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Family Ski videos fall face-first into snowbank
We were excited to see that a handful of Family Ski videos were released, only to be disappointed upon actually viewing them. It's not that the game looks bad, but the videos don't actually show us anything. Aside from a quick glimpse at the game's visuals (screenshots would have done the job almost as well) and a fifteen second look at three of the slopes, there wasn't much to take in.What we really want to see is some gameplay, or even better, a demonstration of someone using the Balance Board, Wiimote, and Nunchuck with the game. For a title like this that doesn't have cutscenes to woo us with, showing gameplay is even more important. When digging a little bit for a silver lining, it's good to know that the slopes will range in difficulty. If the mogul course entails skiing straight over the moguls (as seen in the video above), though, we're going to be a little peeved -- if you've ever been mogul skiing before, you'll know that's not how it's done.For those of you unphazed by Namco's minimalistic approach, you can check out two more ski slopes after the break.
Detective Conan 2 puzzles fail to leave us puzzled
These screenshots from the Detective Conan follow-up (full title: Detective Conan Kieta Hakase to Machigai Sagashi no Tou) transport us back to a less complicated age, when our younger selves would fill idle afternoons with "Spot the Difference" puzzles. Hence, we really like the concept behind this game -- identifying inconsistencies between two images -- but there's just one problem: these puzzles look ridiculously easy.We appreciate that only so much detail can be squeezed into the DS's dainty screens, but hopefully the difficulty will be ramped up further on in the game.Sleuth your way past the break for a further five shots.
SCIV: See Darth Vader and Yoda in action
Dear lord. We went to bed knowing that Darth Vader and Yoda were showing up in Soul Calibur IV (Yoda is apparently 360 exclusive by the way, whereas Darth joins the Dark Side PS3). That alone was very disturbing. All night we had unsettling dreams about the effects of Force powers on inordinately large breasts. And now we have this, a trailer showcasing them both. Honestly, if someone from Namco Bandai burst through the wall of Fanboy Towers right now screaming "Gotcha!" we wouldn't be surprised. After witnessing some hefty hoaxes and jokes over the years, making this a little hard to swallow, but we're doing our best. Alas, you won't actually see Yoda or Darth doing any fighting, but at least you can see them in motion. On a side note, the game is looking great. Check out the video and see what you think. Hit the "read" link for some HD goodness.
New Family Ski scan hits the slopes
As well as containing tons of screens we've not yet seen, the latest Famitsu scan featuring Namco Bandai's Family Ski shows off the title's unique use of Wii peripherals. If you've not yet heard, the game will use the Balance Board, while your Wiimote and Nunchuk double up as ski poles. It's the first title to use all three at once, and although we've yet to see a video of this peripheral fest in action, it promises to be a lot of fun.Perhaps the game will eventually cover all bases, by including a specially devised mini-game that lets a second player shoot bad dudes with the Wii Zapper as player one speeds down the slopes. Or perhaps ideas like that are why we don't design games for a living.Go past the break for a full-size version of the scan above.
Namco reveals new Tamagotchi game for DS
Namco dished out a press release to let us know that Tamagotchi Connection: Cornershop 3 would be making its way to the DS. With a release window of this summer, the game will feature 13 brand new shops to run and expand, a new park to design and the ability to trade journals with friends wirelessly. And, of course, there will be new characters added to the mix.So, who's anxious to give this a play this summer?%Gallery-12928%[Via press release]
GeGeGe no Kitarou to feature jacket gliding, wang monsters
In our enthusiasm to learn more about Namco Bandai's latest 2D platformers, Kekkaishi: Kokubourou Shuurai and GeGeGe no Kitarou: Youkai Daigekisen, both based on anime licenses, we came across this screenshot for the latter (minus the picard-wtf.jpg photoshop, of course).Sure, Touch Detective introduced phallic creatures to the DS years ago, but that mushroom thing was cartoonish and nonthreatening. As for this thing? This wrinkled beast? We imagine that if Picard and crew were to ever bump heads with this walking willy, screens would be off-ed, shields would be raised, and photon torpedoes would be fired. "Ensign, get us out of here! Maximum warp!"Deformed wang monster aside, GeGeGe no Kitarou looks to be a tame platformer with some gliding portions to keep things interesting. Float past the break for a few more of the screenshots we grabbed from Famitsu.
One Piece screen and trailer blowout, game goes gold
With the release right around the corner (January 22nd), One Piece: Unlimited Adventure is based on the popular anime series and follows the Straw Hat Pirates on their trek across an uncharted isle as they hunt for treasure. The game will include Adventure mode, Survival mode and VS. mode, for multiplayer gaming. Unlockables consist of up to 40 characters, along with various costumes and secret items. Head past the break for some more trailers and hit up the gallery below for some screens.%Gallery-12553%
Detective Conan detects a sequel
Namco has dropped news that it will be bringing Detective Conan 2 to the DS come sometime next year and is based on the popular manga and anime in Japan. But, wait, what about Detective Conan? Why haven't we heard about the first game?Well, it was apparently a loose collection of minigames much like those found in the Brain Age games, which could possibly understand how it flew below our radar. The sequel, however, is going to be a more substantial game, with an honest-to-goodness story and will even have Wi-Fi Connect compatibility for up to four players. According to Siliconera, however, the gameplay is going to be very reminiscent of another Namco title in Quickspot, where the player will have to spot differences between pictures in the top screen and bottom screen of the DS.The title is currently slated for a spring 2008 release in Japan and be sure to keep an eye on DS Fanboy for information as it develops.
Tales of introductions and battle
Namco Bandai's Tales franchise has been around for quite some time and the idea to bring it to the DS in the form of Tales of Innocence seems like a no-brainer. But, is the game going to be any good? Is it going to be the Tales experience fans are looking for?Hopefully, these pair of trailers will help you answer that question. So, check out the game's intro above and some battle footage past the break.
Two cute anime games for Japan
These two games are almost intolerably cute -- our internal cute-ometers are spinning out of control, having long since passed "awwww". The first, Yes! PreCure 5, is an isometric 2D action game from Bandai based on a magical girl anime. The premise of the anime involves, according to Wikipedia, a girl named Nozomi receiving a "Pinky Catch" from a pink butterfly, thus enabling her to transform into "Cure Dream", at which point she begins assembling a team of young girls as "Pretty Cure." Each member of Pretty Cure has her own special attacks, like "Mint Protection!" and "Cure Lemonade!" Hapi Hapi Clover is too cute to be the work of humans. We assume that some cuteness-making computer is working night and day churning out dangerous levels of cute, stopping only for Mallomars and hugs. The game is an adventure game with included minigames (an adorable Breakout-type game is shown in the link); the anime and manga seem to be about rabbits having cute adventures in the woods -- and learning.Read - Yes! PreCure 5Read - Hapi Hapi Clover
First Fragile trailer and gameplay details leave us wanting more
Since it first emerged earlier this month, Namco Bandai's Fragile ~ Farewell Moon Ruins has been a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Slowly but surely though, more on the tri-Crescendo-developed "ruin exploration RPG" is being revealed, and the past weekend saw a flurry of new media (such as the trailer above from the official site), all of which points to an RPG rich on atmosphere and suspense.Famitsu also had a few tidbits of gameplay information. Apparently, protagonist Seto will be equipped with a flashlight, which players will be able to control by pointing the Wii Remote at the screen. A metal detector will also be available (again, this will be controlled using the Wiimote), as well as "other tools." There is also talk of demons appearing during combat, though sadly a rather impenetrable translation prevented us from learning more. Nevertheless, you can color us intrigued.Head past the post break for a selection of screens, as taken from last week's magazine scans.
Handle these Fragile scans with care
This week's issue of Famitsu has the scoop on Namco Bandai's new "ruin-exploration RPG," Fragile ~ Farewell Moon Ruins. Along with revealing that the game will be developed by tri-Crescendo (Baten Kaitos, Baten Kaitos Origins, and Eternal Sonata) and the Venus & Braves team, the Japanese magazine previewed Fragile with two pages of luxuriously purple screenshots and artwork. You can explore past the break for those. Despite the protagonist's feminine features and outfit, the pictured character, Seto, is actually a boy. Fragile might still be in the early stages of development -- Seto has the same pose in every shot and combat scenes are noticeably absent -- but it really looks like it has a lot of potential. Hopefully, this game won't eventually bomb in Japan like Opoona did, and some publisher will feel motivated to bring this to the states.
Namco Bandai reads minds: Family Ski to use Balance Board
To us, it was a no-brainer: Namco Bandai's Family Ski and Nintendo's Wii Fit Balance Board were always supposed to be together. We're no skiing experts, but the sport seems to involve its fair share of leaning, making the game and Nintendo's wobbly slab the perfect match.The Famitsu scan above suggests that Namco Bandai now feels the same way, despite initially announcing that the game would only use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Unless our memories have failed us, this would make Family Ski the first third-party title to support Nintendo's new peripheral.Presumably, this means we'll be using the Balance Board as well as the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, which sounds damn involving, if nothing else. Indeed, short of the game shipping with a free wind tunnel, snow machine, and a garish all-in-one jumpsuit, we doubt much more could be done in terms of player immersion.[Via GoNintendo]
Virtually Overlooked: M.U.S.C.L.E.
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.It's plainly obvious that we love talking about terrible NES games here in the Virtually Overlooked squad command center. According to a statistic that we just made up, about 72% of the games we profile are awful. Nothing is more fun than snarking about a game that is not only completely without merit or value, but also old enough that nobody will show up to defend it.But what isn't so obvious is the fact that we genuinely, honestly love playing some of the worst NES games. Whether it's a result of nostalgia or some kind of bizarre preference for poor game design, we don't know. But the fact is that we would give serious consideration to buying a virtual copy of M.U.S.C.L.E., despite owning the cartridge.
Virtually Overlooked: Ultraman
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.The success of Street Fighter II had an instantaneous effect on the game industry, not only driving production of me-too fighting games, but also providing a template for any fighting game to follow; every 2D one-on-one fighting game since then has stuck closely to this design, distinguishing itself in how it differs from the Street Fighter II formula.Pre-Street Fighter II fighting games lacked this template for fighter success, and thus exhibited more variation in design. In a way, this makes the few pre-SFII fighters more interesting. Unfortunately, most of these games do have one feature in common: they aren't very good. Ultraman for the SNES fits in this category, but we can't help but like it.
Namco Museum Remix mixes in Miis
NamcoBandai hit us up with a press release, chock full of new screens (see them in the gallery below) as well as a new trailer for Namco Museum Remix. The trailer even shows some of the Mii integration the game offers. And, as you can imagine, we're dying to get this game in our hands and into our Wii.%Gallery-3280%[Via press release]
New Tachikoma spider robot on the loose
Ghost in the Shell fans, unite. Your favorite killer spider is back once more, as Bandai is delivering a newfangled version which stands 9.5-centimeters high and connects to your PC via USB. Apparently, this creature comes bundled with software which enables it to play back voice messages and fire up mini-games when it's not emitting sounds through the built-in speaker or catching your eye with its integrated LEDs. Unfortunately, it looks like this creature won't actually be uncaged until next February, but that'll give you some time to save up the ¥13,440 ($115) that you'll need come launch day.[Via TokyoMango]
Ace Combat 6 and Beautiful Katamari go gold
Earlier today, Namco-Bandai made the announcement that both Beautiful Katamari and Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation have wrapped up development, went gold and are on track to make their respective release dates. Beautiful Katamari will be available on October 16th for the very beautiful price of $39.99 and Ace Combat 6 will be on retail shelves October 23rd for $59.99 or $149.99 for the flight stick collector's bundle. W00t, w00t!So, as we see it, these two games coupled with Orange Box, Virtua Fighter 5, Guitar Hero III and Jericho (just to name a select few) should leave Xbox 360 gamers with quite the busy and expensive October. Happy Halloween gaming everyone!Read - Beautiful Katamari goes goldRead - Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation goes gold
Virtually Overlooked: The Power Pad games
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.When the exciting (to us, and ironically so) news of a Wii version of the Family Trainer and Athletic World appeared, our thoughts turned toward the past. That's sort of our thing, you know? New games make us think about old games, old games make us think about old games-- sometimes snack foods make us think of old games.But we have plenty of reason to look back here: the new Family Trainer is a functional duplicate of the original Family Trainer/Power Pad, and Athletic World is a sequel of sorts to one of the few Power Pad games. We doubt it will work out this tidily, but it's possible that the new Family Trainer will be able to work as a Power Pad for NES games on the Virtual Console. So, let's look at the lineup and see if there's anything worth laying a mat out for! (Hint: kind of?)
The new Family Trainer is a faithful recreation
We know you're all on the edge of your seats waiting for more details about the Family Trainer and the new version of Athletic World. We understand-- we know how long you've been waiting for a sequel to this NES classic, and we know that everyone is desperately awaiting some kind of Wii exercise game.Famitsu sought to feed our frothing demand for Athletic World with a new, close-up picture of the Family Trainer, which reveals it to have exactly the same button layout as the Famicom/NES pad, with a picture in the corner indicating that it can be turned over for the other familiar Power Pad button layout.Except for the colors and the icon designs, this is exactly the same as the original Power Pad. It's even got the grid pattern on the back. There are also a few more photos of actors pretending to enjoy Athletic World, with tiny inset screenshots of the games. The official website is open, as well, but features nothing but the same photos at the moment.We admit that we're kind of leaning (get it) toward this game now instead of Wii Fit, both as an act of retrogamer defiance and because we'd be amused by a new version of Dance Aerobics.
