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Because painting tanks is calming
Yes, we know that one of the themed games in the Paint by DS catalogue is centered around painting military vehicles, but we're still mystified every time we see something from the title. Is penciling and shading the side of a bomber particularly zen? Or is it just that it's completely manly? If so, we can only hope you still have a headband or two lying around. In the meantime, you can check out some new screens. Shockingly, they include military vehicles. Yeah, we're still surprised by that.Really. Tanks? What happened to great works of art, or kittens, or Jesus?
Paint by DS trailer shows gameplay footage
We're definitely intrigued by Paint by DS, a digital coloring book of sorts, seeing as we're such horrible artists ourselves. Granted, it's a niche title if there ever was one, yet we're very much charmed by this little nongame.Still, some things about it just don't sit too well with us. One off-putting thing is that there are themed versions of the game. The theme game showcased above was "Military Vehicles," and we have to wonder, how many of you out there are just dying to color in tanks? It seems like an odd choice, especially when mixed with the peaceful music of the above trailer. If you're like us and don't appreciate the themes, though, you can always get the regular version of the game, which is filled with some artistic masterpieces that you'll probably recognize. We might even see other themes in the future, ones that actually appeal to us, so all isn't lost.If you're in Australia and Japan you might have even tried this nongame already. It won't come to Europe until next week and the US until, oh, sometime next year.
Paint by DS in preview
Picross not enough to fulfill your painting obsession? Fear not, for Paint by DS is on the way. But this is not your math-friendly grid environment; this is a full-fledged painting sim that challenges you to recreate the works of the masters. What seems like a simple title -- there are fifteen different paintings, as well as a few minigames that offer players a break from the painting grind -- shows some surprising depth when we take a closer look. Before undertaking a project, you're challenged with a choice of materials, from paint to canvas or paper, just as you would be with a real painting. You can also mix your own colors and save them for later ... and if you mess up, that's just too bad. There's no neat, clean "undo" function, but you can utilize realistic techniques to clean up your work as you go.For hardcore artists, Paint by DS may be too simple, but for those just embarking on an artistic hobby, or those who like to play around with paint without the mess, this one sounds like it might be worth looking into. Between this, Picross, and Drawn to Life, it looks like DS developers are finally utilizing the stylus in a very obvious way -- and we can only hope for more!
Find painting zen on the DS
Mercury Games is planning to release a series of Ertain's non-competitive DS games in the West as "Zen Games." The first game scheduled is something that recently popped up at the Renchi sale, in its Japanese incarnation as Kokoro wo Yasumeru Otona no Nurie DS. It'll be called Paint by DS here, and its user interface appears to have undergone a cosmetic makeover. Since it obviously has the same pictures, we assume that the minigames and puzzles are still there as well.We were pretty interested in the Japanese version (as some of you seemed to be), so we're pleased to have the chance to check this out whenever it comes out in the US. It'll be out in Europe on the 24th of August.[Via Game|Life]
