This site is one of 17 sites (yes 17 ) ran by one person and is hosted by the Emulation 64 Network and now 3 of the biggest and best sites in that network have merged to create one of the worlds best sites for General and Next Gen emulation, check out Emulation 64 Network Here --> http://www.emulation64.com/ ...

This site is one of 17 sites (yes 17 ) ran by one person and is hosted by the Emulation 64 Network and now 3 of the biggest and best sites in that network have merged to create one of the worlds best sites for General and Next Gen emulation, check out Emulation 64 Network Here --> http://www.emulation64.com/ ...

This site is one of 17 sites (yes 17 ) ran by one person and is hosted by the Emulation 64 Network and now 3 of the biggest and best sites in that network have merged to create one of the worlds best sites for General and Next Gen emulation, check out Emulation 64 Network Here --> http://www.emulation64.com/ ...

Mario... smash! The Godzilla-style rampage is... um, well, it seems like a bit of a gimmick, actually.

After bouncing through a couple of level's-worth of traditional Mario fun, you finally find a mushroom that takes several headbutts to dislodge, growing each time.

Scoff it and Mario gets super-sized, ready for a block-walloping rampage that only lasts about 20 seconds. Fun, but ultimately just a bit distracting.

"It's upsetting that there isn't more detail in the characters"

The real fun's in the more conventional Mario action. Though it's similar to the original, the action's been subtly altered to reflect developments in platform games.

So, for instance, Mazza's got a double-jump as well as a wall-bounce and a flying arse-splash. This may be nothing new to platform veterans, but it's certainly an interesting addition to pipe-n-flower land.

Slightly disappointingly, the touch-screen's barely used, except as an inventory - it's possible to keep up to three power-ups in the clip at once, tapping them to activate.

It's also upsetting that there isn't more detail in the characters. At the moment, they look almost as if they've been imported directly from the likes of Mario World and Double Dash, instead of being developed specifically for this game.

Mario Bros does exactly what retro-heads would expect, but anyone raised on the madness of Jak and Daxter might want to look elsewhere for their platforming thrills.

New Super Mario Bros will be available for DS in October ...

Even before the unveiling of the Xbox 360 in May, Microsoft made no secret that it hoped for a better showing this time around in the Japanese market, a region dominated by rivals Sony and Nintendo. Last month at Xbox Summit 2005, the company unveiled a long list of Japanese publishers that have signed up as third-party game makers for the Xbox 360. Over the past months, some better known developers such as Q Entertainment's Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Game Republic's Yoshiki Okamoto have talked about their commitment to the Xbox 360, but there's been little opportunity to hear from other developers on the development challenges and opportunities. The latest issue of Famitsu Xbox features a series of interviews with the newly announced third-party developers, who talked in-depth about what it's like to make games for the next-generation console.


"When you consider the essence of videogames, you can't take away its graphics, sound, and interactivity. The Xbox 360 is the best solution [to delivering the highest quality gaming] at the current time," said Tecmo producer Tomonobu Itagaki, who is currently developing Dead or Alive 4 as an Xbox 360 launch title, with three more games also underway in the future.

Other Japanese developers certainly agree with Itagaki, especially in terms of graphics. The developers at Yuke's, best known for the WWE SmackDown! series, are working on a new wrestling game called Wrestle Kingdom for the Xbox 360, and the differences in the console's graphic capabilities are, well, striking. Director Koji Ito and chief planner Shunsuke Katsumata commented that the Xbox 360 allows a game's atmosphere to be considerably more realistic than in previous consoles, which is due to the machine's lighting effect calculations.

"Self-shadowing effects contribute a lot to making a pro-wrestling game," Katsumata said. "When it comes to pro-wrestling games, trying to render the wrestlers' muscles is really the key point. But up until now, we couldn't even use a virtual self-shadowing effect, due to hardware limitations."

But for the game creators, the Xbox 360's graphics are just the surface of the new development experience. They explain there's much more to the console than just high definition graphics and new rendering formats.

Capcom producer Keiji Inafune, who's making the new zombie action game Dead Rising said the console offers plenty of potential, but how much of that gamers get to see depends on how developers use its multi-core architecture. "I believe that we'll be seeing two kinds of games for a while after the Xbox 360's launch," Inafune said. "Games that feel like something on current generation consoles, and games that feel like they're Xbox 360 titles."

Despite whatever problems the multi-core architecture brings up, the Japanese developers interviewed in the magazine all seem to agree that the Xbox 360 is developer-friendly, with one of the main reasons being that the development environment is based on Direct X. The developers also spoke highly of the Xbox 360's development kit for its array of tools including Visual C++ programming support, and flexibility in recycling the programs that they've created.

"For example, if we had two projects going on, [the Xbox 360's development environment] would allow us to take different program components created from the two teams, and merge them into a single software [application]. That wasn't possible up until now," explained Cavia chief producer Takuya Iwasaki, who is currently studying the console's hardware for an upcoming project. "Also, once we create a game, we can take parts of it and build it into a new game. So if we make a program to display an ocean wave, we can use it again and again."

But even with Microsoft's development tools and strong technical support (another aspect for which the developers had kind words), there are still a number of issues game makers face. Many developers consider the system's graphic capabilities "double-edged." The Xbox 360 can handle much better looking graphics than previous consoles, but it also requires a lot more effort in development.

"We had no intention to make Rumble Roses XX just a usual port. We were hyped, saying to ourselves that we're going to make it a completely new game," says Konami producer Akari Uchida. "But when it came time for the actual development, we realized that the volume of data [for the Xbox 360] would be one digit different [from current consoles]. The number of polygons per character by itself is 10 times larger than current consoles. … It's as though we need to bring the quality graphics from pre-rendered movies into to the actual game."

What might be an issue for smaller publishers is trying to make 2D games, which are still popular for handheld machines, but slowly disappearing from the home console space. As SNK Playmore producer Soichiro Hosoya explains, "The development tools are meant for 3D games, so it isn't any easier to make 2D games for the Xbox 360." However, ...

Looking for all the world like a shrunken version of Altec Lansing’s inMotion, Griffin Tech’s TuneBox is yet another speaker system for the iPod shuffle. Like PodGear’s ShuffleStation (but more compact and less funky looking), it charges the shuffle while it’s plugged in, and is available now for about $40. We still don’t get the point of turning the shuffle into an amped system, but we guess it’s reasonable if you’re either a traveler with a very small music collection or an oompa loompa looking for a boom box. ...

Looking for all the world like a shrunken version of Altec Lansing’s inMotion, Griffin Tech’s TuneBox is yet another speaker system for the iPod shuffle. Like PodGear’s ShuffleStation (but more compact and less funky looking), it charges the shuffle while it’s plugged in, and is available now for about $40. We still don’t get the point of turning the shuffle into an amped system, but we guess it’s reasonable if you’re either a traveler with a very small music collection or an oompa loompa looking for a boom box. ...

Some great news from Divineo China

M3 Adapter is made for those who want to download freeware games, movies and music from a PC to a GBA(SP) and/or Nintendo DS. You can use your PC and normal Compact Flash Card Reader to transfer and convert you movie & music files to the Compact Flash Cards.

There are two M3 Adapters available, CF (Compact Flash) and SD (Secure Digital).

Heres a screenshot



Compatible with all GBA games without any patching required and without any problem during gameplay. NDS games require patching.

Excellent Save compatibility. It support all saves types with the RTC function.

Capacity is very flexible and only depends on the card you use, which now are up to 4GBypte (32Gbit) on the market.

GOLDEN FINGER (CHEAT Code ) employs the IPS system that prevails in the world, with more diverse and powerful distinctive functions than CHT. The unique Auto IPS feature completely prevents computer crash.

With unique Super Real Time Save Function, easily operates and it can revive without limits.

CF/SD card +Reader can be used as a U disk and it only needs drag here and there when the game is burning.

Saves money: CF/SD card can also be used in digital camera and other products, and you can share your card as you need it without the need to buy a dedicated card for your NDS/GBA.

Supports GBA Games, FC games, Emulator games, GBA Movies, E-book, Cartoon books, browse pictures, enjoy music and so on.

Supports 4-key reboot to Rom menu function, and supports 4-key reboot beginning function.

Very safe for your CF/SD card.

Preorder your M3 Adapter HERE ...

Some great news from Divineo China

M3 Adapter is made for those who want to download freeware games, movies and music from a PC to a GBA(SP) and/or Nintendo DS. You can use your PC and normal Compact Flash Card Reader to transfer and convert you movie & music files to the Compact Flash Cards.

There are two M3 Adapters available, CF (Compact Flash) and SD (Secure Digital).

Heres a screenshot



Compatible with all GBA games without any patching required and without any problem during gameplay. NDS games require patching.

Excellent Save compatibility. It support all saves types with the RTC function.

Capacity is very flexible and only depends on the card you use, which now are up to 4GBypte (32Gbit) on the market.

GOLDEN FINGER (CHEAT Code ) employs the IPS system that prevails in the world, with more diverse and powerful distinctive functions than CHT. The unique Auto IPS feature completely prevents computer crash.

With unique Super Real Time Save Function, easily operates and it can revive without limits.

CF/SD card +Reader can be used as a U disk and it only needs drag here and there when the game is burning.

Saves money: CF/SD card can also be used in digital camera and other products, and you can share your card as you need it without the need to buy a dedicated card for your NDS/GBA.

Supports GBA Games, FC games, Emulator games, GBA Movies, E-book, Cartoon books, browse pictures, enjoy music and so on.

Supports 4-key reboot to Rom menu function, and supports 4-key reboot beginning function.

Very safe for your CF/SD card.

Preorder your M3 Adapter HERE ...