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VC Monday Madness: Space Invaders and Forgotten Worlds
Oh, what, you thought you were off the hook this week? No way, as we're here with our latest VC Monday Madness video. Late, but here nonetheless. This week, we've got two different games to download on the Virtual Console, so hit up the video above and then cruise past the break for the rest.
Mama has skills: Taito trademarks Pet Shop Mama
Oh Mama, is there nothing you can't turn your versatile hand to? With Mama cooking games now out on DS and Wii, and a gardening game due out this winter on the handheld, Japanese publisher Taito isn't done milking the money-printing franchise.Last week, the company trademarked Pet Shop Mama, which seems self-explanatory. There's no hint of what platform this will release on, or even if it will end up being a real game (our bet: it will), but Mama's past cosy relationship with the DS makes it an obvious favorite. Our minds boggle at the potential minigames for this: will we be balancing hats on cats? Brushing dog teeth? Fending off fuming PETA campaigners armed with disturbing parody games?%Gallery-35505%
Space Invaders from Forgotten Worlds on Virtual Console
It looks like we're going to have to stop by the wheelbarrow store on our way home today, because the Virtual Console is going to need one to carry its giant balls. How giant, you ask? Here's what we were greeted with when we checked Nintendo's weekly release:"SPACE INVADERS: The Original Game (Super NES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)" No, seriously. That's what it says. It's pretty ballsy from the outset, but it only gets progressively more so as you examine the listing. (1) They spell it in all caps, like "Yes, that SPACE INVADERS." (2) They follow that up with "The Original Game," as if to clarify that yes, they are, in fact, asking for eight dollars to play a game from the Carter administration. (3) They actually list it before the perfectly acceptable Forgotten Worlds (Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points), today's other release.... Come to think of it, we're not even sure there's a wheelbarrow big enough.
Wii Fanboy Review: Space Invaders Get Even!
In an industry obsessed with spin-offs, it's amazing that this took so long: a Space Invaders game in which puny humans get to control the Invaders themselves. In the same year that the franchise celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, Space Invaders Get Even! lets you indulge in a spot of role reversal, giving us the chance to cruise above the cities of Earth and raze everything in sight.%Gallery-25384%
VC Friday: Resistance is futile
EX-TERM-IN-ATE! EX-TERM-IN-ATE! Wait, no, those are the other ones. But whatever. The point is: after hearing nothing about Space Invaders Get Even! for months, the game has randomly appeared on the European and Australian Wii Shops. We are unashamedly jigging with joy as we type this. And the extra-terrestial goodness doesn't stop there, for Alien Crush Returns has also joined the line-up. Needless to say, we wholeheartedly welcome our new rulers (of all our spare time). The other game is Brain Challenge. Sorry, Brain Challenge. Alien Crush Returns -- WiiWare -- 800 Nintendo Points Brain Challenge -- WiiWare -- 1000 Nintendo Points Space Invaders Get Even! -- WiiWare -- 500 Nintendo Points %Gallery-25384%
Show and Tell: Oh, Mama!
It's no wonder we're seeing Mama branch out -- Cooking Mama spawned a ridiculous amount of love, even if it didn't break any sales records. The shining face of Mama (or the image of her fiery eyes) is fast becoming a staple in the gamer crafting and cosplay communities. Mama's out of the kitchen, so we're dedicating this week's Show and Tell to her!Take the guided tour by starting right here, or be reckless and jump right into the gallery below.%Gallery-35505% Show and Tell is all about fan stuff, so long as it's Nintendo-related. We love to see your collections, your crafts, your frosted creations, your t-shirts and swag of all sorts.Just snap a few pictures, tell us what's up, and send it all to showmeit [at] dsfanboy [dot] com. We'll take care of the rest. Not a handy type, but found something neat? Send us a link instead.
Gardening Mama says put it in the ground
Mama's so talented. No more is she limited to the kitchen, sweetly suggesting you chop vegetables before she tans that behind. Now she's free to rove in the gardens as well, pointing at the shrubbery and essaying commands. Of course, after this screenshot, we fully expect an English-Teaching Mama in the future. The sky's the limit, Mama! So long as you stick to traditionally feminine roles, anyway.505 Games just announced that they'll have the latest in Mama's franchise on shelves in Europe in the spring, to coincide with the release of that region's Cooking Mama 2: World Kitchen for the Wii. Since World Kitchen is slated for November in the U.S., and no similar announcement has yet been made for Gardening Mama here, it doesn't look like we'll see the same dual release.%Gallery-35422%
Mr. ESC plans his exit to Europe
An official website for Exit DS in Europe just launched, and its first order of business was to announce that the game is on its way to the region. When can fine European individuals such as yourself expect to get your hands on the game? This month! A release day hasn't been finalized yet, so we're not sure as to when this month the game will release. Seeing as how this month is half over, at least you won't have to wait that long. %Gallery-6861%
Bury the Shovelware: Space Invaders Revolution vs Space Invaders Extreme
For this edition of Bury the Shovelware, we're talking Space Invaders. We'll be examining the recently released and critically acclaimed Space Invaders Extreme against 2005's suspected shovelware Space Invaders Revolution. Pedigree Space Invaders is a staple of the industry. Some incorrectly identify it as the first video game. Though this is incorrect, its significance to gaming as a whole just might make it the most important game of all-time. Released in 1978, the title was groundbreaking in that it changed the public's perception of gaming from being an interesting obscurity to a major form of entertainment. Check your local Wikipedia for more information. Like many classics, the game has been re-packaged and re-released countless times. In its four years of life, two separate versions of the game have been released for the DS. Both versions were developed by industry veteran Taito, creator of the original ground-breaking title. But while Space Invaders Extreme was published by heavyweight Square Enix, Space Invaders Revolution was published by Rising Star Games. Though virtually unknown by comparison, the publisher has been given access to a surprising number of classic franchises, including Bomberman, Dungeon Explorer, Bubble Bobble, and New Zealand Story.
VC Tuesday: Party time! Excellent!
How can the Wii have been in stores for two years without a Tetris game? At least Hudson is compensating for the lack of the staple video game with one that is both awesome-looking and cheap. It's being joined on WiiWare by a cheapo darts game and Brain Challenge -- which was actually pretty good on the DS. On the Virtual Console, a super old sidescroller from Sunsoft that looks like a slowed-down, more awkward Legend of Kage, and a totally cute Taito classic!Virtual Console releases: Kanshakudama Nage Kantarou no Toukaidou Gojuusan Tsugi (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) The New Zealand Story (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) WiiWare releases: Darts Wii (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points) Brain Challenge (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Tetris Party (1-6 players, 1,200 Wii Points) %Gallery-18122%
Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands, and tons more Japanese WiiWare announced
We're still finding new information to come out of Nintendo's fall conferences, both in the US and Japan. Those things were rich with info. We basically completely missed the WiiWare announcements, which are every bit as epic and exciting -- and numerous -- as the retail games.At the top of the list (actually the middle of the list in terms of organization but right up at the top in terms of interest): Bubble Bobble Wii and Rainbow Island Tower! If these are actually developed by Taito instead of the third parties responsible for the DS games, it is time for celebration! Other interesting games on the list include: a revival of Tecmo's Tsuppari Oozumo sumo series! A game from NIS called Let's Hitchhike, which ... couldn't possibly be a strategy RPG. Right? Three new Okiraku games, following the great Okiraku Ping-Pong A drum-based followup to Aero Guitar The rest, we either don't know anything about, or don't know enough to talk about in detail. Or, is Major League Eating. We'll look into it all as information becomes available. There's ... kind of a long list of games after the break.
Exit DS delayed, escapes to November
We regret to inform you to that Mr. ESC has again ran, jumped, and slipped through the fingers of modern retail, keeping the escapologist's touchable adventures in Exit DS unrestrained, at least for a little while longer. Not to fret, however, for while the game will miss its previous release date on October 7, publisher Square Enix seems confident that the escape artist's puzzle-adventure exploits will be on store shelves on November 4. No reason was given for the delay, though we like to think that when it comes to Mr. ESC, sometimes you just can't keep a good escapologist down. [Via press release]
Taito to show Gardening Mama, paddle-compatible Bust a Move at TGS
Taito's TGS lineup is, like last year, all-Nintendo. While they only showed DS games last year, one Wii game is on the lineup this time, but it's Cooking Mama: World Kitchen, which isn't a huge departure. The company will show the newly-announced Gardening Mama along with a new Puzzle Bobble (Bust a Move) game called Space Puzzle Bobble, which uses the paddle controller! Three games is totally enough justification for buying one of those. Maybe it'll even lead to another production run! The site has smallish screens of both new games.The fourth game in the lineup is Tetsudou Seminar: Oote Shitetsu Hen, a quiz game about the Japanese rail system, pretty much guaranteed not to be released anywhere else.
Cooking Mama goes outside for Gardening Mama
According to the latest Famitsu, Taito is spinning Office Create (now called Cooking Mama Limited)'s hit Cooking Mama series off into another creative field: gardening. All we know so far is that there's a DS game on the way from Taito called Gardening Mama and that it's scheduled for this winter. There's an infinitesimal possibility, we suppose, that the game is about the "Gardening Mama" terra cotta protectant, but it's much more likely to be a minigame collection about planting and caring for different plants starring the lovable Mama mascot.DeviantArt user whitebelt247 correctly predicted the announcement of the game in the above artwork, posted in late August. He just made the box for the wrong system (for now)!
Space Invaders Get Even with Dinobots
The cybernetic sauropod seen at the end of this stirring Space Invaders Get Even! trailer may not be the genuine Grimlock, but it may as well be. Or is it more of a Mechagodzilla riff? In either case, it's just one of the overblown, yet futile, weapons the puny hu-mans wheel out in an effort to stop the inevitable Space Invasion.We love pretty much everything about the concept of this game, from the division into bite-sized chunks to the way it changes the usual neatly-stacked Invader lines to swarming masses, adding even more to the inversion of the normal Space Invaders experience.%Gallery-25384%
Taito producers talk Exit DS, The Legend of Kage 2
We spent most of this year enthralled by the prospect of Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid DS. Now that they've shipped, we've transferred our Taito game anticipation to the two upcoming games The Legend of Kage 2 and Exit DS. Jeremy Parish interviewed the producers of each game, learning interesting factoids about both. For example, Lancarse, part ofthe Etrian Odyssey development team, is responsible for Kage 2. And for the first time that we've seen, a Taito developer acknowledges the NES Demon Sword as a Kage series game -- before dismissing it. We had been wondering about that! And despite being a Taito side-view game with a lot of elevators (and, yes, some action), Exit was not inspired by Elevator Action. %Gallery-7439% %Gallery-6861% Source - Kage 2 Source - Exit DS
Wii Warm Up: When a little extra is too much
Hear the one about the WiiWare game that cost 500 Wii Points and came with 1,500 Points worth of downloadable content? We refer, of course, to Space Invaders Get Even!, a title that we have gushed about for some time, only to discover it comes with some very pricey DLC. Once we've forked out 500 Points for the barebones game, we've still got to pay three times that again for the full package, essentially making it more expensive than (almost) all other WiiWare!We understand why DLC appeals to publishers such as Square Enix, and we also know that we don't have to download it (so please, no need to enlighten us in the comments), but do you think Space Invaders Get Even!'s DLC is excessive? Where do you personally draw the line on what you'll spend on downloadable extras? And in your opinion, what percentage of a game's total cost should consist of DLC?%Gallery-25384%
Space Invaders Get DLC overload
Our worst suspicions are confirmed. Space Invaders Get Even! will cost us weak, pathetic earthlings more than we initially expected. While the game always sounded like a bargain at 500 Wii Points, the hidden threat of extra downloadable content loomed at the back of our minds. Three stage packs released today in Japan (along with the game), each priced at 500 Wii Points, and bringing the total cost of Space Invaders Get Even! to -- gnaaargh! -- 2,000 Wii Points. Siliconera notes that the main title is "a short game."We should have known all along, really. After all, this is Square Enix we're talking about here, renowned admirers of DLC. Needless to say, we'll yield and buy it all. Our defences have already succumbed to a hail of missiles the game's relentless charm offensive.%Gallery-25384%
Space Invaders Get a European release date
Square Enix just announced that Space Invaders Get Even, the novel take on Taito's evergreen Space Invaders series in which players control a UFO who sends Invaders to destroy Earth, will be released "across Europe" this October. Or, at least they believe Nintendo will allow it to come out in October. They released a few new screens along with the announcement, as well as the totally amazing promotional artwork seen above, which is available in a higher resolution in our gallery.We expect that an announcement from Square Enix for the US can't be far off, but this week is Europe's time to shine. %Gallery-25384%
The DS Life: Light the Way
Despite the title, this post has nothing to do with Prism: Light the Way, one of the DS's most interesting but overlooked puzzlers. Circuit City has the game on sale for $9.99 this week, though, so you should totally look into picking it up anyway! For this week's edition of The DS Life, we'll look at several images taken from photographer Patrick Brosset's collection of light painting shots, long-exposure photos taken with streaks of light drawn over the scene. What does this creative technique have to do with the Nintendo DS or gaming? Join us past the break to find out!
