Eric Caoili
Articles by Eric Caoili
Black Tiger, Black Tiger, burning bright
We didn't even know that we wanted Black Tiger ported to the DS, but now that programmer Alekmaul has revealed that he's working on a homebrew emulator for the Capcom arcade game, we are all over this business like hair on the floor of a barber shop. Really, it's quite disgusting.Alekmaul hasn't revealed much about the project, except that it's coming this September sporting a 60 fps frame rate, likely without any sound due to technical difficulties implementing the audio. For now, you'll have to settle with the screenshots below!If this is your first time hearing about the game, Black Tiger was originally released to arcades in 1987 before later being ported to various home computer systems and game compilations for the PSP/PS2/Xbox 360. Designed to be the spiritual successor to Ghosts 'n Goblins, the game stars a barbarian on a quest to slay three dragons.%Gallery-30522% Wacky Japanese games, emulation, DS Fanboy's recommendations, naughty homebrew: our recent week of homebrew coverage had it all. Don't be put off if you're a beginner, either -- we have guides and a glossary for the newest of newbs.
Jagged Alliance cuts into the DS next year
Rumored M.I.A. since former publisher Strategy First canceled all of its DS titles, the Jagged Alliance port for the DS has returned with a release scheduled for 2009! Have a look at the game's soldiers of fortune in the gallery below!Strategy First is still helping Cypron Studios (Command and Destroy) handle development for the project while Empire Interactive, as GameFly predicted, is taking over publishing duties. So long as this eventually ships, that's fine with us!For those of you who were to busy playing console releases to mess with PC titles in the mid-to-late 90s, the Jagged Alliance series comprises of tactical RPGs featuring player-controlled squads of mercenaries, each unit possessing different skills and personalities. Think of it as X-COM, but with more character and less aliens.On a negative note, as excited as we are to see this PC classic finally coming to the DS, the port's graphics, though more detailed, somehow manage to look less appealing than the graphics from the original Jagged Alliance for DOS, which was released in 1994!%Gallery-30513%[Via press release] Are you a strategy nut? Check out our coverage on titles like Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, and Age of Empires! We even put together a collection of strategy recommendations for crazies like you!
Development for StillAliveDS is ... continuing
Promoting the 1.2 update for StillAliveDS (and drumming up votes for his Neoflash homebrew coding competition entry), programmer T4ils put out this trailer for the new version of his 2D Portal remake.The release piles some impressive additions on top of an already exemplary stack of features; in addition to its polished mechanics, in-game level editor, and online custom game directory, StillAliveDS now features custom campaigns/stories, DS Motion support, online leaderboards, a skinning system for tilesets/sprites, and cool new elements like the wall that reflects your portal gun's shots.If you haven't downloaded and played it yet, you should! This great game isn't a lie!%Gallery-24064% Wacky Japanese games, emulation, DS Fanboy's recommendations, naughty homebrew: our recent week of homebrew coverage had it all. Don't be put off if you're a beginner, either -- we have guides and a glossary for the newest of newbs.
M:O releases Sexy Blackjack Trainer, GTC update
Never one to put out a boring release, programmer Multiple: Option joined this summer's Neoflash Coding Competition with a title most pervs won't be able to pass up -- Sexy Blackjack Trainer.We've featured NSFW card games for the DS before, but this one has two special features that really show the developer's attention to detail: Controls designed specifically for one-handed play Rumble pak support As you've probably surmised, Sexy Blackjack Trainer teaches you basic strategies and card-counting techniques for 21, rewarding your wins with NSFW pictures.The game comes in two flavors, each featuring photos from a different adult movie star -- Sunny Leone, who appeared in Star 69: Strap Ons, and Sora Aoi, who you might remember from her 2005 film, Sora Is Your Do-Exactly-As-Told Toy.Hedging his bets for the coding contest, Multiple: Option also entered a new version of his unique trivia game, Game Trivia Catechism. The update adds two new modes, new chiptune tracks, and, presumably, more questions. Wacky Japanese games, emulation, DS Fanboy's recommendations, naughty homebrew: our recent week of homebrew coverage had it all. Don't be put off if you're a beginner, either -- we have guides and a glossary for the newest of newbs.
The DS Life: Guitar Heroics
No, the above clip isn't our primary subject for this week's The DS Life, but it is related and, not to mention, totally awesome.Looking for a more console-authentic experience with Guitar Hero: On Tour, Hack A Day reader Eric Ruckerman modified a wireless Guitar Hero PS2 controller to fit a Nintendo DS and wired the peripheral's buttons into the system. He also added a transmitter to play the game's sound through his home sound system.Pretty slick, but how can he see the notes coming down on the screen? A mirror would help! Anyway, step past the post break for a shot of Eric's setup and a photograph of someone playing Guitar Hero: On Tour with more traditional controls.See also: The DS Life: While My Guitar Grip Gently Weeps
Race to shave your face with Magnetic Shaving Derby
Magnetic Shaving Derby serves as both a homebrew game and a cautionary tale for those of you out there intending to shave your face using nothing but a razor blade and a U-shaped magnet. Razor blades are only good for two things -- slitting your wrists and cutting lines of cocaine -- not shaving.According to programmer Nyarlu, you score points in MSD for each hair you cut, but you also lose points for cutting yourself or if your beard starts to regrow. Apparently, there are also pimples you can pop to reverse the polarity of your magnet and earn double points, just like in real life.What really makes this game, however, are the victim's anxious eyes as he watches the blade drag across his cheeks, threatening to draw blood and carve off a chunk of flesh without warning. You can't see it in the screenshot, but his lips, two plump hot dogs pressed against each other, are trembling.[Via DCEmu] Wacky Japanese games, emulation, DS Fanboy's recommendations, naughty homebrew: our recent week of homebrew coverage had it all. Don't be put off if you're a beginner, either -- we have guides and a glossary for the newest of newbs.
i am 8-bit show highlights
Though states or even oceans might separate you from walking through the fourth annual i am 8-bit exhibit in Hollywood, California, Wii Fanboy sister-site Joystiq has put up an image collection of its own with enough photographs from the video game gallery to make you feel like you're actually at the art house!We've picked out a number of notable pieces that we liked, such as the double framed Link and Zelda sketches above, but make sure to also check out Joystiq's gallery and impressions from the show's opening. It's enough to make you want to go out and buy some art supplies to create your own video game art!
The DS Life: Captionz needed
Even we were surprised to learn that, after a year of running this pictorial column every week, we've yet to cheaply resort to exploiting cat photos. Dogs and babies, however, are common fodder.Never one to let a good thing last, we've packed this week's edition of The DS Life with no less than nine kittens! The images all have two things in common, felines and DSes. It's your job to find that missing component -- lulz!
Half-Elf Tentacle Assault is -- gasp! -- canceled
Alas and alack! Team-DSX, the doujin developer behind Half-Elf Tentacle Assault has announced that it has canceled the homebrew hentai game. You'll have to get your half-elf-assaulting kicks elsewhere!According to media reports, the preparation committee behind comic convention Comiket -- where Team-DSX was expected to debut and sell the title -- declined the developer's registration for the event. The group has since taken down its official page and posted an apology for the cancellation at its blog.Presumably, the Comiket rejection was due to Team-DSX's publicization that the game's ROM requires a flashcart. In fact, the developer went so far as to distribute double-sided flyers promoting Half-Elf Tentacle Assault on one side and advertising an R4 distributor on the other.And so it goes, the lewd game has disappeared just as quickly and as quietly as it slithered into our lives, wrapping its slimy tendrils around our limbs and devastating our orifices, promising, "I'll call you sometime," before taking its leave. We'll spend a week waiting by the phone for that call, but we won't be surprised when it never comes.[Via Canned Dogs] Interested in "adult" homebrew games for the DS? Make sure to check out Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS ands its sequel, More Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS. Also, you'll want to have a look at our homebrew guide for more information on how to play these saucy games!
Batman: Arkham Asylum announced, possibly for Wii?
With The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger's stellar performance as the Joker still fresh in everyone's mind, who doesn't want to play a new, non-sucky Batman game? Of course, we have LEGO Batman to look forward to, but it's hard to feel like the Gotham bad-ass when you're controlling a plastic and deformed minifigure. The upcoming issue of Game Informer, due August 18th, has the scoop on publisher Eidos Interactive's forthcoming game, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and though it hasn't yet been revealed which consoles the title will appear on, we have hopes that one of those systems will be the Wii. Though the game's developer, London-based Rocksteady Studios (Urban Chaos: Riot Response), hasn't yet released anything for the Wii, its founders did have a hand in creating Catwoman: The Game for the GameCube -- that has to count for something, right? According to Game Informer, Batman: Arkham Asylum is an original title following a botched prison transfer which the Joker uses to his advantage, turning the psychiatric hospital's worst patients and Batman's worst enemies against the caped crusader. The game will feature "a dark and gritty setting reminiscent of Bioshock" and a story co-written by Paul Dini, who you'll recognize from his work on Batman: The Animated Series. Jump past the post break for an alternate cover of the GI issue with the Joker!
Henry Hatsworth's brilliant return
Disappearing off the map shortly after it was introduced last February -- and briefly reappearing at E3's Into The Pixel exhibit -- EA Tiburon's mystery puzzle/platforming DS game has finally been officially announced as Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure. To jog your memory, the colorful 2D title follows British adventurer Henry Hatsworth as he explores 30+ levels over five exotic worlds, hunting down artifacts that will grant him new powers and ultimately unlock a golden mech suit. And that's just the top screen! On the touch screen, players are presented with a puzzle game which can be used to gain power ups and helath, as well as transform Hatsworth into different forms. Jump past the post break for videos of the game that were debuted earlier this year at GDC. %Gallery-29510%
Five years of work: Bob's Game
What drove Robert Pelloni to spend over five years creating a Nintendo DS game by himself? The same thing that motivates most homebrew programmers: "It's the game I wanted to play when I was younger, a vision I've been following since then."The video above isn't a proper representation of his 20-hour-long adventure game, as it's only a technical demo of its assets and features (in fact, you would be better off watching the annotated version at the clip's Youtube page), but Robert reassures us that the finished product will be like an RPG, except focusing on "story, puzzles, items, and communication instead of repetitive battles with palette-swapped enemies."The project, tentatively titled Bob's Game, doesn't have the high production values of big-budget titles backed by major or even minor dev teams, but the code, sprites, music, tiles, and everything else are all original, making for a very unique game. Who knows, it could be the next Cave Story! Robert is currently seeking a publisher for the project.See also: Japanese homebrew games that will blow your mind
Olympic Battlefields: Four worlds, four dreams
"It is a matter of life and death, a road to game over or to win!"Ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, which kicks off tomorrow in Beijing, homebrew developer Anti-Social Gaming has put out a polemic game titled Olympic Battlefields.Unlike Mario and Sonic's Olympic outing, however, you won't jump into any traditional events to win the gold for their respective franchises. Rather, you'll pick from one of four countries to represent their tacit agendas and "fight terrorism."For instance, if you choose the Tibetans, you'll be tasked with dragging Chinese people out of your country before they "turn militant." If you decide to side with China, you'll need to tap the "revolting Tibetans" and turn them into farmers, otherwise "they'll suicide bomb." Also, for some reason, the Chinese farmers and terrorist Tibetans look like Raiden and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.If that isn't controversial enough, you have the option of playing as Israelis or Palestinians, too. On the Palestinian side, you'll be charged with converting Jews to Islam by dragging them off the map. If you play as the Israelis, you will have to tap and convert Hamas terrorists into Jews. Again, if you don't neutralize them in time, they blow up!Looks like RanAway and In the Afternoon Sunshine have some serious competition now when it comes to the most offensive homebrew DS game.%Gallery-29236%[Via DCEmu]
The DS Life: Light the Way
Despite the title, this post has nothing to do with Prism: Light the Way, one of the DS's most interesting but overlooked puzzlers. Circuit City has the game on sale for $9.99 this week, though, so you should totally look into picking it up anyway! For this week's edition of The DS Life, we'll look at several images taken from photographer Patrick Brosset's collection of light painting shots, long-exposure photos taken with streaks of light drawn over the scene. What does this creative technique have to do with the Nintendo DS or gaming? Join us past the break to find out!
Castlevania boxart: Order of Colada
Further proof that Konami's decision to dump its anime-inspired art direction was the right choice for the Castlevania series! This boxart for Order of Ecclesia, revealed at the game's Amazon product page, puts the previous two entries' covers to shame, especially the Konami's Best packaging for Dawn of Sorrow.Also, we're amazed (and a bit confused) to see that the game will feature a giant plastic cocktail sword as a wieldable weapon! Why fumble with a vampire slaying whip when you can brandish a rapier that doubles as a drink stirrer?Jump past the post break for comparison shots of the previous two Castlevania DS games' boxarts!See also: Promotional Consideration: Behind the boxart%Gallery-22992%
Half-Elf Tentacle Assault's boxart is -- gasp! -- NSFW
Looking to satisfy the legions of perverts interested in its upcoming homebrew release, Half-Elf Tentacle Assault, doujin-developer Team-DSX has posted a potential design for the game's CD-ROM cover -- to cut down on costs, the group plans to release the ROM on CDs instead of traditional carts, so that customers can transfer the game to their flashcarts.The screenshots featured on the packaging give you a good idea of what to expect from the visual novel (if the Half-Elf Tentacle Assault name wasn't descriptive enough) and are, naturally, very NSFW. Even with stars and white spots covering all the naughty bits on the images, we've hidden the cover past the post break, away from chaste eyes.Just one last quick caution -- the boxart depicts half-elf Colin and another heroine in suggestive scenes of forced sodomy. Also, a green pig-man with killer abs has his head totally slashed off. You've been warned!See also: Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS, More Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS
Mega Man 9, 2 coming this September
By way of its staff blog, Capcom USA has revealed that Mega Man 9, its retro revival of the classic series, will be available through Nintendo's WiiWare service as soon as this September. Make sure the ceiling is high enough before you jump for joy, lest you hurt your head. Mega Man 2 for the Virtual Console, which was posted on Europe's VC back in December 2007, is also scheduled to appear in the States in "early September." As for its predecessor, the original Mega Man, Capcom has announced that it will release the game in North America ... tomorrow! See also: More great VC news: Mega Man 1, 2, Earthworm Jim 2 rated%Gallery-26790%[Thanks, Sonic_13!]
Astley DS-10 just wants to tell you how it's feeling
The above video proves the old saying -- where there's a will, there's a Rickroll. With the release of Korg's DS-10 synthesizer software in Japan, naturally, someone has composed a track recreating Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," the meme that launched a thousand prank Youtube links. Half of the hilarity is missing with the singer's sunglasses and dance moves absent, just as any rendition of Europe's "Final Countdown" suffers without Gob, but that's what homebrew application RickRollDS is for!%Gallery-27318%[Via NeoGAF]
Promotional Consideration: Wagon Wheels' March
It seems as if it wasn't that long ago when rumors of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen coming stateside first appeared, querying our next command. But here we are, less than two months away from the 3D remake's September 16 release, and Square Enix already has its marketing engine for the game running. The publisher has certainly done its part to push summer along by keeping the past couple of months busy with quality releases.This week's edition of Promotional Consideration pulls out a page from the latest issue of Nintendo Power to bring you Square Enix's new DQIV ad. Join us past the post break!See also: A Dragon Quest IV comic strip draws near! Command?%Gallery-23400%
Castlevania, Chocobo, and Valkyrie coming in October ... to Japan
The Japanese release date for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia might not seem like useful information to you readers out west, but the desperate, Castlevania-starved gamers among you will at least now know the exact day their import copy will begin its trans-Pacific journey towards their hands -- October 23rd, 2008.Furthermore, considering that the US release for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin was only three weeks after Japan's, we also now have a general idea of when Order of Ecclesia will see its stateside release -- mid-November.Square Enix also has two titles scheduled to hit Japan during the tenth month, Valkyrie Profile: The Accused One (October 2nd) and Cid and Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon: Labyrinth of Time DS+ (October 30th), the latter being a roguelike remake of Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon.Perhaps the publisher will keep the promise it made back in March to aim for simultaneous worldwide releases with its new titles? It's unlikely, but we can dream ...%Gallery-22992%%Gallery-27055%