DS - News
April2009
Mistwalker gives their Blue Dragon franchise a real-time strategy makeover and the end result is one surprisingly entertaining DS title.
When the original Blue Dragon title was released on Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, it became one of the system's first traditional RPG experiences. Blue Dragon captivated the gaming audience with its unique charm...
It's not quite as fun as it should be
Released simultaneously with another Taito revival, Space Invaders Extreme, Arkanoid DS is an attempt at trying to breathe life into an old arcade classic. When Arkanoid was originally released, it was essentially a clone of the Atari classic Breakout. Despite this shameless copying, Arkanoid became quite a hit...
News DSi Has a Strong Opening Weekend
Just how many units did the DSi move its opening weekend?
It was announced earlier today by Nintendo's President and CEO Satoru Iwata and Senior Managing Director Shigeru Miyamoto , the DSi had a successful opening weekend overseas and moved over 600,000 units between North America and Europe combined. 300,000 units per territory is a pretty impressive number, especially for only two days of..
News The DS To Get Video On Demand Service?
Iwata spills the beans.
It was announced before that the Wii would be getting its own video service before long in Japan, and eventually other territories should be following suit. Recently however President Iwata dropped a few tidbits about how this service may not be exclusive to Nintendo's home console. The Nintendo DS may be getting some love as well. Iwata says that the DS should be able to..
News Mini Ninjas Set To Invade DS and Wii
Hitman developer trains assassins of diminutive stature
IO Interactive – the studio behind the best-selling Hitman series of video games – has allowed its latest venture to spring from the shadows. Mini Ninjas is a cute-looking action title that features – yes, you’ve guessed it – vertically-challenged ninjas. It marks something of a radical departure for IO; the company has gained its..
News Get Ready For Even More WarioWare!
Later this month, Japanese gamers will be able to get their hands on the latest title in the WarioWare series.
Just a few days ago, the latest WarioWare was released via DSiWare, and there's already another title in the series ready to ship for the platform. Entitled Made in Ore, the game puts a huge amount of emphasis on creating microgames as opposed to playing them. Included in the final retail..
News Ubisoft announces first DSi-enhanced game
My Cooking Coach to harness the immense power of the DSi for... not much, really.
Ubisoft today announced the launch of cooking aid My Cooking Coach, designed to support the new functionality of the Nintendo DSi. You can watch the (DSi-less) trailer below the fold. The "DSi-enhanced" title, set for release in June and playable on both the...
News New York Holds Host To Rhythm Heaven
On April 9th (Rhythm) Heaven will be at Scratch Academy as part of a high-profile invitation-only event.
Nintendo's recent release, Rhythm Heaven, went down a treat at Nintendo Life, and it appears that the beat-bopping rampage is not going to relent for a while yet – Nintendo have just announced an invitation-only event that will be showcasing the game at New York's Scratch Academy. The event..
News A DSi You Cannot Object To
Capcom and Nintendo team up to bring a special edition Ace Attorney DSi to Japan.
Fans of the Ace Attorney series will probably go wild at the prospect of owning the recently announced limited edition DSi that features the emblem of the game's police force, Taihokun. Over the years the series has been going from strength to strength, and now has 4 localised Western DS versions along with a string..
News Sony: PSP is Better Than The DSi
Wow, that was unexpected
You can’t beat a good console war, but with Nintendo’s current dominance of the both the home and portable video game industries it feels like years since we had a good, close fight between two major hardware manufacturers; the glory days of the 16-bit console war seem like an eternity ago. Thankfully, it looks as if Sony is slipping on its boxing gloves and getting..
Take a trip to heaven, Nintendo style!
Simplicity in game design is often a double-edged sword. On the positive side, the player is provided with a sleek and easy to understand interface. However, this often has an equally negative impact on the depth of the experience and what you’re left with is a quick 'pick up and play' variety of game. With...
News South Korean President feeling sad about DS Piracy
Special memory cards for copying vastly outsell actual games in South Korea with little sign of slowdown.
In case you’ve just dropped onto planet earth and somehow ended up on here surfing a Nintendo website there is very popular phenomenon called a Nintendo DS. In South Korea it’s sold about 2 million console units since 2007, but software piracy has become a rampant problem in the region..
Review Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
What if you awakened one day as a Pokemon?
What if you awakened one day as a Pokemon? What if all of a sudden you find yourself in an unknown world, where you can speak and interact with many other Pokemon? Well essentially, that's what happens in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team; you wake up one day in a strange new world where you have...
Review Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol
Saving our ecosystems, one park at a time.
Chibi-Robo Park Patrol is one of those few great games that many people are just going to skip over because of its exclusivity to select retailers. Well at Nintendo Life we took it upon ourselves to give this game the review it deserves, and we must say that doing so put huge smiles on our faces; the unique...
Review Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
The stylus is mightier than the sword.
With a name like Advance Wars, one is likely to expect an action packed, heart pounding war game. Needless to say, the Advance Wars series is really none of those things. Rather, the franchise has focused on slower paced turn-oriented strategy gameplay that is not unlike a glorified game of chess. So what is...
News Nintendo 'Not So Green' Based on Environmental Report
Greenpeace puts Nintendo in last place for green practices, but are any waggling hands listening?
On March 31st Greenpeace released its annual “guide to Greener Electronics” in an adorable easy to read meter format, which lists from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) a rating for the most green of the market leading electronics companies. Guess who came in 1st place? Oops, that’s not first place that’s..
News Sega's "Project Ringo" revealed!
Called it.
Sega of Japan's "Project Ringo" has finally been revealed in this week's Famitsu magazine. To the surprise of very few here at Nintendo Life, it's an all-new Puyo Puyo game! Imaginately titled Puyo Puyo 7, the latest entry in Sega's classic falling-block puzzler series appears quite similar to previous Puyo games, with the majority of...
Feature April Fool Jokes – The Dust Settles
We select our favourite Nintendo-related pranks from the big day
April 1st is a day feared by regular inhabitants of the internet. It’s the one day of the year when you can practically ignore all amazing and outlandish news stories as rival sites attempt to out-do each other with their attempts at humour. However, putting aside the more pathetic...
Time travel has never been so complicated
Ever since the launch of the Nintendo DS console, the format has been heralded as a great way to bring out adventure games to make use of the stylus as a mouse substitute. In many ways this has borne fruit, with releases like Another Code, Hotel Dusk and the Phoenix Wright series all proving to be excellent...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Pokemon Ranger 1.5 arrives on the Nintendo DS
During the holiday season of 2006, the attention of gamers the world over was focused solely on the release of the Wii and Playstation 3, the latest consoles from Nintendo and Sony. As a result, quite a few gems for the Nintendo DS got lost in the marketing onslaught, most notably Elite Beat Agents and...
News Infinite Space clears for launch in Japan
PlatinumGames' epic space-sim/RPG gets a Japanese release date
Publisher Sega has announced that Japanese DS owners will be able to get their hands on sci-fi space-opera Infinite Space (known as Infinite Line in Japan) on June 11. Co-developed by PlatinumGames (ex-Clover Studios team and makers of MadWorld) and Nude Maker (Steel Battalion), Infinite Space allows you to craft and customise your own..
Review Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero
The Elebits head to the Nintendo DS in this action-packed sequel.
Shortly after the Wii was launched in 2006, Konami released one of the most bizarre and enjoyable third-party games that year. Entitled Elebits, the game showcased the new functionally of the Wii Remote. Played from a first-person perspective, players explored the land looking for...
News DSi Launch Party in Los Angeles
Nintendo will be holding a DSi launch party in LA, which of you mad cats will be attending this sweet scene?
Nintendo’s DSi launches in the United States April fifth. Hold your suspense, yes, that’s this week. If you’ve got your calendar set on this event, and if you also happen to be in Los Angeles, you’ll have the chance to attend a launch party hosted by none other than Nintendo. The..
March2009
News Iwata Goes To Rhythm Heaven
The latest edition of Iwata Asks, featuring an interview with the team behind Rhythm Heaven for DS!
Although Rhythm Heaven is just now making its way outside of Japan, it has actually been in around for quite some time now. Beginning on the GBA under the title Rhythm Tengoku, it quickly garnered the attention of players with its quirky style and easy to use controls. Later came an arcade version,..
You spin me right round baby right round...
It's time to spin, swing, and fling yourself into adventure with DK: Jungle Climber! Using the game's simple controls, players take control of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as they journey throughout the land trying to assist a talking banana known as Xananab. For you see, the evil King K. Rool stole five...
Review Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
Is this addition to Nintendo's Touch Generations line worth investigation?
If there’s one thing that the Nintendo DS has excelled at, it’s that it managed to expand the remit of the video gaming industry. Prior to the release of the Nintendo DS, Nintendo wasn’t doing too well in Japan. With great software failing to sell well, Nintendo had to...
News GDC 2009: The Best Of The Rest
A recap of all the third-party news and announcements for Nintendo consoles from this year's Global Developers' Conference.
Sotoru Iwata's keynote speech at this year's Global Devopers' Conference revealed more than a couple of exciting projects for Nintendo fans to look forward to in the coming months. It's not just the Big N who came to the party, however; third-party developers both independent..
Review Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director’s Cut
Murder, mystery and… Clowns?
It is a terrible mistake to call Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars a simple port seeing as it’s a game that has more added material than Nintendo have fanboys. Yet there is some basis to the claim; this game has been released on a handheld before. Originally brought to Nintendo through the GBA, Broken Sword was...
News Nintendo's GDC '09 Keynote At-A-Glance
For those unable to keep up, an overview of the stories and announcements made during Satoru Iwata's keynote speech.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dropped more than a few bombshells today during his keynote speech at the Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco - some surprising, some predicted months ago, all exciting news for Nintendo fans. Here's a look at all the announcements in brief:..
News The Giana Sisters are back on DS after a long sabbatical
That great old C64 platformer that DIDN'T feature a mustache or a plumber
Here's a little history lesson for you - back in the day (1987) there lived a pretty shameless Super Mario Bros rip off called "Great Giana Sisters", which was designed for the C64 home computer. It was in fact immensely popular, probably in part simply because it's inspiration was sweeping the globe, and Great..
Does Kirby still have the old magic or is he just full of air?
The old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" holds true in many formats. Encompassed by that is essentially everything we deal with, and the ultimate lesson is to avoid judgment based on appearances. Needless to say, it also applies to games. To simply glance at the Kirby series, you...
Taking the Nintendo Channel's new demo for a whirl!
Nintendo has really unloaded on us today. With a storage solution for the Wii, the announcement of a new Zelda for the DS, and all the other news, it's possible that one might miss one little news item. You may or may not have known that in North America, Nintendo added Rhythm Heaven to its list of DS Downloads on the Wii's Nintendo Channel, and..
News The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Earlier today at GDC 2009 Satoru Iwata announced a brand new Zelda game for the DS, Spirit Tracks.
The new The Legend of Zelda™: Spirit Tracks game that Iwata announced will utilize the intuitive touch control of Phantom Hourglass in an all new adventure that will please longtime Zelda™ fans while keeping the game accessible to all DS owners. The concept behind this Zelda game includes..
Review Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Get your thinking cap on!
A glass jar holds a single germ. After one minute, the germ splits into two germs. One minute after that, the two germs each split again, forming a total of four germs. Continuing at this rate, a single germ can multiply to fill the whole jar in exactly one hour. Knowing this, how long in minutes would it take to fill the...
News Eyes on DSi - hands-on report
Earlier today I was fortunate enough to have a little face time with the new DSi, and I came away pretty impressed by Nintendo’s new baby.
The first thing you notice compared to the DS Lite is the DSi’s matte finish, which makes it easier to hide those troublesome fingerprints. Although you could say it looks a little dull compared to the shiny glory of the DS Lite, the upside is that it felt..
The unstoppable Pokémon returns to the Nintendo DS
It’s hard to believe that a decade has already passed since Pokémon first debuted in North America. In 1998, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Red made gamers want to attempt and ‘catch-em all’ as they explored the vast land of Kanto, unearthing its secrets along the way. The game became a...
Is the first handheld instalment in Konami's classic RPG series as fun to play as it is to pronounce?
Who could have guessed that the current console generation's go-to platform for RPGs both old and new would turn out to be the humble DS? It's a hand-held, it's manufactured by Nintendo and the hardware leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to...
News Rising Star Games: 2009 Line-up Revealed
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, Steal Princess, Avalon Code and more dated for European release.
Rising Star Games, publisher of such games as Rune Factory, No More Heroes and Bomberman in Europe, has unveiled its full release line-up for 2009. Included in the eleven-game line-up are a whopping ten releases for the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms, hand-picked from the Japanese market for localisation..
Review Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure
Henry Hatsworth stars in one of the Nintendo DS' best puzzler offerings
First looks can be very deceiving. Just by taking a quick glance at Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, it isn’t difficult to assume it’s aimed at younger audiences wanting in on a simple and fun puzzle experience. Surprisingly though, there’s actually a rather...
News Nintendo Lets You Know Who Is The Daddy
Wii and DS sales continue to dominate in February. Yes, they still print money!
This past February, Nintendo sure felt the love by the consumers. Selling over seven hundred fifty thousand Wiis, a seventy-four percent increase over the Wii’s 2008 February. The DS reached slightly above five hundred eighty handhelds. Following the ambiguous duo is the Xbox 360 with almost four hundred thousand..
Is that a rocket in your pants or are you just pleased to see me?
Modern videogames can be rather depressing sometimes. As the industry becomes evermore concerned with reaching as many gamers as possible in order to generate the most cash, we’ve seen imaginative concepts fall by the wayside as ‘sure fire’ hits fly onto store shelves with...
Handheld heaven or a portable pariah?
A few years ago, EA tapped a rich vein of old-school strategy games by revamping Theme Park and Sim City for the DS's touch screens. A few years later, Bullfrog's famed God game has received similar treatment, but is it the second coming or just a slap-headed Samson? The DS's twin screens are a natural fit for...
News Picross Hits the Third Dimension
For those who are about to block... we salute you.
As if the original grid-colouring puzzler Picross weren't tricky enough, Nintendo have just released the sequel Rittai Picross ("Solid Body Picross" - similar to what they call me at the gym) in Japan and it's taken the series firmly into 3D territory for the first time in its near-fifteen year heritage. For those of you unfamiliar with..
Review Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Strategy RPG fans rejoice - another gem has come to the DS
Never played a Valkyrie Profile game before? No problem! This is the first time a Valkyrie Profile game has been on a system outside one of Sony's and you need not know a thing about tri-Ace's successful franchise or its history to jump right into the DS's first installment of this 10-year...
News Nintendo to force games on DS buyers?
In future, DS Lite consoles will only be available packaged with first-party Nintendo titles, limiting choice for customers
Following on from previous special occasion bundles, Nintendo are now increasing their distribution of DS Lite consoles pre-packaged with software titles, and completely ceasing production of the white and silver models. A Nintendo spokesperson gave this statement: We will be..
News Mario & Luigi 3 Makes Its Mark In Japan
Bowser takes the front seat in this zany RPG adventure.
Mario and Bowser have a long running history in gaming as rivals. Occasionally though, the pair cooperate to accomplish a common goal. In Mario & Luigi 3, a new DS RPG which just released in Japan, this is only half the case. In a strange series of events, Bowser ends up ingesting some Mushroom Kingdom residents, including red and green..
Has it stood the test of time?
Without a shadow of a doubt, there will be two groups of people reading this: those who have played Chrono Trigger before, and those who never had the privilege. If you are of the former, then you’ll not find too many surprises waiting you in this remake: most of what you'll find was either included on the SNES...
News EA Serves a Tea Cup Full of Dual Screen Action
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is released today in North America, and on Friday in Europe
Visitors to Nintendo Life this week must need their eyes testing if they haven’t comes across EA’s upcoming DS puzzler Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure yet – after all our homepage is bright orange and features the man himself! If you still need any more persuasion to go out and buy..
Peggle heads to the Nintendo DS in one of the handheld's best offerings.
Over the past few years, Peggle has become known as one of the most addicting and enjoyable puzzle action games on the market. After playing for only a few minutes, you know you’re playing special and will immediately become hooked on the game. After already hitting the Xbox...
News Pokémon Platinum Makes its U.S. Arrival Well Known
Pokémon Platinum hits U.S. shelves March twenty-second. Does Nintendo have any special preparations for this next installment? You sure can bet they do!
Believe it or not, March twenty-second marks the launch of Pokémon Platinum. It doesn't seem that long since Diamond and Pearl arrived, or is it just me? In Platinum, expect a plethora of features and locations, from the new Distortion world,..
Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
What this remake lacks in innovation it more than makes up for in polish
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Nintendo DS is the best current generation system to look to when it comes to role-playing games. With titles like Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest V, The World Ends With You and Children of Mana, this portable gaming wonder plays host to some of...
News Nintendo Ships Hundred Millionth DS System
Nintendo rejoices over a milestone of their greatest hand-held, but it has much more to overcome.
Nintendo’s DS Lite systems have been a true eye-catcher, and it’s showed with over ninety-six million sales around the world as of last year. While one hundred million shipped and ninety-six million sold are very impressive numbers, they still have to pass up the PlayStation 2’s one hundred two..
News Grand Theft Auto: ChinaTown Wars Gameplay
Dealing and Delivering
Fancy yourself as a bit of a drug dealer do ya? No of course you don’t, you’re a DS gamer after all! Well just pretend you are delivering Christmas presents rather than narcotics and you’ll be fine. Following his father’s murder, Huang Lee has a simple mission: deliver an ancient sword to his Uncle Kenny to ensure his family retains control of the Triad gangs of..
It’s a blast!
I promise that’s the first and only pun you’ll see in this review - If you’ve played any of the popular Geometry Wars games on Xbox 360, Wii or DS you’ll be perfectly at home when you fire up XG Blast. From its instantly gratifying action and futuristic aesthetic, it borrows from any one of a dozen classic shooters, but does...
Review Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Use the hoe!
For years, Natsume’s Harvest Moon series has been repeating the same old formula – grow crops, brush cows, get married and live happily ever after. The first DS release was the snappy Harvest Moon DS, which lazily reused graphics from GBA’s Friends of Mineral Town (FoMT) and the town and characters from the Cube’s A Wonderful...
News Super Mario Galaxy scoops BAFTA "Best Game"
More awards for Mario but on the whole not a fantastic night for Nintendo and the Wii
The GAME British Academy Video Games Awards which took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane, were hosted by games aficionado Dara O'Briain who described these times as a 'Golden Age' for video games. Consoles like the Wii, and handheld devices like the PSP, DS and iPhone have revolutionised the gaming world..
Exploding onto stores across the UK is SouthPeak Games' fireworks shooter, Big Bang Mini.
In Big Bang Mini, your objective is to destroy wave upon wave of enemies, which in turn lights up the night sky with bursts of colorful fireworks. Use the stylus to dodge enemy fire and debris while collecting stars. Specifically designed with the Nintendo DS Touch Screen in mind, Big Bang Mini packs a..
February2009
Europe has had to endure a painful wait for the seventh entry in SNK's epic 2D blaster franchise - but has it been worth it?
As you may already be aware, we’re massive fans of SNK’s Metal Slug series. The Wii Anthology went down a storm in the Nintendo Life office and when we became aware of plans for a seventh instalment we became very animated...
Nintendo Life steps into the world of Podcasting, our very first episode is available now, presented by our very own James Newton.
In our first ever podcast episode James takes a look back at 2008, looking specifically at three outstanding Wii titles, Zack & Wiki, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Next on the agenda is 2009, where we...
January2009
Now you can paint by numbers on DS!
This review has already been delayed twice in the past month; first by Royal Mail taking two weeks to deliver the game, then again by my inability to put the game down long enough to review it. Colour Cross is a new take on the Nintendo favourite puzzler Picross, but with its own pigmented personality. Each puzzle...
Competition Win a DS Lite with Big Bang Mini
To celebrating the upcoming release of Big Bang Mini on Nintendo DS, SouthPeak games and Nintendo Life are offering a DS Lite + Big Bang Mini and another four copies of the game for the runners up.
Your objective is to navigate your ship through a brilliant array of lights, dodging intense streams of fireworks. Defeat waves of enemies by deploying...
Competition And The Winner Is...?
Much like Santa, Nintendo Life loves giving things away, it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
It's come to our attention that we've been kind of lazy with our competitions, we've emailed winners but never published them on the website itself, in the vein of doing things "betta'" in 2009 we'll be publishing the winners, because we...
Tony Hawk has a new competitor for the skating crown..
When Skate originally appeared on the Xbox 360 and PS3, it was something of a revelation to skateboarding fans who had previously only had the Tony Hawk series to contend with, each iteration proving to be similar to the last. Rather than focus on huge combinations of tricks like the Hawk, Skate...
Review Littlest Pet Shop: Winter
Your chance to have your very own Pet Shop...
Even though Littlest Pet Shop Winter is clearly aimed at a younger audience, I found the game strangely addictive for a while. Defined as “a special place where your pets will come to life and you can play with them in a whole new way,” the aim of the game is to adopt all of the pets (20 different...
December2008
Review 100 Classic Book Collection
100 classic books write their way into the DS’ history
100 Classic Books has had me intrigued since it was first announced. Being the massive bookworm that I am, I’ve been itching to give this a go for a while now. It’s here at last, and the selection on offer is simply fantastic: 22 Shakespeare; 12 Dickens (Charles, not Anthony); 5 Austen;...
Talent borrows, genius steals. The developers of Dinosaur King have IQs in the thousands.
Over the years we’ve seen many companies try to beat the success of Pokemon, each with their own set of cuddly and heavily market researched monsters. Of course, nobody can beat Nintendo at their own game, but that hasn’t stopped Sega trying with Dinosaur...
The crazy world of Shawnimals comes to life in this excellent take on the 'Tower Defence' genre
Like bread always falling butter-side down and buses coming two at a time, it’s one of life’s universal truths that whenever ninjas are added to something, it becomes infinitely cooler (with the possible exception of the lamentable Ninjabread Man, of...
Review Need For Speed: Undercover
EA attempts to cram a living, breathing city into the DS - the results aren't pretty...
It’s easy to be pessimistic about EA’s Need for Speed franchise. Considering the staggering number of titles to bear the brand name (this is the 12th game since the franchise’s inception in 1994), there have been precious few true classics. However, we...
A work of art, or a real mess?
With the DS’s touch screen and wireless communications, it’s a wonder there’s no Pictionary game available. Lucky for us, here comes Sega to plug the gap with PictoImage, their take on the classic draw-it-guess-it game. The single player mode consists of 300 pictures drawn by people of all ages, from 4 upwards,...
October2008
Competition Sonic Chronicles Goodies!
Really want to get some new Sonic goodies, feeling the credit crunch? Not to worry, you can win some right here at Nintendo Life!
Our dear friends at SEGA are giving you the chance to win some Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood goodies, we've got a host of prizes up for grabs including 10 x Sonic Chronicles sets of 3 styluses, 2 x Sonic...
Review Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Is Sonic’s first foray into the unknown land of RPG actually any good?
Let’s face it; Sonic has been a bit of a dick lately hasn’t he? You can mark the start of Sonic’s dive into mediocrity from a point in the late 90’s when someone at SEGA decided it would be “cool” to give him a “rad attitude”. From that moment onwards we’ve...
News The DSi – One Step Closer to a Portable Virtual Console?
Nintendo has just unveiled details of a new handheld console called the DSi.
But before you get too excited and spill your Sunny D all over the keyboard, it’s worth noting that it’s essentially a DS with slight modifications rather an all-new machine. Improvements include larger screens (3.25 inches, up from 3 inches), two cameras (both 0.3...
August2008
News Nintendo remain strong over the summer
Wii Fit
Recent figures suggest that Nintendo have remained strong throughout the summer in the United States. Nintendo products kept people entertained in July, whether they wanted to get fit, rock out or just play around. According to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States, Nintendo DS? and Wii? again claimed...
June2008
News Family Gamer: Dad Edition
Tis week Paul looks at what games Dad likes to play and when
Dads are a tricky subject. Some are loving and inspiring whilst others absent and off hand. Some are communicative and open, whilst others are as hard to fathom as the depths of loch Ness. Some are in touch with their creativity and at ease with their feminine side, whilst others are...
April2008
News Nintendo Squash "New DS" Rumour
Well that's no surprise then. What did I tell you? You can't remember. Well, I told you it was too damn early for a new DS.
And I was right. Following on from our report last week about the possibility of a new DS to be announced at E3. The news came from Hamamura-san (head of Japanese publishing giant Enterbrain) and has been squashed by both Nintendo of Japan's head of PR Ken Toyota and..
News New DS Castlevania Is Given A Name
More vampire-hunting tomfoolery on your portable
The Entertainment Software Rating Board of America (better known by the shorter title of ESRB) has revealed the name of Konami’s next DS Castlevania adventure: The Order of Ecclesia. Series producer IGA hinted some time ago that another DS installment was in the offing, but this is the first news we’ve heard since that announcement. There’s no..
News This Is A Pretty Hearty Rumour: DS 2 At E3?
And it's all down to an article posted by Bloomberg Japan which has caused a whole host of rumours across the nerd-o-sphere.
According to the article, the president of Japanese magazine publisher "Enterbrain" (which hosts the gaming bible "Famitsu") has commented that Nintendo may (note the emphasis) be announcing a new version of their blow-away success console: the Nintendo..
Review Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys!
Brains. Yum.
Picture the scene; you’re happily going about your business one day when suddenly a vast armada of evil alien Brain Thingys descends from the sky and rapidly proceeds to zap your friends and relatives with deadly lasers. Those they don’t fry to a crisp they turn into mindless robots via malevolent mind-control, and order them to lay...
Review Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
The biggest Japanese RPG series you've never heard of gets a new lease of life on the DS
ChunSoft’s Mystery Dungeon series (better known as Fushigi no Dungeon in its native Japan) has been running for more than a decade and has become linked with other famous videogame brands such as Pokemon, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Amazingly, despite the...
March2008
Ninja Reflex is essentially a minigame collection in the same vain as Brain Training, Maths Training, Sight Training, Potty Training and Learn-To-Walk-With-Nintendo. Ok so I made the last two up but you get the idea.
The only real exception with Ninja Reflex is that instead of teaching you everyday things, this game teaches you how to be a ninja –...
Finally - a fighting game DS owners can be proud of
Although the DS has witnessed some truly amazing titles in its lifetime, one genre that has singularly failed to translate effectively to the format is the fighting game. While the PSP has experienced some particularly impressive brawlers (despite its woeful d-pad which is put firmly in the shade...
February2008
Review Transformers: Decepticons
Transformers: Decepticons is practically the same game as the Autobots edition told from the angle of the “evil” Starscream as opposed to the “heroic” Optimus Prime.
All the gameplay flaws are present (see our review of Transformers: Autobots for the full details) the only difference being you are treated with a whole new set of cut-scenes...
I, like most other Transformers fans was pretty upset to hear that my “backpocket interest” was to be thrust into the mainstream once again.
Having loved The Transformers since I was very young sometimes it’s pretty irritating hearing all the tweens talking about something you’ve loved so much longer than them. It must be some kind of...
Review Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario and Sonic are back sooner than you think in the DS version of SEGA's biggest hit in 10 years.
With Beijing only a few months away SEGA (finally) bring us the handheld dose of Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, a game that wasoriginally to be released along side the Wii version in November. Better late than never, that's what we say. Mario...
The problem with compilations is that as a general rule of thumb, they tend to feature a handful of good games, with the rest being a load of all tat just there to make up the numbers or act as padding.
It's even worse if you come across some of those packs that boast over a thousand games, only to discover that actually, there are probably ten...
We know what you are thinking.
You have looked at the score at the bottom of the page, noticed that it is quite high and wondering how on earth a Sudoku package could possibly be rated so highly. The answer is that it isn't the Sudoku that holds our interest, it's the rather well hidden mode of picture puzzle that has us gripped, otherwise known as...
Morph (pin)ball
“Chalk and cheese” is a phrase usually used when comparing two objects of juxtaposing qualities. Such a phrase could be applied to the titles “Metroid Prime” and “pinball”, so it's quite a compliment to developers “Fuse Games” that it merged these two contrasting entities into an enjoyable DS game. Metroid Prime...
January2008
News Disney Turn The DS Into An Interactive Tour Guide
Never get lost within the Magic Kingdom again - whoopee
Some interesting developments are happening in the Magic Kingdom. In a recent post on a Disneyland fan website (we don’t make a habit of visiting these places, honest), a recent vistor to Walt’s Wacky Wonderland reveals that they were asked if they would like to participate in a trial run of the park’s new guide system. Amazingly, it..
News DS:London - Meetup, Have a Pint, Multiplayer DS
Who's in?
Recently I had the privilege of meeting up with a great bunch of people who make up the band of travelling DS gamers, DS: London. I got the chance to ask one of the organisers (Joe Lee – a.k.a. thiswayup) a few questions at the same time as playing some hardcore DS. DS: London is bringing the multiplayer gaming scene from the dark &...
News Apollo Justice Demo Released
And the best thing is, no DS is required to play it
Capcom has released a rather neat Flash-based demo for its upcoming legal sim Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. The game is the next in the Phoenix Wright series of games, although Phoenix himself has stepped down and made way for the up and coming Apollo Justice. Now there’s an excellent name for a...
Some of us have waited nearly two decades for this game - does Konami's latest 2D effort match the brilliance of the SNES Contra III?
Konami’s Contra (AKA Gryzor, Probotector) is one of those franchises that has struggled to make the transition from 2D to 3D. After the excellent arcade and 8-bit editions, lucky SNES and Megadrive owners were...
News Assassin's Creed DS Gets A Subtitle
Altair's back for another stab on the DS
The home console version may have been the most crushing disappointment your humble reporter has experienced in quite some time, but we’re nevertheless still quite excited about Assassin’s Creed: Altair's Chronicles on the DS here at NintendoLife. Publisher Ubisoft has released some details on the forthcoming prequel, which will utilize a 3D engine and..
News First Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Screens
First shots of BioWare's latest RPG epic, featuring Sonic himself!
American softco Bioware, famous for its Star Wars RPGs on the Xbox (as well as numerous other titles) has released shots of its upcoming Sonic title for the Nintendo DS. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (to give it it’s full moniker) is looking very promising indeed and the initial scans published in the latest edition of..
News Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin Gets Euro Name Change
Just to make things even more complicated
Intelligent System’s latest entry in the massively popular Advance Wars series has been given a new name for its forthcoming European release. The eagerly awaited title, which will be released in the US as Advance Wars: Days of Ruin and in Japan as Famicom Wars DS 2 (which is in keeping with the Japanese name for the franchise), will now be called Advance..
News Infinite Frontier Super Robot Wars OG Saga
Features robots and large breasts, in that order
Fans of obscure Japanese RPGs should rejoice - Famitsu magazine has recently revealed that Nintendo's Monolithsoft is working with Banpresto to create a new title called "Infinite Frontier Super Robot Wars OG Saga". I'm sure you'll agree, that's quite a mouthful. Coding duties are being handled by Terada-san, who is responsible for the..
News Nintendo Triumphant In Japan This Christmas
Videogame giant is unstoppable on home soil
Early figures from Famitsu magazine indicate that Nintendo has dominated the Japanese sales charts over the Christmas period. Although a PS2 title (Super Robot Taisen Original Generation Gaiden) took the number one position, a quick glance at the rest of the top 20 shows that the Big N is firmly in control; 7 of the top 10 titles are for Nintendo consoles..
News Full Game DS Downloads NOT Coming After All
A simple case of crossed wires?
It seems that our man Reggie was misunderstood in a recent interview with the New York Times. As we (and pretty much the rest of the internet) reported a few days back, his interview with the well known newspaper seemed to indicate that ‘full’ DS titles would be made available for download in the future. However, Nintendo has now released a statement clearing up..
News Boffins Brand Nicole Kidman A Dirty Liar
Claims that Brain Training can boost intelligence may not be true after all - well, duh
You might have seen Nintendo's Brain Training adverts, in which well-known celebrities like Patrick Stewart and Nicole Kidman gleefully promote the software like it’s a one-stop miracle solution to being a bumbling thickie. "I have quickly found that...
News Virtual Console Coming To The DS?
Reggie speaks about the upcoming game download service on the DS
The rumours have been circulating for quite some time but the concept of downloading ‘complete’ games to your Nintendo DS is becoming a reality, if a recent interview with Reggie is anything to go by. Nintendo’s main man spoke to the New York Times recently about the new ‘Everybody’s Nintendo’ channel and how DS owners..
News Sim City DS 2 Revealed In Famitsu
Long-running Japanese publication has the scoop on this interesting update of the classic city building franchise
The latest issue of Japanese videogame magazine Famistu carries an interesting news story regarding the next instalment of the Sim City franchise. Dubbed Sim City DS 2, the game appears to be heavily tailored towards younger gamers with some cute looking townspeople not a million miles..
DS - Features
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