As a committed “hardcore” type of gamer (yay Ninja Gaiden 2! Boo Horsez Magical Marshmallow Journeys), the fact that I had this game on my must-buy list was a big step out of my comfort zone.
But the previews I read about 5th Cell’s wonder-game had me craving it and so it resided just below Uncharted 2 on my most-anticipated fall gaming list. Does it live up to the hype?
The Charge:
Write anything, solve anything.
Opening Statement:
Rumored, whispered about, discussed and debated—rarely does a Nintendo DS game see so much speculation. Enter Scribblenauts, developed by 5th Cell, winner of “Best of Show” at E3 2009, the first portable game ever to do so. From its earliest teaser trailers and first-hand reports, people knew this was going to be something significant, a game with endless possibilities and creative applications.
Well, kinda. Now that the game is in hand, hindsight tells us it was almost impossible for it to live up to everyone’s expectations. In many ways, Scribblenauts is exactly as advertised—you can write anything into it, and it appears. The possibilities and combinations of items are seriously impressive, and you will be stunned at how much time and energy has gone into predicting every weird object you could possibly think to conjure. On the other hand, something had to give… and where things go tepid are the gameplay elements.
Is it a strategy game or an insect torture sim? Konami’s Ant Nation (on WiiWare this week and coming to DS later this summer) has you lead an ant army against an alien invasion, with the help of a mad scientist. Get your ants battle ready by attacking them with water, fire, lightning, and magnifying glasses to build their resistance. Call it tough love. Balance the abuse/reward cycle long enough and your ant army will become strong enough to repel approximately 100 stages of robotic bug invaders…but at what cost? Oh, right: 700 Wii Points.
Screenshots and the press release after the break.
I don’t know what “Diva Girls” are but as long as they’re not as whorish as the Bratz, then I’m willing to give them a fair shake. If you’re a Wii and/or DS owner and have long thought that your life has thus far been a sad, incomplete batch of misery and discontentment without the presence of an adolescent-girl-ice-skating sim, then buck up champ, your time has come!
Diva Girls: Divas on Ice will triple Lutz into your hearts on June 16. Pulse-quickening screens after the jump.
Lady, I don't even know you!
The Charge:
Tap into the rhythm!
Opening Statement:
With the music game genre already stuffed to the gills with a glut of titles since it exploded into pop-culture conscience with the successful birth of the Guitar Hero franchise in late 2005, Nintendo; probably the undisputed masters of the casual gaming niche, look to be eyeing a piece of that fat money pie with their latest release, Rhythm Heaven for the Nintendo DS. The sequel to 2005’s Japanese only GBA release Rhythm Tengoku, Rhythm Heaven looks to take the simplistic, frenetic game play that developer TNX (the makers of the WarioWare series) are known for, and use the audio-visual improvement between the GBA and DS to stand atop the tide of lacklustre music titles clogging retail shelves worldwide. But just how loudly and how proudly does Rhythm Heaven sing?
I bought Professor Layton and the Curious Village when it came out back in February of ‘08. It’s one of my favorite games on the DS, and I can’t wait for the sequel to (hopefully) be released later this year. I’m thrilled that Nintendo has made the puzzler the focus of a recent ad campaign, with Lisa Kudrow and a pal solving a couple of the game’s brainteasers together. The commercial seems to be working. A few weeks back, Layton actually edged out the newest Pokemon game in the sales charts—no mean feat for what is essentially a collection of logic and math puzzles. Maybe, though, the commercials are working too well.
Our local Walmart is undergoing renovations. We were doing some shopping there over the weekend, so I decided to check out the expanded electronics section. Giving the game case a once-over for any clearance deals, I saw they were selling Professor Layton for $34.88. Surprising since it was only $29.99 when it came out over a year ago, and I recall seeing it in a clearance bin in that same store last summer for $10. I don’t know how Walmart decides on in-store pricing, but gouging older (possibly less price-savvy) DS fans who don’t know they can get the same game online for under $30 is pretty shady. I’m not going to blame Lisa Kudrow for the price hike, but I will embed her ad after the break.
So you just bought the latest plastic instrument-related music game, didja? Bet you can’t wait to unpack everything, try to put the drums together, have to read the instructions about how to put the drums together, put the drums together, have the drums break, send away for new drums, unpack the replacement drums, set up the drums, plug in the guitar, drums, and microphone, get enough people to play with you, untangle the cords so that everyone’s instruments can reach, and start playing the game. There’s only one thing keeping you from rock god greatness: picking a band name. Whether you’re playing your first gig in a small Boston bar or opening for Metallica, every band needs the perfect name. But who has the time to come up with one on their own? That’s why Pixel Verdict is offering the following list of pre-awesomed band names, free for the taking.
The list is open to all of our rockers writers, so check back often for the latest updates. Oh, and if you have any extra names in your rock arsenal, or actually use one of ours, let us know in the comments below.
And now… Pepsi-Cola, in association with MTV-Universal Entertainment and Ticketmaster-Vivendi, are proud to present the Pixel Verdict 2009 Band Name Extreme Challenge® Finalists:
The Charge:
108 Stars of Destiny on the Nintendo DS.
Opening Statement:
Suikoden Tierkreis marks the debut of Konami’s long-running RPG series Suikoden onto the Nintendo DS. Some elements get left behind in the scaling down to its tiny, dual screens, but enough of the game remains to make it worthwhile for fans of the franchise to explore. Think of it as a diet version of Suikoden, calorie-free but still delicious-tasting.