News From Lik Sang

These days if it isn't on a portable console, turn based RPG's are hard to come by. Since the SNES for example, there hasn't been any home editions to Nintendo's famous Fire Emblem series, just several handheld versions. GameCube owners are already deprived of RPG's in general, but now they get not just one, but a turn based strategy game at that. From the developers of Advance Wars, Fire Emblem puts you in the role of the blue haired swordster, Ike. Across the many war stricken states of Tellius, Ike strives to become a full member of his fathers Grail Mercenary Group.

You'll lead your band of loyal mercenaries against mages, monsters and madmen of the rival kingdom, Daein, and gone is the old 2D look, replaced by 3D and impressive in battle effects. If you'd prefer to keep the pace of the classic titles however, you can always turn those close up attack cut scenes off. Intelligent Systems have also included more nods to the series rich linage, such as fonts you'll recognize, and even some sounds from the classic SNES title. Meanwhile there's a new skill system, letting you select what your troops learn, secret skills, new units that can change form mid-battle, and more upgrades. But do the changes pay off? Famitsu's impressive 34/40 Gold Award would say they sure did!

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Resisting Nintendo's urge to touch has proved tricky on occasion, with the Dual Screen handheld proving pretty darn successful in just about every territory across the globe.
Okay, the PSP may eat into its lead when it eventually makes a splash in Europe later this year, but ultimately it's all about the games. And wouldn't you know, a brand new great big DS games list has been doing the rounds today, which we present below for your delectation.

Although there are few surprises amongst the 200-plus titles here, there's certainly many delights with Advance Wars 3 now confirmed for DS, as well as the splendid Katamari Damacy and a Metroid Pinball title all DS-bound.


Other delights include the improbably named Frogger Helmet Havoc (make up your own gags) and Caduceus Surgical Operation which will be of particular interest to one C&VG writer who has strange and unhealthy obsession with surgical games.
Of particular interest is the TBA (to be announced) column which figures down the bottom, where we see a Team Ninja game is promised. Splendid.

Anyway here's the list for you in full...

The great big DS games list

Advance Wars 3 Battle for Omega Land (Nintendo)
Age of Empires II The Age of Kings (Majesco)
Animal Crossing (Nintendo)
Animal Planet (Conspiracy Entertainment)
Animaniacs Lights, Camera, Action (Ignition Entertainment)
Animetic RPG (Arika)
Another Code (Nintendo)
Armored Core series (From Software)
Asphalt Urban GT (Ubisoft)
Baten Kaitos DS (Namco)
Batman Begins (Electronic Arts)
Big Mutha Truckers DS (2K Games)
Blades of Thunder 2 (SummitSoft)
Bleach (Sega)
Boktai (Konami)
Bomberman DS (Ubisoft)
BoukenOu Beet (Bandai)
Bubble Bobble Revolution (Rising Star Games)
Bust-a-Move series (Taito)
Caduceus Surgical Operation (Atlus)
Cars (THQ)
Castlevania (Konami)
Choro Q DS (Konami)
Cocoto Card Racer (BigBen Interactive)
Crash Clash Racing (VU Games)
Crash Tag Team (VU Games)
Deep Labyrinth (Interactive Brains)
Derby Rush Ball Bounder (Starfish)
Devlish (Starfish)
Dobutsu Shima no Chibi Gurumi 3 (Rocket Company)
Dragon Ball Z (Atari)
Dragon Ball Z (Banpresto)
Dragon Booster (Konami)
Dragon Quest Monsters series (Square Enix)
Dragon Quest Slime Morimori series (Square Enix)
Dress (Bandai)
Dust & Shadows (Neko)
Dynasty Warriors (Koei)
Egg Monster Hero (Square Enix)
Europa Universalis II (Pocket PC Studios)
Eye Shield 21 (Nintendo)
Far East of Eden series (Hudson)
Final Fantasy III (Square Enix)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series (Square Enix)
Finding Nemo (THQ)
Ford Racing DS (2K Games)
Frogger Helmet Havoc (Konami)
Fullmetal Alchemist (Bandai)
Fushugino Dungeon Pokemon World: Pikachu's Adventure (ChunSoft)
Ganbare Goemon (Konami)
Garfield Battle for Home (Game Factory)
GoldenEye Rogue Agent (Electronic Arts)
GTDS Racing (MTO)
Guruguru Nagetto (Success)
Guruguru Omiseyasan Gokko (Bandai)
Gyakuten Saiban (Capcom)
Harvest Moon Korobokkle Station (Marvelous Interactive)
Intelligent License (Now Production)
Jam with the Band (Nintendo)
Jaws (Majesco)
Jinsei Game DS (Konami)
Jissen Pachislot Hisshopou Fist of the North Star DS (Sega)
Johnny Rocketfingers (Conspiracy Entertainment)
Jump Super Stars (Nintendo)
Kaido Racing Battle (Genki)
Katamari Damacy (Namco)
Kawaii Koinu DS (MTO)
Kenshuui Tendou Dokuta (Spike)
Kerokero King (Bandai)
Keroro Gunsou (Bandai)
Kim Possible Communicator (Disney Interactive)
King Kong (Ubisoft)
Legend of the River King DS (Marvelous Interactive)
Living High, Killing Low (Genki)
Londonian Gothics: Mekyuu no Lolita (Mega Cyber)
Lost in Blue (Konami)
Lunar Genesis (Ubisoft)
Madagascar (Activision)
Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts)
Madden NFL 2006 (Electronic Arts)
Magical Vacation II (Nintendo)
Mahjong Taikai (Koei)
Mahou Touch (Bandai)
Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)
Meikyuu (Aruze)
Megaman Battle Network series (Capcom)
Meteos (Bandai)
Metroid Pinball (Nintendo)
Metroid Prime Hunters (Nintendo)
Mikke (Aki)
Minna no Mahjong: Kenkou Mahjong (MTO)
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (Bandai)
Momotarou World (Hudson)
Monster Summoner (Ertain)
Monster Rancher Jamboree (Tecmo)
Moonlight Fables (Majesco)
Mr Driller Drill Spirits (Namco)
Nanostray (Majesco)
Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 3 (Tomy)
Need for Speed Underground 2 (Electronic Arts)
Nicktoons (THQ)
Ochaken DS (MTO)
One Piece (Bandai)
Pac 'n' Roll (Namco)
Pac-Pix (Namco)
Pokemon Dash (Nintendo)
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (Nintendo)
Polarium (Nintendo)
Powerful Pro Baseball series (Konami)
Prince of Persia Warrior Within (Ubisoft)
Prince of Tennis 2005 Crystal Drive (Konami)
Professional Wrestling (Yukes)
Project Rub (Sega)
Puyo Pop Fever (Atlus)
Quad Desert Fury 2 (Majesco)
Rally DS (Spike)
Rayman DS (Ubisoft)
Rakugaki Kingdom series (Taito)
Rekishi Simulation (Koei)
Retro Atari Classics (Atari)
Ridge Racer DS (Namco)
Robots (VU Games)
ScoobyDoo Unmasked (THQ)
SD Gundam G Generation DS (Bandai)
Secret of Mana (Square Enix)
Sentouin Yamada Hajime 2 (Kids Station)
Shin Megami Tensei DS (Konami)
Shogun Warriors (Namco)
Snowboard Kids DS (Atlus)
Simple DS series: The Billiards (D3 Publisher)
Simple DS series: The Mahjong (D3 Publisher)
Simple DS series: The Mushitori (D3 Publisher)
Snood 2 Lost in Snoodville (DSI Games)
Sonic DS (Sega)
Space Invaders Revolution (Rising Star Games)
Spectral Force (Idea Factory)
Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
SpongeBob SquarePants (THQ) ...

Lately im sure you have all heard of the Passme Device for the Nintendo DS which enables you to play Homebrew DS Games and Demos on the DS (If you have a GBA Flash Card), then last week we had Fireflys Wireless Boot Method but now it seems theres a Nintendo DS Flash Cart in the making, heres the what the Nintendo DS Flash Carts specs are:

The GBA / SP / NDS 3in1 Flash cart is coming soon!
Memory size form 512Mb to 1Gb
Support NDS cart save
With Magic Key Technology
Directly support TXT / HTML / JPG / GIF / BMP / PNG / NES / SEGA GG / PC-E
/ GB / GBA / NEO(NDS)..... many file format.

Heres a Picture of the box: ...

The next release will be version 1.1.1
It will have:
- Fixed music in Sonic and a few other games
- 2 player working with SDload
- A quit option if booted with SDload, otherwise it'll just restart your GC.

The first two are already done. The third one I started adding earlier today, I just need to find an easy way to check for SDload.

After 1.1.1 will probably come 1.2, assuming I dont need to do another bugfix release. I want to add a fix for the video problem, and loading games from SD card to 1.2 for sure, anything else is a maybe, otherwise it'll be thrown off until a later release. The author of the Dreamcast port contacted me back in December and told me he has written code to allow saving, so maybe after I get SD card loading working, I'll try saving.

Of course, anyone is welcome to download the source and add it themselves, I could include it in a new release. ...

In March, Nintendo announced it was releasing its popular DS handheld in a quartet of new colors: Graphite Black, Pure White, Turquoise Blue, and Candy Pink. The catch? They were only coming out in Japan. Unless they felt like importing the models from Japan, it looked like American fans of the dual-screen portable would have to make do with the standard, black-and-silver "Titanium" model for the foreseeable future.



So it came as a pleasant surprise today when Nintendo of America announced the "Western hemisphere" would be getting a special DS color of its own. In June, the all-new Electric Blue DS will arrive on US shores in June as "a permanent color in the DS palette." Given than the introduction of just two new colors doubled DS sales in Japan, its likely America will see the portable in different hues in the future.

In a prepared statement, NOA senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications George Harrison span the new shade of handheld as a major event. "Nearly two million Nintendo DS owners in North America alone have demonstrated they want something new from a handheld video game system," he said. "Soon, consumers will have two popular choices for the innovative dual-screened Nintendo DS."

Besides the six aforementioned tints, the DS is also available in several different color schemes in (sometimes very) limited quantities--again, only in Japan. Besides a co-branded light blue Pepsi DS and a metallic blue Pokemon-themed DS, Nintendo gave away 10 special edition DSes emblazoned with original artwork from the DS game Electroplankton. ...

Microsoft's is still planning to ship two different versions of its Xbox 360 console at launch, according to sources close to the company - while reports suggest that the high-end version may feature the firm's WebTV system.

It's long been thought that Microsoft plans to ship two different Xbox 360 bundles, one with a hard drive and one without, and give users the option of upgrading the low-end system with a hard drive accessory.

Sources close to the firm have confirmed this week that there's much talk of two distinct price points, which seems to indicate that this is still the plan for launch - while a report on well-connected gaming blog Kotaku gives an indication of how the two different models will be differentiated.

The site reports that the basic edition of Xbox 360 - the version without the hard drive - will not have backwards compatibility, while the "premium" version with the hard drive will ship with Microsoft's WebTV functionality built-in.

WebTV is Microsoft's effort at bringing internet communication and media functionality to the living room, and includes basic functionality such as web, e-mail and IM access along with the ability to stream music and video channels from the 'net or from local PCs.

Integrating the system with Xbox 360 would be a logical move, and a major land-grab for Microsoft in this space - which is tipped to become more important in the coming years as increasing amounts of content are broadcast over the Internet as opposed to over traditional TV networks.

A major question mark over the possibility of a the two-tier Xbox launch, however, lies with the question of customised content - one of J Allard's most vaunted goals for the new system - and how that would tie in with a low-end Xbox 360 without a mass storage device.

One part of the answer to that question is the inclusion of a high-capacity solid state memory device with the system, which wouldn't be large enough to store music or movies in any significant volume - or to act as a cache for Xbox games, as the existing Xbox' hard drive does - but would be able to act as a cache customised game assets.

Indeed, last year Israeli flash memory specialist M-Systems confirmed that it is working on a memory solution for Xbox 2, with CEO Dov Moran stating that "when users want to save their e-mail messages, copy music, or anything like that, the only storage they’ll have is what we give them."

Another part of the answer to that question may come from Kotaku's sources, who indicated to the site that around 80 per cent of the systems produced for launch would be the "premium" version - suggesting that the lower-end model is, more than anything else, a concession to launching a competitively priced "games only" system.

Sony is also widely expected to launch multiple versions of the PlayStation 3 console, which is due to arrive in 2006, with both "home media server" and stripped down "basic console" versions believed to be on the cards. ...

With Xbox 360's May 12th unveiling fast approaching, talk is starting to extend to the console's third-party software, with THQ and EA both revealing preliminary details of their wares this week.

THQ yesterday released a brief missive stating that its internal studios Relic Entertainment (Homeworld, Dawn of War) and Volition, Inc. (Red Faction, The Punisher) are working on "exclusive content" for the new format.

EA, meanwhile, has gone a step further, announcing that it plans to broadcast a 60-second advert for its next-generation version of Madden NFL during the NFL draft on American sports TV channel ESPN this Saturday, April 23rd.

EA didn't specify format, but Xbox 360 must be a safe bet, and a PlayStation 3 version is almost certainly on the cards at some point too. A single teaser image of the game - previously seen at an investor conference in the USA - has also been released by the firm, and can be seen on our sister site, Eurogamer.net.

As we draw closer to May 12th, fully expect there to be plenty more of these little snippets. Although Microsoft recently announced a list of publishers committed to the next-generation format, and confirmed that Fable, Project Gotham and Halo would appear on the console, discussion of the software itself has otherwise been limited to the odd glimpse of games on release schedules. Only relatively small projects from independents have really been shown in any detail as they pitch for publisher support.

Xbox 360 is due to be unveiled by Microsoft in a half-hour MTV special on May 12th in the US, rebroadcast around the globe a day later. Microsoft then plans to unveil the console in more detail at its pre-E3 press conference on May 16th. ...

What with the recent cancellation of ECTS, GDCE and SCoRE, the UK games industry's event calendar has been looking empty of late - but an announcement today reveals that the Classic Gaming Expo is still taking place.

CGEUK was previously down to host the 'Retro Zone' at this year's Game Zone Live, but since that event was also cancelled the future had been in doubt. However, it turned out there was plenty of support for a standalone show, as CGEUK organiser Chris Millard told GamesIndustry.biz.

"We held the first Classic Gaming Expo last year, and it proved very popular. GZL approached us to do Retro Zone because we'd done a better job of exhibiting classic games than they had," he said.

"When we heard that GZL was cancelled, we approached all our exhibitors and supporters with the idea of doing our own separate event and the response was overwhelming.

"Every single one said they still wanted to be involved, and were prepared to move their schedules around to fit the new date," Millard continued. "Even our special guests rearranged their schedules for us."

CGEUK will now be held on Saturday August 13, when classic gaming fans can visit the Fairfield Halls in Croydon to see consoles, computers, arcade machines and pinball tables dating from the seventies right through to the nineties.

Gamers will get to go head-to-head on classic machines, competing at games such Outrun, Space Invaders and Pac-Man. There will also be competitions for gamers with disabilities - these are being organised in conjunction with OneSwitch, which manufactures and imports products for disabled gamers.

Special guests at the show will include Matthew Smith of Manic Miner fame, Andy Nuttall and some of his Bullfrog colleagues, plus Ocean Software staff. Archer Maclean will also be there to show off some arcade machines from his private collection.

When asked why there's still so much interest in classic gaming, Millard replied: "It's difficult to say... There are a lot of different answers.

"But overall, the simplicity of the games has a lot to do with it - the games are a lot more playable than some of the stuff that's out there now."

And retro gaming doesn't just appeal to older gamers, apparently. "When we first started taking classic games to events, kids were going straight for our machines. Rather than the newer consoles, they wanted to try out the Atari 2600s and the BBC Acorns," said Millard.

"For kids, it's fascination because they've never seen the technology before. For the 30-plus adults, it brings back memories and evokes a lot of nostalgia."

There are a limited number of stands left at this year's CGEUK - anyone wishing to exhibit should email Millard at [email protected]. Tickets will go on sale shortly from the official CGEUK website.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8103 ...

Speaking of Nintendo, the word on the street is that contrary to what everyone was expecting/hoping, they’re actually not going to be showing off their next-gen Revolution console at E3 next month. Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata is reportedly concerned that the console is so filled with mind-blowing awesomeness that he’d rather wait until it’s closer to being released to show it off rather than risk competitors stealing all their great ideas. Oh, and it probably doesn’t hurt that they’d be jockeying with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 for everyone’s attention. Anyway, this is still unconfirmed, but supposedly they’re only going to show off a few Revolution demos and focus on the Nintendo DS (and its wireless multiplayer gaming capabilities) instead. ...