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Promotional Consideration: Moons, Zombies, Dodgeballs, and Tactics
Aside from its preview page tease and Time Hollow's localization, there wasn't much in the way of exclusive DS news in this month's Nintendo Power, at least compared to what we've seen in recent issues.Paging through the magazine, however, we spotted at least two advertisements that we wanted to share with you. As we were tearing them out to throw into our scanner, we thought, "Why not post all of the other DS ads (and the cover)?" Join us past the break for the scanned pages!
SNK enlists Ignition to help fire Metal Slug 7 at North America
Ignition Entertainment currently co-publishes SNK Playmore's games in Europe, and they have announced today that the two will partner for the North American market as well. This new partnership has an immediate, tangible benefit for people who think awesome things are awesome: Metal Slug 7.The first game to be published in the U.S. by the two companies is the new DS-only sequel to the popular, and totally badass, run-and-gun series. Since we had yet to hear any concrete confirmation of a localized version, other than the fact that a playable demo of the Japanese game was on display at GDC (a fact that took even SNK's American staff by surprise), this announcement is more than welcome. Even in the early state it was in, Metal Slug was the real thing.%Gallery-16835%
Ignition, SNK to co-publish Metal Slug 7 in North America
Mercury Meltdown publisher Ignition Entertainment has announced that the company has inked a deal with SNK Playmore to co-publish titles in North America, the first of which will be Metal Slug 7 for the DS. The pair are not exactly strangers, having been cozy together for quite some time on the European side of the pond. Beyond Metal Slug 7, which represents the retro shooter's first outing on Nintendo's handheld, no other titles have been announced, though considering SNK's pedigree we expect the fruits of this union, whatever they are, to be decidedly 2D.
Teenage Zombies: Launch Party of the Alien Brain Thingys
Throngs of the walking dead children and people with nothing else to do will descend upon the Nintendo World Store on April 12th for a Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys release party. We're quite surprised -- Teenage Zombies doesn't seem like the kind of high-profile game that usually gets honored by an event like this. It's usually first-party games, anticipated third-party games in established series, and, of course, big licenses.If you're at all interested in this game, and, of course, you're in the New York area, this is your chance to go and high-five the other Brain Thingys fans and probably pick up some kind of promo thingys! It's at the Nintendo World Store in New York City, on April 12th, from 11 to 4 (a NWS employee informed us of the time change when we called).[Via GoNintendo]
Invasion of the slightly underwhelming trailer
We want to love Ignition's Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys, and thanks to its camp title, satirical take on '50s sci-fi, daft storyline, and brain-feasting anti-heroes, Ignition's platformer had already caught our eye from the other side of the bar.However, just as we were preparing ourselves to waltz over and strike up conversation (this is possibly the worst analogy ever -- sorry), this new trailer appeared. Featuring lead villain Big Brain laughing and joshing his way through dialogue that is -- to put it kindly -- creaky, it smacks of a particularly bad Saturday morning cartoon. Maybe some of you will find that to be part of its appeal. But seriously: the crickets are still chirping after that "snicker" pun.[Via press release]
Mercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP
As much as we have grown tired of having games developed for this generation of consoles referred to as "next-gen entertainment," that ire is evidently not shared by all. Ignition Entertainment, publisher of Mercury Meltdown and the adolescent undead romp Teenage Zombies, today announced the opening of not one, but two new studios committed to so-called next-gen game development. The new studios will operate out of both Tokyo and Florida, and according to Ignition will focus on creating "new IP specifically for the next generation formats," but which formats exactly remain a mystery. In fact, no details about upcoming projects from either Ignition Tokyo or Florida have been announced, though in looking at the company's subsidiary Digi-Guys, which has been working on WarDevil since well before the launch of the Xbox 360, it's clear that these studios are not in a hurry.
Teenage Zombies dev says price is key to success
The folks over at InLight Entertainment put their smart cap on today, citing their reasoning behind the DS's incredible success. While we all here who work at DSF and you, the lovely readers, would probably say that all of the great games on the system make it so wonderful, they said that ... uh, the great games and affordable price really made Nintendo's handheld. Well, how astute of them.Darren McGrath and Mike Lowry from InLight commented "The DS captures the market we're targeting with this game - the ever expanding casual gamers sector." They went on further to add "Nintendo has been very smart with making a fun system that is affordable so everyone can enjoy games like ours without breaking the bank."The guys know what games to take inspiration from, also, commenting that titles like "Elite Beat Agents, Feel the Magic, and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass have really made use of the touch-screen in unique and interesting ways that you wouldn't be able to accomplish on any other platform." OK, we agree, mostly. We wouldn't actually go around telling people that Feel the Magic XY/XX was one of the best uses of the handheld's touch-screen when there is probably a billion other better examples.
Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Gameplay Video Thingys
The first video of Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys is notably light on the aliens and brains, and the only thingys invading are rats. Invasion of the Kind of Large Rats doesn't catch the ear in the same way. Speaking of not really generating interest, the game itself is pretty underwhelming. We didn't think we'd ever be able to say that about a game that stars a legless zombie on a skateboard, but even for the most sidescroller-obsessed of us, we find the footage uninspiring. Maybe some more aliens would help. The Voodoo Vince/Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy system of inflicting damage on the zombies to give them abilities is pretty cute, at least.[Via Game|Life]
Fresh Teenage Zombies screens for consumption
As if oozing from the cranial cavity of a fresh corpse, we find ourselves gently moaning and purring like undead cats (or, you know, zombies) for these fresh screens. Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Brain Thingys looks like it's right up our alley and the kind of time deserving of ... well, our time. If you're as infatuated with the undead as we are, then stumble on over to 1UP for the fresh eye candy.
Teenage Zombies won't eat your neighbors
Despite its similarly campy plot and titular promises of zombies, Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Brain Thingys (due next spring) won't be the spiritual successor to Konami's Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Yes, we were fooled too when we initially saw the game announced -- jumping off the couch and doing karate kicks in the air, such was our excitement -- but reading more about Ignition Entertainment's title revealed very few similarities with the SNES/Genesis classic.Instead of fighting off zombies and their B-movie colleagues, you'll be playing as the undead in this comic book-styled adventure, choosing from one of three reanimated characters, each possessing unique abilities. You'll swap between the three to take advantage of their powers and defend the Earth against invading Alien Brain Thingys.Also, while Zombies Ate My Neighbors was a run-n-gun shooter from a top-down perspective, Teenage Zombies will be a side-scrolling platformer supplemented with puzzles and stylus-based minigames. ZAPS! (Zombie Assembly Pop-up Screen), one of the minigames, has you collecting dismembered body parts to put together a zombie and regain "unhealth points."Though Ignition Entertainment's short trailer for Teenage Zombies shows very little in the way of action or the actual game, we've embedded it past the post break anyway. To make up for the brevity and vagueness of the video, we've also pasted some lyrics from Salt-N-Pepa's hit single, "Let's Talk About Sex," reimagined as an ode to zombies. We have a lot of these "fixed" songs just lying around our hard drive, waiting to be shared with you.
Ignition takes on zombie genre for Nintendo DS
With Ignition Entertainment's Banbury development studio, best known for the Mercury series of puzzlers, now in the hands of UK developer Rebellion, Ignition has begun to look elsewhere for its next great property, and while its latest announced project may not end up being a winner, we certainly have to give it props for its mouthful of a title -- Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! Currently in development for the Nintendo DS and expected to ship in North America and Europe next Spring, Teenage Zombies already has us chuckling at its absurd plot, which sees aliens capturing the human race using mind control, but then succumbing to the zombie "super race," which has of course has little to no mind to bend to their will. The game follows a trio of teen zombies who rise from their graves and begin to munch on the aliens and their 'pulsating pink brains,' before finally settling down for lunch on the alien leader, the 'Big Brain.'While few specifics have been revealed about the game so far, Ignition describes Teenage Zombies as featuring a "whimsical style" that parodies 50s style sci-fi and the zombie genre using comic book-style story panels. This, of course, makes us think back to Artificial's Monster Madness, which was a disaster, though we remain hopeful, if for no other reason than this game's promise of letting us be not one zombie, but three.
Mercury Meltdown Revolution rolls onto Wii
Ignition Entertainment has announced that the Mercury series of puzzle games will arrive on the Wii next Spring, in the form of Mercury Meltdown Revolution. As it involves you tilting the playing field in order to guide a blob of mercury to its intended destination, it doesn't take any sort of scientist to make the mental connection between the game and the Wii's unique controller. Ignition president (and non-scientist), Paul Robinson, explains that "the original game design was intended for a tilt controller. Now gamers can fully interact with the Mercury blob, navigating through the labs with precision and unprecedented speed."The press release is quick to note other key features, such as the presence of over 150 levels, "advanced rendering techniques" and most importantly, "state of the art blob physics." Admittedly, we initially read that last one as something else entirely.
Mercury still making its way to Wii
Spring of '07 isn't exactly November of '06, but we'll take Mercury Meltdown Revolution whenever Ignition decides to give it to us. The popular puzzler, in which players guide a flowing blob of mercury throughout various environments ala Marble Madness. Except, y'know, with deadly liquid metal. Ignition Entertainment president Paul Robinson seemed excited about the upcoming title. "We are thrilled to bring Mercury Meltdown to this ground-breaking game console that truly reinvents the gaming experience." And we're thrilled to have you aboard!
Mercury games Wii-bound
An updated release list from Ignition Entertainment has yielded a surprising result: the heretofore Sony-exclusive puzzle series, Mercury, will be gracing Wii consoles with not one but two games come this Turkey Day. Mercury Meltdown and Mercury Type R are currently slated along with the previously announced Metal Slug Anthology to be released this November for the Wii. Mercury has received some critical acclaim for its inventive puzzle design and play mechanics, so with any luck, the Wii will have two excellent puzzle games before long. (Author's note: actual Mercury is a deadly, poisonous liquid metal that should not be handled under any circumstances without proper supervision and care. Then again, if you're dumb enough to kill yourself with a silver blob, consider yourself eligible for a Darwin Award.)
