Gamertell

Siliconera has discovered an interesting tidbit from checking ESRB information. Apparently Atlus is going to be bringing Steal Princess an action-RPG/puzzle game where the goal is to get out of a room in a certain amount of time, to the US. Steal Princess: Touzoku Oujo originally was released in Japan on July 24, 2008, and has already been confirmed for a European release, courtesy of Rising Star Games. It looks like the US won’t get left out after all.

Steal Princess stars Anis, that brown haired girl with the eye-patch on the cover. She’s a master thief who, at the beginning of the game, is trying to steal an evil lord’s treasure. She fails, but word gets around that she actually made it out of the castle alive. The royal family then calls Anis for an audience, tells her that the prince is held captive in the castle she was trying to rob and asks for her assistance. She agrees, and so players spend most of the adventure working through different areas until they are skilled enough to make another attempt at stealing the treasure and rescuing the prince…

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Last week, we went over some import PSP games that might make a special someone’s holiday just a little more merry. Now, to sort of round things out, we’ll look at import DS games people might love to get as gifts this year. Since both the handheld systems are region free, an import game can be an extra special gift.

All of these games are already released and should be immediately available through any online import store. So hopefully you’ll have no trouble finding and ordering the ones that interest you…

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As you probably know, if you’ve been following along with Gamertell’s Black Friday 2008 coverage, Amazon has been doing a countdown to Black Friday 2008 in its video games section. Each day, there’s a different deal going on. Today’s (November 25, 2008) is sort of a “make your own DS bundle” day. If you buy the limited edition pink breast cancer ribbon DS or metallic silver DS for $129.99, you can get a free copy of Personal Trainer: Cooking. So you save $20.

Personal Trainer: Cooking is a Touch Generations DS game which is basically a virtual cookbook. The game will talk to you, it has video demonstrations, it can be navigated with voice commands and it keeps a shopping list of ingredients to buy…

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Title: Metal Slug 7
Price: $29.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: November 18, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Ignition Entertainment (SNK Playmore)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for blood and violence
Pros: Typical Metal Slug gameplay, Combat School missions offers a nice change of pace, there’s a POW list and you can pick up in the mission you left off at in Main Mission mode.
Cons: Difficulty rating is deceiving, the bottom touch screen map isn’t helpful and you have to jump up to shoot below you.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 85/100; B; *** 1/2 out of 5

Metal Slug 7 is definitely a run-and-gun game created with fans in mind. It offers enough variety and challenge to keep from being repetitive. Plus, it has a Combat School mini-mission mode and automatically keeps track of the last mission you left off at in the Main Mission so you can easily pick up the game and play.

It’s wonderful to finally see Metal Slug 7 finally arrive in the US, after being released in July 2008 in Japan. The game looks and plays beautifully…

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Check out the gallery: Metal Slug 7 DS

Back in July 2008, Gamertell first reported on Konami’s forthcoming Animal Crossing/magic sim called Little Magician’s Magic Adventure. Now that the February 2009 release date creeps ever closer, more information on the actual gameplay of this new DS sim has been released.

Little Magician’s Adventure may seem like an Animal Crossing clone at first glance, due to the character design similarities and the ability to live in the Magic Academy town filled with other unusual characters and students. But, Little Magician’s Adventure has a sense of purpose, as opposed to Animal Crossing‘s main goal of paying off Tom Nook. In Little Magician’s Magic Adventure, you customize your character and its home with over 1,500 items, you can make friends with 150 different NPCs, learn magic spells and undertake 52 quests…

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Oh dear, it seems that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has gone and protested Cooking Mama, perhaps one of the least controversial games in the world. The organization has launched a flash game titled Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, in which players go through a series of bloody mini games that involve killing and cooking a Thanksgiving turkey.

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Disappointing news for fans of the DS owners who happen to be fans of first-person shooters (FPS) - Moon hasn’t been cleared for launch. Originally, Mastiff and Renegade Kid’s new and slightly dark FPS shooter set on the moon was supposed to be shipped to stores November 18, 2008. Apparently, some unknown forces have forced the companies to revise their plans. So now, expect to see the game on January 13, 2009.

Moon is set in 2058 on the moon. While some astronauts are preparing a new lunar station called Alpha Base, a “hatch” is discovered. The player must explore the hatch and discover what is lurking within. Could it be, aliens? We’ll know January 13…

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The holidays are sneaking up on us once again, which means its time to review the games released in 2008 that would make great gifts. This year, Gamertell’s compiled a list of 36 delightful adventures just waiting to slide into slot-1 on your DS unit.

We’ve gathered games into six specific categories, to help people with their wishlists. Since its still a bit early, some quality games have been released only recently or still haven’t been released yet. So each category is going to have a wildcard title in bold that still has a lot of potential as a quality present.

So without further ado, let’s help you pick out a present!

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Title: Travel Games for Dummies
Price: $29.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Electronic Arts (Electronic Arts and Beanbag Studios)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: Three different games, 100 Crossword puzzles, 500 Sudoku puzzles, 10 kinds of Solitaire. Informative.
Cons: You have to go back manually clear Crossword boards when you’re done. Solitaire is very hard. Sometimes the letter/number recognition is a bit off. Only one player profile allowed per cartridge.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb sideways; 80/100; B-; *** out of 5

EA Games’ Casual Entertainment division recently teamed up with Beanbag studios to create three instructional/casual games, two for the PC and one for the DS. The DS game, Travel Games for Dummies is actually a collection of three popular puzzle games - Sudoku, Solitaire and Crosswords. The goal of the endeavor is to teach people how to master these three games, and then offer a wide variety of puzzles to test their newfound skills in.

Its very straightforward, since it is supposed to be educational, but also is surprisingly fun. While it isn’t as diverse as say, Crosswords DS, it is better than the shovelware sudoku and casual game compilations you see cluttering GameStop shelves. And, surprisingly enough, it can help you become a better player. At least, the Crosswords and Sudoku segments can - I’m still on the fence about solitaire. Travel Games for Dummies would make a good gift for casual gamers this holiday season - I know my mom would adore it…

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Destructoid posted a very handy list of Nintendo’s upcoming releases today, with the most up-to-date release dates that we have. Everything from Pikmin 1 and 2 to the ultra-anticipated new Punch Out!! are on there, along with a couple of MIA titles that raised a few eyebrows - Fatal Frame 4 is nowhere to be seen.

The list:

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