Nocturnal has just released Catapult v1.41.4. This release includes full compression support for GBA ROMs, including ADPCM compression for sounds - and support for a user-defined sound cache.

This release includes more than 100 improvements over the one. It also includes CSL 1.6, the latest users guide, 10+ new commands and much more.
http://www.nocturnal-central.com/catapult.php ...

BoyScout v.1.0 has been released!
Quote from http://www.pidelipom.com/boyscout/...

My prayers were answered and I have now recieved help fixing the channel 3 playback library bug. My greatest appreciation goes to Dave Murphy (WinterMute) for doing this. This version includes a modified tracker EXE which aligns the channel 3 waveforms properly in its .BGF file output. That together with a change in the order in which the bit flags for controlling channel 3 are set, have brought BoyScout to a final version 1.0 milestone.

Please download the latest v.1.0 distribution from the downloads section.

I'd also like to direct people to WinterMute's devkitPro page, which includes a library called libagb that now contains the fixed BoyScout playback routines. In the project's CVS is also a compiling example of BoyScout playback. ...

GBAx.com have posted the following news:

We have PC - DS wifi compatible cards for the PC, you can upload and run homebrew/freeware/demos to your DS console with these, get them here.

Time for me to get one too ...

Draw Pac-Man - the sharp angle of the mouth, then his round body - and he'll animate and move off in the direction you drew him facing.

Guide him towards the roaming ghosts by drawing walls in front of him: the direction you draw the wall is the direction in which he travels.

That's the simple premise behind this game, and it captivated the crowds when the DS was first playable at last year's E3. But there's more to Pac-Pix than that.

"Pac-Pix is one of the most memorable games you'll ever play"

It's much cleverer than we originally thought. Although stages are essentially a collection of ghost hunts (catch them all to progress to the next stage) many factors complicate that process.

To begin with, there's a time limit, and it gets fairly strict in the latter stages. So you need to create multiple Pac-Men to make your ghost-catching more efficient.

You also have to think about the size of your Pac-Man. Bigger ones have a larger catchment area but move more slowly, so you need a team of screen-filling and speedy Pac-People, working together.

And there's more. The top screen has a little pathway that loops back onto the bottom screen. This area is normally locked, and Pac-Man must hit a switch to get access to the ghosts that are hiding up there.

The top screen also has a number of ghosts floating in unreachable bubbles. These must be burst with arrows, which you draw. They fire off in the direction you draw them and can also be used to shoot at bosses.

You must also draw bombs to break open ghost-trapping blocks. This all creates a number of dynamics that have to be used together if you're going to succeed.

That's quite a lot to think about, and part of the challenge is keeping track of everything that's going on.

The fact that failure on any stage means replaying an entire level again can be extremely frustrating, especially when you're learning how best to approach a situation. But the sheer originality and inventiveness of it all inevitably wins through, making this one of the most memorable games you'll ever play.

Pac-Pix is out now in Japan and will be released in the UK for DS this summer

Overall: 4/5 ...

for ten straight hours without a recharge.

Meteos is the most compellingly perfect puzzler we've played in years. It blends the tactical simplicity of Puyo Pop with the high-adrenaline kick of a decent shoot-'em-up.

The concept is simple, but brilliant: clear away falling, coloured blocks by launching them into space. Connecting three of the same colour creates a rocket-powered platform that lifts off, carrying with it all the blocks directly above it.




"Meteos blends tactical simplicity with a high-adrenaline kick"







Clearly, you want to build the platform as low down as possible in your pile of blocks, so it removes more clutter from the screen.

But if you try to launch too many blocks the rockets won't be able to clear the planet's gravity field, making it barely halfway up the screen before beginning to get dragged back down to earth.

That's when you have to start creating further reactions within the hovering platforms by rearranging the blocks they contain or flinging more blocks into them from the pile of spares below.

You can also set up chain reactions by arranging everything so the blocks return to the ground and settle into an instant group of three.

This gives the biggest possible rocket boost but runs the risk of accumulating a lot of heavy debris from above, as you have to wait a few seconds until the platform touches down.

Too much debris and you'll need to spark off even more explosions to get the thing moving. If your launch fails, the blocks eventually lose their 'platformness' and turn back into random clutter.

Multiplayer games get wickedly competitive, with everyone desperately trying to launch huge platforms in the face of a deluge of junk blocks from the other players.

The solo modes consist of time trials, endurance tests or battles against virtual players, with new game types as rewards for progress.

There are countless variations, each with subtle differences in gravity, block behaviour and the explosiveness of each type of combo. Depending on the rules you're playing with, connecting three blocks might launch the platform just a few pixels into the air, or completely vapourise it in an instant.

You can only play the default set of rules in the single-cart link-up mode though, so each player will need their own copy of the game to experience it fully.

Not that there's a single valid reason for any DS owner not to own this one.

When you find yourself dreaming restlessly of rocket-powered blocks after a midnight Meteos marathon, yet still try to squeeze in a couple more goes on the bus in the morning, you'll know you've found a game with that rare spark of magic. Don't forget to keep your battery charger handy.

Meteos is out now in Japan and will be released for DS in the UK this summer

Overall: 5/5 ...

Bandai's latest PS2 action title based on the hugely popular Gundam franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam: One Year War, has debuted on top of the Japanese charts - but sales of the game have been disappointing compared to predecessors.

One Year War sold around 159,000 units in week one, a decent figure for any debut but still far below the performance of the last "Original Gundam" based game, Encounters In Space, which sold 359,000 units in week one back in 2003.

Bandai had obviously expected a better reaction to the title - only 36 per cent of shipped units were sold through during the week, which is very low for a chart-topping title.

Several other new releases made it into the top ten ranking this week, with another Bandai anime-based title at number two, as Saint Seiya: Chapter Sanctuary sold around 89,000 units, while Konami's Pro Baseball Spirits 2 sold around 55,000 units to come in at number three.

The entire top ten ranking is dominated by PS2 titles, with only one DS title breaking up the listing - Nintendo's own Kirby Canvas Curse DS at number six, just behind Tekken 5 at number four and Winning Eleven 8: Livewire Evolution at number five.

In hardware terms, the Nintendo DS outsold the PlayStation Portable for a third week running, taking 26 per cent of the market compared to 25 per cent for the PSP, a difference of just over a thousand units in real terms.

The DS continues to have by far the largest installed base of the two, thanks to a major head-start in late 2004, and while the difference in sales this year has been significant - around 140,000 units - the PSP still has a long way to go to catch up.

In terms of home consoles, the PS2 continues to rule the roost, holding some 33 per cent of the overall market this year - while its nearest competitor, the GameCube, languishes on just three per cent. ...

TetrisDS the first homebrew game for the Nintendo DS by Desktopman has had a new release, heres whats new:

Got my passme today, so fixed alot and added some:
added: single player is default, hold A during boot for two-player
added: after play, press start to restart game
fixed: minor bugs
fixed: uses ndslib, entirely selfcontained otherwise

Download Here. ...

FluBBa has released a new version of his Gameboy Emulator for the Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS and also the Gamecube via the Gameboy Player.

Heres whats new:

V2.2 - 2005-04-14 (FluBBa)
• Added rumble support on Gameboy Player.

Download Here. ...

Vilmos has released an addon/module for his MAME emulator for the PocketPC and Tapwave Zodiac that allows NeoGeo Emulation, heres whats in this release:

I've gotten lots of NeoGeo games to work, but I keep getting crashes on exit. See how this goes.

This does NOT have DAA and the screen isn't centered. Sorry, I have to quit but I'll fix the details tomorrow or the day after and do a full update with a final 011.

Oops almost forgot: Don't forget to Re-Search for ROM modules as it has changed from before.

Download Here. ...