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Deca Sporta debuts new site
Hudson Soft followed on the heels of the recent magazine articles with the official Deca Sporta website, complete with some of the screens we saw in scanned versions. And it looks like reader grubout had sharper eyes than we did -- the game we assumed was tennis is actually badminton. Maybe Hudson is trying to avoid stepping too heavily on Nintendo's toes with this one. The site doesn't have much in the way of content yet, but we can't help but admit we're looking forward to this one. Wii Sports was just plain fun, and we'd love to see something comparable-yet-expanded.[Thanks, Doug!]
Picross not hard enough?
Plain old picross, like sudoku, does a perfectly adequate job of scrambling our otherwise capable brain stuff. We watch with terror as more grid-filling puzzle games come to the DS, and hope nobody holds a gun to our head and tells us to solve one of these things. By the way, if you were planning to do that, don't. It's rude.Hudson's Illustlogic DS + Colorful Logic adds different colored tiles to the grid. Even if you mark in the correct location, you can still get it wrong because of the color. Trying to placate us with the occasional Bomberman powerup doesn't distract us from the fact that Hudson hates us and wants to give us stress headaches!
Hudson preps sequel to Star Soldier A - Q
Hudson, in the midst of its Caravan Tour through Japan's major cities, has been hosting a high-score tournament for its two-minute demo of Star Soldier R. Shoot-em-up fans should recognize the name, as the Virtual Console has played host to the series several times over. Japan Gaming Guide attended the event and grabbed some shaky-cam footage of the title in action, which you can view above.Much to our relief, Hudson hasn't implemented any motion-sensing mechanics, offering gamers the chance to play with either a Wii remote or a classic controller, many choosing the latter. Also, Star Soldier R eschews any arbitrary gimmicks, favoring a straightforward, blast-em-all-and-let-God-sort-em-out approach. We're just happy to hear about another release that could be compatible with Hori's arcade stick!
DS Daily: Takahashi Meijin's challenge
Do you have what it takes to push a button really quickly a bunch of times? If so, you could be headed to an illustrious career at Hudson and even the chance to star in your own excellent game series. It worked for Takahashi Meijin, who became well-known in Japan for being able to push a button 16 times in one second. We'd like you to demonstrate your prowess the same way he did: by splitting a watermelon testing yourself with a Shooting Watch. Download the DS homebrew program, or try the PC version, and let us know how you stack up! No cheating with Hello Kitty toothbrushes. We won't say how we did, because we're, uh, too busy to try it. Yes, very busy.
Not for carpal tunnel sufferers: Shooting Watch DS
Who knew that a simple concept like the Shooting Watch, a controller that measures how many times you can tap a button in 10 seconds, would go on to sell over a million units? This year marks the 20th anniversary of the yellow device's debut, and to celebrate, the Hudson Caravan has been touring Japan, selling limited edition merchandise and hosting button-tapping contests. Takahashi Meijin's 16 presses per second set the pace.Hudson manufactured a commemorative batch of 10,000 Shooting Watch systems earlier this year, but they were all sold almost immediately. Upset that he wasn't able to grab one, homebrew developer Retrohead created his own Shooting Watch game for the DS. Just like the real thing, it counts the number of times you can push the A button in ten seconds. If you're fast enough, the on-screen watermelon will explode!Shooting Watch DS has four other diversions -- clock, stop watch, three slots, and four slots -- all of which are significantly less fun than the titular mode. Keep your thumb rigid and tap past the post break for screenshots of the homebrew game. We've also embedded a video of Takahashi Meijin using his button-pressing skills to blow up watermelons!
Joyswag: Bomberman Live
Bomberman Live fell short of our expectations in a party setting, but it still has great, classic gameplay. And we're giving you this Live, love/hate game plus a cool TSA-alerting Bomberman shirt for free. Thanks to Hudson, six winners will score Bomberman shirts. Four winners earn a double-shot of the shirt and the game. All you have to do is leave a single comment -- one only please -- in this post before 12:00AM EST tonight. (If you leave two comments, you'll earn our disqualification and scorn.)That's all! Good luck.[Update: The winners have been randomly selected and are being notified.]
Joystiq reviews: Bomberman Live (XBLA)
How many years does it take to perfect a game? Bomberman has existed in some form since 1983. Is almost 25 years enough?Apparently it isn't. I had high expectations for Hudson to create the perfect version for Xbox Live Arcade, especially after the company recognized the mess of Act Zero. The 800-point ($10) Bomberman Live was supposed to be the series-defining version: 4-player local games, 8-players online, HD graphics, all of the favorite old power-ups, and the classic gameplay. Sign me up, I thought.To test this group-based game, I gathered six friends, two 360s, snacks, and plenty of beer. People complimented my chicken wings (thanks for the recipe, Mom), but few positive words were said about Bomberman. Where did this title go wrong?%Gallery-4716%
Joystiq impressions: Gravity Blast (mobile)
Hudson's newest mobile game, Gravity Blast, is scheduled for release on August 7 for Verizon and August 8 for AT&T. Judging by playtime at a recent Hudson event, the $5.99 game could be everything we want in a mobile title: it's quick, simple, and fun.Gravity Blast uses just a single button to swing a spaceship around planets and other obstacles. Hold the button to activate a gravity attraction towards larger objects. Release it, and fire off in a straight path based on the previous momentum. With the right timing, the spaceship swings around planets through small mazes. That's the whole game, and it works.%Gallery-5458%
Peep these Bomberman Story screens
QJ has the skinny on fresh screens for the upcoming Bomberman Story DS. And, from the looks of these screens, the game is going to be a treat for those looking for a bit of a mixed bag; new gameplay elements that look to have some RPG influences, as well as the old grid-style play. Considering this is the first we've heard of the game, color us excited.If you're looking for more info on the game, try the Japanese website here and Wikipedia's page for the game here.
Dungeon Explorer continues revival on PSP
All of a sudden, Dungeon Explorer is making a comeback. The game's appearance on Virtual Console back in December was just a sign of things to come -- now, Hudson is showing off a completely redesigned Dungeon Explorer for PSP. Based on the TurboGrax-16 original, you'll be able to create a custom hero and (surprise) explore dungeons. Just like the uber-successful Monster Hunter, players will be able to connect with other systems via Ad-Hoc to explore dungeons in teams.Check out Famitsu for the first screens of the game in action. Considering its legacy and social gaming aspect, we expect this to gain a hardcore following when it eventually releases.[Via Siliconera. Thanks, Joe!]
More Bomberman Live costumes and levels coming
A Hudson representative on Xbox.com has apparently confirmed that more costumes and maps are coming to XBLA's Bomberman Live. This shouldn't really be a surprise as images released by Hudson show levels and costumes not currently available in the game. No word on release date or price.Our relationship with Bomberman Live has been a little love/hate. Although the game brings the multiplayer experience of Bomberman fantastically into your living room -- without the need of "real friends" -- there are some serious "what were they thinking" moments. At the top of that list is at the end of rounds having every player press A to continue, which ends up being a jerk magnet. It's like Catan and Carcassonne not having an auto-boot after a player times-out their turn three times in a row -- although those titles are still the most civilized on XBLA. Also, the lobby system in Bomberman and game selection is trés clunky and was definitely not designed for the Bomberman newb. We're definitely looking forward to the A button patch and some other fixes that are allegedly in the works for Bomberman Live.[Thanks AnOffday, Via X3F]%Gallery-4716%
Bomberman: New maps and costumes coming
While speaking with a Hudson representative on Xbox.com, regular X3F reader AnOffday confirmed that new costumes and maps are coming to Bomberman Live. This hardly comes as a surprise, as the promotional materials sent out by Hudson include several levels and costumes not currently in the game. You can actually see some of these levels in our Bomberman Live gallery (which we've thoughtfully attached to this post. Still, it's nice to get official confirmation. Now, if only we knew the release date and price, we could have our bomb and explode it too.%Gallery-5187%
Galactic dancing on the VC next month
Hudson keeps delivering excellent games to the VC, to the delight of people who enjoy spending $6 on something awesome. In the final Virtual Console Monday of July, Data East's Drop Off will be featured. August brings us Cratermaze, which is a maze game that's part Pac-Man and part Lode Runner: you can dig holes to trap the monsters chasing you as you grab treasure from around the maze. Neutopia is a competent, nice-looking Zelda clone, and we mean that as praise. Galaga '90 is a brilliant Galaga sequel that features the same kind of shooting action, but in a very pretty cartoony style and with weird new enemies.
Diner Dash, Oasis and other casual titles coming to console networks
PlayFirst, makers of many well-known casual titles, and Hudson entertainment are teaming up to bring those games to consoles for "digital download" in 2008. Although everyone received the awkwardly worded press release this morning, GamingTalkHQ bothered to put two and two together -- so kudos to them. Basically it means that games like Diner Dash, Oasis, Chocolatier, Mystery of Shark Island will all eventually be made available on either Xbox Marketplace or PSN, the press release kinda skips over that part.If we had to guess, we'd probably say XBLA, only because Hudson already has a relationship with Microsoft and just made available the enjoyable Bomberman Live. Then again, these are casual games and are designed for a solitary experience, putting it on any of the console services shouldn't be too hard. Although, don't ever think to mock these casual games, Diner Dash has made so much money we shudder at the mere utterance of that title. There's nothing stopping these games from being just as popular on XBLA or PSN at the right price.[Via X3F]
Oasis, Diner Dash coming to XBLA?
According to GamingTalkHQ, PlayFirst has announced a partnership with Hudson in which it will make some of its popular games available on "digital download services for console systems" starting next year. The first game planned in the deal is the very popular Diner Dash. Other games featured in the deal include Sandscript, Zenerchi, Mystery of Shark Island, Oasis, and Chocolatier. We can attest to the addictive nature of PlayFirst's games, as we've just wasted the last hour playing Oasis while "researching" this post. While Xbox Live Arcade is not specifically mentioned, it's a safe bet that we'll see these titles there next year. After all, we imagine that Bomberman Live is already giving Hudson a nice return.
Win Bomberman Live from GamingTalkHQ
We're always keen to point our readers in the direction of free stuff, and today is no exception. Our friends at GamingTalkHQ are giving away a free copy of Bomberman Live to one lucky winner. So, what gargantuan, time-consuming task must you complete in order to enter this contest? Well, you'll have to deal with the laborious two step process of typing up a comment and clicking the "submit" button. There's always a catch isn't there? If you think you're up to this kind of hard work, we suggest you follow the "read" link for more details. The contest ends at 11:59 EST tonight, so act fast.
X3F review: Bomberman Live
For longtime gamers, Bomberman is a staple. Bomberman is synonymous with having fun with your friends. For many gamers, the series introduced the kind of social multiplayer action that has become standard in many of today's games. For this reason, Bomberman Act: Zero was a major disappointment. Aside from the (arguably unnecessary) re-imagining of the classic characters, Act: Zero's glaring fault was the exclusion of local multiplayer. As Bomberman fans know, half the fun of the game is tied to interacting with your friends. Sure, Act: Zero had online play, but nothing compares to playing with buddies on the couch. Bomberman Live attempts to right all the wrongs of Act: Zero in one tiny, inexpensive package. Read on to find out how it fares.%Gallery-5187%
Mario Party 8 recalled in Europe
The Nintendo releaseth, the Nintendo taketh away. Mario Party 8, which finally was supposed to release in Europe today, has been recalled. According to Ninendo, "Unfortunately we have discovered that a small number of games contain the wrong version of the disk due to an assembly error." We can't help but wonder what's on the disk ... perhaps something naughty? That would just be too much fun. Nintendo says they'll re-launch Mario Party 8 as soon as they can. Guess Europe is going to have to wait even longer now, but, you know, aren't they kinda used to it by now? [Thanks JaSoN]
Bomberman Live & Yie Ar Kung Fu XBLA double header
Coming straight from E3 is confirmation of another Xbox Live Arcade double header next week with both Bomberman Live and Yie Ar Kung Fu releasing Wednesday, July 18th. Bomberman Live will feature (literally) tons of bombing excitement and fully customizable bombers for only 800 Microsoft points, while the mysteriously missing from Xbox.com Yie Ar Kung Fu will be available for a more modest 400 Microsoft points. And please fanboys, please pray to God that Hudson didn't muff up our classic Bomberman as we all can agree that Act Zero was a horrible attempt at entertainment.
E307: Mario Party DS media explosion
Well, call it a controlled explosion, kinda like a smart bomb -- but we're still pretty pleased to see some sweet new media from a brand new DS game. Er, mostly new, considering it's a franchise title. Still, Mario Party on the DS sounds like a winner, though we would prefer more than just local wireless play. Mario Party could only make Game Night that much more fun, amirite? Oh well, enough complaining -- check out the images in our gallery and the spankin' new trailer after the jump. %Gallery-4736%
