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VC in Brief: The Combatribes (SNES), Solomon's Key (VC Arcade)

by David Hinkle { Nov 30th 2009 at 9:45PM }

This week's Virtual Console update offers two delectable titles -- Solomon's Key is a very unique action/puzzler hybrid, whereas The Combatribes features a wonderfully bad story and the demon clowns of Coney Island. Life doesn't get much better than this, folks!

Solomon's Key (VC Arcade, 1 - 2 players, 600 Wii Points)
The Combatribes (SNES, 1 - 2 players, 800 Wii Points)

Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.

NintendoWare Weekly: Tales of Monkey Island, Bookworm, The Combatribes

by David Hinkle { Nov 30th 2009 at 12:00PM }

If you thought last week's NintendoWare Weekly update was huge, well ... you'll probably think the same thing about this week's update! That's mostly because Nintendo provides quite the overweight offering this time, with a total of ten new titles available for your post-Thanksgiving download. Loosen that belt and make some room for more by heading past the break for the full list of this week's releases.

Continued →

Again and Monster Rancher DS also headed to Europe

by JC Fletcher { Nov 18th 2009 at 11:45AM }

Tecmo has just announced a spring release date for Monster Rancher DS and Again ... again. But in Europe this time! Last week, Tecmo announced March release dates for the Cing-developed adventure game and monster training game. Tecmo Koei Europe has followed suit, though with a less specific spring release window.

Monster Rancher DS, of course, is a game about creating and training monsters -- in this game, monsters are generated either by speaking into the microphone or drawing. Again is an adventure game about an FBI agent who investigates crime scenes in both the past and the present.

Gallery: Monster Rancher DS (11/10/09)

Gallery: Again (DS) (11/10/09)

First Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 DLC released, revealing

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 13th 2009 at 12:45PM }

Listen, it's scientific fact that as ninjas shed their clothes, they become better at executing their ninja duties. So, if you see us purchase the Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 costume pack, which was released on the PlayStation Store yesterday for $3.99, it's not because we're pervs or anything. It's because the skimpy outfits you see above were meticulously engineered to maximize our capacity for flipping out and killing people.

Also, we realize Ryu's new costume (which was previously handed out as a pre-order bonus) isn't more revealing than his standard duds. See, the above rule only applies to female ninjas. Hey, don't look at us like that. We didn't write the ninja rulebook, okay?

X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Encleverment Experiment, NBA Unrivaled, 0D Beat Drop

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 11th 2009 at 4:45PM }

There are three games up for grabs on XBLA this week, and all of them offer something different. Encleverment Experiment (800

, $10) seeks to test your brain power as well as the brain power of your friends (or random strangers on Xbox Live). Meanwhile NBA Unrivaled (1200

, $15) brings arcade basketball with massive dunks (and odd character animations). Finally, 0D Beat Drop (800

, $10) ... drops some rhythm-infused puzzle action onto XBLA. Watch the latest XBLA in Brief and see if any of them are up your alley.

Download the trial version of Encleverment Experiment
Download the trial version of NBA Unrivaled
Download the trial version of 0D Beat Drop

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Tecmo dates Again, dusts off Monster Rancher DS

by JC Fletcher { Nov 10th 2009 at 8:01PM }

Tecmo just sent out a release date for Again, the latest mystery adventure game from Hotel Dusk and Trace Memory developer Cing. North American gamers will be able to watch digitized actors explore the past and get headaches from dollar bills in March 2010.

In addition, the company surprised us with another March 2010 release date for a Cing-developed DS game: Monster Rancher DS. Two DS games in Tecmo's once-massive monster generating and collecting series came out on DS in Japan in 2007 and 2008, featuring the ability to unlock monsters by drawing on the screen or talking into the microphone, but nothing was ever said about a North American release until now. Monster Rancher DS features both local and online monster fighting, and the return of many of the nostalgic monsters you may remember from the older games, like that one with the big eye.

Gallery: Monster Rancher DS (11/10/09)

Gallery: Again (DS) (11/10/09)

This Wednesday: 0D Beat Drop, NBA Unrivaled & Encleverment Experiment on XBLA [update]

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 9th 2009 at 3:01PM }

Word has come down from on high, and this week's Xbox Live Arcade release is none other than 0D Beat Drop. What's that, you've never heard of 0D Beat Drop? Truth be told, neither have we. Thankfully, the game's Xbox.com page provides us all with the crucial details. If the above screenshot didn't tip you off, OD Beat Drop is a puzzle game; however, it has a musical twist, challenging players to drop pieces to the beat. OD Beat Drop can even analyze your own songs for use in the game (Protip: It's time to break out your Tetris soundtrack). The game will be available this Wednesday for 800

($10).

Also, if Tecmo is to be believed, NBA Unrivaled will release on XBLA this week as well. ~~It's worth noting that the game was not included in Major Nelson's XBLA announcement and that publishers are frequently mistaken about XBLA launch dates, so it's anyone's guess what Wednesday holds.~~

Update: Major Nelson has confirmed that 0D Beat Drop will be joined by both NBA Unrivaled (1200

/$15) and Encleverment Experiment (800

/$10) this week on XBLA.

Tecmo dunking NBA Unrivaled onto XBLA Nov. 11, PSN later

by Justin McElroy { Nov 9th 2009 at 2:40PM }

Tecmo's trying to fill the arcade-basketball-shaped hole in your heart left by NBA Street with NBA Unrivaled, a retro hoops release from developer A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games. Though the cleverly-named company is relatively new on the scene, it has experience to draw on after helping Sony build NBA '08: The Life.

We're happy to see some fun-loving 5-on-5 take the court, but we're a little nervous about how quickly the game's sneaked up on us: It's arriving this Wednesday on XBLA, and later on PSN, barely enough time to get our sneakers laced up.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2's changes in excruciating technical detail

by JC Fletcher { Oct 26th 2009 at 11:00AM }

There are a few extremely obvious differences between Ninja Gaiden 2 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. They work in different consoles, and one's got the word "Sigma" in the title. Oh, and there's the boob thing. Beyond that, however, we must turn to the experts.

Digital Foundry reports that the resolution has changed between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games. Sigma runs at 1280x718, effectively 720p, while the Xbox version ran at 1120x585. The resolution boost comes with some cuts: DF says the PS3 version loses some polygons, or rather some whole collections of polygons: Sigma 2 maintains a limit of six enemies or fewer in most situations, while Ninja Gaiden 2 "revels in throwing seven or eight opponents at you at any given point." Things that didn't get cut: The lighting effects, which are noticeably more advanced in the PlayStation 3 game.

DF also has a video demonstrating a stress test of sorts (forcing as many enemies onto the screen as possible). For some reason, we don't mind the idea of having slightly fewer ninja enemies stabbing us in the back at any time. These games are at their best when Ryu is juggling a few enemies, not when he's buried in them.

NintendoWare Weekly: LostWinds, Shootanto, Rygar ... Domo

by JC Fletcher { Oct 19th 2009 at 9:51AM }

It's an unexpectedly packed week for Nintendo downloaders! On WiiWare, there's a game that should be wonderful and another that should be, uh, interesting. There's an arcade classic on Virtual Console, and DSiWare features the arrival of one of the weirdest game series to be announced at E3: a set of five games based on NHK mascot and generally adorable monster Domo-kun.

Gallery: Domo games (DSiWare)

Continued →

Hands-on: Nostalgia (DS)

by JC Fletcher { Oct 16th 2009 at 7:00PM }

There's only one word I can use to describe the tone of Tecmo and Red Entertainment's Nostalgia, but that one word describes it perfectly: jaunty. I don't think I've ever played a jauntier game in my life, one that's so upbeat about the abstract notion of adventure. This enthusiasm for getting out and seeing the (fake) world is aided by a simplistic, familiar RPG gameplay system that keeps the mechanics of the game out of the way of your adventurin'. If Dragon Quest were set in a fake version of early 20th century Earth, it would be Nostalgia.

Gallery: Nostalgia (10/16/09)

Continued →

Koei Tecmo teases new game with dead flowers

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 10th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Man, Koei Tecmo, you really know how to confuse the hell out of us. You've proven your capacity to perplex with your billion-dudes-on-screen action franchises -- now, you're diversifying your riddlecraft with a teaser site for a heretofore unannounced game. Based on context clues, we're guessing it's the long overdue revival of everyone's favorite classic franchise: Pretty Flower, Dead Flower, Falling Girl.

We're kidding, of course. Judging by the Big Dipper which slyly appears at the end of the teaser's video loop, and the fact that the entire Musou (or Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors) team will be in attendance when the game is revealed on October 14, we're guessing it's actually Fist of the North Star Musou. Shame, really -- we were so excited about a current-gen reimagination of PFDFFG.

[Via IGN]

Hands-on: Quantum Theory (PS3)

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 5th 2009 at 12:45PM }

Aping a popular franchise's mechanics and style may be seen as a safe business proposition, but in terms of critical evaluation, the copy-cat game is likely to face stricter judgment. After all, if you're going to copy the good stuff, you've got to get it right.

Tecmo's PlayStation 3 exclusive, Quantum Theory (just Quantum outside of Japan), certainly succeeds in evoking memories of Gears of War -- at least, if you remember Epic's shooter being a technically unsound and completely unappealing disaster. If the Tokyo Game Show build is any indication, Quantum needs to undergo crucial work before its early 2010 release.

Gallery: Quantum (PS3)

Continued →

Japanese Nintendo Downloads: Galaxian heads to the Tecmo Bowl

by David Hinkle { Sep 29th 2009 at 3:45PM }

Following last week's drought due to the public holiday, Nintendo has turned the download faucet back on in Japan. It's another week free of WiiWare, but there's certainly enough Virtual Console material to make up for it. Outside of a trio of VC Arcade titles, we've got a Super Famicom tactical RPG classic:

Bahamut Lagoon (Super Famicom, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Galaxian (VC Arcade, 1 - 2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Tecmo Bowl (VC Arcade, 1 - 2 players, 800 Wii Points) [VC in Brief]
Märchen Maze (VC Arcade, 1 - 2 players, 800 Wii Points)

Get some Undead Knights on your PSP for free

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 28th 2009 at 9:45PM }

Tecmo's Undead Knights is coming to PSP very soon. To get a very taste of the zombie-infested action game, check out the Japanese downloadable demo. Wait! Don't rush to the PlayStation Store! It's time to grab a USB cable and do this the old fashioned way. Download the EBOOT and make sure you install it to your PSP's Memory Stick under the folder GAME/NPJH90068.

Let us know what you think in the comments section!

[Via PSPHyper]