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New Nintendo Channel DS demos feature Arkanoid
While it's likely to be the same demo featured before (meaning there's no paddle support), it doesn't deserve to be ignored. Those of you who didn't check out Taito's revival of the classic on the DS should be heading over to your Wii (or, if you fail to own one, a friend's house) to give the demo a download now. Seriously, we thought it was a pretty decent game.Head past the break for the details on all of the demos available this week.%Gallery-19376%
Practice crashing planes in latest downloadable demos
DS demo updates on the Nintendo Channel often get a disappointed reaction from us, but this week's batch does contain at least one interesting addition: Sonic Powered's Air Traffic Chaos, as localized (complete with generic and terrible boxart) by Majesco. At the very least, we're hopeful that the game can replicate the frenzied, panicked pace of a Trauma Center game.The rest of this week's update is fairly humdrum, consisting of a Crosswords DS wordsearch, a Pictoimage demo, and a chance to try out Carnival Games, which has stuck around like a bad smell. The full list of both old and new demos is past the break!%Gallery-20691%
Carnival Games makes its return to the DS Download Service
For people longing to play new demos via the Nintendo Channel, the frustration continues. All we saw on the channel today was the return of two demos that we never really missed in the first place (we're looking at you, Carnival Games and Crosswords DS Wordsearch).Nintendo also extended the availability dates on three of the existing demos, probably because offering three new ones would have been too satisfying (/bitter). The good news is, you have another week to try out Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 and Contra 4 if you haven't done so already.Click past the break to see yet another underwhelming list of demos.
DS Download Service updates with old demos
For those of you looking to play something brand new this week, you're out of luck. Instead, Nintendo offers us a chance to catch up with some demos me might have missed in the past, allowing folks to download these up until next week. So, if you missed out last time, get on it!
Nintendo Channel goes light on the demos this week
It's Monday, which means the Wii's Nintendo Channel is due to unleash some new DS demos for us to enjoy. Following last week's offerings isn't easy, that's for sure. Actually, it might be impossible. We're talking about one of the most awesome DS games available, after all.So what's available this week? Head on past the break for the details.
Pictoimage's boxart is inspiring
It's appropriate that a game about drawing should have some nice art on its cover, in order to get players in an art mood right away. We happen to enjoy Pictoimage's boxart, which was also used in Japan, a lot. The little characters are somewhere between Miis and MySims, and the literal nature of the art (which basically depicts eight friends playing Pictoimage instead of anything that happens in Pictoimage) gives the cover a sort of "board game" feeling. As if Pictoimage were something you brought out during gatherings to help break the ice. We're also fond of the spectating pets, who just seem happy that their human friends are having such a good time drawing. While researching, we found something else about Pictoimage that makes us happy: the game was developed by Skonec, creators of the wacky horror puzzle game Joshikousei Nigeru! When you play Pictoimage, be sure to draw some gaping-mouthed dudes as a tribute.%Gallery-21261%
Sega announces Pictoimage
Sega has a new DS title in the works, by the name of Pictoimage. A puzzle title set for release this August, Pictoimage is essentially a variation of the game Pictionary, where a word is presented and the player must draw something reflecting the meaning of that word. The title will feature multiplayer support for up to eight players, as well as a full-fledged single-player mode.You can check out some screens from the game in our gallery below.%Gallery-21261%[Via press release]
Pictoimage draws near, according to ESRB
Following the trademark registration, we now have more strong evidence that Sega will release their drawing-based party game Pictoimage in the U.S. The title is now rated by the ESRB. Despite an apparent "alcohol reference," it was given an E rating.Now we want to talk to someone at the ESRB about how you would even rate a game like that. What criteria do you consider when deciding how to rate the content of a game whose content is almost entirely user-generated? We'll put it another way: what's the first thing your friends are likely to draw in response to any prompt while playing a game like this? Is it suitable for an E-rated game?%Gallery-21261%
Pictoimage Pict up for U.S. release as well?
Sega's Pictoimage, their take on the Pictionary-like drawing competition game, was recently spotted on the OFLC database, indicating that the game is planned for release in Australia. It has now appeared on the U.S. trademark list as well, meaning that we (probably) now have two DS games on the way that involve drawing pictures in response to prompts!Pictoimage has a more full-featured drawing program than LOL, with such amazing innovations as different colors, and it also offers a single-player mode. Yet, somehow it also seems less wacky than LOL, and therefore less interesting. Probably because of the name.%Gallery-21261%[Via Siliconera]
Picture this: a rival for LOL
As family board games go, Pictionary pretty much rocks our world, so the news that Sega's Pictoimage has been classified by Australia's OFLC, while a touch surprising, brightened our day. If it's being classified in Australia, there's every chance this could reach other English-speaking corners of the world.Pictoimage coming out in the west may not be as random as it seems, however, especially as Agetec announced plans last month to localize Archime DS (as LOL in the U.S. and as Bakushow in Europe). Perhaps Agetec's gamble has convinced Sega that such a game could work outside Japan. Like LOL, Pictoimage will support up to eight players from one card, but also comes with a single-player mode, with a database of 300 drawn images.Single-player Pictionary doesn't exactly sound like a mountain of fun, but we'll remain open-minded for now. %Gallery-21261%
Picto Image DS has just the right amount of crazy Japanese advertising
Sure, many can argue that there isn't even the least bit 'o crazy in the above commercial, but you just have to read between the lines. A whole group of people playing the same game at an outdoor cafe, just when there happens to be a film crew who are creating a commercial for that very game within close proximity? No, there is something very rotten in Denmark, folks.
