave danger and you must rescue them. If one of your spacecraft hits them, the game is over. Use all your skills to deftly guide a rescue craft to them to save their lives. In the meantime, the starships, fighters, and shuttles keep coming and coming.”

Board

RICHMAN: Price: $0.99
“RICHMAN is an action strategy iPhone game in which the object is to make enough money to buy the millionaire’s mansion and end the game, all within the quickest time possible. To play, simply touch on a house as it comes up for sale to buy it. You must have enough funds to cover the cost of the purchase. Hold onto is as long as its value increases, which is indicated by a small triangle next to its price. Sell the house to make a profit, which gives you additional funds for a more expensive property. Begin by buying and selling the cheaper houses, which are furthest from the masion. Advance to more expensive areas as you can afford to do so. As soon as you are able to afford the millionaire’s mansion at the end, click on it to end the game.”

Blokuz
“Blokuz” - is a collection of three great games: Blokuz One, Blokuz Mono, Blokuz Dual. Each game - is remake of the popular puzzle.

“Blokuz One”
The playing board is filled with chips of different colors. You choose the same colored chips that are connected to each other and delete them, increasing your points. With each level the complication of the game and the amount of colors increases. The more chips you delete at one time, the more points you get. In the beginning of the game you have 3 lives. If you have any chips which you cannot delete left over – you lose one life and can’t go to the next level.

“Blokuz Mono”
In front of you there is a field of chips, which are hidden underneath question marks. Open and collect groups of similar chips by tapping on the hidden chips. If the chip is single - it is highlighted, but does not open. Delete the opened group of chips with a second tap. You can see the location of color chips using the switch button.
Your aim is to clear the game field. Choose the largest block of chips, and the more chips you delete at one time the more points you get. After the task is completed, you go to the next level.

“Blokuz Dual”
Your aim is to clear the game field on two sides of the board. Switching to the other side is using the button at the bottom of the screen. You can select a group of chips on the active screen, see the appropriate distribution of the background screen and make the most successful choice.
In all three games, if you lose a level, you are encouraged to pass it again, but during the second pass, you get less points. Once you lose your last “life”, you will be prompted to save a record in the local/global high scores. Without access to the Internet, the record is written only locally.

Card

NOTHING

Casino

World Roulette: Price: $0.99
“Taking it’s name from the french word for ‘small wheel’, Roulette has become one of the most popular casino games in the world. During it’s spread across the globe, many different variants of roulette have evolved. Mobigames UK is proud to present World Roulette, bringing you several types of this successful game in one easy to use application.”

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

FourPlay Genius Edition (Four Letter Word Game): Price: $1.99
“Challenging! See if you can get all of the words that can be spelled with the letters of the first four-letter word! Shows you the words that you didn’t get. Will help you play other four letter words games by reminding you of the words you may be missing. If you like FourPlay, you will love FourPlay Genius Edition!”

Family

Deal or No Deal: Around the World: Price: $4.99
“DEAL OR NO DEAL is back to take you on a trip of a lifetime! Experience the thrill of the hit TV game show with millions of fans worldwide. In this new version fully optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the stakes are even higher as you travel to exotic destinations to collect CA$H, prizes and awards. Will you make a deal or risk it all to win millions?”

Brain Cat: Price: $0.99
“You are a cat with good brains. You have to use your brains to eat the fish in the fishbow. Rearrange the fish in the fishbow to make them look like ones at the upper left corner, and you can eat them. You can move them by touching a specific fish. The fish around touched one will go round your fish. You have limited time, but the amount of moves are not limited.”

Music

CrazyDancing: Price: $0.99
“You have to act as two people on your left side. It may seem very easy, but as you play, the game requires extreme speed, technique, and concentration. If you make a mistake, the two people on your left side will give you a disappointing look and a warning sound which indicates the end of the game. The number of clicks you have made will be saved as your score in the ranking. Highly addictive.”

Puzzle

Brainy Smarty Party: Price: $2.99
“Improve your brains and challenge players around the globe with Brainy Smarty Party! A collection of 15 addictive and fun games designed to improve your brains in different areas like reaction, memory, counting, logic, math and focus. And when you’re done, enjoy the time with one of the world’s most popular puzzle: Sudoku!”

Color Ninjutsu Puzzle: Price: $1.99
“The objective of this challenging game is to link 3 blocks of the same color and make them disappear. You’ll rack your brain to come up with the best course of action that will win you the most points!”

Oil Spill: Price: $1.99
“DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! This easy-to-learn puzzle game will keep you coming back for more! Clear the entire board by “exploding” oil drops. The more chain reactions you connect, the higher your score.”

Cave Dweller: Price: $1.99
“To win at this game, you must gather all of the bombs scattered around the level and get to the exit safely. By safely, we mean without getting trapped! Walking sideways underneath blocks causes them to fall, changing the level as you go. If you fail to reach the exit with all of the bombs, you must restart and try again. You can earn medals for beating a level in the minimum amount of moves. Beating all the levels unlocks a special feature in the game’s options menu.”

Racing

Parking Master: Price: $0.99
“Park the cars in the an occupied parking lots, while trying not to get hit by the other cars or obstacles.”

Role Playing

NOTHING

Simulation

The Galactic Aquarium: Price: $0.99
“The Galactic Aquarium is a fun, addictive game that’s easy to get into but hard to master! Try to breed all the different types of fish to get the daddy of them all, The Cod Father! Watch out for fish with special abilities, like the Chameeleon and the time warping Bronzefish, that can cause chaos in your fish tank! And try to manage what’s eating what so you can make the most money and be top of the online scoreboard. With over 40 different types of fish, you’ll have to keep on your toes - or fins ;) - to keep your tank running smoothly. Luckily, you’ve got your handy breeding guide to help you along your way, and your freezer to store fish that are ready to breed.”

Sports

OhBasket: Price: $0.99
“OhBasket is a really fun game for all casual game players. It’s a good way to consume boring times such as your 5 to 10 minutes break from work. The way to control the game play is simple. You just have to use the iphone accelerometer to control the movement of the basket to catch all the balls that is shot from the worst basketball player in the world. Please don’t get mad when you see him throw all those terrible shots. You are the one that is going to save him from this embarrassing situation with your magic hands!”

Strategy

Silent Swords: Price: $2.99
“Silent Swords is a stealth action game designed exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The legend begins, be a part of it! “Patience is a virtue,” his sensei had taught him, so the little black ninja waited patiently for the right moment. And the right moment came. That poor guard never knew what hit him. Our hero has become just another shadow among shadows. With the Silent Swords back in his hands, the filthy walls won’t hold him for much longer…”

Arcana: Spell Duel: Price: $1.99
“Arcana: Spell Duel brings high strategy mage duelling to the iPhone in full 3D. Tear down your opponent blast by blast as you construct a careful strategy that will leave him guessing at every turn. You can play as a Naturalist, or duel as an Arcanist. An Arcanist uses the Arcanix to cast: an ancient device that responds to your gestures by conjuring up magical energies. He cast spells with specific gestures and combinations which he must master. He is virtually unlimited in his power. A Naturalist cast spells using menus, and is limited in his power.”

Trivia

Find Freak: Price: $0.99
“Test your eagle eyes and find the four differences in each level. But beware: it can be difficult to spot all the variants in those beautiful images. The clock is ticking. If a level gets too hard for you, two jokers can be used to assist you on your journey to become a real find freak. Three degrees of difficulty (easy, normal and freak) are available in the game and on freak mode you will encounter our specially designed mirror bonus levels. A highscore list will remember your best scores to show to your friends. Also perfect to play while listening to your own music - just switch off the games sound in the options and activate your ipod. Over 100 images are in the game, all optimized for the iPhone display and even more to come in updates.”

Pocket Quiz: Classics of World Literature: Price: $1.99
“Hamlet, Faust, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, The Three Musketeers, Effi Briest, Homo Faber, Lolita, Buddenbrooks… everything worth knowing about classics of world literature! Get detailed answers with background information to 150 edited questions! Also including interesting illustrations interspersed among the questions and answers that clarify the contents. You can now play our successful print series – more than 2 million copies sold – on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Play alone against time 15, 25, 50, or all 150 questions. But don’t think too long, time is running! Get points for every correct answer depending on how much time is remaining. Get as many points as possible to ensure your place in the high score list! In the two-player mode, challenge your friends and view the questions on one device. May the best man win! Find other interesting pocket quiz topics in addition to this at your iTunes App store! For example, inventions, astronomy & space travel, classics of world literature, computer, Jazz… and much more! Add to your collection!”

Word

Typing with Volcanoes: Price; $0.99
“Two volcano gods compete to build the tallest tower. Help your volcano god be the first to build a tower to the heavens. Steal your rival’s blocks to build your own tower. Type the words inscribed into the falling blocks to steal them. Typing glowing blocks reveals power ups. Unleash these power ups to bring down your enemy’s tower. Use your powers to destroy their tower brick by brick, or blow chunks of it away. The choice is up to you. Control the game with the gorgeous, easy to use landscape keyboard. You’ll need fast fingers to compete against the world on the global high scores. Maximize your score by completing the 100 addictive levels. Finishing all 100 levels won’t be easy, so the game auto saves whenever you exit the application.”

Amazing Hangman: Price: $0.99
“Amazing Hangman is a very popular word guessing game. It is also an educational application where you can improve your vocabulary. Play alone or with a friend via bluetooth.”

iPhone/iPod Touch Links

AppleTell: [Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup - September 11, 2009] [Apple updates iPod touch] [iPhone OS 3.1 available today [update]] [Apple releases iTunes 9 [Update: now available.]]

GamerTell: [GamerTell Review: Toki Tori for iPhone, iPod Touch]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

One of Namco Bandai’s most popular series in Japan is a game that will most likely never see a release outside of the country. I’m talking about Idolm@ster, a game which casts players as producers and tasks them with discovering and creating the next singing sensation.

The reason it will likely remained trapped in Japan is simple. The Idolm@ster games feature voice acting by a number of different actresses who not only speak the lines for their characters, but also sing every single song available in the game. Games can feature over 10 songs, and typically have 9-10 idols to choose.

In honor of The Idolm@ster Dearly Stars, the first DS game in the series and the first entry in the Idolm@ster 2nd Vision series, Important Importables’ is devoted to the series today.

Idolm@ster in the home and arcade.

Idolm@ster will, by the end of September 2009, be available on the Xbox 360, PSP and DS. It’s also available in Japanese arcades, but chances are if you’re reading this, you’re living outside of Japan. While the games star singing idols, they’re not really music games. Instead, they’re more akin to pet simulation games. You are raising idols, trying to make them successful within a set period of time. You do so by completing mini-games which boost their visual appeal, vocal abilities or dance skill.

The Idolm@ster began as an arcade game in 2005. There were only 10 songs initially available. It also introduced the world to the 9 idols who would become Idolm@ster fixtures: Haruka, Iori, Chihaya, Yukiho, Makoto, Yayoi, Azusa, Ritsuko and Ami & Mami. No, I didn’t miscount. Ami & Mami are a set of twins, and perform as one idol rather than separate characters. Players get a Producer Card to record their stats and an Idol Card for each idol character they choose to manage. You pay to play, going in one week intervals of your idol’s career. The goal is to make her famous within a set amount of time. You also register your phone with the game, and will receive notices from the idols you’re managing.

The Idolm@ster is the first console entry in the series, and was released on the Xbox 360 in 2007. It’s pretty similar to the Idolm@ster arcade game, though it does possess graphical improvements and introduces the idol Miki. It also boosts the song count to 16. You can also purchase DLC for the game. The sequel, The Idolm@ster: Live For You! as released a year later in 2008, and it is more of a standard music/rhythm game. Instead of managing every aspect of the idols’ lives and helping them find success, you’re focusing on managing their performances and concerts.

After that, the PSP Idolm@ster SP games were released in the beginning of 2009. They’re very similar to the arcade version and first XBox 360 games. There are three versions, Perfect Sun, Wandering Star and Missing Moon. The gameplay is the same in all three games, you pick one idol and raise her to be the best. However, each game has only three idols in it and one rival character idol. It has a large tracklist of songs, plus allows players to download additional songs and outfit items as DLC.

The latest game is The Idolm@ster Dearly Stars, which debuts September 17, 2009. It will be a DS game with DSi enhanced capabilities which will allow players to scan barcodes with the DSi’s camera to unlock items. It stars three all new idols, Ai, Eri and Ryo and will differ from preceeding games as the player is no longer a producer. Instead, the player is the idol he/she chose at the beginning of the game. It’s caused quite a bit of a stir due to the backstory of the three characters available. Ai’s the daughter of an idol who got pregnant with Ai when she was 15, Eri is a former hikikomori (shut-in) computer idol and Ryo is a boy who’s posing as a girl.

Don’t forget the Idolm@ster anime!

The Idolm@ster series is so popular that has also inspired an anime in Japan. The anime series then spawned a manga and two light novels. The series doesn’t exactly follow the course of any of the games, though. Instead, it takes characters and elements from the game series and uses them in an entirely new storyline that’s slightly reminiscent of the Sakura Taisen series.

Idolmaster: Xenoglossia‘s main stars are Haruka, Iori and Yukiho, though all the Idolm@ster girls appear. The three all audtion to try and become famous and popular singing idols. They quickly learn that the agency they’ve signed with isn’t just in the entertainment industry. It’s also a secret agency that uses giant mech robots called IDOLs to protect and save the Earth. The company recruits idols to pilot the IDOLs. The pilots are then called Idolmasters. Big surprise, huh?

Apparently, in the anime’s world the moon was destroyed over 100 years ago and the pieces are dropping down to earth. The IDOLs are used to destroy the fragments before they hit the Earth and cause destruction.

Idolm@ster Recommendations:

The Idolm@ster is a Japanese series, so some familiarity with the Japanese written language is a must. If you only know katakana and hirigana, you should do fine. Idols’ relationships are built through promotion events, where you have to talk with your selected idol and make the correct dialogue choices to make her happy and give her good memories that she can use to pass auditions. Most of the Idolm@ster games also include a lyrics mini-game class which is used to help boost vocal attributes. Luckily, the games typically have two options for boosting vocal prowess so you don’t have to worry about the lyrics mini-game.

The Idolm@ster: Live For You is a great start for Xbox 360 owners. Its focus is on the concerts and auditions, so if your Japanese is poor, or if you don’t even know much at all, you can still enjoy it.

If your skills are a tad better, then the original Idolm@ster or one of the Idolm@ster SP games may be a better choice. Both are standard Idolm@ster games, where you focus on making select idols famous. As someone who’s played Idolm@ster SP: Perfect Sun and guided two idols to success (Makoto and Yayoi), I’d strongly recommend beginners pick up one of the versions of the PSP game.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables talks about the Tokyo Game Show.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked all about Famitsu.

Read [Wired] Site [Famitsu] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Anyone who’s a serious fan of video games and a frequent reader of video game related blogs or magazines undoubtedly knows the name Famitsu. While it is a Japan-exclusive publication, the magazine is known as one of the premiere in its field. A sort of Holy Grail for those searching for the most comprehensive and pertinent information on future video games about to debut in Japan.

After all, what’s a video game sensation in Japan today is likely to be the next biggest hit in North America or Europe a few months, or perhaps even a few years, later. It behooves more serious gamers to at least stay appraised of Famitsu‘s latest features. And, if by some miracle a game happens to get a perfect 40/40 review in Famitsu, gamers around the world should take note.

This week’s Important Importables is all about Famitsu. By the end of this article, you’ll know how the magazine got it’s start, what spin-offs are available, the meaning of a 40/40 review (as well as the few games to be rewarded with it) and where to find your own copy.

Famitsu‘s somewhat humble beginnings.

The first issue of Famitsu was published June 1, 1986. It wasn’t called that back then though, instead it carried the name Famicom Tsuushin. In 1983, Nintendo has launched the Famicom in Japan, which everyone else probably will better recognize as the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the most popular video game system at the time, and Famicom Tsuushin was entirely devoted to covering it and it’s games.

As the industry grew and developed, so did the magazine. When more systems grew in popularity, the magazine became Famitsu, and began offering extensive coverage of all games and systems. Spin-off magazines were also developed and released, offering a concentrated focus on a single company or platform. For example, there are currently four Famitsu spin-off magazines you can purchase: Famitsu PS which focuses on Sony’s consoles, Famitsu Wii+DS for the DS and Wii, Famitsu Xbox for Microsoft consoles and the Famitsu Wave DVD magazine that comes with a DVD filled with game videos and trailers.

The ever influential Famitsu score.

Famitsu is not only known for having the absolute latest and most up-to-date information on the latest Japanese games. It’s also known for its reviews. A review in Famitsu has four review editors look at each game. Each reviewer gives the game a score out of 10, and the scores are added up to give the overall score. So you’re getting a balanced look at a game through multiple eyes. The magazine has been around since 1986, and since then only 11 games have received a coveted perfect score. The only thing that has chanced throughout the years is that it is now (slightly) easier for a game to have a chance of receiving a perfect score. There has also been some recent controversy hinting at the idea that companies can buy better scores at the magazine. Nevertheless, receiving a perfect score from Famitsu is still an honor.

Since any discussion of the Famitsu review system wouldn’t be complete without a list of the games which received perfect 40/40 scores from the magazine, here it is:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time (N64)
2. Soulcalibur (Dreamcast)
3. Vagrant Story (PS1)
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)
5. Nintendogs (DS)
6. Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Wii)
9. 428: Fuusasareta Shibuya de (Wii)
10. Dragon Quest IX (DS)
11. Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

Where can you find Famitsu outside of Japan?

If you’ve got a Japanese bookstore located near you, like Sasuga or Kinokuniya, easiest way to find Famitsu is to stop by the store and pick up the latest issue. If you haven’t then the internet’s your best resource. Play-Asia, JBox, HimeyaShop and NCSX all carry Famitsu. If you’re going for a subscription from one of these sites, it’s going to be pricey, so perhaps just shoot for issues that you know are going to cover games you’re interested in.

Another great, and incredibly cheap, option is to simply stake out the Famitsu website. This may be the best option for people whose Japanese isn’t exactly stellar (like myself), as you can use Google Translate to help navigate and understand what’s being said on the site. Of course the translation isn’t going to be 100% accurate, but it should be enough to help you figure out the general gist of the latest information released on a game. You will be missing out on some reviews and crucial information, but it’s a wonderful way to catch up with the latest Japanese video game news for free. If you’re just checking for the latest scores and you own a Wii or DS, you can always check GoNintendo, which posts the latest review scores for DS and Wii games from Famitsu.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables is all about Idolm@ster.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Ooedo Senryoubako for the PSP.

Read [Wired] Site [Famitsu] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Ooedo Senryoubako
Price: $52.90
System(s): PSP
Release Date: February 23, 2006
Publisher (Developer): Taito (Global A)
ESRB Rating: N/A, Cero A (All Ages)
Pros: It can look kind of pretty, sometimes. It has a very unique style and atmosphere. It’s interesting to see just how they make some of the mini-games plausible for that time period.
Cons: Controls are give and take, but for the most part stink. Lots of kanji and text for what’s essentially a mini-game collection. Games can move slowly and haltingly.
Overall Score: 4/10

This week’s review is going to be a bit interesting, since my friend who helps me translate more difficult kanji is out of town. And since Ooedo Senryoubako, a PSP game I found at a local garage sale for $4, has an over-abundance of unfamiliar kanji and I can’t locate my copy of Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten, this review’s going to focus more on the mini-games than the actual story. Fortunately, Ooedo Senryoubako is a mini-game collection set in Japan’s Edo era.

Proof your worth by playing familiar mini-games tweaked to look like they’d appear in Edo.

Ooedo Senryoubako is all about the mini-games. You’re samurai/wannabe gangster guy who has to prove his worth and play through a wide variety of games. They’re all similar to ones we’ve seen in modern games (horse racing, shooter, battles, helicopter flying), only they’re all tweaked to make them plausible for that time period.

The horses are fake and going around a circular track, like a merry-go-round. The flying portion is a kind of man-powered-bike-propeller-contraption being assaulted by sumo wrestlers. I can’t even think of a plausible explanation for the shooting game - fireworks perhaps?

You’ve failed us Taito and Global A.

Where to begin, where to begin. The general presentation of the mini-games feels like a good start. The game places you in what looks like a little fairground or village area. You then visit different locations to play the mini-games. Unfortunately, most aren’t worth looking forward to. For example, winning at many of these mini-games is more about luck than skill. The AI controlled opponents that show up in some games seem to have an unfair advantage. Worst of all, some of the games barely crawl along.

Then there are the controls. The absolutely atrocious controls. In the horse racing game it is difficult to discern the right timing for pressing to make the horse jump. No matter when you press, it seems like you’re either leaping too early or too late. The shooting game is also a bit difficult to control and get accustomed to - it feels like what’s happening on the screen isn’t keeping up with what you’re inputing. The mini-games that involve flying, fighting and puzzle solving aren’t too bad, as long as time isn’t a factor.

The one saving grace of Ooedo Senryoubako is that the games don’t look that bad. They fit with the time period and atmosphere and are unique. I haven’t seen many other PSP games with a similar style or appearance. Sadly, the official website is long gone from the internet, and the only screenshots still available online are tiny thumbnails pictured at Famitsu. You can still get a general impression from them though, despite their size.

I hope the story’s fantastic, because the mini-games can be brutal.

When looking up the game online, trying to find some kind of information or screenshots, I found a Famitsu preview about Ooedo Senryoubako that stated the mini-games were simple, quick and great for commuters. Simple? sure. Quick? sometimes. Great for commuters? I think not. It’s definitely not the best PSP game I’ve ever played, but I’m not sure I’d call it the worst either.

Overall, Ooedo Senryoubako is just disappointing. You may be slightly amused by the constant appearance of hostile sumo wrestlers and whimsical mini-games, but the number of lackadaisical mini-games ones tarnishes the game experience.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables talks about Famitsu.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the Pokemon Centers in Japan.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Happy Batman day, readers! Yes, I’m officially declaring it so, as one of the very best Batman games ever to grace consoles (at least, based on my preliminary playtime) has launched today. Given the media blitz (videos and press releases out the wazoo!) and positive reviews, I think it’s going to be a hit - and rightfully so.

Let’s start at the logical beginning. I got home from work today to find my brand spanking new copy waiting for me. After a brief moment of checking out the box art, I tore right in and popped the disc into my 360. The game begins with a ridiculously kick-ass cutscene/sequence, wherein you (as Batman) drag the Joker back to Arkham Asylum, where, of course, all hell begins to break loose.

Once you’re given full control, you get to roam the halls of the spooky joint, cracking fools heads and sneaking around, detective-style. Both gameplay modes (combat and exploration/detective mode) work beautifully and are seamlessly integrated into the gameplay. The result is excellent - you feel like a brawler and a stealthy genius, two flavors that combine beautifully.

The graphics and overall art direction are stellar - more than once, I caught a whiff of BioShock (the Asylum is creepy, dark, and chock full of atmosphere). The place itself is labyrinthine and spectacular - and all manner of chaos is going down at any moment, keeping the pacing and action quick and well-balanced.

Be sure to check back for a full review - but my initial impressions (after about an hour and a half of gameplay) are incredibly positive. This one looks to be the Batman simulator we’ve always wanted.

Site [Batman Arkham Asylum]

Full Story » | Written by Danielle Riendeau for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

I know we’ve taken a bit of a hiatus on the Nintendo Download front, but fear not - we’re back and better than ever. Especially because today, one of the coolest, most badass (in the dorkiest way) games for the SNES came out. Yeah, I’m talking about Super Empire Strikes Back - a sidescroller/shooter that faithfully recreates everything that was fantastic about the movie. It originally graced the Super Nintendo back in the early 90s, and it is a wee bit on the tough side, though its a nice, meaty, action-y ride throughout. It’s fitting, of course, that Super Star Wars was also recently released.

Also on hand this week are classic puzzling in the form of Mr. Driller W and Pop+ Solo, a puzzle-oriented shooter for DSiWare.

All around, it’s a solid update (who doesn’t love a good, quirky puzzler, hey?), but my money is on the Empire. All of the games are available now on the Wii Shop Channel, and games can be purchased at a rate of $1=100 points.

From Nintendo’s press release:

Virtual Console

Super Empire Strikes Back
Original platform: Super NES
Publisher: LucasArts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Pursued across the galaxy, Rebel forces now marshal new strength on the remote ice world of Hoth. Though tracked by probe droids, attacked by ice monsters and confronted by an army of gigantic Imperial Walkers, you must not give in. You are the Alliance’s only hope. Learn the ways of the Force, then test your skills in this fast-paced, action-packed sequel to the hit game Super Star Wars.

WiiWare

Mr. DRILLER W
Publisher: NBGI
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Mr. Driller W is the newly updated version of the exciting game that challenges players with level upon level of frantic underground drilling action. Experience more than 20 varied stages and missions. Drill through a seemingly endless onslaught of colored blocks while avoiding falling obstacles and strategically managing your air supply. Multiple degrees of difficulty now challenge everyone from novices to hardcore Mr. Driller veterans. A tutorial will even help first-time players learn the rules quickly and easily. Vibrant graphics, engaging game play and loads of characters make this a modern twist on a gaming masterpiece.

Nintendo DSiWare

Pop+ Solo
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Pop bubbles, build chains and try to keep the timer alive in this awesome puzzle/shooter. Pop your way through 16 waves of bubbles in Adventure, Normal or Advanced modes. Race against the clock in a one-, two- or five-minute run. Try the new Bonus Round mode, where each bonus round can be played in three, five or 10 rounds of increasing difficulty. Or just chill out in the relaxing Chill mode with no score or time pressures to worry about. Pop+ Solo comes to the Nintendo DSi system with eight modes and five bonus rounds, plus plenty of new badges to collect. Adventure mode introduces some new elements to the game with mines, golden fish, jets of water and four boss battles. The new Challenge mode lets you create and customize your own challenges to play again and again.

Read [Nintendo Life]

Full Story » | Written by Danielle Riendeau for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Wondering where to stop the next time you’re vacationing in Japan? Perhaps a trip to a Pokemon Center is in order.

Even if you aren’t a fan of the series, which has become one of Nintendo’s most popular handheld franchises, it’s still a place worth checking out, if only for the awe factor.  You’ll see more Pokemon merchandise than you ever imagined, even things you wouldn’t have expected to exist.

This week in Important Importables, we’re going to take a quick peek at these Japan-only locations. Perhaps, after reading, you’ll be interested in stopping by one when you’re in the area.

Where are they?

Unfortunately, the Pokemon Centers are now a Japan exclusive. A Pokemon Center briefly existed in New York for four years, called Pokemon Center New York, but it was changed into Nintendo World in 2005. The Nintendo World store is still open though, and worth checking out if you’re near 10 Rockefeller Plaza.

All of the other Pokemon Centers are located in major cities in Japan. Their locations are as follows:

• Pokemon Center Tokyo: Shiodome-Shiba Rikyuu, 1-2-3 Kaigen, Minato Ward, Tokyo
• Pokemon Center Osaka: Umeda Center Building, 2-4-12 Nakazaki-Nishi, Kita Ward, Osaka City
• Pokemon Center Nagoya: Oasis 21, 1-11-1 Higashi-Sakura, Higashi Ward, Nagoya City
• Pokemon Center Fukuoka: Canal City OPA, 1-2-22 Sumiyoshi, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City
• Pokemon Center Yokohama: Landmark Plaza, 2-2-1 Minato-Mirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama City
• Pokemon Center Sapporo: Sapporo ANA Hotel, West 1-2-9 Kita-3-jou, Chuo Ward, Sapporo City

If you’re going to visit one, consult the Japanese Pokemon Center website first. It has an English language option and offers English language, easy to read maps with directions to each of the six locations. The map above is a sample of what they offer.

Identifying your local Pokemon Center.

It isn’t all that difficult to find a Pokemon Center store. For starters, the store’s name is almost always in English at all locations, so even if you’re unfamiliar with the language, you’ll be able to spot it right away. There will probably also be a pokeball symbol somewhat near the entrance or location.

Each location should also have their Pokemon Center logo proudly displayed. While each one has a slightly different design, all of the have Pikachu and a pokeball prominently featured. There will also be the name of that center surrounding the pokeball and two other pokemon on either side of Pikachu.

Also, in many locations, there will be an arch over the entrance, It will either say Pokemon, or perhaps the actual name of the location, like Pokemon Center Tokyo.

What can you expect to find there.

Have you ever seen a Sanrio Store? Major malls throughout the US still occasionally have them. A Pokemon Center is pretty much the same thing. They might not all have the exact same items in stock, but the general atmosphere is the same. Everything in the store is Pokemon related. There’s candy, clothing, household accessories, stationary, food, plush toys and gachapon. The Japanese Pokemon Center website offers a quick glimpse at some of the products you’ll be able to find in the store.

Perhaps the main draw of the Pokemon Centers are the exclusive, Pokemon Center handheld consoles (GBAs or DSes). One of the most recent rare DS units is the Pikachu Edition DS lite. It was only available through a lottery system at Pokemon Centers, where people would enter in the hopes of having the honor of purchasing the yellow DS seen above that has Pikachu’s face in the bottom right corner of the lid.

Another limited edition DS was the Girantina Edition, which coincided with the release of Pokemon Platinum. It was a pure white DS lite unit, with a Girantina etched in silver onto the lid of the unit. The only people who could enter the raffle to win a chance to purchase this unit were members of the Daisuki Club, which means you had to have a Japanese address. So no visiting foreigners were able to enter to win this unit.

Typically, a limited edition unit is announced and released when a new game debuts. This means that, when the silver and gold DS remakes are released, there’ll likely be a new, limited edition DS as well.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables will review of Ooedo Senryoubako for the PSP.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed the movie Ponyo.

Site [Pokemon (Japanese)] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Ponyo
Release Date: August 14, 2009 (US), July 19, 2008 (Japan)
Rating: “G” for General Audiences.
Length: 1 hour, 41 minutes. (101 minutes)
Pros: Gorgeous visuals. For the most part, the voice acting is fantastic. Great pacing for the story. A nice mix of active and passive scenes. The music and soundtrack is absolutely wonderful.
Cons: Noah Cyrus’ voice (Ponyo) can occasionally be grating and/or annoying.
Overall Score: 9/10

Handdrawn, 2D animation is an endangered art form. Most films are now made with computers and companies have a habit of releasing everything in 3D. Thankfully, Studio Ghibli is still doing things the old fashioned way. The company’s latest film, Ponyo, is among its most beautiful, and is a new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid.

A new take on The Little Mermaid.

Brunhilde is a little goldfish who lives under the sea with her father and sisters. All her life, she’s been stuck in and Fujimoto’s submarine, but she wants more out of life. She one day sets out to see what there is outside of the ocean she knows. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go too well and she ends up trapped in a bottle.

She’s then rescued by a young boy named Sosuke. He breaks the bottle trapping her and sets her free. She then licks clean a cut he got saving her, healing it with her magic. He renames her Ponyo and decides to keep her with him and protect her. Ponyo loves her new name and him. However, her father Fujimoto comes to claim her, dragging her home, and the Ponyo and Sosuke are separated.

Ponyo is then determined to not only find a way back to Sosuke, but also find a way to become a human. However, doing so could disrupt the world’s balance.

Ponyo is a reminder of how beautiful 2D animation can be.

Ponyo is the kind of movie you’d have to see twice. The first time, you’d see and appreciate the actual story presented on the screen. The second time, you’re able to focus on the detailed artwork on the screen. In fact, Ponyo sets a new record for Studio Ghibli films - there are 170,000 individual, handdrawn images in the movie.

It also features a wonderful sense of storytelling and pacing. The beginning of the movie is very relaxed, almost leisurely. The audience is able to take this time to get to know and identify with the characters, specifically Ponyo and Sosuke. It then gradually builds in intensity and action, and features a satisfying ending. It never feels rushed, and while there are some fairly intense and dark moments, even those don’t feel threatening. It’s just a trial that must be faced and overcome.

Disney did do a wonderful job when casting the English version, with one exception. Personally, I found Noah Cyrus (Ponyo) to be a tad annoying at times, as opposed to endearing, and I preferred Yuria Nara’s take on Ponyo. Frankie Jonas, on the other hand, does a decent job as Sosuke. Of course, Tina Fey (Lisa), Liam Neeson (Fujimoto) and Cate Blanchett (Gran Mamare) all provide wonderful performances, and so do Matt Damon, Betty White, Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman in their cameo appearances. Overall, it’s very well-acted.

A tale all ages and cultures can appreciate.

If you enjoyed previous Studio Ghibli movies, like Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, you’ll fall in love with Ponyo. It’s an endearing adventure. The English language version is well cast, and it’s a joy to watch. I have a feeling that it will also become the most popular of the Studio Ghibli movies released in America, due to the familiar story and breathtaking visuals.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at Japan’s Pokemon Centers.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Nanashi no Game for the DS.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Nanashi no Game
Price: $48.90
System(s): DS
Release Date: July 3, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Square Enix)
ESRB Rating: N/A, Cero C (Ages 15+)
Pros: Interesting how you shift between the RPG and “real world” for assistance and answers, The real world portion looks very realistic. The game world even has fake glitches, a nice touch. The in-game DS unit is really cool. Good ambiance formed by the game’s surroundings and sound.
Cons: Your character moves very slowly. Storyline is incredibly similar to The Ring.
Overall Score: 8/10

While North American and European gamers have been seeing the typical Square Enix fare recently, that is Final Fantasy ports/spin-offs/entries, the perpetuation of existing series like Kingdom Hearts and the occasional new title like The World Ends with You, Japan’s been seeing more unusual items. Nanashi no Game the first entry in a DS horror series from Square Enix, is one of those games.

Since Nanashi no Game‘s sequel, Nanashi no Game: Me, is going to making it’s Japanese debut soon, I figured now would be a good time to borrow and review a friend’s copy of Nanashi no Game.

If you want to live, better learn how to play the game

If you’ve seen the horror movie The Ring, Nanashi no Game’s plot may sound a bit familiar. You’re a student who has stumbled upon the nameless RPG that carries a curse. Everyone who plays it dies within seven days if they can’t beat the game.

The trick is that you don’t really get to play the game, per say. The game is very glitchy and such, since it isn’t an official release. Instead it acts as an assistant of sorts to help you solve real world puzzles and challenges that pop up due to the fact that you chose to play the game. You will play it a bit, but for the most part it’s your aide in attempting to survive.

You’ve decided to team up with your friend to uncover the truth behind all of the nameless game related deaths, try to prevent new fatalities and perhaps break the curse behind the game.

Sufficiently scary and a trifle short.

Nanashi no Game is about two things, ambiance and immersion. Fortunately, it succeeds in both areas. The way the game is presented, where the RPG takes place on one screen in the standard DS mode, and the investigation and “real world” actions take place on both screens and the DS is held like a book. When you bring up your in-game DS menu, you can read mail or play the “game.” The real world aspect looks incredibly vivid and realistic, and the music and noises are quite eerie and often chilling.

There’s also quite an interesting story behind the game. The reasons for the curse is not only horrifying, but also a bit sad. Nanashi no Game’s “villain” is a tragic figure, so you almost feel sad, despite the fact that this villain has cursed everyone behind the game.

One thing to note is that Nanashi no Game is quite short, at least for a Square Enix game. I finished it after playing for about five days, and typically a Square Enix game takes me over a week to complete. Of course, given that it’s an adventure/horror game, the shortness sort fits given the genre. It’d also probably be a bit unbelieveable if it took you more than seven days to defeat a game where you have seven days to beat a game.

There was an aspect I didn’t appreciate, and that is how your character moves through the “real world” in Nanashi no Game. Walking isn’t even an appropriate description. Crawling would be more accurate. A walking pace is achieved by pressing forward on the directional pad and tapping the touch screen at the same time. I’m sure Square Enix did this to try and build up suspense, or make players more panicked as they struggled to escape a ghostly apparition. Sorry, in practice, it doesn’t work like that. It’s only frustrating! Multiple times I’ve had a ghost end my character’s life because I couldn’t move fast enough to get away.

Japanese-speaking DS owners looking for a horror game will be quite pleased.

I’m tempted to call Nanashi no Game a leisurely sort of horror game, if there is such a thing. While there are the occasional heart pounding risks and ghost chase scenes, it’s more about puzzle solving and exploration. One thing’s for sure, it certainly is an unsettling game. Personally, I’m hoping Square Enix decides to surprise North American and European gamers with a localization, now that it’s become a series.

Also, if you’re someone who likes to import games, don’t import Nanashi no Game unless you’re good at reading Japanese. Since my kanji skills are lacking, I often had to call my friend over to assist me in my adventures and translate words I didn’t understand.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables will be a day late next week, running on Saturday with a review of Ponyo, the English language version of Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables looked at games inspired by Sugar Sugar Rune.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

When manga or anime series become popular, they’re almost guaranteed a video game release. When a series is incredibly popular, they’ll spawn multiple games. Since many of these series don’t achieve the same level of recognition outside of Japan, this means that people in other regions of the world will likely never hear about them.

This week, Important Importables is going to look at one of these lesser known series, Sugar Sugar Rune. While Del Rey released all eight volumes of Moyoco Anno’s series in North America, it never reached the same heights of popularity that it achieved in Japan. In Japan though, it managed to inspire three video games on three different platforms.

What’s Sugar Sugar Rune?

Sugar Sugar Rune was a first for mangaka Moyoco Anno. She is best known for mangas written for women, like Happy Mania, Flowers & Bees and Hataraki Man. Sugar Sugar Rune was the first series she created for a younger female audience.

Long ago, witches and wizards separated from the human world and moved to the Magical World. Once there, a rift developed between two factions, ones who followed the Ice Prince Glacé and others who followed Le Royaume. Glacé and his followers were sent into exile and dubbed Ogres.

Le Royaume and the Magical World is led by a queen. At the moment, it’s Queen Candy. However, a contest is being held to determine the next queen. The two candidates are Chocolat Meilleure, daughter of previous queen candidate Cinnamon Meilleure, and Vanilla Mieux, Queen Candy’s daughter. The two young witches are best friends, despite their contrary personalities, and they are sent together to the human world.

Their goal? Collect humans hearts, which are called ecuré in the Magical World and used as both currency and energy. Witches can’t regenerate their own hearts, but humans can. The girl who collects the most hearts will be the next queen.

In the Magical World, outspoken, crude and tomboyish Chocolat was most popular, but in the human world shy, quiet and demure Vanilla gathers the most attention. Chocolat has to challenge her best friend to become the best. To make matters worse, a young Ogre representative named Pierre is attending the same school and trying to influence both girls.

At it’s very core, Sugar Sugar Rune is your typical magical girl series. Especially if you only look at the anime, which follows a “monster of the week” sort of story, focuses mainly on the collecting of hearts and has more of a traditional art style. The manga series is darker and slightly edgier, with a gothic-punk art style and more background on the war between the witches and ogres. The 51 episode anime is geared towards a younger audience, while the eight volume manga seems oriented towards slightly older readers.

Sugar Sugar Rune: Heart Gaippai! Moegi Gakuen

Sugar Sugar Rune: Heart Gaippai! Moegi Gakuen was the first Sugar Sugar Rune game released, and debuted on the Game Boy Advance. It also begins a trend. All of the Sugar Sugar Rune games focus on the heart collecting aspect of the original.

The GBA Sugar Sugar Rune game focuses on Chocolat’s gathering of hearts from classmates at the elementary school Moegi Gakuen. It’s primarily a text based adventure where Chocolat visits various locations from the series, perhaps runs into familiar characters and, if she’s lucky and conversations go well, she earns hearts. There are also a few unrelated mini-games tossed in.

Sugar Sugar Rune: Koimo Osharemo Pick-Up

The second Sugar Sugar Rune game was a PlayStation 2 adventure called Sugar Sugar Rune: Koimo Osharemo Pick-Up, and it is quite similar to the previous GBA release. One of the main differences is you can choose to play as either Chocolat or Vanilla.

When it comes to gameplay, it’s similar to the previous game and otome games like Tokimeki Memorial: Girl’s Side. You dress and prepare Chocolat or Vanilla, using clothes and magical accessories. Then, you attend school to to try and befriend the male students so you can take their hearts and (hopefully) become queen. There’s more of an active element here, since the clothing and accessory choices you make help determine whether certain guys will like you more or less.

Sugar Sugar Rune: Queen Shiken wa Dai Panic

Sugar Sugar Rune: Queen Shiken wa Dai Panic was the last Sugar Sugar Rune game, released in 2006. Unlike the previous games, which were more text based adventures, the DS game was an action/platformer title. Remember the Sega Genesis game Flicky? It’s slightly reminiscent of that. It’s also the only Sugar Sugar Rune game I’ve had the opportunity to play.

In the beginning of the game, players choose whether they want to be Chocolat or Vanilla. Aside from some cosmetic differences, both characters play the same. You must go through a variety of levels, based on locations seen in the anime and manga, to gather hearts. When Chocolat or Vanilla see a boy, they press a button to lure him in. He then will follow her around. The goal is to get a few guys following you around for a decent period of time so their hearts turn pink. Then, you execute a special move that plucks their hearts and gives Chocolat or Vanilla points. The boys then leave. The goal is to get a certain number of points and make it to the end of a level before time runs out.

It isn’t as easy as it sounds. There are dogs roaming the levels that will attack/scare the girls, causing the boys to leave. Also there are other female classmates wandering around, and if you walk past them, they’ll lure one of your admirers away. Plus, Chocolat and Vanilla can only have a certain number of boys follow them.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Nanashi no Game for the DS.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Vitamin Y.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Vitamin Y: Super Supplement Minigames with B6 & T6
Price: $44.90
System(s): DS
Release Date: October 30, 2008
Publisher (Developer): D3 Publisher (D3 Publisher)
ESRB Rating: N/A, Cero B for Ages 12+
Pros: All familiar Vitamin X characters return, lots of mini-games, unlock CGs by playing well, mini-games can be quite challenging, plenty of variety, voice acting is even thrown in.
Cons: If you’re not familiar with the series and characters, some mini-games can be quite tricky. Sometimes the touch screen controls aren’t as responsive as they should be. Plentiful Engrish voice acting.
Overall Score: 8/10

The six troublemaker students from class X and Vitamin X are back! Only this time, they and their six teacher advisors are starring in Vitamin Y: Super Supplement Minigames with B6 & T6. That’s where the B6 and T6 in the subtitle come from, it refers to the six stupid (baka) students and the six teachers. Clever, isn’t it?

As Vitamin Y so helpfully states in the subtitle, it’s a minigame collection filled with games that losely pertain to, or star, the characters from the otome game Vitamin X. It also features a story mode which acts as a little otome story. Your success in the chosen character’s mini-games leads to a successful ending.

What’s a school festival without events?

Time for a school festival! All the boys from Class X are participating, and each one has his own section set up with various mini-games. In the Vitamin Y story mode, the female teacher of Class X (the player) chooses to follow one of the six student’s stories, sampling mini-games from each student’s area.

All six students have teamed up with teachers to create a section devoted just to them. Tsubasa Makabe and Ginji Katsuragi run Megane Kingdom, Hajime Kusanagi and Koji Ootori run Lost Nana Sugoro Park, Shun Nanase and Taro Konokage run Starship Visconti, Goro Fumonji and Sho Nikaido run Fairy Popeland, Kiyoharu Sendo and Shojiro Kinugasa run Trick or Scream and Mizuki Madarame and Masaki Sanada run Toge Island.

Filled with weird and fun mini-games that are occasionally difficult to control.

Vitamin Y is a fairly robust minigame collection. There are 26 mini-games in all, with four in each student’s section and two general mini-games involving all students. Each section has two games centered around the student, one game starring the teacher and one general game. If you clear the section by meeting score objectives, you can unlock special CGs.

This is a great game for people who don’t speak Japanese. While the story text and voice acting is all in Japanese, as well as game instructions, the menus, character names and many other sections are in English. Also a few voice actors sneak in English words, particularly Tsubasa’s VA. The pronunciation is off, but it sort of adds to Vitamin Y‘s charm. The mini-games are pretty simple and easy to figure out once you try them, resulting in a pain-free experience.

The only downside is some games are difficult to play, due to either imperfect controls or insufficient Vitamin X knowledge. For example, one of Goro’s Fairy Popeland games requires you to decide if an image shown is male or female. Goro is a boy who dresses as a girl, so his girl outfits and boy outfits have to be separated appropriately. Also a dog, lizard and Shun images appear to throw you off. There’s also a Megane Kingdom whack-a-mole style game that requires you to hit the appropriate characters on the bottom screen that match two images shown on the top screen. Since many characters look a bit alike, this can be quite difficult for those unfamiliar with the series.

If you always wanted to try an otome game, but hate visual novels and simulations, try Vitamin Y!

I only borrowed Vitamin Y from a friend, but after playing it for a few days I’d definitely pick it up if Play-Asia had it on sale for under $20. It’s adorable and often quite funny. For example, there’s one minigame where you have to slap the characters to wake them up. When the teacher Ginji pops up, you get to use a book instead of your hands. The minigames are fun, in general, and pretty atypical compared to other minigame collections. Plus there’s tons of voice acting, which is an unexpected bonus. I’d definitely recommend Vitamin Y to friends.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at games inspired by the anime/manga Sugar Sugar Rune.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables went through the steps one must take to buy from iTunes Japan.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Contrary to what we were reporting this time a year or so ago, the game industry is not recession proof.  Video games just took their biggest monthly sales drop in nearly a decade. Even GameStop, a company that has been able to do no wrong financially, is feeling it.

In an economy where folks are losing their houses, cars and 401Ks, there is no bigger albatross in the gaming industry than the PlayStation 3. Launching with a hefty $600 price tag, the PS3 has more in common with GMC’s Hummer vehicle than it does with the PS2. Both the gas-guzzling SUV and the overpriced game machine are symbols of an excess most of society can’t afford right now. Looking back, it’s easy to understand Sony’s thought process. Their last generation competitors - weren’t competitors. If it weren’t for the Halo series, the Xbox would have been the Nintendo GameCube. And the Nintendo GameCube was the Nintendo GameCube. I want to make more fun of Nintendo for its effort last gen. But since they re-released the GameCube with a fancy new motion controller and are now the biggest success story in gaming, it looks as if the joke is on the rest of us.

Sony was in the driver’s seat. It had decisively won the last two console wars and there was no reason to expect it wouldn’t do it again. Then the company gave us 600 reasons it wouldn’t. Once the price of the new console was announced, it was akin to a huge disfiguring mole. As much as you try not to look at, talk about or acknowledge it, it’s really the only thing you can see. Thus, it was the focus of every mainstream media article about the PS3 and most of the gaming articles. Sony may as well have called it The Sony This-Machine-and-a-Game-Will-Set-You-Back-700-Big-Ones System.

My first car didn’t cost me $700 and my first apartment didn’t cost $700 a month. With the exception of my house and current vehicle, nothing I own cost me $700. And I’m the target market for the PlayStation 3. The guy that can drop $700 on a game console and not miss the money can afford numerous other diversions such as trips to the Bahamas with surgically-enhanced female companions. Us common working folk are having it rough and now even “escapist” hobbies such as movies and video games are feeling it.

Who am I in the grand scheme of things? Nobody whose words will echo in industry halls. But I’m not the only one saying this. Activision’s Bobby Kotick fired a huge salvo threatening to pull support for the PS3 if it didn’t cut the price. Sony CEO Howard Stringer fired back that Kotick likes to make “a lot of noise.” True, and Amy Winehouse has impulse control issues, what’s your point, Howard? These gross understatements don’t have anything to do with the core issue here: the PlayStation 3, even at $400, costs too much to sell in current economy.

The bottom line is that Sony is nearly as responsible for the current state of game sales as General Motors and its Big Three comrades is for the nosedive in the automotive industry. When the company that was winning in spectacular fashion starts losing in equally spectacular fashion, there are ripple - scratch that - there are tidal wave effects throughout the industry.

And before the responses come, I don’t hate Sony or the PS3. It would be ludicrous for me to wish ill will on any console maker since I make my living in the game writing industry. I want Sony to get it right so we can have the true three-way slugfest this console war should be. I also want an Xbox 360 that doesn’t crap out and I want mature content on my Nintendo Wii.

I complain because I care.

Since Sony had a large part in creating the current mess, they should pitch in and help out. It is true that in the short term, they will lose a lot more money on each console. But no Sony executive and their talk of 10-year console cycles can convince me the company won’t lose even more money long term if it finishes a distant third in the console race.

I don’t know a single gamer who wouldn’t like to be able to play more games and they can’t do that without buying more games. The industry model has long been to take the short-term loss on the hardware to sell customers on the software. This isn’t 2007. The games Sony predicted would sell this system, including Metal Gear Solid 4, are here now. Another system seller in God of War 3 is coming.

It would be a crying shame if no one could afford to play them without selling an organ.

Read [Bloomberg] Also Read [Edge Online]

Full Story » | Written by Brian Allen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Many people don’t really rely on CDs anymore. With laptops and mp3 players, many prefer direct downloads of music. Unfortunately, direct downloads of video game soundtracks and Japanese rock or pop music aren’t that prevalent yet. For many people, the best way to go is straight to the source - iTunes Japan.

The Japanese iTunes store has tons of music waiting to be downloaded. Tracks from your favorite video games or obscure Japanese artists. There’s just one catch, you have to have a Japanese iTunes account to access all of it. And, to have a Japanese iTunes account, you must have a Japanese mailing address and a Japanese credit card or iTunes music card. Fortunately, creating an account isn’t a terribly difficult task.

Check your region’s iTunes store first!

A Japanese iTunes account and music card may be unnecessary. The iTunes store is expanding every day, and the music or artist you’re looking for may already be in the system.

If you’re looking for general Japanese pop or rock music, try searching for the artist or group’s name. You never know, it could come up. Or you could always use the iTunes Browse option to take a look at the artists available in the J-Pop, Anime or World music sections.

If you’re searching for video game soundtracks, plug the name of the game into the search box. You could end up finding a Japanese or official soundtrack already on the site. Searching for “Final Fantasy,” “The Black Mages” or “Nobuo Uematsu” brings up numerous results, especially “Nobuo Uematsu.” A random search for “Devil May Cry” brought up the Devil May Cry 4 Original Game Soundtrack. Searching for “Guitar Hero” brings up the iTunes Essentials My Groove Guitar Hero track listing.

Procuring iTunes Japan cards.

There are quite a few options for purchasing iTunes Japan cards, but it’s important to do so through a source or outlet you trust. (You don’t want to pay money to find the code’s already been used on the card!) JList/JBox is the most established and well known online merchant selling the cards. The 1,500 yen card is $21.50 and the 3,000 yen card is $37.95. JList also will either send you the card through the mail or email you a scan of the card’s code, whichever you prefer.

Other small anime or Japanese specialty online stores also offer a similar service. For example, Otaku.com sells the 3,000 yen card for $34.95 and will also email you the code and/or send you the card, based on your preferences. eBay is another source for iTunes Japan cards, but make sure the seller has a high feedback rating and is someone you can trust before buying.

Of course, if you have a friend in Japan who can go out and pick up a card for you, that’s probably the best and easiest solution of all!

Using said cards to acquire iTunes Japan music.

First, you need to shift over to the Japanese iTunes store. It’s a simple process. Scroll down to the My Store selector and choose the very last option. It’s the only one in Kanji, so you’ll have no problem spotting it. You’ll automatically switch to iTunes Japan and be logged out of your iTunes account.

Since the process takes place in English, there’s really no explanation necessary. Just make sure you have the Japanese iTunes card by your side and a Japanese mailing address you can use.

There’s only one thing you may have to worry about, a glitch that is described in the JList iTunes account creation guide. Sometimes the account creation will not offer the “None” option when registering and will demand a credit card. Just click the home button and start over. The second time through the “None” button will appear.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews the DS mini-game collection Vitamin Y.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables discussed video game soundtracks..

Site [Apple.com (Japanese)] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

After a few rather anemic updates, this week’s Nintendo downloadable games are robust, meaty and… extremely eclectic. We’re looking at plenty of action titles (not the least of which is the Genesis’ Secret Command) and Konami’s own awesome-looking Ant Nation. If you’re into “Brain games”, DSiWare’s got Brain Challenge for 800 points, which sounds like a fairly full-featured game for the price. Finally, I’m quite intrigued by the premise of Bit Boy, though it’s still a “download at your own risk” proposition. Nintendo adds to it’s virtual game stores each Monday at 9 AM Pacific, and Wii points may be purchased at a rate of $1=100.

WiiWare

Bit Boy!!
Publisher: Bplus
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Get ready for the most spectacular journey through time in the history of video games!! Accompany Bit Boy Kubi through a crazy pixellated adventure and battle hordes of nasty monsters in 4-bit dungeons, 8-bit caves, 16-bit strongholds, 32-bit labyrinths, 64-bit arenas and 128-bit worlds!! Rescue Kubi’s friends!! Set off in the ultimate pursuit of fruits and high scores!! Grab a friend for even more fun in Cooperative mode!! The Wii Remote is your joystick – let the arcade adventure begin!!

Incoming!
Publisher: JV Games Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: The goal of Incoming! is to defeat your opponents by destroying their tanks using the arsenal you have at your disposal. Advanced arsenals become available at different levels of the game. Incoming! is great fun for two people to play competitively. Can you defeat your opponent’s tanks before they conquer yours? Collect power-ups to give your arsenal that tactical advantage. Your firing must be quick and your aim true to claim victory.

Ant Nation
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10 + (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Violence
Price: 700 Wii Points
Description: The beloved childhood pastime of lazy Sundays spent with a magnifying glass and an ant farm finally arrives in its most mischievous form via the WiiWare service. You must train your colony of Super Ants using a devilishly fun toolset. Zap, torch and manipulate your ants to make them numerous enough and tough enough to survive a variety of increasingly difficult challenges.
Zap your ants with lasers, fry them with your trusty magnifying glass, send down lightning and much more to build them to be the strongest Ants on the block.
Send your ants into war against local bullies like spiders and ladybugs. Is your colony ready for the fight?
100 missions keep you busy facing a smorgasbord of fun and wacky tasks.
Bonus mode features 20 additional challenges that allow you to get crazy with all your favorite weapons of ant destruction.
Use your Wii Remote controller to drop a virtual hammer on your ants, use your Wii Remote like a metal detector to find in-game gold and much more.

Virtual Console

Secret Command
Original platform: SEGA Master System
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Violence
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Play as a lone warrior, armed to the teeth, sent on a top-secret commando mission behind enemy lines to liberate your comrades at arms. Released on the SEGA Master System in Europe as Secret Command, players will battle frenzied attacks from enemy soldiers, rocket troops, tanks and other enemies doing everything they can to stop you from saving the hostages. Use your trusty machine gun and a compound bow, equipped with explosive-tipped arrows, to pave the way to victory. Let nothing stand in your path. Play it with a friend in two-player mode for double the fire power.

Pulseman
Original platform: SEGA Genesis
Publisher: GAME FREAK
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Animated Violence
Price: 900 Wii Points
Description: When noted 21st-century scientist Doc Yoshimaya fell in love with one of his C-Life artificial-intelligence creations, he uploaded himself into his computer, where her program core merged with his DNA, and half-human/half-C-Life Pulseman was born. Doc Yoshimaya’s mind twisted as he emerged back into real life, and he became evil Doc Waruyama. Use Pulseman’s ability to harness electricity as a weapon with his Volteccer attack as a means of rapid transport to fight Waruyama’s Galaxy Gang across seven crazy stages. Find out why this SEGA Channel classic was widely regarded as one of the best-looking games for SEGA’s MEGA DRIVE (Genesis) on release.

Nintendo DSiWare

Brain Challenge
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Just like your body, your brain needs exercise to stay in shape. Brain Challenge is a simple, entertaining solution for stimulating your neurons that goes way beyond logic tests. Thanks to a complete range of 48 mini-games, Brain Challenge provides an exceptional variety of exercises. Not only can you train your brain for Math but also for four other categories: Logic, Focus, Memory and Visual. Plus an original Stress Mode, featuring multitasking and authority challenges, Plus, you can now personalize your profile and some exercises with your own photos.

Read Nintendo Life

Full Story » | Written by Danielle Riendeau for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The SciFi channel recently changed its name to SyFy and, so people know what the heck is going on with their favorite station, launched an expensive name awareness campaign. The reasons for the change include never being able to own the term Sci Fi, to eliminate confusing search results and generally clearer marketing of its programming.

What if game companies started to mess with their current names? Sure, most of them are specific names that don’t really get confused with other products (except maybe with some people in Japan). A few game brands - Sony’s Home, for example - need a name change for the very reasons described by Sci Fi, er, I meant SyFy. Others, including 10Tacle, Take-2 and id, have already made the leap.

Here are a few theoretical name changes game companies may - or probably may not - enjoy considering without having to do too much phonetic education along with accompanying slogan suggestions.

eYAY!

My favorite hypothetical name change would be a re-branding of Electronic Arts from “EA” to “eYAY!” It has all the obnoxious elements some marketing dweeb would love: It has an odd character, it has a visually striking element (the “!”), it starts with a lowercase vowel, has some caps and is easy to say.
Horrible Slogan: “Horray for eYAY!”

aClaim

Those double Cs always did make me feel a little weird in Acclaim’s name. Nix them and either go with the little-letter prefix. The slightly misspelled-but-same-pronunciation version, Aklai, has already been used or I might suggest that instead.
Horrible Slogan: “Stake your claim on aClaim’s games.”

BethSoft

Bethesda Softworks already uses BethSoft as its domain name, so why not just use it as the corporate identity? OK, so it’s a little lame but it’s still a semi-catchy name. Of course that “soft” part might seem a bit too, well, soft, for a hard-core game company. Or it could be turned into a more feminine game company? OK, maybe not.
Horrible Slogan: “BethSoft? That’s what s/he said.”

Oobi / uB

Everyone has trouble pronouncing Ubisoft anyway. Make it easy for the world and cut it down to its nickname. The other version to consider, “Ooby,” implies a bit too much “Scooby” and a little too close to “Booby.” Of course, that might be a good thing. And if you pronounce “you bee,” then go even shorter with the name.
Horrible Slogan(s): “Don’t bee a noobi, buy lots of Oobi.” or “No matter who you be, play with uB.”

Cap.com

Now that is going high tech. Just put the dotcom right in your name. That doesn’t scream “company about to fail” at all.
Horrible Slogan: “The main game domain: Cap dot com”

iDose

It’s got the iPod “i,” sound like a dose of something - fun maybe? - and easy to say right from the spelling. Assuming that is how you really pronounce “Eidos,” of course. Unfortunaely, some might read that as “I doze,” as in “I sleep.”
Horrible Slogan: “The Doctor prescribes a heavy dose of iDose games.”

NamBam

Shorten Namco Bandai to its essential bits, turn that “n” into an “m” and you’re good to go.
Horrible Slogan: “Who made that cool game? NamBam? Thank you, man!”

Magis, Co.

This is slight re-working of Majesco makes the name a little more manageable to read and might even generate a shorter name. While the word “magis” may have religious background, it means “the more,” a good concept for any company (even if they do create pagan images and gratuitously blow up stuff and innocents).
Horrible Slogan: “Magis, Co. Now our name is more American.”

Zega

It’s only one letter but a “z” is zo much cooler than an “s.” A lot of people pronounce it that way any way. How about Zonic the Hegehog?
Horrible Slogan: “Zega, eets ze bomb.”

HOAM

HOAM, also short for “hold on a minute,” would certainly be easier to find in search engines when looking for Sony’s Home. And it’s a way kewl abbreviation. (OK, not really.)
Horrible Slogan: “Hey honey, I’m HOAM!” or “Come HOAM and stay a while.”

C-Era

Probably a terrible idea since it might imply that the company - Sierra - was developed in a slightly above average era. Of course then you won’t mistake it with that mist, er, bottled water company.
Horrible Slogan: “Get all your A-games from the C-Era.”

[]Enix

Yeah, put that shape right in there. Screw convention. Be like Prince. Print publications would absolutely hate that. (“Is that two square brackets or a box? Someone get the @#$%! AP style guide!”) Then dump the character in a couple years and just become “Enix” again. Likewise, Xbox Live could be X[]Live and, down the road, xLive or just x[].
Horrible Slogan: “[]Enix - We put games in a box so you can play ‘em.”

Read [SyFy]

Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

If you love video games, there’s a very strong chance that you also adore video game music. While video game soundtracks are starting to appear more often in stores, they still can be quite hard to find, especially if you’re looking for music from a title that isn’t a mainstream game.

The best place to go for soundtracks is straight to the source - Japan. Practically every notable video game release also has a soundtrack release, which means it’s much easier to find the track to the song that just won’t get out of your head.

Is the video game soundtrack authentic?

Since Japanese CDs can often be quite expensive, you’ll also come across quite a few bootlegs. Bootlegs usually easier to discern after the CD’s been opened, but it is also incredibly simple to determine authenticity without actually purchasing and opening the CD.

1. The Price: The price of the CD or CDs should be a giveaway. Typically, a single, authentic Japanese CD will cost around $24. Longer soundtracks, perhaps to an RPG, will easily cost between $32-$51. If the price of the CD(s) you’re buying is between $12-$19, you’re looking at a bootleg.
2. The Artwork: The cover art might not be right. Before making a purchase, double check authentic cover art to see if it matches up.
3. The Location: If you can, see the location where the CD was made. If it says anything other than “Japan,” chances are it isn’t authentic.
4. The Language: If the CD has Chinese on the cover, insert and CD instead of Japanese, it’s a dead giveaway.
5. The Company: This is quite possibly the most important tell. If the company listed on the CD cover isn’t Sony Music, Konami, Square, Pioneer, Avex, Columbia Japan, Toshiba-EMI, Warner Music or an established company, it’s a bootleg. Some bootleg companies include Ever Anime, Miya Records, Smiley Face Records, and Son May (SM).

In case you’re wondering, these bootleg tells also apply to Japanese rock/pop/anime CDs. The CD picture at the right is an Ever Anime bootleg CD of Dir En Grey’s Gauze. As you can tell, the CD itself doesn’t look right, and has the Ever Anime logo on the front along with the code NP-016. The sound quality is also inferior, when compared to an authentic CD from Japan.

Finding authentic soundtracks

If you live near a Japanese bookstore, you should have no problem finding authentic soundtracks. Most Japanese bookstores also include a music section. Kinokuniya, Sanseido Bookstore and Asahiya all have locations in the US, though locations are most often found in California and New York. If you’re near one of the Mitsuwa Marketplace stores, they often include a Japanese bookstore.

Another option is to invest in games that come with a soundtrack. Occasionally, companies will include a soundtrack with a game, as part of a preorder or special edition deal. Lately Atlus has been running a promotion called Atlus Spoils, where standard copies of the games include a soundtrack. Knights in the Nightmare, Luminous Arc 2 and Persona 4  are examples of recent Atlus games with soundtracks included.

If you’re looking to buy online, then it’s best to go with an established store. YesAsia.com, Play-Asia and CDJapan are all reputable retailers.

Video game soundtrack suggestions:

When it comes to picking out video game soundtracks, it’s all pretty much up to personal tastes. The person buying knows exactly what games he or she loves and is the best judge of what soundtrack to buy.

If you’re just getting started building a video game music library and are looking for a few classic soundtrack suggestions, why not consider these:

• Shadow of the Colossus - Grand Music
• Persona 4 Original Soundtrack
• Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack
• 20th Anniversary Rockman 1-6 Rock Arrange Version
• Silent Hill 2 Original Soundtrack
• Nintendo Sound History Series - Zelda the Music
• Katamari Damashii Soundtrack: Katamari Fortissimo Damashii
• Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party Original Soundtrack
• Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy
• Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World Original Soundtrack (aka: The World Ends with You soundtrack)

If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy music, I also recommend checking out the albums from The Black Mages.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables will teach you how to make purchases from the Japanese iTunes store.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Angel Collection: Mezase! Gakuen no Fashion Leader..

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Title: Angel Collection: Mezase! Gakuen no Fashion Leader
Price: $48.90, but it’s out of print
System(s): GBA
Release Date: April 18, 2003
Publisher (Developer): MTO (MTO)
ESRB Rating: N/A
Pros: You get to co-ordinate your character’s whole outfit, make friends with five characters, visit lots of stores and play a wide selection of mini-games. Plus, those unfamiliar with Japanese will have a fairly easy time playing, since there are few kanji involved.
Cons: The mini-games are rather easy, as is winning over friends. It can also be a bit repetitive.
Overall Score: 8/10

When you look back on a one of your favorite games from the past, fondness and memories are bound to make it seem better than it really was. Thankfully, that’s only partially true for Angel Collection a Japanese Game Boy Advance game for girls that was one of the first import games I ever played. I borrowed the game from a friend again to do a retro-review and see if it is as good as I remembered.

While it isn’t a video game masterpiece, I was delighted to find that it still was a geniunely sweet and enjoyable game, perfect for those just beginning to learn the language. A bit girly, with a story/premise that seems more ridiculous as you age, but still a delightful adventure.

If you want to make friends, you better buy the right clothes.

Angel Collection is really like an elaborate game of dress-up. You create a character, whose dream is to be an idol/model. However, that dream’s pretty far away. After all, you’re only a junior high student. But, there is a chance of being discovered, a contest is being held where fashionable, pretty and co-ordinated girls could earn the chance to live out their dreams.

For the moment though, you have to focus on the small stuff. Make friends with classmates Ayumi, Moe, Minii, Hikaru and Sofie by playing mini-games, hanging out with them, talking to them and wearing clothes that they like. If you do, you’ll earn fashion tips and new clothing. With their advice, you could end up becoming an icon.

Go to school, play a mini-game, shop, make plans, dress up, repeat.

The important thing to remember about Angel Collection is that it is designed for a young audience. So at times, the mini-games may seem overly simplistic and the language a bit childish. Anyone over the age of 13 may initially be enthused about the school mini-games, like basketball, singing, whack-a-mole, cooking and a memory card game, but that enthusiasm will fade fast after playing at the same difficulty level for the fifteenth time. It’s a good game to play in spurts. That way, it doesn’t feel as repetitious.

There’s also quite a bit of variety when it comes to clothing. The various makeup, hair, shoe and clothes stores are all fully stocked with all sorts of items and accessories, and it’s easy to mix and match. Plus, after hanging out with one of the five friends, players have the chance to possibly win a whole outfit in that character’s style with a slot machine mini-game.

If you enjoy dressing up, co-ordinating outfits and life-sim games, it’s an instant win.

While Angel Collection isn’t as grand as I remembered it (years ago, I probably would have given it a 10/10), it’s still a lot of fun. It’s held up well over the years, and I think if it were rereleased, or a new entry in the series was created, it would do very well. If a new entry in the series was created, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ubisoft pick it up and release it as an Imagine game.

It’s a shame the game is out of print, and thus very difficult to find. However, there was a sequel released called Pichimo ni Narou (Angel Collection 2), also for the GBA, with a similar premise and character design. I’ve never had the opportunity to play it, but it looks quite similar to the original game.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables will look at places you can find video game soundtracks.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables discussed the Dreamcasts.

Site [Angel Collection: Mezase! Gakuen no Fashion Leader] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Can you say, “the dog days of summer”? This Nintendo download update is certainly on the sedate side, with 2 water-based titles on WiiWare (including a fishing game!) and Sudoku (yes, Sudoku!) on DSiWare. I’m interested in the sole VC release, Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, and potentially Silver Star Reversi on WiiWare, but if you’re still not satisfied, hell, Natsume does make a mean fishing game. Nintendo adds to it’s virtual game stores each Monday at 9 AM Pacific, and Wii points may be purchased at a rate of $1=100.

Nintendo’s Descriptions:

WiiWare

Water Warfare
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Water Warfare is a comical first-person shooter that uses water guns to battle and soak opponents. A map with a particular theme - Playground, Beach, Plaza or Nature Park - is generated automatically when the game begins, so you can think up new strategies each time you engage. Game modes include Single Player Missions, CPU Match and 2-Player Split Screen. On top of that, players with broadband Internet access can use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to battle with up to eight players from around the world, or participate in Ranking Mode.

Reel Fishing Challenge
Publisher: Natsume, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Reel Fishing Challenge offers a fun and challenging experience for novice fishers and master anglers alike. Put your skills to the test and discover new types of fish in the challenging mission mode, or relax and enjoy the game at your own pace in free play mode. No matter which mode you play, the game’s beautiful graphics and natural setting bring the fishing experience to life. Choose from a variety of lures to attract and hook the game’s numerous fish. Each fish looks and moves like the real thing - it’s the closest you can get to real-life fishing without putting on your waders.

Silver Star Reversi
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Silver Star Reversi has two modes: 1-Player mode allows you to play a match against the computer opponent, and 2-Player mode allows you to play against another person. In 1-Player mode, you can choose from five different computer opponents, turn the background music on or off, adjust sound effects and access in-game help features. During each match, you can also redo your last move, save the game at any point, or resign from the game. After a match has ended, you can review each move and resume the match from any point you choose.

Virtual Console

Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa
Original platform: SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Ten years have elapsed since Opa-Opa restored peace to the Fantasy Zone. Now history is repeating itself, and the planets that make up the Fantasy Zone once again find themselves attacked by the mastermind of the Nenon planet forces. This mastermind is secretly constructing a huge fortress in the Fantasy Zone and aims to put an end to their ambitious plans. Just as he did 10 years ago, Opa-Opa must do battle to save the Fantasy Zone.

Nintendo DSiWare

SUDOKU MASTER
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: SUDOKU MASTER offers 150 unique puzzles that beginners and experts alike will enjoy. A handful of tutorials will help you learn the rules and controls as you go, and handy features like Write Mode and Temp Numbers make Sudoku pleasantly user-friendly. Feeling confident? Then try your hand at Title Mode to work your way up from Rookie to Sudoku Master. All puzzles were created by Sudoku veteran NIKOLI Co., Ltd., and tips from Sudoku godfather Maki Kaji are offered between games.

Read Nintendo Life

Full Story » | Written by Danielle Riendeau for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Dreamcast is an example of a console that its fans refused to let die. When Sega discontinued it outside of Japan, people purchased Boot Disks that would let them play import video games and imported. When licensed games stopped coming, people started creating and selling their own independent games. One look at the console’s history, and it’s easy to see that it has been loved.

This week, Important Importables salutes the Dreamcast. We’ll quickly go over some basic facts about the system, talk about running import games and hunt down retailers which still carry licensed or independent games.

A Dreamcast refresher

Sega’s Dreamcast was part of the console generation that included the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. However, it was released much earlier than the other systems. It was available in 1998 in Japan, 1999 in the rest of the world, while the PS2 was released in 2000 and the GameCube and Xbox were released after 2001. By 2002, Sega’d discontinued the Dreamcast in North America, Europe and Australia, officially withdrawing from the console race.

Some of the hallmarks of the Dreamcast include the 3D gaming, a built in modem to support internet gaming and a visual memory unit that plugged into the controller. While it failed overseas, the console was still sold in Japan until 2006 and a PAL version was sold until 2009. While licensed games are no longer released, there’s a strong independent and homebrew community.

If you’re actually looking for a Dreamcast console, a lot of places still sell them used or new. A used console will probably cost you between $14.99 and $49.99, depending on the retailer and condition. (Be sure to test it first, if you can!) A new console will be much harder to find, and will most likely cost more than $49. ThinkGeek has a product listing for new Dreamcast consoles and offers replacement units if you console isn’t new and a 30 Day return policy.

How to play import games on a Dreamcast

One option is to mod the Dreamcast. Of course, this requires some technological knowledge and abilities, and there’s a small chance things could go wrong. The best way to go is to find or create a Boot Disk for yourself.

The DC-X Import Game Adapter is a commercial CD Boot Disk. You just pop it in the Dreamcast, do what it says on screen and you’ll be able to play games from any region and the new homebrew games. Unfortunately, it can occasionally be hard to find. If you do find one, it’ll probably cost around $19.99. Fortunately, an Innovation Dreamcast Super Game Converter is also listed on Amazon for $12.99 that does the same thing. They both work in the same way. Put the disk in, and let it start running. It will then tell you to put in the game disk you want to run. Then you play as normal.

Another option is the Utopia Boot Disk program. You download the program from the internet and burn it to CD. Then, you pop the newly created Utopia Boot Disk CD into the Dreamcast. It will tell you to put in the CD you want to use, and you’ll be able to play games from any region.

Finding Dreamcast games

For official games, you’ll probably have to find a privately run video game resale store or online store. As you’ve probably noticed, GameStop stopped selling Dreamcast games years ago.

Amazon and eBay are viable places to start. If you purchase a game from eBay though, double check and make sure it is an authentic game before placing any bids.

Three other, fantastic sites to visit are Play-Asia, GOAT Store and redspotgames, since they carry independent, commercial Dreamcast games. Last Hope and Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles are the only two independent, commercial games that redspotgames sells. Play-Asia and GOAT Store both carry a wide variety of Dreamcast accessories and games, however GOAT Store only carries the independent games Cool Herders, Feet of Fury, Inhabitants and Maquipai. Be careful when buying independent, commercial games, as some Dreamcasts won’t play them. Check your Dreamcast model first, before ordering.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables will take a look back and review the game which got me into playing import video games, Angel Collection for the GBA.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables discussed finding Japanese video game fan art using Google.co.jp and Pixiv.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »