Earlier reports of a new Persona game may not prove to be true, but Atlus does have something potentially bigger on the way. As reported earlier here at IGN, the latest Famitsu is home to first details on Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey, an all new entry in what could be called the "main" line of the Megaten series. We now have full details.

Strange Journey, the first new Shin Megami Tensei game in five years, puts players in an epic story detailing mankind's struggle for survival as a strange phenomenon that appears over the South Pole and begins rapidly expanding and consuming the planet. You play as a Japanese member of a United Nations investigation force sent out to journey into the phenomenon.

While the main character is meant to be Japanese, Strange Journey has an international cast. Your force is headed up by a man named Gore. While his nationality is not specified, Famitsu does list two other members of your group, Himenes and Zelenin, as respectively American and Russian. Himenes is just a soldier, while Zelenin takes care of the scientific side of the mission.

This force makes use of a tank-like ship called the Red Sprite. It's called a ship rather than a vehicle probably because it's huge -- a person doesn't even stand to half of one of its tires -- and also because it can fly. Three similar vehicles have been sent out to investigate the scene: The Blue Jet, The Alps, and The Gigantic.

When exploring on foot, you dawn special "Demonica Suits" armor. Head gear displays computer readouts as you move about. An arm unit is used to view a variety of data, from maps to other support information.

On the DS, the head unit translates to the top screen. The game is played in the first person, so you can better get the feeling of being the character. The arm unit translates to the bottom screen, displaying your map and giving you other options. Screenshots in Famitsu show options for "Mission Log," "Demonica," "Analyze" and "Icon Help."

As you explore, you'll encounter a Shin Megami Tensei series staple: memorable demons. The game promises the most demons in series history, at over 300. Included are creatures from past Megaten games as well as new ones.

Unfortunately, specifics on the battle system are scarce at present. There does seem to be support for battle parties of up to four. Screenshots show such skills as "Devil Co-Op," although we're going to have to wait for a followup for specifics.

Joining the demon themes of past Megaten games is the ability to make demons into ally characters. You'll be able to use your monsters in battle, and also combine them in various ways to form more powerful demons!

It sounds like Strange Journey has everything Shin Megami Tensei fans would want in a sequel. While Famitsu is a Japan-only publication, the whole world will get a first look at the game as Atlus opens a Japanese official site on Monday, complete with a first trailer. Currently, interested parties can access a teaser version of the site.

http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/100/1006136p1.html ...

News via Nintendomax

Warhawk DS is based on a much earlier game released on the C64 in 1986, and is more of a re-imagining than a remake. One thing that was intended to retain was the 'old school' feel to the game, and this is hopefully something has been achieved. The downside to keeping the feel is that those of you brought up on present day games may find this a little difficult? It is not an easy ride to clear the 16 levels, though a consession has been made for the modern-day gamer in the addition of continues.

Download Here --> http://www.headsoft.com.au/index.php...&page=download ...

Hiya folks!
It's been a bit calm around here in the blog, right?
Well, that's for one good reason: Everything is going smoothly right now.
The first check of the case data is finished, the company started creating the moulds. As soon as the first rough mould is finished (which will surely take a while, the case is a pretty complicated mesh), they are gonna do a first rough case and check that everything fits (with a final board, so that nothing can go wrong here!)
In the meantime, the PCBs are still in production. It will take them a few days longer, as they optimized the machines a bit more in the beginning. This does mean, that the boards will probably ship 10 days later (beginning of August). But it does also mean, that the build quality will be better and the failure rate is way lower. No time lost, as the case company won't need the board before August. And if the failure rate is lower in the beginning, mass production itself will be faster. So when the cases are ready, we can go full speed ahead!
So everything is going pretty well at the moment. Seems like Murphy is on holidays - which is something, we're really glad of

Of course, we used the waiting time for other stuff.
The first prototype of the TV Out cable is working, we are now designing that thing and optimizing it (i.e. put IN and OUT on the connectors, decide for the colors, etc.)

Another thing we're working at is CE / FCC. You might have seen the discussion on the gp32x.com boards. One guy said, that you need a final PROTOTYPE for FCC. The company I did ask said, the final UNIT is needed. I'm going to find out, if a prototype is enough - as that would mean, we can do FCC and CE at the same time and do have all the needed certificates when the Pandora is ready for shipping!
That should speed up everything
Michael also did some quick checks already, the Pandora doesn't do any bad things, radiation seems to be within the allowed areas. It's just a rough test, but if there was something really wrong, we could certainly find it out that way.
The only really critical part for radiation might be the WiFi antenna. But that is something that can be fixed within a few days, so we're positive CE / FCC will go smoothly.

That's it for todays posting. I'll make sure to keep you informed!

http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php ...

Hiya folks!
It's been a bit calm around here in the blog, right?
Well, that's for one good reason: Everything is going smoothly right now.
The first check of the case data is finished, the company started creating the moulds. As soon as the first rough mould is finished (which will surely take a while, the case is a pretty complicated mesh), they are gonna do a first rough case and check that everything fits (with a final board, so that nothing can go wrong here!)
In the meantime, the PCBs are still in production. It will take them a few days longer, as they optimized the machines a bit more in the beginning. This does mean, that the boards will probably ship 10 days later (beginning of August). But it does also mean, that the build quality will be better and the failure rate is way lower. No time lost, as the case company won't need the board before August. And if the failure rate is lower in the beginning, mass production itself will be faster. So when the cases are ready, we can go full speed ahead!
So everything is going pretty well at the moment. Seems like Murphy is on holidays - which is something, we're really glad of

Of course, we used the waiting time for other stuff.
The first prototype of the TV Out cable is working, we are now designing that thing and optimizing it (i.e. put IN and OUT on the connectors, decide for the colors, etc.)

Another thing we're working at is CE / FCC. You might have seen the discussion on the gp32x.com boards. One guy said, that you need a final PROTOTYPE for FCC. The company I did ask said, the final UNIT is needed. I'm going to find out, if a prototype is enough - as that would mean, we can do FCC and CE at the same time and do have all the needed certificates when the Pandora is ready for shipping!
That should speed up everything
Michael also did some quick checks already, the Pandora doesn't do any bad things, radiation seems to be within the allowed areas. It's just a rough test, but if there was something really wrong, we could certainly find it out that way.
The only really critical part for radiation might be the WiFi antenna. But that is something that can be fixed within a few days, so we're positive CE / FCC will go smoothly.

That's it for todays posting. I'll make sure to keep you informed!

http://www.openpandora.org/blog.php ...

News/release from JWM2

Turns your GP2X Wiz into a flashlight. Similar to iphone app.

Download Here ...

Aquilino has released StartPatch 4.0 & 4.1

StartPatch is a homebrew application that patches your 4.1&4.0 System Menu in a similar fashion as StarFall.

Brick Warning
In the unlikely case that you lose power during patching process, you will brick. This will only happen if you lose power while the patches are being applied, and as this is a quick process, there is small risk of bricking. However, if you do brick, no one is responsible. There is no warranty with this app. You should take a BootMii NAND dump and have BootMii installed as boot2 (if possible) as a precaution.

Non-Brick Related Note
I have only tested the 4.0.4 USA version and cannot say if others work.

People will be asking "Why do other regions get higher versions than USA?"

Because the 4.0.4 is the version that works. I have heard about 4.0.6 not copying saves correctly but 4.0.5 (and 4.0.4) do have the correct versions for removing copy protection flags.

Features
This is basically Starfall for versions 4.0 and 4.1.

The system menu hacks are:

Region free (including Wii channels and SD Card menu channels)

Skipping the disk update check

Removal of the health check

Booting recovery menu by pressing Y on a Nintendo Gamecube controller in port 1

Removal of the diagnostic disc check

Force Disc Region

Remove NoCopy Protection

Free movement of the Disc Channel

Can autoboot a game by booting the Recovery menu, pressing Y on a Nintendo Gamecube controller in port 1 and removing the diagnostic disc check

Downloads Here --> http://wiibrew.org/wiki/StartPatch ...

WiiCrazy has released Crazy Intro 0.7 :

Crazy intro is an autoboot homebrew to use along with Preloader.

Description
You can use Crazy intro to customize the opening of your wii. You can display your selected picture and play the music of your choice at each start of your wii. Also you can assign your frequently used channels to the directional buttons on the wiimote. You can use B button to quickly access homebrew channel.

0.7 - 17/07/2009 - http://www.tepetaklak.com/data/CrazyIntro-v0.7.rar

Title type now configurable, you can launch hidden channels, system channels and such... ...

Consumer software and entertainment company TOMY Corporation announced today plans to feature tournament play of NARUTO Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 for the first time this week at the 2009 Comic-Con in the San Diego Convention Center. Fans aged 13 and older can test their mettle and vie for prizes during daily tournaments featuring the upcoming Wii fighter title, or win limited edition NARUTO Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 or Ninja Destiny 2 dog tags by simply visiting the booth and trying out the game, while supplies last.

Hands-on game play trials of the upcoming Wii exclusive fighter will be available throughout the show, or attendees can gain entry into the tournaments by seeing a TOMY representative on the booth during show hours. Tournaments will take place each day from 4:30 p.m. at the Future Gaming University booth #5135, July 23 - 26. Players will compete in one of four four-player matches, with the winner of each round advancing to the final championship round each day. In the final match, the players can win by gaining two points, or by winning two rounds.

Three runners-up will receive a first-run copy of NARUTO Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 for the Nintendo Wii when it is released this fall, a copy of NARUTO Shippuden: Ninja Council 4 for the Nintendo DS, as well as a first-run copy of NARUTO Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 for the Nintendo DS when it is released in September. In addition to the prizes mentioned above, one lucky grand prize winner will receive a complete set of NARUTO Shippuden Ninjutsu Collection figures from Toynami, a Naruto Shippuden Leaf Village head band, and other Naruto collectibles from Great Eastern.

In addition to competing for prizes at the Future Gaming University booth, attendees also have the chance to participate in more tournament play for NARUTO Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 at the Viz Media booth, #2813, on Sunday, July 26 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. The grand prize winner will receive a Nintendo Wii console and a copy of the game when it ships in the fall.

For more information, please visit www.TOMY-USA.com/videogames. ...

Legendo Entertainment today announced a July 27th North American release date for The Three Musketeers: One for All! for WiiWare. The game will be priced at 900 Wii Points and will be available in English, Spanish and French language editions.

Until today the much-loved sword-swinging platform adventure inspired by Alexandre Dumas' classic novel has only been available on the PC. The Three Musketeers: One for All! has been specially revamped for Wii to provide players with more fun and interaction as they launch sword attacks and control the game's hero with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

"We are honored to be the first Swedish company ever to publish a console game in North America," said Legendo Entertainment CEO & Executive Producer Bj?rn Larsson. "We hope that North American Wii owners will enjoy our charming platform adventure and its unique visual style."

Players control famed musketeer Porthos during a daring mission to save his kidnapped comrades Aramis, Athos and the young D'Artagnan from the clutches of the sinister Count Xavier and his evil lieutenant, the hook-handed Count Orsini. Packed with frenetic combat, heroic leaps and fun puzzles, and featuring three different endings, this is one adventure no aspiring hero will want to miss!

The Three Musketeers: One for All! supports widescreen and 480p and will be released in Europe and Australia on July 31st.

Key Features:


Take control of famed member of The Three Musketeers, Porthos and save your comrades in this riveting platforming action romp suited to heroes of all ages!

Immerse yourself in a swashbuckling platform adventure, duel countless enemies, solve fun puzzles, and avoid fiendish traps.

Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls allow you to interact directly with the game. Swing the Wii Remote to launch blistering sword attacks on your foes, run and leap over rooftops and discover hidden collectables.

Explore a multitude of breathtaking levels teeming with challenging bosses and distinctive environments that include lush forests, dark dungeons, towering castles, a haunted Abbey, the historical town of Normandy, and more!

The Three Musketeers: One for All! has been rated E for Everyone (Cartoon Violence) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). ...