Gamertell

It’s that time of year again.  The air’s getting crisp, the leaves will soon be changing and millions of kids, teens, twenty-somethings and beyond face that crushing end to freedom known as “back to school time”. Fear not, gamers. I’ve compiled a list of things you can do to enjoy gaming and survive school in harmony. Think of it as a survival guide.

1. Pack your DS with brain-trainers.
So maybe you slacked off on your Spanish lessons over summer vacation. Or you’ve forgotten how to do long division. Don’t worry, since the DS has more edutainment/educational software that you can shake a no. 2 pencil at. From purely educational software like My Word Coach and My Spanish Coach, to the more game-ish antics of Brain Training, and Big Brain Academy, you’ll be much more apt to ace that pop quiz. Just don’t play it when the…

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The DS game Jump Ultimate Stars is quite an elaborate fighting game. After all, 300 characters from 40 different manga series appear in the game either as fighters or support characters. With all of those options, creating a deck can be a daunting feat - especially if you’re a beginner and you don’t speak Japanese.

So today in Important Importables, we are going to offer a few Jump Ultimate Stars theme deck suggestions. Since even that could get a bit long (there are loads of possible creation options and everyone’s fighting style may vary), we’re going to focus on three anime series - Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. 

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Square Enix’s recent iPod release, Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes requires a lot of patience. Not because it is a strategic RPG, mind you, but because you’ll have to sift through quite a few songs in the Hip-O-Drome before you find some truly worthy Tune Troopers that can be used in battle.

I spent over an hour yesterday, just testing tracks in the game and seeing what would come from them. At one point, I abandoned logical assessment (15 minutes in), and decided to just have fun with it. The result was a selection of popular, video game related and obscure tracks being plugged in to see what came out. Would a “One Winged Angel” trooper trump an “Aerith’s Theme?” How would a classic track, like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” fare against a top 10 pop hit like “Bleeding Love?” Would other Square Enix songs, or other video game songs in general, create stronger warriors? I tested it so you don’t have to.

Since the creation guidelines aren’t clear yet, I’m not sure if others will get the same results. So I’m including all the information about the tracks I plugged in, in case song length, my rating of the song or how I sorted it effects the resulting Tune Trooper.

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I’ve owned Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes for less than a day and already I am developing an unhealthy obsession for the Square Enix’s strategic RPG created exclusively for the iPod.

This isn’t enough time to craft a full-on review (that will come in a day or two) but an hour crafting Tune Troopers and a few hours of playing have provided me with a rudimentary education. I’ve learned a few tricks while playing which have been helpful in crafting a solid foundation for troop formation.

So the following are a few tricks to help you in creating your first few Tune Troopers and earning “S” ranks for your first battles…

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Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard gives fans of the original Etrian Odyssey exactly what they want - more. More mapping tools, more character classes, more enemies, more quests, more equipment - you get the idea.

In doing so, some things were also altered. Classes from Etrian Odyssey may not have the same skills or abilities in Etrian Odyssey II, forcing players to rethink parties that may have worked in the previous entry. So after a bit of research and experimentation, Gamertell came up with five potential parties that might be great for exploring the dungeon.

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Click through for a look at some of the sites that have written about videogame and moms…

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Rondo of Swords is not for the faint of heart. If you’re going to play, you better be incredibly savvy and patient, because the game is not forgiving. Enemies are intelligent and strong, and early on you’ll find your characters falling in battle. Its a humbling experience, especially if you’ve done well in titles like Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem.

Take heart! There is a way to overcome the challenge that is this treacherous strategic tango. While there aren’t many errand opportunities early on to level up characters, and there are very few optional, secret battles in the game, there is a way to get an edge. If you’re willing to devote a good chunk of time to replaying maps repeatedly, then it is possible to grind your way to glory.

Keep reading to learn the secret…

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