Lunar-Knights
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Critics' top 10: 2007 vs. kittens
2007 is almost over, and the end of the year brings joyous tidings of List Season. It's the time for taking stock of the last 12 months of gaming, and trying to make sense of it by putting things in numerical order. Join DS Fanboy for our best-ofs, worst-ofs, and other categories-ofs. When determining the best games of the year, it's a good idea to go at it from different angles: by referencing our own history of reviews, obviously, but we must also look to the wider journalism community. Our reviews, while insightful and entertaining, were not comprehensive. We just didn't play everything. In addition, one reviewer's opinion is simply not sufficient data to make definitive conclusions, even if that one reviewer is me. So we turned to everyone else in aggregate to see what they thought of this year's releases. We've gathered the top 10 DS games of 2007 according to their Metacritic ranking. Keep in mind that many of these games tied in Metascore, meaning that if we were to rank the games, there would be fewer than ten positions. It's still sequential, but with a lot of tie scores. We then carefully applied science to these games in order to convert the Metacritic numbers into a rubric we feel more accurately conveys the quality of these games. Head past the post break for Metacritic's top ten DS games of 2007, graded on a scale from adorable kitten video to unbelievably adorable kitten video.
DS releases for the week of April 9th
Well, unless you're just dying for a little portable Cake Mania -- and we know some of you are, you baking fiends -- then if you're in the U.S., all you can do is see what everyone else is going to be playing this week. And the you can make time for that stack of games you haven't finished yet.U.S. releases Cake Mania For the rest of the world, hit the jump.
DS releases for the week of March 26th
It's a busy week for new releases, no matter where you are in the world -- so long as you've got a DS, there'll be something for you to do. And for those of you with an eye toward importing, Japan has their usual allotment of 3,527 new DS titles. Seriously. So anything tickle your fancy this week? Perhaps you're into the classics, Konami-style, or maybe you plan on settling down. Or maybe, just maybe, you happen to really dig certain licensed games. It's okay, you can tell us if you love Disney. We won't laugh. Probably. On with the releases!DS releases in the U.S. Disney's Meet the Robinsons (also GBA) Honeycomb Beat Konami Classics: Arcade Hits Purr Pals The Settlers For the rest of the globe, check the lists after the jump.
Friday video: Compare and contrast
One game, two very different videos -- that's what we're looking at in this week's video spotlight. Lunar Knights has had a great run of ads, and thanks to a Konami fan site's trailer contest, there are all new takes on the game. It's interesting to look at the impact music can have on a story. We've seen the footage in this trailer in other videos, but now the music is more dramatic, and it shapes a wholly different story. Lunar Knights has always come across as a little campy, but now those same images are painted with a more melancholy brush. We offer this (actual) trailer for comparison to the fan-made trailer after the jump.
Lunar Knights intro video
If you haven't picked up Lunar Knights yet, you can kick back and watch this video instead to get your fix. It's better than sitting around snacking on the Valentine's Day chocolate you're supposed to be saving for that special someone on Wednesday. It's us, right? We know. We like you, too.If the GameTrailers video (embedded after the jump) doesn't work, there is a lower quality version here at YouTube. We were so determined to make you watch the intro that we found it twice!
Friday Video: Long Lunar Knights trailer
Most of the trailers we've seen from Lunar Knights have been in Japanese, so we figured it was a good week to show off an English version. The video weighs in at nearly three and a half minutes of world-saving, vampire-crushing hotness, and manages to show off just about everything a gamer needs to decide whether or not this one is a must-have. Now that's what we call a trailer.
Metareview: Lunar Knights
We've approached Lunar Knights with enthusiastic abandon because, from the beginning, it's looked good enough to warrant screaming fanboyism. Everything looked good. Everything looked right. But there's always a chance that the best-looking games can turn out to be not at all what's expected, so we awaited reviews of Lunar Knights with bated breath. From the looks of things, however, there's nothing to worry about. 1UP -- 90%: "Lunar Knights ... is refined and improved over that of the GBA games. Elements that didn't work, such as the solar sensor, have been abandoned; the annoying coffin-dragging sections have been traded for fast-paced space shooter sequences. Meanwhile, character-building features have been expanded; the graphics have been improved, with full-motion anime clips sprinkled throughout the entirety of the quest; the music is superb."GameBrink -- 88%: "... a fun little ARPG presented in pretty much the same fashion as the previous GBA games but, with the introduction of the new weather and team system, the game has added depth to it. Excluding the side quests, the main scenario should give you several hours of fun!"Keep an eye out; we'll update later in the week as more reviews come in.
DS releases for the week of February 5th
We haven't had a lot of excitement when it comes to weekly releases lately, but this week makes up for it. Count 'em -- we've got three new titles this week that all look pretty good in their respective genres. Now the only problem is coming up with enough money to support our habit. They never talk about game-buying in those anti-drug ads, but we'll tell you ... sometimes our need for new games makes us consider knocking over the occasional convenience store. Not really. Please don't call the cops. We don't handle enclosed spaces too well. This week in the U.S. Diddy Kong Racing Lunar Knights Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 For the rest of the world, check after the jump.
Yet another 'games to watch' list
We can only guess that it wasn't enough for the DS to steamroll everything and everyone in 2006. Nintendo wants to own 2007, as well. Not that we're complaining; after all, we are total slaves to our beloved handheld. But it just seems altogether crazy that there could be so many lists predicting great games in the coming year, and that the lists could vary so much. No matter your pleasure, 2007 is bound to be packed with more DS games than you can possibly afford. And in celebration of our future indecision, IGN has offered a list celebrating ten of the best coming games for the year. We've included the full IGN list after the jump, and we'd love to hear how it compares to some of the other lists you've seen since the end of last year, because there's been a ton. We've even dipped a toe into the list-making process ourselves.
Pair of boxes from the land of could-be
Over at Go Nintendo, it looks like someone tipped them off on new boxes that turned up on the EB Games site. These could be the real deal here for Lunar Knights (and after the jump, Spectrobes). How do they look to you? If that's the box for Lunar Knights, we give it a tentative stamp of approval. It seems to capture the campy feel that's come across in the trailers and ads.
Lunar Knights on the air in Japan
What's with all the great ads from and for Nintendo lately? Even without knowing Japanese, these new Lunar Knights ads have us ready to kick a little vampire ass. Everything we've seen so far from Django and Sabata (er, Aaron and Lucian) has been so uniformly good that we're starting to worry that the game itself will be a disappointment. We're keeping some fingers crossed.We've embedded both the short and long commercials after the jump. Enjoy!
Lunar Knights: a little action, a lot of fun
Sometimes we get a little sulky and insist that Japan gets all the really fun stuff. The Japanese trailer for the forthcoming Lunar Knights makes the game look like a lighthearted romp with, y'know vampires. Light-hearted, killer vampires. Even the names in the Japanese version are more exciting. We get Aaron and Lucian -- they get Django and Sabata. How do you replace a name like Django? Can you really pull off a full-throated, primal roar with a name like "Aaron" or "Lucian?" No. But you sure can with Django. Go ahead, give it a try.Now isn't that better?The new site is open, and check after the jump for the spicy new trailer.
Lunar Knights take to the skies
The protagonists of Lunar Knights will hunt vampires wherever, whenever -- even if it means taking the fight to the depths of the final frontier. To fight vampires.Space vampires. Indeed.There's a second video as well which features Aaron and Lucian keeping their feet (mostly) on the ground in the fight against the undead. Check it out.
