In this week’s Important Importables, we’re going to look at one of my favorite Japanese video game developers, Vanillaware. The company may not be one of the most prolific developers out there, but they do make some of the most gorgeous video games available.

In a way, that works out better for us today! We’ll take a brief look at Vanillaware, and then another quick peek at all five games Vanillaware has created so far!

What’s Vanillaware?

In short, Vanillaware Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer that focuses on making high quality, artistic, 2D games.

Vanillaware’s games are quite distinctive, due to their visuals. They almost always have what appear to be hand-drawn, or painted, characters and backgrounds. Also, they often are genre bending, encorporating a number of different styles and traits from action, RPG, fighting and sometimes even strategy or simulation games.

The company hasn’t existed for too long as Vanillaware, but has been around in some form since around 1997, when the game Princess Crown was made for the Sega Saturn. Back then some of the founding members of Vanillaware worked for Atlus, and created the game. The developer originally was called Puraguru, but is now known as Vanillaware and has only developed games under that moniker.

Vanillaware’s games

Princess Crown (Sega Saturn, PSP)

Princess Crown is quite similar to Odin Sphere in terms of presentation, so this may all sound familiar. The opening segment has a little girl who grabs books, and then takes them to her grandmother to read the stories of Princess Gradriel, Edward, Portgus and Prosperina. The main story is that of Gradriel, the crown princess of a kingdom who heads out into the world to learn to be the proper queen and aid her kingdom. After you finish her storyline, the secondary characters’ stories pop up and can be played at your leisure.

Princess Crown was never released outside of Japan. However, there was a pretty complete English walkthrough created (check GameFaqs) and the PSP version is region-free and available in a best price edition. It’s a side-scrolling, action RPG, and if you’re familiar with Muramasa or Odin Sphere you’ll be fine.

GrimGrimoire (PS2)

GrimGrimoire is a magical, time traveling mystery game that’s reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day. New magic student Lillet Blan comes to her new school and, five days after arriving, finds that everyone’s been killed by an evil force. Right before she’s defeated by this entity, she’s sent back in time to the day she arrived at the school. So now she must keep reliving those five days, each time around becoming a stronger magician and getting closer to preventing the disaster.

You can pick up GrimGrimoire and experience it for yourself, if you’d like. NIS released it in the US and Korea, and Koei released it in Europe and Australia. So as long as you have a PS2 and live in one of those regions, you can play. It’s a real time, strategic RPG.

Odin Sphere (PS2)

Odin Sphere is the tale of five intertwined characters, Gwendolyn the Valkyrie, Oswald the dark knight, Cornelius the pooka, Velvet the witch and Mercedes the fairy princess. All the stories lead up to the end of their world as they know it, and you can switch off between as you’d like. They’re all segmented into chapters of their own books, but the final book has all five characters as playable heroes and heroines. It’s largely inspired by fairy tales and mythology.

Like GrimGrimoire, Odin Sphere has received a worldwide release. Atlus brought it to Japan, North America and Korea, and Square Enix brought it to Europe and Australia. It’s very similar to Princess Crown in terms of gameplay, as its also a side-scrolling, action RPG.

Kumatanchi (DS)

Kumatanchi is essentially a pet simulator. You’re a zoo keeper who is taking care of Kuma-tan, a little bear girl, while her zoo is being fixed. It takes place in real time, and so for two weeks you have to watch over her and guide her using the touch screen. You can make money by taking pictures of her and having her perform successful shows, alter her environment, direct her to interact with her surroundings and watch as she talks with other

Kumatanchi hasn’t been released in English, but don’t despair. It’s a DS game, so it’s region-free, and import friendly since controls mainly rely on icons and images.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is Vanillaware’s most recent release and follows the adventures of an amnesiac ninja named and a princess named Momohime who’s possessed by the swordsman named. Both characters are searching for the legendary Muramasa for their own means, and completing both stories unlocks additional endings.

As long as you live in Japan, North America, Europe or Australia, you can experience Muramasa: The Demon Blade for yourself. Marvelous released it in Japan, while Ignition took care of North America and Australia and Rising Star Games handled Europe. It’s an action RPG somewhat similar to Princess Crown and Odin Sphere, though there are fewer characters and more platforming elements.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at 10 of the weirdest Japanese DS boxarts.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning? for the Dreamcast

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

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Product: HitMaster Gaming Stage Monitor (aka The HitMaster; HitMaster Portable Powered Floor Monitor)
Price: $99
Rating: Two thumbs up; 95/100; A-; * * * *1/2 out of five.
Pros: Excellent sound quality for the price, extremely sturdy, looks and feels like an actual stage monitor and able to connect it to multiple monitors and various audio sources (including MP3 players).
Cons: Does not include a male-to-male cable and no bass or treble adjustments.
Overall: Certainly adds to the faux stage experience and can be used for much more than just gaming.

Playing a music video game does not make you a musician but dammit if you sure don’t feel like one while you do.

You can rapidly smack buttons and strum to some heavin’ hitting in-game tunage. Companies have done well furthering that rock star feeling by creating more realistic guitar controllers and even one with strings.

Polk Audio wants to help add even more realism to your grand at-home jam illusion with its HitMaster stage monitor (those boxy speakers you see in front of each musician on stage at live performances or being smashed by archive footage of The Who).

Out of the Box

Printed on the box is the HitMaster’s promised compatibility with Wii, PS2, Ps3, Xbox and Xbox 360 as well as “stereo input of iPhone/iPod and other MP3 devices.” In actuality it goes way beyond that but more on that later.

In the box is the HitMaster monitor along with a 9 ft. RCA stereo, a 7 1/2 ft. power cable and a printed quickstart guide.

The primarily black HitMaster features black metal mesh protecting the speakers with the product logo (in red) and the company logo (in white).

Beyond the mesh the rest of the body, I believe, is wood coated in a thick plastic layer to prevent scratching. The “bottom” has four 1 in. by 3/4 in. rubber feat and the “top”  includes a thick vinyl/plastic handle with metal fasteners.

The back control panel is metal and includes a fuse, AC input port, power switch, left and right Line In and Line Out ports, a 1/8 in. input port, a power LED indicator and a rubber volume knob that ranges from 1 to 11.  (Yes, really. Eleven.)

To complete the monitor effect it has five sides so the speakers are pointed at the musician, er, gamer. It weights about 13 pounds but is easily carried thanks to the handle and measures about 9 in tall, 14 1/2 in. wide and 10 1/4 in deep.

In the “Box”

Under the mesh is a 6 1/2 in.  dynamic balance woofer,  a 6 1/2 in . composite clone driver and two 1 in. 3x4 horn tweeters. Promised frequency response is 40Hz to 20kHz with Maximum SPL of 103 dB 1M/1W. That all makes up what is called a single-point stereo array, meaning you get the effect of stereo from a single system.

On Your Floor and In Your Ears

Set up is easy, as any speaker should be. It’s plug-and-play for both the 1/8 in. and the left-right RCA ports.

For music games the sounds is just the right mix (and even decent enough that it can replace most TV speakers for normal use). It hits the highs and lows very well and, even if you crank it to 11, the sounds is never distorted (the top volume was purposefully kept low enough to avoid damage, static or audio artifacts).

Since it is a powered speaker system, you can vary the volume from the HitMaster precisely enough to synchronize with your TV or, if that audio simply sucks, “daisy chain” it with other monitors or speakers for more spread stereo effect. On its own, it offers a wide enough spread of sound that it can be placed across a room and hit pretty much every corner.

If you do plan to use use this as your main TV speaker, the bulk might make it hard to place anywhere other than right in front of the cabinet or, unfortunately, behind it. But, then again, the real intention is to play music games with it and get that I’m-on-stage feel while gaming, which it certainly provides.

Thanks to the RCA and 1/8 input ports, pretty much anything that makes noise in your house and has output ports can be connected to the HitMaster, making this far more useful than just a gaming accessory.

My complaints are relatively small and only with the provided cables. The RCA cables provided are male on one end a female on the other. For consoles that’s not really an issue since you can plug the audio directly to the HitMaster. However, if you already have some sort of audio system, you really need another male-to-male RCA cable. Also, the power cords is shorter than the RCA cable which is the opposite of what is usually needed since the consoles will likely be closer to the speaker than the nearest wall power outlet.

There’s also not any form of in-box fine tuning adjustments (base, treble or balance) but, in any situation, you’re really at the mercy of the game developers and console for the final mix (or lack thereof - eg. cannot separate instruments and microphone from each other) and output quality.

HitMaster or MissMaster?

There is no mistake that this system sounds great, especially for the price. It looks and feels exactly like a stage sound monitor and will certainly impress - and very likely intimidate - your friends. The sound quality is better than most TVs and, if the bulk is not an issue for your setup, could become your primary stereo speakers.

As we were told by Polk Audio, this is certainly not a toy. The HitMaster has enough heft and a sturdy enough construction to keep it real but light enough to quickly move. Heck, you can even plug your favorite handheld game system into it.

There’s no doubt that this will survive years of gaming and withstand many accidental hits caused by your new found in-home stage presence. Don’t believe me, then check the photos of my 3-year-old sitting on the HitMaster. Believe me, he’s already put it through his own battery of stress tests and it’s come out unscathed.

And if you get something like the USB string guitar with the game adapter or even Power Gig: Rise of the SixString, all we really need is for a company to come out with a robotic at-home roadie. (I’ll leave the shaky, poorly swept wooden floor and artificial groupies to you.)

Read [HitMaster @ Gamertell] Site [Polk Audio HitMaster] Photo Gallery [HitMaster Photos @ Gamertell]

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This has been a tumultuous week in the videogame industry. Infinity Ward, the studio behind one of the most profitable videogame franchises of all time is in a bitter legal dispute with its parent company Activision. More specifically, the lawsuit involves Infinity Ward’s former chief technology officer Jason West and former chief creative officer Vince Zampella. The pair were fired on March 1, 2010 for “breach of contract” and “insubordination.” West and Zampella feel they were wrongfully terminated and are seeking compensation for royalties owed to them due to the financial success Modern Warfare 2 proved to be.

This set of events were in motion long before it came to a head this month. Gamertell has read over the lawsuit documents filed on behalf of West and Zampella and it contains some rather chilling claims. Based on that report, we’ve put together the chain of events that led Infinity Ward to where it is today. Keep in mind, this information was provided by the plaintiffs, West and Zampella. Should Activision provide a rebuttal, we will report on that as well.

The Claim

West and Zampella claim that Activision fired them weeks before they were to receive royalties from the success of Modern Warfare 2. They believe Activision fired them so they wouldn’t have to pay royalties, or at most, reduce the amount owed. West and Zampella also want to vindicate the agreement they had with Activision that allowed Infinity Ward to control any Modern Warfare game that takes place from the post Vietnam era, to the distant future.

The Timeline

In 2002, Infinity Ward was formed. Activision came into the picture after the success of Medal of Honor and asked Infinity Ward to create a game based on World War II. That game became Call of Duty and was also a big success for the company. That same year, Activision purchased Infinity Ward for $5 million. After the acquisition West and Zampella were given the titles of CTO and CCO respectively. Though owned by Activision, Infinity Ward was allowed to operate independently to focus on creating the same blockbuster games it had become known for.

In 2003 West and Zampella signed a three year employee agreement deal that was set to expire in November 2006. Activision extended the contract to 2008. This led to the creation of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007 and prompted Activision to ask West and Zampella to extend their contracts for another two years. As Modern Warfare 2 was being developed, West and Zampella felt Activision was pushing their team too hard finish the game by a set date.They also became increasingly concerned that Activision’s resistance to Infinity Ward creating a new intellectual property were affecting the teams creativity. Despite their feelings, West and Zampella signed a Memorandum of Understanding that kept Infinity Ward a part of Activision and extended their contracts to October 2011.

Activision offered incentives to sweeten the deal. It gave Infinity Ward the right to control any CoD game in the modern or distant future era, complete control of the studio and additional compensation for the Infinity Ward employees.

Following the $1 billion success of Modern Warfare 2, Activision allegedly launched an investigation with the intention of firing West and Zampella on February 3, 2010 so it wouldn’t have to pay royalties for MW2. The royalties were meant to be paid out on March 31, 2010.

Activision’s lawyers did not specifically tell West or Zampella what they were being accused of. It is believed that the investigation was a ploy to create an excuse to fire West and Zampella if they failed to fully cooperate with the investigation - hence the “insubordination” claim. West and Zampella were allegedly lured into a phony meeting with Activision where they became victims of a six hour interrogation. On March 1, 2010 Activision gave West and Zampella six hours to respond to its claims. Afterwards the two were fired.

The Response

Activision has responded to the lawsuit by issuing the following statement:

“Activision is disappointed that Mr. Zampella and Mr. West have chosen to file a lawsuit, and believes their claims are meritless,” the company said. “Over eight years, Activision shareholders provided these executives with the capital they needed to start Infinity Ward, as well as the financial support, resources and creative independence that helped them flourish and achieve enormous professional success and personal wealth.”

“In return, Activision legitimately expected them to honor their obligations to Activision, just like any other executive who holds a position of trust in the company,” the statement reads. “While the company showed enormous patience, it firmly believes that its decision was justified based on their course of conduct and actions. Activision remains committed to the Call of Duty franchise, which it owns, and will continue to produce exciting and innovative games for its millions of fans.”

Read [Gamertell]

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This probably won’t surprise too many people who’ve been waiting on the first English Sakura Wars game, but Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love has once again been delayed. So now the strategy game/visual novel/dating simulation, which was originally supposed to be released For a while, it looked as though NIS might be releasing Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love before 2009 ended, but it quickly slid back to a March 23, 2010 release date. It’s happened again, and now the final, official, it’s-really-going-to-definitely-be-out date is March 30, 2010.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love will be available in both premium and standard forms, though only Wii owners will have the option of purchasing a standard edition. The premium PS2 and Wii copies of the game will each have dual-layer discs, so people have the option of playing with the original Japanese voices or English dubbed. It also comes with an art book and poster, and costs $39.99.

The standard Wii version of the game is slightly cheaper, and costs only $29.99. Despite the lower price, it still includes the dual-layer disc featuring English or Japanese voice acting. So all you’re really missing out on are the poster and art book. That doesn’t seem all that bad a trade-off.

NIS probably did the right thing. With so many games coming out in March, especially mid-March, Sakura Wars could very easily have gotten lost and ignored. By bumping it back a week, it’ll debut on a slightly less packed release date and have the opportunity to stand out.

Read [Siliconera] Also Read [WorthPlaying] Site [Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love]

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Title: Last Escort: Club Katze
Price: $59.90
System: PSP*, Playstation 2
Release Date: February 18, 2010
Publisher (Developer): Mobile & Game Studio (D3 Publisher)
ESRB Rating: N/A, CERO D for Ages 17+
Pros: Slick and polished character designs, skippable dialogue and cutscenes, simple gameplay and fully voiced (aside from the main character’s dialogue).
Cons: Painfully linear, lack of character customizable options, intermediate Japanese skills recommended (but not required).
Overall Score: One Thumb Sideways, One Thumb Down; 67 out of 100; D+; *1/2 out of *****. 

Host clubs are no secret in Japan. Interested parties will find the streets of Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku (Tokyo, Japan) swarming with sharply dressed young gentlemen bombarding women of all ages in hopes of luring them back to their love nest that is one of their host clubs.

Last Escort is a unique series, usually on the PS2, that has enjoyed success on the Japan thanks to many a fine lady interested in getting a glimpse of what the host club scene in Japan is like without committing oodles of real-world monetary funds.

A Girl and Her Host

The main goal of Club Katze, as with Last Escort titles, is to woo a host through conversation and gift giving, while also helping him to achieve the number one spot of the club by spending all your hard-earned cash on ridiculously overpriced bottles of liquor.

Players take control of a young woman starting out in her career. Oddly enough, she’s given the task to “spy” on a local host club called Club Katze but she finds her trips become increasingly personal and less about business.

The game progresses over the course of approximately one calendar year where, week by week, players have the ability to pick activities to increasing attributes and encourage a host to fall for you by appealing to his interests. For example, maxing out the sports stat will increase your chances of capturing the heart of a particular host whose hobby may be sports (go fig’). Also, leveling up also unlocks different homemade items that players can choose to create in order to give to hosts as gifts in hopes of raising their affection level.

There are six hosts (possibly more to unlock), each playing to the heartstrings of a different girl. Visiting Club Katze is the only controllable way to interact with a host, however there are still yet events that are triggered outside of the club environment. Players choose one of three actions per visit to interact with a host: Conversation (correct responses yield better results), order a drink (help the host become “Number One”) and give a gift (homemade is best). Of course, everything, including your siple visit, costs yen, so you have to watch your wallet.

This Eye Candy is a Little Sour

Club Katze takes a step back from what was enjoyable in Last Escort 2 (LE2). While Last Escort 2 was linear, Club Katze is painfully linear. The formula for success remains the same but the amount of customizability has been removed. In LE2, players could decorate their rooms which would, in turn, effect host visits. While this was a small aspect of the game play, it was surprisingly amusing.

The majority hosts at Club Katze are pretty yummy in appearance, whereas some look downright sleazy. In any case, their personalities pale in comparison to their LE2 predecessors who were a lively and often comical bunch. Instead of paying attention I instead skipped through a good majority of the dialogue. Even the action of visiting Club Katze becomes a mundane chore instead of a thrilling venture. It would have been nice if visiting the club triggered specialized mini-games opposed to overused one-liners and dull babble.

This love simulation is no more than a plain text adventure with absolutely any frills. There’s no challenge in the game play since players are easily able to save at any time which would prevent them from committing to any mistakes. The art of stat raising provides about half of the gameplay yet requires no compelling strategy whatsoever. The most difficult part of this action is simply discovering what the host’s hobby is and then maxing out that stat as soon as possible which, in turn, provides neither balance nor customization. Where the main challenge of this game should be triumphing many hurdles that usually stand in the way of love, the lack of money in the game is the only real menacing pothole screwing up the lovebus on its road to the stale infatuation that the boys of Club Katze have to offer.
It may be that Club Katze attempted to provide an extremely serious approach for this installment of which it succeeded regarding the character designs (see lack of huge glossy, sparkly eyes), but miserably failed in creating a game that’s actually fun to play.

To Date or Not To Date?

I would urge interested parties - even fans of otome dating-sim games - to wait to invest their money in Konami’s impending Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side (TMGS) 3rd Story due out later this year (2010). I dare say that TMGS may be the perfect dating simulation geared for the female market and, if you can’t wait for 3rd Story, buy the previous versions of TMGS for the Nintendo DS: 1st Love/Plus, 2nd Kiss. Not Club Katze.

I would only suggest picking up Club Katze for those who want to know what the bottom-of-the-dating-sims barrel feels like.

However, if you don’t mind being hand fed a story by slick and attractive boy toys, then you may enjoy Club Katze’s eye candy.

Site [Last Escort -Club Katze-] Purchase [Play-Asia] Read [Gamertell]

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Mecha anime and manga series are popular around the world. Gundam is the best known among all the series, and even helped kick off all mecha animes. All of the series feature humans piloting huge mechanized suits in the future, battling against one another.

Gundam first began as an animated TV show back in 1979 called Mobile Suit Gundam, and was originally created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise. Since then, there have been movies, animated tv shows, ovas and movies, mangas, novels, light novels, trading card game and tons of video games all based on the series. Japan’s even used Gundam as a cultural mascot, creating stamps featuring the mechanized units, creating a RX-78 monument at the Kamiigusa Station, using it as a nickname for Japan Self-Defense for equipment and even using Gundam mechas as promotional tools.

So this week, let’s take a brief look at all the Gundam animated series out there and some games that are available. If you decide to get interested in the series, prepare to do a lot of research, as there are multiple timelines and things can get quite complicated unless you’re really paying attention to the characters and situations.

A brief look at the Gundam series.

The Gundam series is somewhat notorious for being quite involved, and often complicated. While the Gundam games often have their own storylines, and just feature mechas from the anime series, familiar characters may also appear and certain wars or political altercations are often referenced. The best way to learn about these is to sit down and actually watch the anime. Sure, you can try just sitting and reading some viewers’ reports online, but those could get a bit dry and you may get factions and dates mixed up.

So here’s a list of all of the main anime series. Be aware that the first four series are all related and take part in the same timeline. (There are multiple timelines, so you may find it difficult to keep track unless you take notes between series or reference and online site. Even I have trouble figuring it all out and keeping it straight.) If you decide to start watching these series, make sure you have a lot of free time! Many of the series have 40-50 episodes, so becoming a fan requires quite an investment.

• Mobile Suit Gundam: (1979 - 1980) It was also made into a two volume manga and inspired three animated movies called Gundam: The Movie, Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow and Gundam III: Encounters in Space. It also inspired films and OVAs like Char’s Counterattack The anime is available in English.
• Zeta Gundam: (1985 - 1986) It also inspired a manga series and three animated movies, Zeta Gundam A New Translation: Heirs to the Stars, Zeta Gundam A New Translation II: Lovers and Zeta Gundam A New Translation: Love is the Pulse of the Stars. The anime is available in English.
• Gundam ZZ: (1986 - 1987), It’s story was only told in the anime series.
• Mobile Suit V Gundam: (1993 - 1994) It also inspired a manga series called Mobile Suit V Gundam Side Story.
• Mobile Fighter G Gundam: (1994 - 1995) It inspired three manga series, one called Mobile Fighter G Gundam, and then two others called Mobile Fighter G Gundam Gaiden: Shouryuu Densetsu and Mobile Fighter Gaiden: Gundam Fight 7th. The anime is available in English.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: (1995 - 1996) It inspired an Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor OVA, Gundam Wing manga and Gundam Wing: Battlefield of Pacifists manga. The anime and manga are available in English.
• After War Gundam X: (1996) It inspired two manga series, one called After War Gundam X and one called After War Gundam X: Under the Moonlight.

• Turn A Gundam: (1999 - 2000) It inspired an animated film, Turn A Gundam II: Moonlight Butterfly and four manga series.
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: (2002 - 2003) It also inspired an OVA called Gundam SEED After Phase: In the Valley of Stars and a manga series. Both the anime and manga were released in the US.
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: (2004 - 2005) It also inspired a manga called Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: The Edge. Both the anime and manga were released in the US.
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00: (2007 - 2009) . It inspired a movie and OVA. The anime is available in the US.

Notable Gundam games released in Japan.

There have been tons of Gundam< games released in Japan, so if you search you'll have no trouble finding one. There are strategic, general action, shooting and fighting games all available and featuring your favorite mechas, and sometimes pilots too. To assist in your searches, here are some releases you may want to check out. They may be special because they're some of the first

Gundam games released, or they’re on region free systems. I tried to do my best to also look into which Gundam anime series each game corresponds to, but since I haven’t had the opportunity to watch much Gundam aside from the occasional Gundam Wing or Gundam Seed episode.

• Mobile Suit Z-Gundam: Hot Scramble (NES) - released in August, 1986 and takes place during the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam series.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Duel (SNES) - released March, 1996 and takes place during the Gundam Wing series.
• Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Zenpen Zeta no Kodou (Saturn) - released April, 1997 and takes place during the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam series.
• Kidou Senshi Gundam: Senshitachi no Kiseki (GC) - released in March, 2004 and takes place during the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. Portable (PSP) - released April, 2007 and takes place during the Gundam Seed series.
• Gundam Suit Gundam: MS Sensen 0079 (Wii) - released in July, 2007.
• Gundam Battle Royale (PSP) - released in August, 2007.
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (DS) - released March, 2008 and takes place during the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 anime series.
• Emblem of Gundam (DS) - released in May, 2008 and takes place during the Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team, Mobile Sit Gundam 0080, Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 and Mobile Suit Gundam Z anime time period.
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Gundam Meisters (PS2) - released in October, 2008 and takes place during the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 anime series.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Senki Record U.C. 0081 (PS3) - released in September, 2009.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam Next (PSP) - released in December, 2009 and features Gundam mechas from nearly every series.

NotableGundam games released outside of Japan

Fortunately, since Gundam is such a popular series, many of the video game entries have been released outside of Japan. In case you’re looking to experience the Gundam world in a whole new way, here are some of the more recent entries you can easily find in your local game store or at your favorite online retailer. Again, I’ve also tried to mention, when possible, which anime series each game corresponds to, in case there’s a particular Gundam series you love and want a game that is related to it.

• Gundam Side Story 0079 (DC) - released in April, 2000, and set during the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series.
• Gundam: Battle Assault (PS1) - released in November, 2000 and set during the Gundam Wing anime series time period.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front (PS2) - released January, 2002 and takes place during Mobile Suit Gundam.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo (PS2) - released August, 2001 and takes place during Mobile Suit Gundam.
• Gundam: Battle Assault 2 (PS1) - released in July, 2002 and takes place during the G Gundam, Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Gundam series.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon (PS2) - released September, 2002 and takes place during Mobile Suit Gundam.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (PS2) - released in December, 2003 and contains suits from pretty much every Gundam anime series.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Battle Assault (GBA) - released August, 2004 and takes place during the Gundam Seed anime time period.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Zeta Gundam (PS2) - released in June, 2005.
• Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Never Ending Tomorrow (PS2) - released September, 2005 and takes place during the Gundam Seed anime period.
• MS Saga: A New Dawn (PS2) - released February, 2006.
• Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (PS3, Xbox 360) - released in August, 2007.
• Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360) - released April, 2009.

Hope you all learned something today, and maybe you’ll want to consider looking into the Gundam series and becoming a fan. I know I learned something - never decide to write a column on a series when you’ve only seen two segments (Gundam Wing and Gundam Seed), and haven’t watched one of them since high school. Ha ha. I’m not kidding.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at notable fan translation projects.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Poupee Girl DS.

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

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The Game Audio Network Guild just announced the finalists for its 8th Annual G.A.N.G awards. The finalists will be judged and winners will be awarded during the March 12, 2010, Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, CA (USA).

According to the press release, this year’s nominees include Assassin’s Creed 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Along with other nominations, games will be judged by not only the members of G.A.N.G. but by audio industry professionals as well who will decide which game will receive the award for creativity, technical and artistic audio achievements in the world of interactive entertainment.

Presentations for Rookie of the Year Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, G.A.N.G. Recognition Awards and Student/Apprentice competition winners along with G.A.N.G. Distinguished Service Awards will also be awarded during the Game Developer’s Conference.

G.A.N.G. is a non-profit organization that was established to educate the public in regards to interactive audio through information, instructions, resources, guidance and enlightenment to content providers and listeners as well as G.A.N.G. members.

The Finalists for 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards are:

(Note: Games are listed in alphabetical order for each category, not in the order of votes received.)

Nominees for Audio of the Year:

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Need For Speed: Shift
• Resident Evil 5
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Music of the Year

• Assassin’s Creed II
• AVATAR: The Game
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Flower
• Halo 3: ODST
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Sound Design

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Need For Speed: Shift
• Resident Evil 5
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Soundtrack Album

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Brutal Legend
• Dragon Age: Origins
• inFAMOUS
• Tom Clancy’s: H.A.W.X.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Interactive Score

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Flower
• Halo 3: ODST
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Handheld Audio

• Gran Turismo for the PlayStation Portable
• Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier for the PSP
• Mecho Wars for the iPhone
• Resistance: Retribution for the PSP
• The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition for the iPhone

Nominees for Best Cinematic/Cut-Scene Audio

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Need For Speed: Shift
• Resident Evil 5
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Dialogue

• Assassin’s Creed II
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Brutal Legend
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Resident Evil 5
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Original Instrumental

• “Ezio’s Family”—Assassin’s Creed II
• “Flight Over Venice”—Assassin’s Creed II
• “Spirit of Bladehenge”—Brutal Legend
• “Sonny Tang”—Eat Lead
• “Reunion”—Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Original Vocal (Choral)

• “Venice Rooftops”—Assassin’s Creed II
• “A Creature Shall Rise”—Brutal Legend
• “Sad Theme”—Tom Clancy’s: H.A.W.X.
• “Washington Under Seige”—Tom Clancy’s: H.A.W.X.
• “Halls of Iron”—World of Warcraft: Fall of the Lich King

Nominees for Best Original Vocal (Pop)

• “I Am The One” (High Fantasy Version)—Dragon Age: Origins
• “Lelianna’s Song”—Dragon Age: Origins
• “Silent Melody”—inFAMOUS
• “Best Friends Menu Theme”—Littlest Pet Shop Friends
• “Pray - Theme Song”—Resident Evil 5
• ”Plants vs. Zombies”—Plants vs. Zombies

Nominees for Best Use of Multi-Channel Surround in a Game

• Bayonetta
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Forza Motorsport 3
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Resident Evil 5
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Nominees for Best Use of Licensed Music

• Brutal Legend
• DJ Hero
• Guitar Hero: Van Halen
• Rock Band: The Beatles
• SingStar: Queen

Nominees for Best Game Audio Article, Publication or Broadcast

• “Avoiding Tedium - Fighting Repetition in Game Audio” - AES Conference Paper
• “Dynamics of Narrative” - Gamasutra.com
• “The Future of Game Audio / The Game Audio Mixing Revolution” - Gamasutra.com
• “Less is More” - Game Developer Magazine
• “Surviving the Crunch - Being Healthy Sound Designers” - Designing Sound
• “Surviving Your First Composing Gig” - Shockwave-Sound.com

Site [Audio Gang Website] Site [Game Developer’s Conference 2010] Press Release [GANG_announcement.txt]

Image Source: AudioGang

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Quite a few EA online games servers are going to be shutting down in the next few months. Surprisingly, the games that will be losing online functionality aren’t all that old. Aside from three Xbox games and a PlayStation 2 game, they’re all for current systems. The single player and local multiplayer modes will still work fine, but you won’t be able to play any of the following games online anymore, after certain dates.

The first blackout period starts March 16, 2010, and primarily focuses on seven select PC, PS3, PSP and Xbox 360 games:

• Def Jam Icon (PS3, Xbox 360) - originally released March, 2007.
• The Godfather: The Game (PS3, Xbox 360) - Xbox 360 version released September, 2006, PS3 version originally released March, 2007.
• Lord of the Rings: Conquest (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) - originally released January, 2009.
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PC) - originally released September, 2008.
• Need for Speed: Carbon (PSP) - originally released October, 2006.
• Need for Speed: ProStreet (PSP) - originally released February, 2008.
• The Simpsons Game (PS3, Xbox 360) - originally released October, 2007.

The second blackout period starts April 15, 2010 and applies to one PS3 game, one PS2 game and three Xbox 360 games.

• Army of Two (PS3) - originally released March, 2008.
• Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Xbox) - originally released October, 2005.
• Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2, Xbox) - originally released September, 2004.
• Madden NFL 09 (Xbox) - originally released August, 2008.

The shutdown of the Lord of the Rings: Conquest online elements is quite a surprise. The game’s only about a year old. It only came out January 13, 2009. I guess it wasn’t as popular as EA expected it to be.

So if you own any of those games, make sure you appreciate the online multiplayer and services while they last! They won’t be around forever!

Read [EA.com] Via [Joystiq]

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There are times where a game is released where you really want to know what happened, but you either can’t or don’t want to buy or play it. To help you out, Gamertell offer Spoiler Alert. We’ll play the games and tell you what happens to see whether or not you should spend your time playing it. This week, we’re looking at Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, the action-RPG Wii adventure from Konami. Prepare to be spoiled.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is presented in a somewhat different manner than other Silent Hill games, as it takes place part in in Dr. Michael Kaufmann’s office, and part in flashbacks where we see Harry Mason searching through the town of Silent Hill for his daughter, after the two were involved in a car crash. The game jumps back and forth, from sessions in the psychiatrist’s office to flashbacks of events in Silent Hill. Like all Silent Hill endings, there are multiple endings that are influenced by the discussions with Dr. Kaufmann and actions taken during the game.

Harry Mason is really dead. There was a car accident 18 years ago and he died. The entire time you think you’re playing as Harry Mason, but you’re really playing as his delusional daughter Cheryl, who never came to terms with her father’s death after he died when she was seven. “Harry” then walks in to talk to Cheryl, and they talk. She either accepts her father’s death, doesn’t forgive her father for what he’s done and forgets him or continues to maintain the delusion that he isn’t dead.

There are five endings scenes you can see after that. If you were good and moral when you played the game, you’ll see Cheryl talking to her father about her parent’s divorce and then going outside to her mother, Dahlia. If you focused on alcohol, there’ll either be a scene showing a drunk Harry verbally abusing Cheryl or a scene. If you made perverted choices, you’ll see Harry is cheating on Dahlia with both Michelle and Lisa. If you were mean and violent, you’ll see Dahlia and Harry involved in an abusive relationship where Dahlia would hit him. The final ending is a UFO ending you can unlock after the first playthrough by photographing UFOs. When you enter the clinic at the end Dr. Kaufmann is an alien, Cheryl is a dog, Cheryl believes her father, Harry, was abducted by aliens and James Sutherland from Silent Hill 2 makes a cameo appearance.

Read [Gamertell]

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• GTA 4 (Xbox 360):
You can date women, drive them around in your car and take them places and even sleep with them at your house! Oh, and what better way to end that special night than to dodge a few machine gun bullets or policemen on your way to drop her off?




• The Silent Hill series (PS2):
Ok, so nothing about the game is romantic (unless you and your date get off on gratuitous violence) but think about it: Your date will want to sit close to you because they are freaked out, and no doubt when you are done, you will be completely exhausted from screaming so much that you might just want to go to right to bed…if ya know what I mean!


• Persona 3 and 4 (PS2):
Yet another game where you can date. In fact, you need to go on dates to get your social links up in the game. Just be careful because your dates could get jealous if they find out you are seeing other women. Oh and when your date is over, enjoy of bit of fun killing shadows!




• Mass Effect and Dragon Age (Xbox 360)
Both these games involve sleeping with one or more partners. You can even have Elfin sex in Dragon’s Age! It doesn’t get more romantic than that!


• Bubble Bobble (PC):
• This old classic puzzle game is totally a game for couples. The ladies will go crazy over the adorable little dinosaurs and there are levels that are shaped like hearts and balloons! What can be more romantic than snuggling next to your date and trapping dinosaurs inside thousands of bubbles before popping them? Nothing that’s what!
  
  
  
  Sims: Hot Date (PC): Take your date on a romantic dinner, candlelight, the works! Or just find that special romantic place where you can get comfortable..using your computer! Come on, you're not made of money you know.

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Valentine’s Day is a day of love and affection in many places around the world. However, the holiday isn’t handled the same way in Japan as it is in the United States and many other countries. Instead, it’s part of a two-part celebration where women show their affection on one day, and men show their affection on a separate, later date.

If you’ve played video games, particularly dating sims like Tokimeki Memorial, watched anime or read manga, you probably already know this. Both the Tokimeki Memorial and Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side games provide fairly accurate reproductions of the affairs. The Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side games all even have mini-games where the main character creates chocolate to give to the guy she’s pursuing. And many anime or manga series that take place in school settings will often feature an episode or chapter devoted to the Valentine’s and White Day traditions.

To help readers better understand how Valentine’s Day, and the complimentary holiday White Day work in Japan, and celebrate Valentine’s Day itself, which is Sunday, Important Importables is going to go over how people in Japan celebrate both holidays.

Valentine’s Day

In Japan, Valentine’s Day falls on February 14 and is primarily about chocolate. But not chocolate for all, chocolate for men. The custom there is for women to present gifts to the men in their lives to show their love and appreciation. And it isn’t just for the man they love, but also for close male friends, family members and coworkers.

The preferred gift is almost always chocolate. For the most important gift, perhaps one for a boyfriend, crush or husband, a woman will get honmei chocolate that is somewhat special, perhaps even homemade. For chocolate that will go to other male associates, giri, they may go with store-bought candy. Sometimes gifts other than chocolate are given, but chocolate is the gift given most often.

If you’re wondering what that image to the right is all about, it’s a scene from Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 2nd Season. The game covers a three year period, and each year before Valentine’s Day, the player has the option to make chocolate as a gift for one of the dateable male characters. You are presented with a bowl of chocolate on the touch screen, and must follow the proper stirring instructions to make the perfect chocolate. You get three chances, so if you don’t get right the first time you don’t have to worry. Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 1st Love has the same mini-game, and I’m sure it will return in the forthcoming Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 3rd Story DS game.

White Day

First, I admit the screenshot above has absolutely nothing to do with White Day. Frankly, I couldn’t find a Tokimeki Memorial screenshot that did. The screenshot above, from Tokimeki Memorial 4 amused me and I figured I’d use that instead.

Now that that’s out of the way, White Day is like Valentine’s Day, except men give return gifts, or gifts in general, and women receive them. White Day always falls on March 14, and started sometime in the 1960’s and 70’s.

When it comes to gifts, and who the gifts are being given to, White Day gets quite different. Where chocolate is the main gift on Valentine’s Day, White Day gifts can be pretty much anything. It could be flowers, candies, food, jewelry, accessories or any kind of special trinket. Also, most men giving White Day gifts tend to only give a present to one women, though sometimes they will also give gifts to more. Additionally, a man may also prepare some kind of small return gifts for for the women who took the time to give him a gift on Valentine’s Day.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Poupeegirl DS.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Final Fantasy Vocal Collections Vol. 2: Love Will Grow.

Read [TIME] Also Read [Japan-Guide.com] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

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While all of the Final Fantasy games are generally about saving the world, or many of the people in it, another common theme is love. Whether it’s an entry like Final Fantasy VIII, where the love story is a prominent part of the story of Final Fantasy VI, where it’s only slightly touched about, the games frequently focus on the development of relationships between characters.

With Valentines Day drawing near, it seems only appropriate to highlight some of the more romantic entries in the Final Fantasy series. So to help you get in the romantic mood and possibly find some holiday gaming material, Gamertell has gathered together five of the most romantic Final Fantasy games and looked at what exactly makes them so memorable.

5. Final Fantasy VI (SNES, PS1, GBA)

FFVI has the distinction of being the least romantic game on the list, but it is known for having one of the more memorable Final Fantasy romantic pairings. Starting from when Locke rescues Celes in South Figaro, a romance gradually grows in the background. Players don’t get to see it, but it’s acknowledged at the beginning of the World of Ruin portion of the game. When Celes is alone on the deserted island, Locke is one of the first people she asks about and after she recognizes the cloth brought by a seagull as Locke’s bandanna, the knowledge that he’s alive helps give her the strength to go on

4. Final Fantasy X (PS2)

FFX, and for that matter FFX-2, feature the relationship between Yuna and Tidus as a subplot. The romance is more of a secondary plot in FFX, where Yuna and Tidus fall in love as she gathers summons and prepares to battle against and destroy Sin. In FFX-2, it’s more pronounced as Yuna and her friends Riku and Paine hunt for spheres and hope to find a way for Yuna and Tidus to reunite.

3. Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)

FFVIII is similar to FFX as it’s about a growing relationship between two characters, where in the final two entries on this list feature characters already in an established relationship. Squall is a stoic soldier who’s somewhat cold, and begins to open up after meeting with, and being assigned to help resistance leader Rinoa, who’s a more open and friendly girl. Initially he seems to almost consider her a bother, but throughout the story he warms up to, and falls in love, with her. The two, of course, end up together in the end.

2. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox 360)

True, FFXIII hasn’t been released outside of Japan yet, but the fact that Snow Villiers and Serah Farron are a couple. After all, the two are engaged in the earliest moments of the game and every character description for Serah describes her as Lightning’s sister and Snow’s fiance. Serah is among the first to become a l’Cie, and immediately after finding out Snow devotes himself to helping her and doing everything he can to become her hero. That’s definitely love.

1. Final Fantasy IV (SNES, WonderSwan Color, PS1, GBA, DS)

One of the main plot points in FFIV is the Cecil, Rosa and Kain love triangle. Cecil and Rosa are in a relationship from the very beginning of the game, and are constantly rushing to each other’s aid and fighting by one another’s side. When Cecil is effectively banished from Baron, Rosa leaves to reunite with him. When Kain is about to possibly kill Cecil, Rosa steps in to protect him. When Rosa is captured, Cecil does makes saving her his goal. After that, Cecil and Rosa fight together, and eventually marry at the end of the game.

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The XXI Winter Olympic Games start February 12, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start getting ready for them today. Chances are, you aren’t going to be able to make it to Canada for the events, and you most likely aren’t competing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t compete.

The forthcoming Winter Olympics provide the perfect opportunity and excuse to create your own Olympics game with the help of video games. If you own a Wii, you’ll be in the best shape, since there have been a ton of sports themed mini-game collections released for that system. Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, DS and even iPhone and iPod Touch users can use their consoles and handhelds to prepare for the forthcoming games.

Gamertell’s put together a list of eight fairly recent and well rounded video game releases that will hopefully get you feeling sporty and competitive.

1. Deca Sports 2 (Wii, September 29, 2009): Not especially wintery, but the skiing, speed skating and ice hockey events will help set the mood. Plus, the price on it just dropped from $29.99 to $19.99.
2. Family Party: 30 Great Games Winter Fun (Wii, released February 2, 2010): Honestly, the Family Party series of Wii sports game collections is probably the worst in existance, but they’re also the most fun because the control schemes tend to be so ridiculous! My friends and I have probably had more fun with the so-bad-it’s-good Family Party: 30 Great Games than any other Wii game. This $19.99 game has 30 different events.
3. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Wii, DS, released October 13, 2009): Probably the best known Winter Olympics game on this list, the games feature 27 events, standard and dream, and characters from the Mario and Sonic games to play as. The Wii version is $49.99, and the DS version is $34.99.

4. Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (iPhone/iPod Touch, updated January 30, 2010): Think of it as a light version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. It has 10 Sonic characters, four events (curling, figure skating, skeleton and snowboard cross) and three multiplayer modes. It’ll cost you $4.99 from the iTunes App Store.
5. Vancouver 2010: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games (PS3, Xbox 360, released January 12, 2010): It seems kind of odd that the official Vancouver 2010 Olympics game is only available on two systems, but oh well. It has 14 events, online multiplayer and online leaderboards. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 version cost $49.99.
6. Wii Sports Resort (Wii, released July 26, 2009): Okay, so this would probably be better for the Summer Olympics, but still. It’s cold out, and it’d be nice to shake things up and enjoy some warm weather games as well. It’s a little pricey though, and will cost you $49.99 if you don’t already own it.
7. Winter Sports 2: The Ultimate Challenge (Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, DS, released Winter 2008): This is an older winter sports collection with 11 different sports, but consider its age a good thing! It means it’ll be cheaper. The Wii version is $29.99, the Xbox 360 and DS versions are $19.99 and the PS2 version is $14.99.
8. Winter Games 2010 - Vancouver (iPhone/iPod Touch, released January 26, 2010): It’s a sports game collection with 20 events. Okay, there are really only 10 events, each with two different options. But still, it’s pretty nice for a free iTunes Store app.

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Labeled as a “Midweek Madeness” sale, steam is offering Psychonauts for only $2 through this Thursday (January 28, 2010).

The platformer currently retails for $9.99 and was originally released in 2005 by Majesco for PC (windows), Xbox and Playstation 2. Since this is a Steam sale, you’ll be getting a PC (Windows) release with minimum requirements that include: Minimum: Windows 98 SE/2000/XP, 1.0 GHz Pentium III and AMD Athlon, 256 MB of RAM, 64 MB GeForce 3 or higher or ATI Radeon 8500 or higher (except GeForce 4 MX and Go series), DirectX 9.0 or higher compatible sound card, DirectX version 9.0 or higher (included with game), 3.75 GB minimum hard drive space, Windows-compatible keyboard and mouse (and the game is controller enabled).

Psychonauts stars Raz, a young psychic who leaves the circus to sneak into a summer training camp for future Psychonauts. As expected, nothing is as it seems and Raz has to quickly acquire and perfect a few psychic skills to defeat baddies and solve puzzles. Some of his learned abilities include telekinesis, levitation, invisibility, pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, confusion, shield and blast.

I recall the game winning many Best Of categories by several award-giving entities for its humor and original game play. Unfortunately, it ended up becoming a Best Game You’re Not Playing.

Well, now you can dig through a few couch cushions to gather enough scratch to buy this at a bargain basement price.

Purchase [Psychonauts (via Steam)]

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Sega has just announced that it will be shutting down the Phantasy Star Universe servers for the PC and PlayStation 2 versions of the game on March 31, 2010. If you have the game and enjoy playing it online, better get in your multiplayer moments and build some memories before it all goes away.

The beginning of the end will begin on Friday, January 29, 2010, at the same time as the MAG+ event. The event will take place like always, but it will also be the day when people can enjoy the online aspects of the PC and PS2 versions of Phantasy Star Universe for free. Sega stops selling subscriptions to PC and PS2 owners on Friday as well. After that, there’s two months of freedom. The PC and PS2 owners can enjoy their last moments with the game without having to worry about paying for the online portion.

Sega has also confirmed continued support of the Xbox 360 version of Phantasy Star Universe. The same announcement that proclaims the end of the PC and PS2 versions promises new life for the Xbox 360 version, in the form of new content. Xbox 360 owners still don’t have to worry about billing or subscriptions, all they need are Xbox Live Silver or Gold memberships.

If you’re one of the remaining PC or PS2 Phantasy Star Universe players, you still have options if you own additional game systems. If you own an Xbox 360, you can pick up its version of Phantasy Star Universe since Sega is still going to be supporting it. If you own a DS, go out and buy a copy of Phantasy Star Ø. It isn’t a true MMO, but there is online multiplayer through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and you can take on missions with other players. PSP owners can always hope for a US Phantasy Star Portable 2 release, as it features online multiplayer, or gather together friends for some local wireless, Phantasy Star Portable fun. Or, you can just play through the single player mode on your existing versions of Phantasy Star Universe after April 1, 2010.

Read [Phantasy Star Universe] Via [Massively]

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Gamers from all over will likely band together in disgust as the NPD Group declared Wii Play as the highest selling software title ever in the United States. Wii Play consists of a collection of mini-games for the Wii which also includes an extra Wii Remote in the package.

It’s reasonable to believe Wii Play sold 11.1 million copies in the US because the bundle costs the same or less than a Wii Remote by itself. The runner ups in NPD’s list of highest selling non-PC games however, are less rage inducing.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the fourth highest selling game ever in the US and its only been out for a little over two months. Other big name franchises such as Halo or Rock Band did not make it into the top ten. It’s also noteworthy to point out that the Wii is the only console to have games on this list that aren’t multiplatform.

Below is the list of top selling non-PC software of all time in the United States.

1) Wii Play (Wii)
2) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
3) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, Xbox)
4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
5) Wii Fit (Wii)
6) Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
7) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3, Xbox 360, DS)
8) Madden NFL 07 (PS3, Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP, DS, GC, GBA, Wii)
9) Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, DS, Wii)
10) Namco Museum (DC, GBA, PS2, GC, Xbox, PSP, N64, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PS, Xbox 360)

Read [Gamespot] Also Read [Nintendo Life]

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It’s the beginning of a new year, which means that there are hundreds of new games waiting to entertain us. 2010 has only just begun, but hype has already started to surround some forthcoming releases that have already been announced.

Today’s Important Importables is going to take a brief look at some of these forthcoming games. One upcoming Japanese game from each of the six major consoles has been chosen to be highlighted. Maybe they’ll one day be released outside of Japan, maybe we’ll never get to see them unless you import them. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to look.

Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 3rd Story (DS)

It’s been a few years, but a brand new Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side game is in the works. Previously, all new entries in the Girl’s Side series have debuted on the PS2, but Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 3rd Story is a DS game. Not much is known about the game at the moment, other than it is set seven years after the very first Girl’s Side game, will feature the skinship system and will once again follow the main character through three years of high school. Three dateable male characters have been announced so far, the idol character Ruka Sakurai, the jock Arashi Fujiyama and the studious Tamao Konno. If the last character’s name sounds familiar, it is because he is the younger brother of Tamami Konno, a possible rival/friend character from the first Girl’s Side game.

Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 3rd Story is currently scheduled to debut sometime in 2010. Since the DS is region-free, you’ll be able to import it and play to your heart’s content. There’s probably no chance of it being released outside of Japan, so plan on importing it if you want it.

Summon Night Granthese (PS2)

Summon Night Granthese is notable for two reasons. First, it could possibly be last RPG for PS2. Second, it is an action RPG, while most Summon Night games are either strategic RPGs or standard turn-based RPGs. It will contain some series staples though! You can play as either the close range fighter Lost or long range shooter Millet. Also, the whole summon aspect is kept intact, as both characters have summoning abilities.

Summon Night Granthese is currently scheduled to make its debut this spring. The PS2 is not region-free, so don’t order a Japanese copy unless you own a Japanese PS2. Localization chances seem slim, since the PS2 is pretty much dead over here. If any US company was going to release it though, it’d probably be Atlus.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3)

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is part of the trio of games set in the Final Fantasy XIII world. (Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII are the other two.) Very little information about it has been revealed, other than the hero will be Noctis Lucis Caelum, heir and ruler of the Caelum Dynasty and protector of the Crystals and another prominent character will be Stella Nox Fleuret, princess of Tenebrae, whose family is an enemy of the Caelum Dynasty.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII still doesn’t have a definite release date, though it did appear in a Jump Festa 2010 trailer in Japan. When it does eventually come out, you could always import the Japanese version since the PS3 is region-free. A worldwide release is pretty much guaranteed though, so I’d say stay patient rather than import.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)

Okay, technically Birth By Sleep is already out in Japan, but since it’s only been out about a week it can still qualify for the list. The PSP entry in the Kingdom Hearts series is an action RPG, like all the others. It stars Terra, Aqua and Ventus, three keyblade users, and is set before all of the other games in the series. Instead of following all three as they journey together, you follow each character on their individual journey to find Master Xehanort and Vanitus, and prevent the spred of the unversed.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep made its Japanese debut on January 9, 2010. If you decide to import it, expect to pay between $55-$64 dollars for it. It will be receiving a worldwide release eventually, but if you can’t wait you could import it. The PSP is region-free, after all, so you’d be able to play it on your system.

Espgaluda II Black Label (Xbox 360)

Espgaluda II Black Label is the home version of the arcade shoot’em up Espgaluda II, and the sequel to Espgaluda. You pick one of three characters, Ageha, Asagi and Ceceri, each with their own specialties, and shoot your way through the levels. There are new game modes added in for beginners and returning fans of the series, so players of all skill levels will be able to play and enjoy the game.

Espgaluda II Black Label will be out February 25, 2010. There’s no word yet if it will be a region-free release, as some Japanese Xbox 360 games can be played on US consoles. The game is going to cost between $69-75 dollars, if you decide to import it. It probably won’t receive a worldwide release, so if you love bullet-hell style games, think about importing it.

Zangeki no Reginleiv Wii (Wii)

Zangeki no Reginleiv is a new game from Nintendo that’s basically a hack and slash based on Norse mythology. You are a young god who joins a guild of other gods to face off against gigantic, monsterous creatures bent on pure destruction. You can choose which equipment suits you best, then head off to attack enemies. You’ll be able to tear apart enemies with said weapons, either alone or with friends thanks to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support.

Zangeki no Reginleiv comes out in Japan on February 11, 2010. The Wii is not region-free, so you’ll only get to play Zangeki no Reginleiv if you own a Japanese Wii or it’s released by Nintendo in North America. If you do import it, expect to pay $65-70. As for an international release, it’s too early to tell. Nintendo’s been surprising fans lately, releasing games like Starfy, Style Savvy and Heracles outside of Japan. So it could one day get a US release.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Harukanaru Jikuu no Uchi de 2 for the PSP.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables listed 10 of the top PSP imports from 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 »

Yeah, you read that headline right. A company is finally releasing a string-based, USB guitar game controller.

Named the You Rock Guitar, this is an honest-to-goodness string guitar (OK, a digital string guitar) that plugs into your computer. For $20 more you can get a GameFlex cartridge that adapts the guitar to be used as a controller for consoles games including Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

The You Rock Guitar will be available in February 2010 for $179.95 but will be on display during CES 2010 at Booth 5627 Gaming Showcase, LVCC, North Hall Las Vegas Hilton (East Tower Hospitality Suite H2549).

The company’s press release also lists the guitar-controller features as (video follows):

• Never needs tuning
• Features real-feel play with 100 guitar sounds
• Offers USB connectivity for digital recording via computer
• Provides MIDI functionality to emulate the sound of virtually any instrument for creating music via popular programs like Garage Band, Finale, Acid on the PC or Mac
• Is portable and can be played anywhere
• Can be plugged into an amplifier,  iPod and iPhone
• Eliminates the wrong notes for beginners via “You Rock Mode” 

Site [You Rock Guitar] Site [Gamertell @ CES 2010]

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If you have money or Toys R Us gift cards burning a hole in your wallet or purse after the holidays, and you didn’t get a video game you wanted, you should stop by Toys R Us. Until January 2, 2010, there’s a major buy one, get one half off promotion running on video games, video game accessories and DVDs.

There are some restrictions and limitations, but thankfully they aren’t too oppressive. All DS games, DVDs and video game accessories that cost $19.99 or less are part of the promotion. So if there was a bargain game you really wanted, or pretty much any DVD or accessory you needed, it’s probably part of the deal. Also, all PS2, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 games are part of the promotion, regardless of their price.

In children’s video game software news, Toys R Us is also holding buy one, get one free sales. All $24.99 Leapster software and $19.99 V-Smile and V-Motion software are buy one, get one free. So if there’s a young child in your household, or one you know, you could always pick up something special.

Toys R Us is also making a big deal about a Clearance Blowout in its website’s clearance section. Apparently all items in the section are up to 60% off their normal prices. You may want to check through the site as well, see if there’s anything that interests you.

Site [Toys R Us]

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GameQuest Direct has a whole passel of deals from as part of its Cyber Monday sale (that seems to extend to December 15, 2009). All these deals require coupon codes, as GQD will not list a game at lower than MSRP as part of their deal with vendors. Also, as they are a global distributor, you may receive a Canadian version of a game which will be identical to a US release but come with an extra instruction manual in French. Hey, it’s like a collector’s item, then!

Game deals here range from newer stuff as Halo 3:ODST to Mario Tennis Wii.

Xbox 360

• Halo 3: ODST $44.99 after coupon code CAGHAODST
• NCAA Basketball 2010 $44.99 after coupon code CAGNCAABL
• Popcap Arcade Hits Volume 2 $6.99 after coupon code CAGPOPAH2
• Riddick: Dark Athena $19.99 after coupon code CAGRIDDDA
• Battle Fantasia $19.99 after coupon code CAGBATTLFT
• Jericho $6.99 after coupon code CAGJERIBX
• Guilty Gear 2: Overture $19.99 after coupon code CAGGUOVET
• Space Chimps $6.99 after coupon code CAGSPCHPS
• Sega Superstars Tennis $11.99 after coupon code CAGSEGTNNS
• Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 $9.99 after coupon code CAGCCREDAL
• Turok $11.99 after coupon code CAGTURKX3
• Ninja Gaiden 2 $11.99 after coupon code CAGNINGAI2

PlayStation 3

• NCAA Basketball 2010 $44.99 after coupon code CAGNCAAPS3
• Tomb Raider: Underworld $14.99 after coupon code CAGTMRAUN
• Wall-E $14.99 after coupon code CAGWLEEP3
• Enemy Territory Quake Wars $11.99 after coupon code CAGENQWRS
• Devil May Cry 4 $19.99 after coupon code CAGDMC4PS

Nintendo DS

• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia $14.99 after coupon code CAGCASTEC
• Elite Beat Agents $9.99 after coupon code CAGELBAGT
• Animates $6.99 after coupon code CAGANMT
• LifeSigns: Surgical Unit $9.99 after coupon code CAGLFSUN

Nintendo Wii

• Mario Tennis Wii $19.99 after coupon code CAGMARTNS
• Pikmin Wii $19.99 after coupon code CAGPKMIN
• Little Kings Story $29.99 after coupon code CAGLTKSY
• Harvest Moon: Magical Melody $24.99 after coupon code CAGHMGMM

PlayStation 2

• Samurai Shodown Anthology $19.99 after coupon code CAGSMSHAN
• King of Fighters 2000-2001 $24.99 after coupon code CAGKOFTER
• Monster Hunter Freedom 2 $11.99 after coupon code CAGMNSTHU
• Coded Arms $6.99 after coupon code CAGCARMS
• SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 $9.99 after coupon code CAGSFIRTBR

Read [GameQuest Direct] Via [Cheap Ass Gamer]

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

Oddly enough, GameStop‘s Cyber Monday 2009 sales seem like that may be better than its Black Friday 2009 ones.

There aren’t any console bundle deals, but there are quite a few games on sale. So you could end up finding a great game for someone on your shopping list. There is free shipping on all orders over $25 if you use the coupon “SAVER” to help make things a little easier as well.

There are a few general deals as well.

• GameStop is also giving a $25 gift card when you buy Band Hero (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), DJ Hero(PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360) or Tony Hawk Ride (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360) at full price.
• The store is offering a 50% discount on 50 downloadable games.
• You can get a $10 virtual GameStop gift card when you buy a copy of Beatles Rock Band (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360).
• If you buy Pokemon Platinum (DS), you get a figurine.
• If you buy Dragonology (DS), you get a figurine.
• If you buy Blaz Blue (PS3, Xbox 360), you get an art book.
And now, on to the GameStop Cyber Monday deals:

DS

• Aliens in the Attic - $9.99
• Biggest Loser - $19.99
• Desktop Tower Defense - $9.99
• Fabulous Finds - $9.99
• Girl Time - $9.99
• James Patterson Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion - $19.99
• Just in Time Translation - $9.99
• My Boyfriend - $9.99
• Princess in Love - $9.99
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $19.99

PC

• Aion - $39.99
• Champion’s Online - $19.99
• Spore - $24.99
• The Sims 3 - $29.99
• The Sims 3 World Adventures expansion pack - $24.99

PS2

• NHL 2K10 - $17.99
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $19.99

PS3

• Ghostbusters - $19.99
• Little Big Planet Game of the Year Edition - $39.99
• NHL 2K10 - $19.99
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $39.99
• Street Fighter IV - $19.99
• Tekken 6 - $39.99
• UFC Undisputed - $49.99

PSP

• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - $29.99
• Pangya Fantasy Golf - $9.99
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $19.99

Wii

• Deca Sports - $9.99
• Dead Space Extraction - $19.99
• EA Sports Active Bundle - $39.99
• EA Sports Active - $
• - $
• NHL 2K10 - $39.99
• - $
• - $
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $39.99
• - $

Xbox 360

• Ghostbusters - $19.99
• Guilty Gear 2: Overture - $9.99
• Infernal: Hell’s Vengence - $9.99
• Little Big Planet Game of the Year Edition - $39.99
• NHL 2K10 - $19.99
• Section 8 - $39.99
• Silent Hill: Homecoming - $9.99
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes - $39.99
• Street Fighter IV - $19.99
• Tekken 6 - $39.99
• UFC Undisputed - $49.99

Accessories and Peripherals

• SteelSeries Zboard World of Warcraft keyset gaming keyboard - $54.99
• SteelSeries Ikari optical mouse - $44.99
• SteelSeries Experience I-2 black mousepad - $29.99
• SteelSeries Siberia USB white headset - $49.99
• SteelSeries Siberia USB white headset - $49.99
• SteelSeries 5H v2 headset - $49.99
• SteelSeries Zboard Aion keyset gaming keyboard - $9.99
• SteelSeries Qck LE Aion mouse pad - $9.99
• World of Warcraft gaming mouse - $69.99

Remember, these are Cyber Monday deals. That means they’ll most likely only be available today, November 30, 2009. So if you see something you want to get, don’t delay.

Image Source: GameStop

Read [Cheap Ass Gamer] Also Read [Gamertell] Site [GameStop]

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Ads & Media, Web, Advertisements 2009-11-30T19:32:49+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/amazons-cyber-monday-2009-game-deals/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/amazons-cyber-monday-2009-game-deals/ Section: Gaming News, Originals, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, PSP

Amazon is continuing its timed deals with sales items for the so-called Cyber Monday (Monday, November 30, 2009).

The items are divided into three categories by price (under $10, under $25 and under $50) as well as by system. Note that the site is using the sale URLs as with Black Friday, so the header (and search engine results) might have the Black Friday header. The sites says the deals last “all day” yso you can probably guess they’ll last from midnight to midnight or until sold out, whichever comes first.

Here’s a list of some of the better deals:

• Tiger Woods PGA Tour for Wii for $29.99
• Halo: ODST for Xbox 360 for $39.99
• Left for Dead 2 for Xbox 360 for $39.99 and $29.99 for PC.
• Madden NFL 10 for Wii for $29.99, $47.95 for Xbox 360 and PS3
• Beatles: Rock Band for Wii (game only) for $40
• Dragon Age: Origins for PS3 and Xbox 360 for $39.99 and $37.95 for Wii
• Brutal legend For $39.99 for Xbox 360.
• Katamari Forever for PS3 for $32.98.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up for Wii for $29.98

Most of the less than $10 deals are PS2 games, expansion packs and accessories.

The Under $25 category is obviously a bit more broad and includes cables, chargers and games for various systems (especially for DS and Wii). There is a Wii Illumination stand for $10.75 and Street Fighter V for PC for $24.99.

As for the Under $50 category, see the list above for the best picks. FIFA Soccer 10 is also in there for each system and a Wii Logitech Cordless Keyboard by Logitech is $38.75.

Unfortunately I did not see any system deals. Those seem to have disappeared over the weekend.

Site [Amazon Cyber Monday]

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]]> Gaming News, Originals, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, PSP 2009-11-30T05:11:08+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/big-lots-thanksgiving-game-sale-items/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/big-lots-thanksgiving-game-sale-items/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, Handhelds, DS

For those of you not gorging on turkey (or Tofurky) all day long, there are some holiday day sales.

Big Lots, for example, is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day (November 26, 2009).

According to the print ad from this past weekend, you can get select PlayStation 2 games for $5 each and Guitar Hero On Tour for DS for $20 (50% savings).

The PS2 games shown in the ad include:

• NCAA Football 09
• Dancing with the Stars
• Boogie
• Superman Returns
• Jeep Thrills (? hard to read)
• The Tale of Desperaux
• Trivial Pursuit
• Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity
• Ferrari Challenge
• Army Men: Soldier of Misfortune
• Pipe Mania

Most of those games retail for $10. The sale on these items began November 21, 2009, and continues through Sunday, November 29, 2009, or until they are sold out.

Read [Gamertell]

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, Handhelds, DS 2009-11-26T16:59:12+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-old-navy-gobblepalooza-goes-rock-band-crazy/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-old-navy-gobblepalooza-goes-rock-band-crazy/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Ads & Media, Print, TV, Web, Advertisements, Genres, 3D, Music

Good news! If you happen to get to Old Navy early enough on Black Friday 2009 and purchase $20 worth of clothes, you can get Lego Rock Band for free. It’s one of two limited, video game related promotions that the store is offering this Black Friday. Pretty surprising move. All Old Navy stores will open at 3am on November 27, 2009.

Keep in mind, you’re only getting the Lego Rock Band game for free. You aren’t getting any free guitars, microphones or drum kits. Still, you get to pick out Lego Rock Band. The adscan on TheBlackFriday.com states that you can only choose from the PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii versions. No free DS game for you! The PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii versions are normally $49.99 each. This promotion will only be available on November 27, 2009 and will be very limited.

The second offer is a free Rock Band guitar controller if you purchase the Rock Band 2 PS2, PS3 or Xbox 360 video game. Once again, not a bad deal. The ad once again states that the offer is very limited.

The Old Navy Gobblepalooza Black Friday site is now open as well. It reports that the stores Black Friday sale will last from November 27-29, 2009, Rock Band will be set up in stores for people to play and there will be a $200 shopping spree to possibly win. Also, if you visit the site you can use the Band Name Generator to create a band name and custom logo.

Image Source: Old Navy Gobblepalooza

Read [TheBlackFriday.com] Also Read [Joystiq] Site [Old Navy Gobblepalooza]

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Ads & Media, Print, TV, Web, Advertisements, Genres, 3D, Music 2009-11-25T00:23:31+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-countdown-deal-get-40-amazon-credit-with-purchase-of-hero-game/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-countdown-deal-get-40-amazon-credit-with-purchase-of-hero-game/ Section: Gaming News, Features, Gift Guide, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Game-Companies, Developers, Distributors, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Casual, Music, Online, Party, Web-Sites


Amazon’s next gaming deal as the site counts down to Black Friday is all about the music. If you’ve been waiting for prices to drop on some of Activision’s music rhythm games including Band Hero, Guitar Hero 5 or DJ Hero, Amazon is the place you want to go.

Starting November 21, 2009, until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time next Thursday (November 27, 2009) Amazon is offering a $40 store credit when you purchase either DJ Hero, Band Hero, Band Hero Super Bundle or Guitar Hero 5 at regular price.

Two business days after your order ships you will receive an e-mail confirming the $40 credit has been applied to your Amazon account.

Note that you must purchase the bundles from Amazon and not an Amazon Marketplace store in order to qualify for this offer.

Each game is available for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles.

Purchase [Amazon]

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

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]]> Gaming News, Features, Gift Guide, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Game-Companies, Developers, Distributors, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Casual, Music, Online, Party, Web-Sites 2009-11-22T23:34:07+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/video-game-deals-kmarts-thanksgiving-2009-sale-ad/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/video-game-deals-kmarts-thanksgiving-2009-sale-ad/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Adventure, Board, Casual, Children's, FPS, Shooter, Music, Puzzle, Racing, Sports, Sim, Strategy

What’s almost as good as a Black Friday sale ad? A Thanksgiving sale ad! Kmart’s Thanksgiving 2009 sale ad has been leaked onto the internet, and is now available for your viewing pleasure. Many Kmart stores are going to be open from 7am to 9pm on November 26, 2009, in case you feel like getting your shopping done early after a meal with loved ones. If you live in Massachusetts, Maine or Rhode Island, don’t bother heading to your local stores - they’ll be closed.

There are no doorbusters, so no need to worry about waiting in line or getting to the store obscenely early. Well, if there’s something you really want, you may want to stop by early just to make sure it is still in stock. You never know, those $9.99 Snuggies could fly off store shelves.

Let’s check out the video game and electronic deals in the ad. Be advised, there will be also be $14.99 and under value games on sale in addition to the deals below, but the selection will vary depending on the store so no specific games are mentioned.

DS

• 2-packs of DS games will be $14.99. The ad says the assortment will vary by store. The bundle pictured shows Tornado and Indianapolis 500 Legends.

PS2

• Guitar Hero Metallica - $39.99
• Guitar Hero Smash Hits - $39.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour - $29.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour guitar bundle with game and guitar peripheral - $49.99
• 3-packs of PS2 games will be $9.99. The ad says the assortment will vary by store. The bundle pictured shows Superman Returns, NeoGeo Battle Coliseum and DT Carnage.

PS3

• Guitar Hero Metallica - $39.99
• Guitar Hero Smash Hits - $39.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour - $29.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour guitar bundle with game and guitar peripheral - $49.99
• 2-packs of PS3 games will be $24.99. The ad says the assortment will vary by store. The bundle pictured shows Stormrise and Bionic Commando.

PSP

• Buy a $169.99 PSP 3000 system, get a $25 Sony Gaming Coupon.
• Buy a $199.99 Limited Edition Gran Turismo PSP Bundle, get a $25 Sony Gaming Coupon.

Wii

• A Boy and his Blob - $29.99
• EA Active - $39.99
• Guitar Hero Metallica - $39.99
• Guitar Hero Smash Hits - $39.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour - $29.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour guitar bundle with game and guitar peripheral - $49.99
• Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - $29.99
• 2-packs of Wii games will be $14.99. The ad says the assortment will vary by store. The bundle pictured shows King of Clubs and Ultimate Board Game Collection.
• Buy a $199.99 Wii, get a $25 Nintendo Gaming Coupon.
• Kmart is also advertising Wii Fit Plusfor $99.99, but that’s the standard price for the bundle and not a sale price.

Xbox 360

• Forza Motorsport 3 - $39.99
• Guitar Hero Metallica - $39.99
• Guitar Hero Smash Hits - $39.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour - $29.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour guitar bundle with game and guitar peripheral - $49.99
• Halo 3 ODST - $39.99
• 2-packs of Xbox 360 games will be $24.99. The ad says the assortment will vary by store. The bundle pictured shows Crash Time and Battle Fantasia.

Image Source: Black Friday 2009.

Read [BlackFriday.info] Also Read [Black Friday 2009] Also Read [Gamertell]

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

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Adventure, Board, Casual, Children's, FPS, Shooter, Music, Puzzle, Racing, Sports, Sim, Strategy 2009-11-18T18:24:38+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/5-games-that-can-prepare-you-for-black-friday/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/5-games-that-can-prepare-you-for-black-friday/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Lists, Consoles, PS2, Wii, Xbox, Xbox-360, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, Handhelds-Other, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Casual, Sim

Video games can often be used to build essential life skills, or to educate players. You can learn new languages, improve hand-eye coordination, find new recipes, study for exams, prepare for stressful situations or build your vocabulary.

So, this year, train for the Black Friday shopping rush by picking up a few games.

Gamertell’s ready to offer up five video game suggestions that may help you prepare for the busiest shopping weekend of the year. You’ll not only help improve your shopping skills but also become more patient, learn avoidance techniques and stress management techniques.

• Barbie: Game Girl (Game Boy): This incredibly frustrating game, set in a shopping mall, will help you learn to be patient. The controls are horrible, the levels are frustrating and Barbie doesn’t seem to ever jump or move as accurately as you want. If you can make it through this game, you can quietly, and perhaps even happily, endure anything Black Friday throws at you.
• Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop (DS): The Shop Mode is what you’ll want to focus on for your training. It’s a good way to train agility and strategic skills. The other shoppers don’t care about you, only their own paths and goals, a mindset that will be shared by Black Friday shoppers. It’ll help you learn to focus on number one.
• Dead Rising (Xbox 360, Wii): Think of the zombies as the endless and agitated crowds you’ll be fighting through at your local big box store or shopping mall and use it to practice surviving without being trampled or assaulted. Note: Refrain from using violence when dealing with the human crowds you’ll encounter on Black Friday.
• Style Savvy (DS): Catering to the needs of occasionally demanding and fussy customers will help hone your gift selection skills, ensuring that the items you bestow on others don’t find their way to the return counter of the stores you purchased them from.
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox): Finding your local Old Navy or Walmart should be simple after having to scour Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas for the stores so CJ can get the latest clothes.

If think of any additional games that could help people prepare and get in the proper mindset for Black Friday, please let us know in the comments below.

Read [Gamertell] Site [TheBlackFriday.com] Site [BlackFriday.info]

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

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Lists, Consoles, PS2, Wii, Xbox, Xbox-360, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, Handhelds-Other, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Casual, Sim 2009-11-16T12:08:39+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-shin-megami-tensei/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-shin-megami-tensei/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Columns, Japanese Imports, Lists, Consoles, PS1, PS2, Xbox, Consoles-Other, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, GBA, PSP, Handhelds-Other, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Children's, Puzzle, Role-Playing, Strategy


When people think of the Shin Megami Tensei series started by Atlus, they probably first think of the PlayStation versions of Revelations: Persona or Persona 2 as the start of the series. It isn’t their fault, really. After all, for people in North America, that was probably their first encounter with Shin Megami Tensei.

However, the series has been along for much longer than that. It all began with Megami Tensei, which eventually underwent a slight title change and became Shin Megami Tensei. There are entries in the series going back as far as the Famicom, and in Japan the series considered as mainstream as Final Fantasy. Unfortunately, people outside of Japan will never get the opportunity to play through the older entries, unless there’s some sort of port or remake, which is unlikely due to the age of some of the older entries.

Today in Important Importables, we’ll look back at the surprisingly long history of the Shin Megami Tensei games, taking a brief overview of all of the entries in the series. Please bear in mind though, that more recent entries will probably have more detailed descriptions than the older ones.

Megami Tensei / Shin Megami Tensei

While all of the Shin Megami Tensei series and its offshoots tend to get tagged with the Shin Megami Tensei moniker in North America, in Japan only the main series and the miscellaneous offshoots are branded with it.

The earliest games were first person dungeon crawlers and, of course, had the trademark demon partnering system that has appeared in some shape or form in all Shin Megami Tensei games. They also tend to take into account player’s choices to shape the course of the game, take place in either modern times or the future and often have a plot that involves saving the world.

The first Megami Tensei games were made by Namco, and not Atlus. Atlus took over the series with Shin Megami Tensei. Also Shin Megami Tensei: If… is the predecessor to the Persona spinoff series.

These are the main Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei games that have been released:

• Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (Famicom)
• Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II (Famicom)
• Shin Megami Tensei (Super Famicom, Sega CD, PlayStation, GBA)
• Shin Megami Tensei II (Super Famicom, PlayStation, GBA)
• Shin Megami Tensei: If… (Super Famicom, PlayStation) Note: It is the predecessor to the Persona series.
• Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (PS2) Note: It was the first entry in the Shin Megami Tensei line released in North America and had Devil May Cry‘s Dante cameo appearance.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS) Note: A US release has just been confirmed.



Persona

The Persona is probably the Shin Megami Tensei branch best known outside of Japan. There have been five entries in this series, and while they the originals featured the first person dungeon crawling and demon negotiation, the series has progressed to focus on high schoolers who suddenly develop the ability to use Personas, who resemble many of the demons from the other games, to save the world.

North America has actually seen releases of all the Persona games so far, with the exception of one, Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Given the popularity of the franchise, perhaps we’ll one day see that game in English as well.

These are the Persona games that have been released:

• Revelations: Persona/Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PlayStation, PSP)
• Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PlayStation) Note: This is the only Persona game to never receive an English release.
• Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PlayStation)
• Persona 3 (PS2, PSP)
• Persona 4 (PS2)

Devil Summoner

The Devil Summoner Shin Megami Tensei spinoff series has seen a North American release as well, but hasn’t achieved the same level of fame. It technically began life as an official part of the main Shin Megami Tensei series, but then developed into its own spin-off series.

The Devil Summoner games all share some common themes - they’re set in modern, or close to modern, Japan and typically follow the adventures of a main detective protagonist with the ability to summon and talk to demons, who’s investigating some kind of dire misuse of demons. The first two games didn’t get released outside of Japan, and the second two games did.

These are the Devil Summoner games that have been released:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (Sega Saturn, PSP)
• Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (Sega Saturn, PlayStation)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (PS2) Note: This was the first Devil Summoner game to be released in English.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2)



Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible

The Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible series are the most distantly related to the other games in the Shin Megami Tensei family. They are RPGs, but typically take place in a fantasy setting, have players recruiting and fusing monsters instead of demons and are created for a wider audience that includes children. Basically, they’re toned down versions of the main series of games.

Here’s a list of all the Last Bible games released.

• Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible/Revelations: The Demon Slayer (Game Boy, GBC, Game Gear) Note: It is the only Last Bible game that was released in English.
• Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II (Game Boy, GBC)
• Another Bible (Game Boy)
• Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible III (Super Famicom)
• Last Bible Special (Game Gear)

Majin Tensei

This Japan-only Shin Megami Tensei series spin-off is basically a look at what would happen if Fire Emblem combined with Shin Megami Tensei. It’s a strategic RPG that involves the player hiring, fusing and battling with demons instead of typical strategic RPG units. None of the games ever received an English-language release, but both recently had PC versions released.

There are the Majin Tensei games available:

• Majin Tensei (Super Famicom, Windows PC)
• Majin Tensei: Spiral Nemesis (Super Famicom, Windows PC)



Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children

Similar to the Last Bible series, Devil Children is another all ages spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei. The main entries in the series are very similar to Pokemon and Digimon, revolving around heroes and heroines who are half human, half demon and recruit, raise and battle monsters. Also, like Digimon and Pokemon, there are multiple variations of the same game.

The series is so popular in Japan that inspired two anime and two manga series.

Here are the Devil Children games you can find:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Black Book, White Book and Red Book (GBC, PlayStation)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book/DemiKids: Light and Dark (GBA) Note: This is the only entry in the Devil Children series to be released in English.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Puzzle de Call! (GBA) Note: Unlike the other Devil Children games, this is a puzzle game.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Fire Book and Ice Book (GBA)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Messiah Riser (GBA) Note: This entry is a strategic RPG.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

The Digital Devil Saga games are RPGs like the majority of Shin Megami Tensei games, but this spin-off series has some unique hallmarks. Characters transform into a demon form, rather than being able to have demons fight at their side and be fused. The game also takes place far in the future, after the apocolyse, and focuses on the battle among tribes fighting to try and reach Nirvana.

There are two Digital Devil Saga games available, and both received US releases:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2)



Miscellaneous spin-offs

There have been many Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs, but most of them have ended up as one-shot deals and didn’t spawn a series like Persona or Devil Summoner. Since they don’t really fit into the other three categories all that well, it’s easier to just place them here. Most are RPGs of some sort, like the Shin Megami Tensei staples, but occasionally there will be one that slips into another genre, like strategic RPG or action.

These are the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei games that have been released:

• Jack Bros. no Meiro de Hiho/Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy)
• Shin Megami Tensei: NINE (Xbox)
• Megami Tensei Online Imagine/Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (Windows PC)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (DS)

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews the DC-IE Import Enabler for the Dreamcast.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last weekImportant Importables listed 100 interesting games you can only play if you import in honor of its 100th column.

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

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Columns, Japanese Imports, Lists, Consoles, PS1, PS2, Xbox, Consoles-Other, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, GBA, PSP, Handhelds-Other, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Children's, Puzzle, Role-Playing, Strategy 2009-11-13T12:05:04+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/10-best-unintentionally-educational-games/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/10-best-unintentionally-educational-games/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Lists, Consoles, PS2, Wii, Consoles-Other, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Genres, Action, Casual, Educational, Music, Puzzle, Role-Playing, Sports, Strategy


Video games are often berated for the lack of educational content found in them. They’re often considered a waste of time. But, if you look closely, even games that aren’t slapped with the edutainment label or feature educational material can be teaching valuable skills to the people playing them.

Gamertell’s put together a brief list of some video games that weren’t created with the developers aiming to educate the masses, but can end up helping players build some valuable skills. With some, the educational value is pretty obvious, but with others you probably could spend hours playing without even realizing you’ve learned something from it.



1. Bookworm Adventures & Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 (PC): You have to create words from letter tiles in your possession to defeat opponents. As you get further into the game, more difficult letters tend to pop up. It boosts you vocabulary, and helps better your spelling skills, without you even knowing it.
2. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village & Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS): Both Professor Layton games get players thinking critically. They help boost math and reasoning skills, and also encourage creativity. Unless, of course, you visit a blog like Professor Layton and the Curious Village Walkthrough.
3. Scribblenauts (DS): Here’s another vocabulary booster. When you know the game is capable of recognizing, and creating, objects for over 20,000 words, it makes you want to plug in as many as you can to see if the game will recognize it and what kind of items the words will spawn.
4. Pokemon (DS): An unusual series you probably didn’t expect to see here. However, Pokemon is a great way to get kids reading without them realizing it, and also is a good way to help develop patience and reasoning skills. After all, players have to know the weaknesses and strengths of each kind of pokemon.
5. Wii Sports (Wii): Its a great way of developing good hand-eye coordination.
6. Line Rider (PC, DS, Wii): While many people probably just tinker around with Line Rider for fun, or to see the little sledder crash, it also can teach some physics lessons along the way.
7. Final Fantasy (NES, SNES, GBA, PC, PS1, PS2, DS, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360): Like Pokemon, it gets players reading. Plus, the language typically isn’t dumbed down in the games, so players could be building their vocabulary as well. Critical thinking and reasoning skills can also come into play when players need to figure out how to defeat tricky bosses or overcome the occasional challenging mission.
8. Half-Minute Hero (PSP): It’s a surprisingly good way to teach players about proper time management. While you can usually pay an in-game character to extend the 30 second deadline in each mission, you also have to figure in how to raise money to extend the deadline or reach that character in time.
9. Space Channel 5 & Space Channel 5 Part 2 (Dreamcast, PS2): It’s a great way to learn to accurately follow directions and boost memory skills. After all, you have to repeat the motions back exactly the way you heard them if you want to succeed.
10. Patapon & Patapon 2 (PSP): Both games help players learn to stick to and follow a rhythmic pattern and memorize patterns. If you don’t memorize the correct patterns and follow the beat, your Patapon warriors won’t do anything.

If you can think of any other games that could be unintentionally educational, let us know in the comments!

Read [The New York Times] Also Read [Gamertell]

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Lists, Consoles, PS2, Wii, Consoles-Other, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Genres, Action, Casual, Educational, Music, Puzzle, Role-Playing, Sports, Strategy 2009-11-09T12:34:41+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-half-price-books-promotions/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-half-price-books-promotions/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, GBA, PSP, Gear, Books, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements

Anyone who’s stepped into a Half Price Books store knows that you can find used video games, half-price PC games and even used video game strategy guides on sale at reasonable prices.

While the store never offers traditional Black Friday sales, it does offer special promotions to customers who stop by and make a purchase during the busiest shopping days of the year. The Half Price Book special offers for Black Friday 2009 have already been leaked.

First, if you can get there early then do. The first 100 customers in every Half Price Books store will get a tote bag and $5 Half Price Books gift card. Even if you aren’t among the first 100, try and get there before 10 a.m. on Friday, November 27, 2009. There’ll be a 20% discount taken off all purchases made at the store before that time.

There are two all-day promotions as well but you need to make sure you buy at least $25 worth of merchandise. Every $25 in general purchases gets you a free 2010 calendar and every $25 gift card purchase will get you a $5 coupon.

I suggest you make a list of what games, strategy guides or game novels you’re looking for beforehand. Half Price Books stores have a massive selection and, if you go in without specific titles in mind, you can get lost in all the books, CDs, movies and games available.

I also recommend checking out the bargain section in back. All books, movies and games back there are typically $1 or $2. I’ve seen DS, GBA, Game Cube, PC, PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360 at the two Half Price Books locations near my house, so you could end up discovering a nice selection of classic used games.

Read [TheBlackFriday.com] Also Read [BlackFriday.info]

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS1, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, GBA, PSP, Gear, Books, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements 2009-11-05T21:10:26+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-sears-video-game-sale-offerings/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-sears-video-game-sale-offerings/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements

The first two Black Friday 2009 ad scans to emerge on the scene are Kmart and Sears. It makes sense, when you think about it, since they’re both owned by the same company. Anyways, the Sears ad has been leaked as well, so let’s take a look and see what’s being offered. Not surprisingly, there are some similar deals being offered at both stores.

Sears is having a one day doorbuster sale that will be held from 4am-12pm on Friday, November 27. The way the ad is set up, you can see it at right, it’s difficult to tell if the video games on the page are also part of the doorbuster deal, or if it just applies to the other electronics. I’m going to say it only applies to the other electronics, since they have DOORBUSTER written above their descriptions. That being said, there are three HDTV doorbuster sales that would go great with your console. You can get a Samsung 46” LCD HDTV for $899.99, a Toshiba 40” LCD HDTV for $589.99 or a Sylvania 37” LCD HDTV for $399.99.

There are number of video game bundles being shown off as well. However, the ad’s too small to make out the titles of most of the 2-pack and 3 pack games. To simplify, you can get a two pack of Xbox 360 or PS3 games for $24.99, a two pack of DS or Wii games for $14.99 or a three pack of PS2 games for $9.99.

Also, there will be a selection of games that will be under $14.99. The ad shows DS, PS2, PS3, PSP and Xbox 360 next to that notification, but also states that the titles available will vary from store to store.

Also, if you have or plan to get a Wii, keep in mind that a 2gb SanDisk SD card will be $14.99 and a 8gb SanDisk SDHC card will be $29.99. Trust me, you’ll want/need the extra memory.

Now that all that’s settled, let’s look at the specific game deals.

DS

• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - $19.99
• World of Zoo - $19.99

PS2

• Guitar Hero World Tour with guitar - $49.99

PS3

• Brutal Legend - $39.99
• Dragon Age: Origins - $39.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour with guitar - $49.99
• Need for Speed: Shift - $39.99
• PS3 120gb system with free blu-ray remote - $299.99

Wii

• A Boy and his Blob - $29.99
• Biggest Loser - $29.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour with guitar - $49.99
• Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum - $29.99
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up - $29.99
• Wii console with free Nerf racing wheel peripheral - $199.99

Xbox 360

• Brutal Legend - $39.99
• Dragon Age: Origins - $39.99
• Forza 3 Motorsport - $39.99
• Guitar Hero World Tour with guitar - $49.99
• Halo 3 ODST - $39.99
• Left 4 Dead - $39.99
• Need for Speed: Shift - $
• Xbox 360 Elite bundle with Lego Batman: The Video Game, Pure and a 12 month Xbox Live Gold card - $299.99

Image Source: TheBlackFriday.com

Read [BlackFriday.info] Also Read [TheBlackFriday.com] Also Read [GamerDeals.net] Via [Joystiq]

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

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements 2009-11-05T20:17:02+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-kmarts-sale-offerings/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/black-friday-2009-kmarts-sale-offerings/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements

Wow, Black Friday ad leaks come out sooner each year. This year Kmart’s ad was one of the first to leak its way out. So, since it did, we may as well take advantage of the opportunity to look through and see what kind of video game deals the store is going to be offering.

Let’s take a look at the doorbuster items separately, since those are going to be limited promotion items. First let’s see what Kmart is offering on November 27, 2009, “Blue” Friday, from 6-11am. If you need a computer, there’ll be a Delstar 7” Netbook 05 with Windows CE for $119.99. If you need a new HDTV to play games on, for $379.99 you can get a 32” Sony Bravia L series 720p LCD TV there as well. As far as video games are concerned, there’s only one doorbuster - a $169.99 DSi which comes with five pre-loaded games and a $25 Nintendo gaming coupon.

When it comes to Saturday, November 28, 2009 doorbusters, there are fewer available options. You can get a DS lite that comes with a $25 Nintendo gaming coupon for $129.99. You can also get the PS3 and Xbox 360 games Dragon Age Origins and Brutal Legend for $39.99 each. Finally, for younger kids, all Leap Frog software will be buy one get one free.

Now that that’s covered, let’s take a look at the general Kmart Black Friday sales.

DS

• Petz Rescue: Ocean Friends - $14.99
• Lego Batman: The Videogame - $14.99

PS2

• High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance Bundle with two dance mats - $9.99

PS3

• Batman Arkham Asylum - $39.99
• Dirt 2 - $39.99
• Need for Speed: Shift - $39.99
• Rock Band 2 Special Edition - $99.99
• TNA Impact! - $14.99
• WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2010 - $39.99

PSP

• Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines PSP entertainment pack with Assassin’s Creed II (PS3) - $199.99

Wii

• Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks - $19.99
• Cars Race-O-Rama - $29.99
• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - $39.99
• Game Party - $9.99
• Game Party 2 - $9.99
• Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga - $14.99
• My Sims Kingdom - $14.99
• Sponge Bob’s Truth or Square - $29.99
• World of Zoo - $29.99

Xbox 360

• Batman Arkham Asylum - $39.99
• Dirt 2 - $39.99
• Forza III - $39.99
• Halo 3 ODST - $39.99
• Left4Dead 2 - $39.99
• Need for Speed: Shift - $39.99
• Rock Band 2 special edition - $99.99
• Xbox 360 Elite bundle with Lego Batman: The Videogame, Pure and Halo 3 ODST - $299.99

General Electronics

• Element 26” LCD HDTV - $249.99
• Panasonic 42” plasma HDTV - $549.99


Image Source: TheBlackFriday.com

Read [BlackFriday.info] Also Read [TheBlackFriday.com] Also Read [GamerDeals.net] Via [Joystiq]

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Ads & Media, Print, Advertisements 2009-11-05T19:15:11+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/what-you-should-be-playing-this-halloween-silent-hill-2/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/what-you-should-be-playing-this-halloween-silent-hill-2/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Opinions, Consoles, PS2, Genres, Horror & Suspense

**Fair Warning: This will be VERY SPOILER HEAVY. Read of your volition!!!**

The Human mind is very interesting piece of biological equipment. The way we think, interpret, and create. How our brains use electrical impulses to make it all happen. And yet, the Human mind is also one of the most terrifying things in existence. The way our mental psyche can succumb to an emotion, creating fantastic and frightening events, manipulated by memories and nightmares, an inescapable fear.

Silent Hill 2 isn’t a horror game in the classic sense of the genre; sure it has demons and plays our fears of the dark, but it goes beyond that by becoming truly scary through its playing with the mind. It’s a haunting video game twist on the plot device used in many works such as the short story, An Occurrence at Owl Bridge Creek , and the Adrian Lyne film, Jacob’s Ladder.

The inescapable fear described in the beginning paragraph has pulled in a widower named James Sunderland (who looks an awful lot like Keifer Sutherland’s character from the movie, The Vanishing, which I might is also about a man relentlessly looking for his wife). His wife, Mary, succumbed to unknown disease or so he thought. He received a letter from her telling him to meet her in their “special place”.

Silent Hill.

It was there that the two shared the last special moments together before Mary became hospitalized and pass on. It now is the place where James will confront Mary… and himself.

Silent Hill 2 isn’t a particularly good “game”, it instead is carried fully by its story, one that, to myself, remains good enough to go back through over and over again despite the horrible design choices the game’s designers made. Having to open the menu whenever you wanted to use items or view the map and notes was the most notable pain, though if you imagine Resident Evil controls plastered on a PlayStation 2 game that gives you a better idea of what your dealing with. The graphics weren’t anything spectacular either, even though the rough, grey and grainy visuals helped with the game’s atmosphere. Still, I love every bit of it. If Team Silent would ever get off their behinds to remake this game, I would only demand better sound quality.

Akria Yamaoka was at the top of his game when creating the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack. It’s something that any lover of video game music needs to experience. Promise’s guitar work is haunting and the piano work on it’s reprise is equally matching. Laura’s Theme is the standout track with its heavy rhythmical use of electric guitar.  Even its reprise does a fantastic job with a fusion of a piano and violin dancing a duet. Laura’s Theme is the track that just sucks you into the entire story. Too bad the original version never got released. For our protagonist James however, too bad a lot of things never got released.

After washing his face in a public bathroom that confirms why I’ll never use one, James sets off down a long pathway into a fog-covered, seemingly deserted Silent Hill. He meets his first encounter, Angela, in the graveyard just before the entrance to town.

Angela is mentally ill and is searching for her mother. She was abused by her father and has a fear of men. Further along James finds Eddie, a obese man who also is mentally ill but only wants to have a friend. Eddie killed someone and is on the run from the law. There’s also the little girl Laura, who was in the same hospital as James’ wife Mary. Finally there’s Maria who looks exactly like Mary but doesn’t share the same attitude.

If you play the prelude story on the Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams re-release, Born From a Wish, you find out that James is a “bad man”.

You see; James Sunderland did something terrible. His visit to Silent Hill isn’t to find his wife, but to confront what he has done. His journey through the town is merely a creation of his own guilt, the people he meets are figments of his own desires and misdeeds. His sins. The monsters are his aggressions and his own fear fighting back, trying to keep him from realizing what he did. The legendary Pyramid Head, James’ personal punisher.

As James puts the pieces together the town and its inhabitants go mad, falling apart, crushed under the power of realization.

Angela representing the way James treated Mary, with disdain over her illness, walks up through a burning staircase after James comes to terms with his hatred of Mary for burdening his life. Eddie is killed by James in a shootout, confirming James to be a murderer and a glutton. In contrast, Laura is James’ remaining innocence. She has committed no sin and therefore isn’t haunted by the demons. She is the little girl that Mary asks James to adopt, his only unselfish link to Mary. Maria, much like Angela and Eddie, is a representation of everything James wanted from Mary. James wanted to be with another woman, someone more outgoing, sexual, and not burdened by an illness.



That’s why James Sunderland killed his wife. James killed Mary. His guilt blocked the horrific event from his mind for years. He smothered her with a hospital pillow to free himself from her burden.

How it all ends after the final realization is a mystery. Future Silent Hill games would only make reference to James going into town and disappearing, his fate unknown to the outside world. Did he kill himself by driving into Tuluca Lake? Did he come to terms with what he did only to repeat the cycle with his imaginary girlfriend Maria? Did he adopt Laura? Does he ever get Mary’s forgiveness? Was it a dog all along? Or did James get abducted by aliens like Henry Mason (the protagonist from the first Silent Hill) before him? We will never know for sure. But what we do know is that no matter the official outcome, Silent Hill 2 remains the best in the series and a game that should definitely be our your Halloween gaming list.

Purchase [Gamestop / Amazon]

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Opinions, Consoles, PS2, Genres, Horror & Suspense 2009-10-31T21:27:28+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-100-interesting-games-you-must-import-to-play/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-100-interesting-games-you-must-import-to-play/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Japanese Imports, Lists, Consoles, GameCube, PS2, Wii, Xbox-360, Consoles-Other, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, GBA, PSP, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Adventure, Board, Casual, Fighting, Shooter, Horror & Suspense, Music, Party, Pinball, Puzzle, Role-Playing, Sim, Strategy, CCG & TCG


Hey everyone! This is a momentous day for Important Importables. Today marks the 100th column. Who’d have thought, right?

Anyways, to celebrate today, I’m listing my 100 all time favorite games that you can only get by importing. These are titles that aren’t available in North America, and you have to import from either Japan or Europe if you want to play them.

Remember, this isn’t a comprehensive list and is based on my personal picks. It’s a general guide to some great games you should be aware of. It’s also a bit biased in terms of systems, because it was formed based on games that I’ve either played or taken an interest in over the years. So, since I’ve imported quite a few DS games and that’s one of my favorite systems, there’ll naturally be more DS games represented.

If there’s a great import game you know that isn’t on the list and should be, tell the world in the comments. Also remember, many consoles have region protection! If you have a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, DS, PSP or PS3 you should be region-free, and if you have a Dreamcast you can buy or make a special boot-disk which makes your console region-free.



Dreamcast

• Bomber HehHe: It’s a puzzle game with some action elements. The goal is to place bombs to take down buildings.
• Capcom vs SNK 2: A fighting game, of course. The first one did get a US release, but this one didn’t.
• Cosmic Smash: It’s sort of like Arkanoid/Alleyway, in that you have to destroy blocks. Except you’re playing as a human trying to smash them with a ball, and racing against the clock.
• DUX: A side scrolling shoot-em-up (the Dreamcast was known for them) that has the distinction of being one of the most recent DC releases. It came out in 2009.
• Last Hope: Pink Bullets: Again, one of the more recent DC releases and shoot-em-up. It’s an updated and adjusted version of the Neo Geo game Last Hope.
• Napple Tale: Arisia in Daydream: A platformer where a girl named Arisia is tasked with returning the lost seasons to Napple Town.
• Pop’n Music: A fun, bright and colorful music game.
• Princess Maker Collection: You get Princess Maker 2 and Princess Maker 3 in one game.
• Rainbow Cotton: A shoot-em-up (cute-em-up) that’s the first 3D entry in the Cotton series.
• Puyo Pop Fever: It was the last Sonic Team DC game, but was never released outside of Japan.
• Any Sakura Taisen game: They’re all fun blends of visual novel, strategic rpg and dating sim games.
• Shenmue II: Only Europe and Japan got the sequel to Shenmue. I recommend importing the European version, since it’ll be in English.
• Shinseiki Evangelion: Ayanami Rei Ikusei Keikaku: Think Princess Maker, only with Rei Ayanami from Evangelion as the potential princess. Its also available on the DS, PC and PS2.
• Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles: A recent Dreamcast puzzle release.



DS

• 100 Classic Book Collection: Basically an e-reader program with 100 classic books built in and an additional 10 that can be downloaded. It’s available in Europe, but not North America.
• Arabian’s Lost: An otome/RPG where the main character is an Arabian princess of a land filled with thieves, gamblers, assassins and crooks who must earn 10 million in 30 days to keep from being trapped in an arranged marriage. Its also available for the PS2.
• A.S.H.: Archaic Sealed Heat: A strategic RPG from Nintendo that was supposed to come to North America, but never did.
• Daigasso Band Brothers / Daigasso Band Bros. DX: A music game where you play songs using the DS face buttons. You can also create your own songs in both games and download songs in the sequel.
• Dokidoki Majo Shinpan!: A somewhat-perverted game which has gained fame and notoriety for the fact that players touch girls on the touch screen to determine if they’re witches.
• Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland: An RPG starring Tingle from the Legend of Zelda series and revolves around his quest to get money and get to Rupeeland. It received a Japanese and European release, but never appeared in North America.
• Game & Watch Collection 2: A Japanese Club Nintendo promotion that includes the Game & Watch titles Parachute and Octopus.
• Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2: The sequel to Retro Game Challenge. Since the first game wasn’t a huge seller in North America, we probably will never see an English version of the sequel.
• Hirameki Action: Chibikko Wagyan no Daiki na Bouken: This is a side-scrolling action game where players guide a little dinosaur with a mighty roar through levels.
• Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars: The first Idolm@ster game where players act as the idols instead of a faceless producer. It’s also the first game in the series with a male idol (though he’s in disguise as a girl).
• Itadaki Street DS: A monopoly-esque board game from Square Enix starring characters from Super Mario and Dragon Quest. It also has Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support so you can play online.
• Jump Ultimate Stars: A Smash Bros style fighting game with 300 characters from 41 Shonen Jump mangas. Unfortunately, it’ll never get a worldwide release due to licensing issues.
• Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten: A Japanese-English dictionary that’s perfect for people studying Japanese. A few Game&Watch games are also hidden in it.
• Katekyoo Hitman Reborn DS Flame Rumble X: Mirai Chou-Bakuhatsu!!: A 2D fighting game starring the characters from the manga/anime Katekyoo Hitman Reborn.
• Ketsui Death Label: An impressive shoot-em-up from Cave.
• Love Plus: A Japanese dating sim that’s gained a massive following in a short period of time. It takes place in real time and players are actually able to date, then marry, one of three girls they choose.
• Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken: A Taiko no Tatsujin drum game that even has an adventure/story mode.
• NANA: Live Staff Daiboshuu! Shoshinsha Kangei: A life sim based on the Nana manga/anime/movie where the player can make a life in Tokyo and try to get a job with one of the two bands from the series.
• Ochaken no Daibouken: An adorable and enjoyable platformer starring the Ochaken dog and Ochaneko cat characters.
• Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo DS!!: A hilarious and occasionally touching otome simulation where the main character is a fat girl trying to lose weight so she can get a boyfriend.
• Any Ouendan game: They’re like the Elite Beat Agents game, only better.
• Sigma Harmonics: A Square Enix adventure RPG where players must time travel to prevent murders and preserve the present.
• Slide Adventure: Mag Kid: An action/puzzle game where players attach a peripheral and slide the DS around to make the main character, Mag Kid, move.
• Soma Bringer: A gorgeous action RPG from Nintendo that may never get a worldwide release.
• Tales of Innocence: A good DS entry in the Tales of series that Namco Bandai never released outside of Japan.
• Tales of Hearts: Again, another good DS Tales of entry. It’s available in two versions - one with CG cutscenes and one with animated ones.
• Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 1st Love and 2nd Season: These two DS games are otome life sims where players guide a girl through high school and hopefully help her find a boyfriend.
• Vampire Knight DS: A DS otome simulation with visual novel elements that is based on the Vampire Knight manga/anime.
• Xenosaga I + II: A DS adaptation of the first two Xenosaga games.

GameCube

• Doshin the Giant: a god/life simulation where players determine how Doshin interacts with island natives. It was available in Japan and Europe.
• Kururin Squash: An action/puzzle game where players must navigate through mazes.



GBA

• Any bit Generations game: They’re a nice variety of stylish, simple puzzle and action games.
• Densetsu no Starfy: The first game in the Legendary Starfy series.
• Densetsu no Starfy 3: The last Starfy GBA game and the first where Starpy is a major character.
• Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi: The only GBA Fire Emblem game not released in English. It’s the first GBA Fire Emblem, but the sequel to the Fire Emblem GBA game released in North America.
• Genso Suikoden: Card Stories: Suikoden II with card battles.
• Mother + Mother 2: The original Mother and Mother 2/Earthbound in one cartridge.
• Mother 3: The RPG Earthbound sequel. It’s main character, Lucas, appeared in Smash Bros Brawl.
• Rhythm Tengoku: A music game and the prequel to Rhythm Heaven.
• Super Mario Ball: A Super Mario pinball game.
• Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2: A Tales of mash-up action-RPG. It’s mainly about fetch quests and quick missions.
• Tomato Adventure: An adorable Nintendo RPG designed for beginners. It has some elements found in the Mario & Luigi RPGs.

PC

• Any and every Touhou game ever released: They’re fantastic shoot-em-up (cute-em-up) games.



PS2

• beatmania IIDX 16 Empress: A fantastic music and rhythm game.
• Bleach: Blade Battles 2nd: A fighting game with the Bleach characters.
• Espgaluda: A Cave shooter that’s a prequel to ESP Ra.De..
• Fate/stay Night: Realta Nua: An all ages version of the popular visual novel Fate/stay night.
• GuitarFreaks & DrumMania Masterpiece Gold: The original guitar and drum music video game. This is one of the best entries in the series.
• Melty Blood: Actress Again: A fighting game starring characters from the visual novel Tsukihime.
• Namco x Capcom: An RPG with action and strategic elements that has characters Namco and Capcom games making cameos as either allies or opponents.
• Nana: A life simulation game based on the Nana anime/manga where the player moves to Tokyo and gets to interact with characters from the series.
• Tales of Destiny Director’s Cut: A PS2 remake of the PS1 classic Tales of Destiny, with additional content.
• Tales of Symphonia: A PS2 port of the GameCube game with additional content.
• Tian Xing: Sword of Destiny: A hack-and-slash game Devil May Cry fans would love.


PSP

• Audition Portable: A portable version of the PC MMO. The gameplay is similar to the Bust-a-Groove games.
• Any Bleach Heat the Soul game: Great PSP fighters starring Bleach characters.
• Breath of Fire III: A PSP port. It was released in Europe, so you can import it and play it in English.
• Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable: A PSP port of a PS2 game with extra characters. It’s a monopoly-esque board game with characters from Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
• Hatsune Miku Project Diva: A Sega music game starring the Vocaloid Miku Hatsune that lets you import your own .mp3s and create your own songs and music videos.
• Idolmaster SP: Available in three versions, Perfect Sun, Missing Moon and Wandering Star, it was the first portable version of Idolm@ster.
• La Corda d’Oro: A PSP port of the PS2 and PC otome/simulation where players attempt to become a great violin player and win competitions while also making friends or possibly finding a boyfriend.
• Macross Ultimate Frontier: An action game that lets players fight pretty much every battle in the Macross anime series.
• Maplus: Portable Navi and GPS Receiver: turns your PSP into a GPS.
• Parodius Portable: A port of the side-scrolling shooter.
• Persona 3 Portable: A port of the PS2 game Persona 3 with a second storyline where the main character is a girl. It’ll probably get a US release, but for now it’s Japan-only.
• Princess Crown: A port of the VanillaWare Saturn game that’s the spiritual successor and prequel to Odin Sphere.
• Princess Maker 4 Portable: A port of a Princess Maker game that’s very similar to the cult classic Princess Maker 2.
• Suikoden I + II: The PS1 games on one UMD.
• Tales of Eternia: A port of Tales of Eternia/Tales of Destiny II. It’s available in English in Europe.
• Tales of Rebirth: A port of the PS2 Tales of game that never made it outside of Japan. It isn’t available in English.
• Tales of VS.: A fighting game featuring characters from the Tales of games.
• Twinbee Portable: A port of the classic shoot-em-up.
• Ys VII: The latest entry in the Ys action-RPG series. It may see a US release, but for now it’s Japan-only.

SNES

• Der Langrisser: A strategic RPG with multiple endings based on decisions the player makes.
• Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu: The fourth Fire Emblem game and regarded as one of the best. It introduced the romance/relationship element into the series and is multigenerational - if two characters get together in the first part, their child will appear in the second.
• Live a Live: A Square Enix RPG with seven storylines that unexpectedly all end up being connected.
• Sailor Moon: Another Story: An RPG inspired by Sailor Moon with an original storyline that has become a cult classic and is unexpectedly spectacular.
• Seiken Densetsu 3: An entry in the Square Enix Mana series that was never released outside of Japan.


Wii

• 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de / 428: In a Blockaded Shibuya: A highly acclaimed visual novel. It’s been ported to the PS3 and PSP.
• Captain Rainbow: It’s an action/adventure game from Nintendo where a character named Nick, aka Captain Rainbow, goes around helping people on Mimin Island trying to either grant his wish or the wishes of islanders. It features many little known or forgotten Nintendo characters.
• Disaster: Day of Crisis: An action/adventure game released only in Australia, Europe and Japan. Players help Raymond Bryce, who works for the government, survive and save people during natural disasters and stop a terrorist group called SURGE. It will likely never receive a US release.
• Sukeban Shachou Rena: A mini-game collection featuring cats working at Cat Queen, Inc. Your goal is to start out as an entry level cat. You work your way up to the head of the company and earn respect of the CEO, Nekopunch mascot Rena.
• Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: The Taiko drum game series comes to the Wii.
• Zero:Tsukihami no Kamen / Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse: The fourth entry in the Fatal Frame series.


Xbox 360

• Idolm@ster: The original Idolm@ster game, where players help an idol, or group of idols, become a success.
• Death Smiles: A new Cave shoot-em-up with a gothic theme.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables takes a one-week break, but will return November 13, 2009 to talk about Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last weekImportant Importables looked at six Japanese gadgets that exist only to be adorable.

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 »

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Japanese Imports, Lists, Consoles, GameCube, PS2, Wii, Xbox-360, Consoles-Other, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, GBA, PSP, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Adventure, Board, Casual, Fighting, Shooter, Horror & Suspense, Music, Party, Pinball, Puzzle, Role-Playing, Sim, Strategy, CCG & TCG 2009-10-30T12:32:40+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/ps2-turns-nine-sony-says-systems-life-cycle-will-continue/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/ps2-turns-nine-sony-says-systems-life-cycle-will-continue/ Section: Gaming News, Originals, Consoles, PS2, Gear, Hardware, Game-Companies, Developers, Distributors, Publishers

Sony’s PlayStation 2 console may have just turned nine but for fans in the know that may seem to mean there’s only one year left to the system’s life.

Sony has often mentioned a 10-year life cycle for its hardware including a comment made by President of Sony Computer Entertainment Jack Tretton to Fast Company earlier this year about the PS3.

So when Sony sent out a press release earlier today touting the PS2’s ninth birthday, I contacted Sony to find out whether or not this is the system’s final year.

Well, never fear Soniatics.

According to Abby Reyes, Sony’s Senior Public Relations Specialist:

“There’s no set date for when the life cycle of PlayStation 2 will end. As long as people keep playing, and publishers keep putting out great new titles, the console’s life cycle will continue. The longevity of the PlayStation 2 can be directly attributed to its versatility. Because it’s not only a game console, but a home entertainment hub, it has found its place in one out of every three U.S. households. That huge install base has resulted in consistent developer support and a huge library of titles along with strong retail presence, all of which allows PlayStation 2 to remain the console of choice for years to come.”

Of course no one at Sony indicated exactly how long they will continue to support the hardware or license development but that certainly reads like a positive commitment. I’m not exactly certain how the PS2 - now selling for $99 -  is an “entertainment hub” but there certainly is a lot of life left in the system.

Here’s hoping for a few more good years, PS2.

Read [Gamertell] Site [PlayStation 2]

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]]> Gaming News, Originals, Consoles, PS2, Gear, Hardware, Game-Companies, Developers, Distributors, Publishers 2009-10-28T23:34:56+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/how-to-organize-a-halloween-video-game-marathon/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/how-to-organize-a-halloween-video-game-marathon/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, How-To, Lists, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, Adventure, FPS, Shooter


While watching horror movies on Halloween is a perfectly acceptable way to celebrate the holiday, it’s also a hands off approach. You’re a spectator, not an active participant in the action. You could always go out to a good haunted house, but those can be far away and quite expensive. Perhaps the best approach would be to gather a handful of your closest friends and have a horrific video game marathon. The beauty with the horror game marathon is that it has the thrills and occasional scares of a horror movie marathon, but also the excitement and personal involvement of a haunted house.

Here’s how to set it up right. Invite only a handful of people over. A number between three and five is perfect, but anymore than seven and it may not be as frightening. Where ever you’ll all be playing the games will have to be dark, save for the light of the television screen. A few candles wouldn’t hurt as well, but make sure they’re set up so they don’t drip, cause a mess or perhaps burn your place down. If anyone has to leave the room, set it up where there are no other lights on, and they have to take a flickering, ready to burn out flashlight, to light their way.

If you have enough time, you can also set up some optional decorations. I’m not talking about the stuff you can find at Walmart or your local dollar store. Try to purposely arrange things in your home or room that look otherworldly or out of the ordinary. Make sure a coat rank has a sufficient number of coats so it looks like a menacing individual in the moonlight. If there’s a scary tree outside your window, leave the shades open. If you ever had a furby or incredibly creepy American Girl doll, now’s the time to leave it in a shadowy corner, watching. Another tip - if there are creepy household noises that you can amplify, do so. Or, claim that you’ve never heard that sound before.

Now, for the games. I’d recommend going with a five hour, five game marathon. From 9pm to 2am works well. You can adjust the schedule as you like though. Also, if you don’t have five games, perhaps just one or two really good, scary ones, then focus on the games you do have and use the marathon to try and complete them in a single night. In case you’re wondering how to proceed, here’s four schedules PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii owners could use.



PS2 owners

9pm - 10pm: Clock Tower 3
10pm - 11pm: Silent Hill 3
11pm - 12am: Rule of Rose
12am - 1am: Fatal Frame
1am - 2am: Fatal Frame 2

Note: The PS2 had a wide selection of horror games. If you don’t think the schedule above would work for you, some good games you can substitute in are Haunting Ground, one of the other Silent Hill games, Siren, Fatal Frame 3 or a Resident Evil game.

PS3 owners

9pm - 10pm: F.E.A.R.
10pm - 11pm: Resident Evil 5
11pm - 12am: Siren: Blood Curse
12am - 1am: Silent Hill: Homecoming
1am - 2am: Dead Space

Xbox 360 owners

9pm - 10pm: Left 4 Dead
10pm - 11pm: Clive Barker’s Jericho
11pm - 12am: Silent Hill: Homecoming
12am - 1am: Condemned: Criminal Origins
1am - 2am: Dead Space

Wii owners

9pm - 10pm: LIT
10pm - 11pm: House of the Dead: Overkill
11pm - 12am: Resident Evil 4
12am - 1am: Dead Space: Extraction
1am - 2am: Ju-on: The Grudge

One final note, should you make your own schedule, try to arrange the games in order of scariness. Leave the most unnerving and frightening game for last. And also, bear in mind, that the schedules above are just suggestions, and don’t cover all horror games available for those systems.

Also Read [Gamertell]

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, How-To, Lists, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 3D, Action, Adventure, FPS, Shooter 2009-10-26T12:22:05+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-the-coverage-of-haruhi-suzumiya/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/important-importables-the-coverage-of-haruhi-suzumiya/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Columns, Japanese Imports, Consoles, PS2, Wii, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Gear, Books, Ads & Media, TV, Genres, 2D, Adventure, Music, Sim


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 »

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Columns, Japanese Imports, Consoles, PS2, Wii, Handhelds, DS, PSP, Gear, Books, Ads & Media, TV, Genres, 2D, Adventure, Music, Sim 2009-10-16T12:20:26+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/tokyo-game-show-2009-square-enixs-tokyo-game-show-2009-website-is-open-for-/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/tokyo-game-show-2009-square-enixs-tokyo-game-show-2009-website-is-open-for-/ Section: Gaming News, Features, Japanese Imports, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, PSP, iPhone & iPod Touch, Cell-Phones, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Adventure, Shooter, Role-Playing, Strategy, Conventions, Tokyo Game Show

The Square Enix Tokyo Game Show 2009 website is now online and all set for viewing! So even if you can’t make it to Japan, you can kind of get the same sort of experience. Well, if you can read Japanese you can.

The site is primarily a guide to the show. You can see where Square Enix’s booth is, tell what games are playable at the event, see which games will have footage and videos displayed, see the Square Enix booth layout, read a blog and tell what you thought about Square Enix’s displays. Little icons under each game on the game listing page tell you if it is playable at the event or if game footage is going to be shown.

Let’s look at all the games appearing at TGS 2009 that are listed on the site:

• Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden (DS)
• Dissidia Final Fantasy: Universal Tuning (PSP)
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Wii)
• Cross Treasures (DS)
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Twilight Maiden (Wii)

• Final Fantasy XIII (PS3)
• Star Ocean 4 - The Last Hope - International (PS3)
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3, Xbox 360)
• Front Mission Evolved (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (DS)
• Nier Gestalt (Xbox 360)
• Nier Replicant (PS3)
• Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito (DS)
• Thexder Neo (PSP)
• Crystal Defenders (PSP)
• Death By Cube (Xbox 360)
• Gyromancer (PC, Xbox 360)
• 0 day Attack on Earth (Xbox 360)

• Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes - Encore (iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Hills and Rivers Remain (iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Sliding Heroes (iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (Wii)
• Final Fantasy XIV (PC, PS3)
• Final Fantasy XI: Vanadiel Collection 2 (PC, PS2, Xbox 360)
• Lord of Vermilion II (Arcade)
• Dragon Quest: Monster Battle Road II (Arcade)
• Seiken Densetsu 2 (Mobile)
• Final Fantasy IV (Mobile)
• Guin Saga Mobile (Mobile)
• Dragon Quest III (Mobile)
• Dragon Quest Fushigi no Dungeon Mobile (Mobile)
• Kingdom Hearts Coded (Mobile)

Wow! Quite a lineup. Many of the games will have playable demos too, which is awesome. I’m especially impressed by the cell phone games Square Enix has in store for Japan. It’s a shame that those don’t often receive overseas releases. There’s some consolation though - the iPhone and iPod Touch games will likely receive an English release.

If you go to the site, you can see a quick one or two sentence blurb about each game and three or four screenshots. I’d recommend stopping by the blog section as well, to see some neat pictures from TGS 2009.

Read [Examiner.com] Site [Tokyo Game Show 2009 l Square Enix (Japanese)]

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

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]]> Gaming News, Features, Japanese Imports, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox-360, PCs, Windows, Handhelds, DS, PSP, iPhone & iPod Touch, Cell-Phones, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Genres, 2D, 3D, Action, Adventure, Shooter, Role-Playing, Strategy, Conventions, Tokyo Game Show 2009-09-25T17:26:21+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/tokyo-game-show-sonys-kaz-hirais-tgs-2009-keynote-speech-all-about-the-numb/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/tokyo-game-show-sonys-kaz-hirais-tgs-2009-keynote-speech-all-about-the-numb/ Section: Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Handhelds, PSP, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Conventions, Tokyo Game Show

The 2009 Tokyo Game Show is in full swing now, which means announcements concerning new games are slowly starting to trickle out of Japan. This year Kaz Hirai, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. was keynote speaker at the event. On September 23, 2009, he presented “Sony Computer Entertainment 2009 Strategy” in front of a room of anxious journalists. Pretty appropriate since, as Hirai pointed out, it’s the 15th anniversary of the original PlayStation and Sony’s first foray into video games.

Hirai’s keynote wasn’t all that eventful. There weren’t many major announcements made, aside from a 2010 release window for the PS3 motion controller. Instead, it was more of a summary of the latest PS3 and PSP related numbers. Hirai did also briefly mention at the end of the speech that he felt 3D gaming was the next big step that Sony should take and footage was shown from a number of key releases (FFXIII, The Last Guardian, LBP PSP), but mainly it was all about the numbers.

Let’s take a brief peek at the numbers he mentioned:

• 1 million PS3 Slims have been sold in the three weeks its been available.
• 300 PS3 games will be out by Christmas.
• 8 million people use Home.
• 1.28 million LittleBigPlanet stages have been created by players.
• The US PSN video delivery service has over 33,000 movies on it.
• 130 million PS2s have been sold.

Looks like Hirai decided to go with a, “look how good we’re doing” approach as opposed to a, “look what we’re going to be doing for you” one. I’d have preferred the latter, but the former was kind of interesting too.

Read [GameSpot] Also Read [Gpara (Japanese)] Via [Kotaku]

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

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]]> Gaming News, Consoles, PS2, PS3, Handhelds, PSP, Game-Companies, Developers, Publishers, Conventions, Tokyo Game Show 2009-09-24T17:36:30+00:00 http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/japanese-import-dengeki-girls-style-the-otome-fans-bi-monthly-magazine/ http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/japanese-import-dengeki-girls-style-the-otome-fans-bi-monthly-magazine/ Section: Exclusives, Originals, Features, Japanese Imports, Consoles, PS2, Ads & Media, Print

Japan is a country that specializes in niches and otome (games directed at female gamers) games are no exception. Since otome games are such a common commodity among the female population of gamers, there’s even a magazine wholly dedicated to it called Dengeki Girl’s Style.

Dengeki Girl’s Style finds it roots with Dengeki PlayStation, a monthly Japanese gaming magazine published by ASCII Media Works. Initially introduced as Dengeki PlayStation Girl’s Style on December 4, 2003, the title was later changed to its current form in the early part of 2007. While this magazine is chock full of everything and anything an avid otome-gamer might want, it unfortunately sees only a bimonthly release.

Sold at 740 to 830 yen (approx. US$8 to $9), certain issues of Girl’s Style even include exclusive packaged goodies of the current flavor of the month game in the form of such paraphernalia including phone straps, card files, calendars, and bookmarks. This month’s issue (September 21, 2009) made females weak in the knees with art from Idea Factory’s Hakuouki Portable for the Sony PSP lavishing the cover and included an exclusive Hakuouki long strap featuring one of the game’s forlorn heroes in a vulnerable pose.

Dengeki Girl’s Style brings its readers information on otome games of all media including MS Windows, consoles, handhelds and even cell phones. The cell phone games, especially, will make American cell phone owners green with envy thanks to the sluggish pace when it comes to US cell phone technology. It’s also worth mentioning that this magazine includes comprehensive special reports on popular game specific merchandise available in Japan.

The September 2009 issue features a 2-page spread on Hakuouki goods, for example, that includes pictures of every single item as well as prices. The magazine almost always features exclusive interviews with the seiyuu (Japanese voice actors) who bring life to the handsome bishounen (Japanese term for handsome or pretty boy) characters of popular otome games as well as round-about information on otome conventions and events.

Each month, Dengeki Girl’s Style features an exclusive cover with art created specifically for the magazine by the original artist of the game that’s chosen. Not only that, the pick of the month also gets a whopping 10+ pages worth of coverage that includes anything from the character artist’s comments on his/her designs, walkthroughs, related events, and special side-stories just to name a few.

I highly suggest trying to nab a copy of Dengeki Girl’s Style because if you’re a die-hard otome fan, you will definitely not be disappointed with this magazine’s contents. It keeps you abreast on all the hot new dating simulation games amidst beautifully illustrated visuals.

Unfortunately, finding this magazine outside of Japan poses an extremely difficult challenge since most import sites (such as PlayAsia, NCSX, JBOX) don’t carry it. However, if you’re lucky enough to live near a Kinokuniya bookstore, then I’d suggest that is your best outlet for obtaining this elusive publication. Of course, curious cats and interested readers can always take the now savvy green approach and check out the official website.

Since the website is completely in Japanese, it may be a bit of a doozy for those who aren’t familiar with the language. Here’s a hint though: Most of the clickable links show English equivalents at the bottom of your internet browser if you merely roll your mouse over them, so it’s best to be attentive. Or, you could get creative and simply utilize one of the many free text translation sites like Yahoo’s Babel Fish to do all the hard work for you.

Site [Dengeki Girl’s Style] Read [Gamertell]

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

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]]> Exclusives, Originals, Features, Japanese Imports, Consoles, PS2, Ads & Media, Print 2009-09-14T16:48:21+00:00