Square-Enix loves their remakes. We’ve already seen Final Fantasy III and IV remade in 3D, and in November Chrono Trigger gets a re-release for the DS with some added features. It’s easy to see how Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, a remake of an old NES game, might get lost in the shuffle. With it’s old school design, simple battle system, and limited technology use, does DQIV have what it takes to hold up against Square’s juggernauts?
Space Invaders’ influence has been felt throughout the ages. When it first arose from the ashes after the meteor landed in northern Kentucky, it was but a wee invader. But now… it’s EXTREME!…. Okay I have NO idea where I was going with that…… Anyways. Space Invaders Extreme is one of the most recent reincarnations of a classic game given a sort of “remix” treatment, first executed with the XBLA title, Pac-Man Championship Edition. The ‘Extreme’ moniker would seem a bit pretentious but let me say that it certainly earns that name.
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When Ninja Gaiden DS was first unveiled last year, it certainly shocked people. The idea of one of the best-looking, most notorious action-adventure games on the consoles coming to the DS made plenty of people skeptical. Give them five minutes of playtime, and those feelings of doubt quickly turned around. I was certainly blown away when I finally got my hands on the demo. Now that the game is actually out though, is Team Ninja’s new title as cutting-edge as it was when we first saw it, or does it miss its mark?
An original IP is a rare thing to come across. A good original IP is even rarer. So it was with some app
rehension that I picked up Nintendo and Level-5’s adventure puzzle game Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I did a very positive preview of the game about a month before it came out, but a verdict can’t be made until I play it for myself. Good news folks: Professor Layton is an amazing game that every DS owner needs to play.
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Nanostray 2 is a fairly traditional shoot ‘em up on the Nintendo DS. Taking clear inspiration from games like R-Type or Gradius, the first one was a fairly solid throwback to the classic genre. This sequel only adds on the foundation set by the original. But the first had some problems that kept it from fully living up to the games that inspired it. With additional features and content, does this sequel add enough to allow Nanostray 2 to stand beside the great arcade classics?
A while ago, rumours about Nintendo hosting numerous tournaments in celebration of the upcoming Smash Bros. title were surfacing. Well those rumours certainly have come true. Held at the Nintendo World Store (a Nintendo fan’s wet dream) in New York City, the first night of the tournament apparently went really well according to some people who attended. Of course, there was a large turn-out as the public finally got their hands on Brawl. Other tournaments were apparently hosted across the country, but not too many details were revealed regarding these other venues.
But while the U.S. usually gets most of the love regarding these tours and tourneys, Nintendo of Canada is jumping on board to give Canadian Smash-ers a chance to jump in. Revealing some very exciting news on their site, dates, times, and locations were listed in this collaboration between Nintendo and EB Games.
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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has gathered enormous success on consoles since its release, both in terms of response from the public and critics alike. Not to mention very successful sales numbers. Finally casting aside the WWII backdrop, Activision has taken the FPS franchise in a bold new direction, posing you against a middle-eastern terrorist threat, but also a rising opposition from Russia. But while people were surprised (and thrilled) by the new direction of the franchise, some were also shocked to see that the title was hitting the Nintendo DS. Developed by the people over at n-Space, does the handheld version stand its ground, or is this one call to duty you’d be better off not answering?
Ultimate Mortal Kombat is a solid compilation piece. The package includes Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, one of the best 2D fighters from the arcade era, and the Puzzle Kombat minigame which was found on Mortal Kombat: Deception on last-generation consoles. For the most part, handheld titles in the franchise have been extremely sub-par. However, Other Ocean Interactive has managed to successfully bring Mortal Kombat to the DS without sacrificing the game’s quality. And with the addition of being able to play both games locally and online, fans of the genre and the franchise are sure to find a lot to like here.
Twenty years ago, the world learned the meaning of ‘awesome’. The original Contra hit arcades, but didn’t truly gain popularity until the series came to the NES. The series continued to Super Contra, and Contra III: The Alien Wars, both of which maintained the amazing level of quality held in the first. Eventually moving on to the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance, Genesis, PS1 and PS2, the series quickly deteriorated into nothing but a name that Konami slapped onto poorly developed titles to spur some level of interest and sales. But despite the poor quality, Super Contra and Contra III were still burned into gamers’ memories as titles that deserved such high respect. To celebrate the original’s 20th Anniversary, Konami has published a brand new numbered iteration of the series - the first in 15 years. Contra 4 is a complete throwback to the original game design that made the series so memorable, with the ‘4′ meaning to symbolize the series’ return to the quality that was found in the original three games. But has the Old School design aged gracefully enough to warrant another title?
The Legend of Zelda is undoubtedly, one of the most iconic franchises in the gaming industry. Iteration after iteration, Zelda has gone through numerous transitions and evolutions. But despite all this, the core game has always remained the same. You are given an enormous world to explore, dungeons to crawl through, new tools to help you, and plenty of baddies to fight, all with the sole purpose of saving the world. But for the first time, this classic adventure comes to the Nintendo DS in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. By completely changing the control scheme by making the entire game controlled by the touch-screen, will this entry in the series touch a soft spot with gamers?
