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Sim City DS screens and info
Famitsu's packed with new goodies from Sim City DS that have us yearning for the game. And who can resist tiny Sim Santa and his cute little reindeer? The new stuff looks to largely concern Save the City mode, which thrusts the player into a real city and offers them challenges to solve, from earthquakes to snarled traffic and hey, even UFOs. Also -- and our loose translation may be incorrect -- it looks as though fires in your city can be handled by blowing into the microphone. But lots of fire stations can help prevent fires, so build carefully to avoid puffing away into the mic. Check out the screens after the jump!
New Sim City DS screens
Some new Sim City DS screens have surfaced, and if we weren't dying for this game before, we're certainly in danger of perishing now. The DS just seems like such an incredible medium for this title, and the screens have a familiar, almost nostalgic feel that brings to mind the old SNES game Utopia, particularly in the shot to the right. Our (Google) translation isn't perfect, but it looks like this build of the game is not a port, but was designed specifically for the DS, so we can tentatively expect some really fantastic functionality. Further, there are changes to the game made specifically for the Japanese version. Once we get more detail on what those are, we'll let you know -- and that makes us very curious if English-language versions will feature similar additions.Check after the jump for a few more screens.
An empire of new features for Vice City Stories
GTAPortable.com has been keeping an eye out for everything Vice City Stories-related, and they've uncovered a plethora of new information for this highly anticipated PSP exclusive. Golf is now a playable mini-game. It will be played using only one button. "Empire Building" mode allows you to act like The Godfather and invest in businesses throughout the city. Depending on how much you've invested, and how the business is doing, you can make a fair sum of money... so long as you provide the proper protection. You can hire bodyguards, and when the business isn't being hit, it acts like a Safe House for you to save at. Taking a page from Sim City, you'll be able to place the businesses throughout the city, and proper placement can lead to the mad profit (an example cited by GTAPortable.com is a drug extortion business nearby an airport). Spanning over thirty buildings, this mode seems to add a hefty amount of gameplay to an already massive game. Business types can include protection, extortion, and prostitution, with many more to come. Like in Liberty City Stories, there will be load times between the major islands, but surprisingly this time around, the loads will be even shorter, according to TotalVideoGames. Not only can you ride around in helicopters, you can ride around in jets, according to an IGN preview. Although there is no infrstructure multiplayer, there will be more multiplayer modes to compete in. And unfortunately for German and Australian players, the game will be censored, according to Gamepro.de. This really does seem like it's going to be one of the best games of 2006, not only on the PSP, but across all platforms. The depth of this game is incredible, and the fact that it's on a handheld is even more amazing. The game comes out on October 30th for $50.
Will Wright in Sim City DS? [Update 1]
Either this is a caricature of the infamous Will Wright, or it really is him helping players out in Sim City DS. We would love to have a Mr. Right Will Wright pop up in a game to give helpful advice. We really would like to see more famous game industry people appear in games. Couldn't you just see Miyamoto doing the Tingle dance with Tingle?[Via Go Nintendo][Update: Fixed typo, enlarged graphic.]
The return of Sim City
That's right. The game that sucked up hundreds of your precious hours as you lovingly crafted your commercial zones and coal-based power plants is coming to a DS near you...as long as you live slightly east of the Asian mainland, that is. The latest issue of Famitsu has confirmed a special DS version of the classic Sim City 3000 (considered by many to be the best in the series) coming to Japan, complete with full stylus control. And that's not all! They've even thrown in some extras: mini-games and a special advisor to help you fend off those alien invasions. Sweet. Sim City does nothing but bring back ever-so-fond memories for a very, very large group of people. Though a North American release has not been confirmed, it would be absolute lunacy for EA to ignore such a guaranteed and obvious profit. With any luck, you'll be giving those silly college-trained civil engineers a run for their money soon enough.[via Joystiq]
