Picross
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DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 7/2/07 aftermath
Did you folks have fun at Game Night yesterday? We sure did, as not only did we manage to get some Tetris DS in, but also a rather lengthy match of Metroid Prime Hunters. As far as Game Nights go, it was one of the better ones. Yet, there were still some people who just couldn't get in on the action. So, this week, we want you to tell a friend about Game Night and get him or her to commit to attend. If they don't, give us their address and we'll drag them there, kicking and screaming. What should be our theme game for 8/9/07? Metroid Prime Hunters Tetris DS Picross DS Clubhouse Games Mario Kart DS Planet Puzzle League
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 8/2/07
Relax, the weekend is almost here. And that means that Game Night is almost here, as well. I've been looking forward to this, having had to miss last week's session, so I hope you're prepared to attend. If you are, head past the post break for all of the details. If you aren't, then beg for forgiveness in the comments.
Introducing Picross for your Wii
After spending some time with the game on our DS, we fell in love with the experience that Picross DS provided. Now, we can get that on our Wii, as wiipicross.com allows Wii owners to take on several different puzzles, as well as an ever-changing daily puzzle, whenever they like. After giving it a whirl ourselves, we found the puzzles to be challenging and fun.Wait, don't tell us you forgot to get the browser before June 30th?[Thanks, hvnlysoldr!]
DS Fanboy review: Picross DS
Picross DS is very much a puzzle game, despite its attempt to lure you in to its grids with a slow, comforting pace of gameplay. It can instill those emotions of tension as the clock ticks away or those almost-insurmountable mental hurdles we stumble upon so frequently in the genre arise, however. So, in a lot of ways, Picross DS is a genre-breaking title, taking things here and there, patching them together into a brand new game. A fun game.%Gallery-4794%
DS releases for the week of July 30th
Isn't it nice to have a few titles to choose from, rather than being limited to one or two? Weeks like this, even if we're not interested in several of the games personally, we still feel a little spoiled. We could get used to this. A few interesting releases this week, including Picross DS and -- ooh -- Spelling Challenges, the "game" we all need sometimes. Several interesting releases this week in Japan as well, for those of you on import watch. Bratz Ponyz Chameleon: To Dye For! Drake & Josh: Talent Showdown Glory Days 2 Pet Alien Picross DS Professional Fisherman's Tour: Northern Hemisphere Spelling Challenges and More! Head past the jump for releases in the rest of the world.
DS Fanboy presents: Game Night 7/26/07 aftermath
Sadly, personal obligations kept me from attending Game Night yesterday. This will not be the case next week, so I anxiously await that day. Until then, let's all sit back, relax, and prepare to enjoy the weekend. And, before you go and enjoy the upcoming days off from responsibility (for most of you, we imagine), why not vote for next week's theme game below? You might notice something different. What should be our theme game for 8/2/07? Planet Puzzle League Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Mario Kart DS Tetris DS Clubhouse Games Picross DS
E307: Picross and the painted pixels
The release of Picross is just around the corner for American gamers (none too soon!), and the title packs a huge punch considering the budget price. Not only does it look awesome, but it's been well-reviewed, and we'll have downloadable content. That's so great that Nintendo hardly needed to whet our appetites with a few new screens, but hey -- we're not complaining. Check 'em out below!Did we mention the wifi multiplayer? How can it be included in a lower-priced game like this, but not in Mario Party? We love you, Nintendo, but sometimes, we just don't understand you. %Gallery-4794%
Picross DS gets downloadable content in the US
We mentioned previously that the European and Japanese releases of Picross DS had weekly downloadable puzzles, some of which were drawn from Mario's Picross and Mario's Super Picross. Well, being total skeptics, we didn't believe we'd see this feature in the US. It's just too cool for us! It turns out we were delightfully wrong. Starting on the game's July 30th release date, players will be able to download new bonus puzzles every week. That should be great for people who, unlike us, will complete more than one puzzle!
Nintendo Media Summit: Picross hands-on (DS)
Although Picross has been available for a while in Japan, the North American release is coming out on July 30th, and Nintendo had it on display at last week's Nintendo Media Summit. The premise behind Picross is kind of hard to explain, but I'll try anyway: It's a type of mathematical crossword puzzle with an image-based theme. It kind of feels like Minesweeper at times but kind of feels like Suduko at other times. As you can see from the screenshots below, you are given a grid with numbers on the outside edge. You have to figure out from the numbers what pattern of squares should be filled in on the grid, with mistakes costing you big penalties on your overall time score. Once you've completed the puzzle, you reveal a picture in the pattern on the grid. The larger the grid, the more complex the picture.You can also make your own puzzles easily; all you have to do is draw an image and the game will turn it into a puzzle for you. If you want more control, you can also create a puzzle by hand. You can even trade puzzles with friends over the wireless connection and Nintendo promises additional puzzles will be made available for download for free, which is always a nice plus.The game was a lot of fun and the ability to draw your own puzzles was a nice touch. Puzzle fans, look for this game when it comes out on July 30th.%Gallery-3413%
Friday Video: NMS round-up edition
This week, it's all about the Nintendo Media Summit, and we thought we'd wrangle all the videos into our weekly spotlight, even if it does get a little crowded in here. See what we're willing to sacrifice, just to bring you videos?Okay, okay, you caught us. We like watching the videos too, so it's not much of a sacrifice at all. The overview is particularly nice, as we get footage and discussion of so many forthcoming Nintendo titles. Check 'em all out after the jump.
Picross DS gets a nice review
Since we haven't picked up Picross DS yet and are therefore unable to review it, we're going to assume (pretend) that our friends at 4 color rebellion have reviewed it just for us. And according to the Official 4cr (for DS Fanboy) Review, Nintendo's puzzler will be worth picking up when it arrives in the US in July, and is worth picking up ... now, in Europe!The review is especially positive about the online features of the game, including the ability to share your own puzzles online, and free weekly downloads of extra puzzles. Some of the downloadable content includes puzzles from Mario's Picross and Mario's Super Picross! Technically, we shouldn't be happy about recycled content, but it gives us a warm, happy feeling.The only real complaint they have with the game is the stylus control, which seems like it should be a natural for Picross. Luckily, it's optional! So we can all just pretend it didn't happen and doesn't exist.
More evidence of a US release for Picross DS
The cat is slowly emerging from the bag, it would seem. We knew that Picross DS was in Gamestop's computers as a July release, and now the ESRB has pretty much confirmed it by rating the game.Just think, this summer we could be filling in squares and making pictures just like they do in Europe. Well, you could be. Availability isn't the issue for us; being able to buy the game isn't going to magically make us less awful at Picross. [Via Siliconera]
Picross DS bound for the US, one way or another
Relations between the US and Europe have been strained enough over uncompromising war policies and disparate diplomats, but Nintendo's decision to localize Picross DS for our Atlantic opposites while ignoring North America's pleas threatens to escalate the conflict even further. Already, protesters are rallying on embassy steps, stomping on french fries and singing hymns of freedom.Hoping to avert an international crisis, GameStop has put up a Picross title on its site for $19.99, announcing a July 31st stateside release for the logic puzzler. For some, that distant date is unacceptable. Others refuse to even believe that it's the same game and not a generic product. To appease their ire, online shop SendIt has agreed to offer the UK version of the game at a discount. Picross DS has a £14.89 (approximately $30.00) listing on the site, and CAG forumers have reported paying $32.87 after US shipping and handling charges. As far as import prices go, that's quite a deal![Via CAG]
See before you buy: Japan edition
We were happy when Nintendo of America finally put up some preview videos so people could at least get a look at Virtual Console games before throwing their Wii Points into a hole. Now, Nintendo of Japan has done the same! You'll be able to preview new Virtual Console games long before they come to the US. In many cases, you can just uselessly torture yourself by watching videos of games like Shin Megami Tensei and Mario's Super Picross that will never be released over here! And if there's anything we enjoy, it's uselessly torturing ourselves.[Thanks, creamsugar!]
DS releases for the week of May 7th
DS owners in the U.S. are out of luck this week -- we got nothin.' It's bound to happen sometimes. We recommend you use this week to catch up on all those unfinished games you have. You know you need the time ... and saving a little cash this week isn't bad, either. Anyway, we know you're all still obsessed with your Pokemans. Don't even try to deny it.For the rest of the world, where they are luckier than we are this week, hit the jump.
Learn to play Picross in five easy steps
Curious about how Picross DS works? Feel like torturing yourself with preview materials for a game that has yet to be announced for the US? We were, and we did! The European Touch Generations page has a rather nice interactive Flash presentation that demonstrates how to work a Picross puzzle. It describes an aspect of gameplay, demonstrates it with an animation, and then the user can click to the next lesson. Sort of like an animated Powerpoint presentation. At the end of the short presentation, you get a small Picross puzzle.We actually had a pretty hard time grasping the Picross "strategy" before running this demo. So we can give an honest DS Fanboy Testimonial-- It Really, Really Works![Via GoNintendo]
Acidbomb 2 gets a commercial release as ShellBlast
Dave Galindo of Vertigo Games dropped a few hints in our recent interview that Acidbomb 2: Rearmed could be going commercial. Now it's official: casual gaming publisher Oberon Media will be distributing an enhanced version of Acidbomb 2 next month. The commercial version will be renamed ShellBlast and include content from Acidbomb 2 (which will remain free until the day Jack Thompson joins Mensa) as well as a few exclusive game modes: Virtual Bomb Simulator - create your own bombs and try to disarm them Endurance Mode - a gigantic bomb with seven quadrants and more pistons as you progress Vertigo's next game, King of All Cooks, will also be released commercially later this year. No word on pricing for either game, though expect it to cuddle up to the magic number $19.95.
Unraveling the Indie - Acidbomb 2
Every other week on Unraveling the Indie we'll sit down with an independent developer to unearth the dark secrets of indie game creation: Terrorists have scattered bombs across the country. It's your job to disarm them. Acidbomb 2: Rearmed is everything a sequel should be: bigger, badder, and infinitely more polished. Combining elements from Minesweeper and Picross, Acidbomb is a challenging puzzle game with the added tension of watching a bomb's timer tick down to zero. Using latitude and longitude-like information, you must determine which areas of the grid are pistons (bad) and which are safe. Mark them with the corresponding symbols, then watch the countdown and hope you got it right. If not ... kaboom. We recently sat down with Dave Galindo of Vertigo Games to get some inside-information about Acidbomb 2. Read on for the full interrogation.
Nintendo announces Picross DS for Europe
Paint by Numbers, nonograms, picture crosswords. Whatever you call them, Picross DS has them, and Nintendo has just announced the game is making its way to Europe on May 11. Branded under the Touch Generations label, the stylish game has been getting great reviews from souls brave enough to import the squiggly-text version. Picross DS features over 300 puzzles with difficulty ranging from easy to OMG IMPOSSIBLE. You can also create and share puzzles, download weekly picross packs, and play competitive multiplayer matches via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Add to that unlockable minigames and you have a certifiable "worthy purchase" on your hands.[Via Eurogamer]
Europe gets Picross DS
We didn't think the awesome Picross DS would ever find its way out of Japan. But Nintendo surprised us, as they tend to do now and then, by announcing that the puzzler will get a European release on May 11th. They're branding this as part of the Touch Generations series, and mention that it will include 300 puzzles, and features like a "Daily Picross" mode, puzzle creation (with Wi-Fi sharing),and unlockable minigames. For the Americans out there who feel left out-- don't worry! Even if Nintendo doesn't release Picross DS, this European version will have English text, so it's still good news for you, if you don't mind importing!
