via joystiq

The genre-bending puzzle/RPG game for the Nintendo DS and PSP, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, hits store shelves tomorrow. Developer Infinite Interactive couldn't contain their excitement, so they released a PC demo of the game to make sure everyone was as giddy as they are.

Puzzle Quest is a cross between a casual tile-swapping puzzle game and a classic CRPG. You choose a character and explore a fantasy kingdom where you go on quests, shop for items, and manage a host of spells and statistics. Engaging in battle is a different story. Instead of slapping each other with pieces of sharp metal, Puzzle Quest uses the familiar Bejeweled formula. Swap tiles and make matches to gather mana points for spells, earn experience, and damage the enemy. You and your opponent take turns moving tiles, so quite a bit of strategy is needed to balance offensive and defensive postures.

Infinite Interactive is trying to bridge the gap between casual and hardcore gamers with a game that's easy to play in short bursts but can hold you for longer periods of time. The demo shows promise, but it's not without its faults. Does Puzzle Quest have what it takes to make both casual and hardcore players swoon?

Demo Here ...

via joystiq

The genre-bending puzzle/RPG game for the Nintendo DS and PSP, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, hits store shelves tomorrow. Developer Infinite Interactive couldn't contain their excitement, so they released a PC demo of the game to make sure everyone was as giddy as they are.

Puzzle Quest is a cross between a casual tile-swapping puzzle game and a classic CRPG. You choose a character and explore a fantasy kingdom where you go on quests, shop for items, and manage a host of spells and statistics. Engaging in battle is a different story. Instead of slapping each other with pieces of sharp metal, Puzzle Quest uses the familiar Bejeweled formula. Swap tiles and make matches to gather mana points for spells, earn experience, and damage the enemy. You and your opponent take turns moving tiles, so quite a bit of strategy is needed to balance offensive and defensive postures.

Infinite Interactive is trying to bridge the gap between casual and hardcore gamers with a game that's easy to play in short bursts but can hold you for longer periods of time. The demo shows promise, but it's not without its faults. Does Puzzle Quest have what it takes to make both casual and hardcore players swoon?

Demo Here ...

Awesome new Chrome Wii Case coming soon, heres the info:

Now the Wii can look fun as well as play fun! XCM are back and bring their years of replacement case development to the mighty popular Wii. I-Case is a complete, high quality and colourful replacement shell for the Wii console. It’s perfect for those gamers who want to inject their Wii with further healthy does of fun and make their console stand out from the rest. Boasting a simple installation procedure, virtually anyone from young gamers to your Gran could install the I-Case! Initial colours available include Chrome, Crystal Blue and Black. ...

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that aside from the UK, Microsoft's Xbox 360 is not proving popular amongst European consumers.

Speaking in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Fils-Aime stated that the Wii is trouncing sales of its only next-gen rival in European territories.

"360 is selling well only in one country: UK," he said.

"Across the rest of Europe, it is not performing well. Wii on the other hand, is selling exceptionally well all through Europe."

Although Microsoft hasn't revealed specific sales figures for the Xbox 360 in Europe, the company is expecting to meet worldwide sales of around 12 million units by the end of June 2007.

The outspoken Nintendo boss also acknowledged that demand for the Wii has resulted in a lack of stock at retail, echoing similar comments made last week to GamesIndustry.biz by Nintendo's senior marketing director Laurent Fischer.

He also revealed that claims of damage to consumer's TVs from broken Wii straps are of "a remarkably small number".

via gibiz ...

via eurogamer

Nintendo has dismissed reports that it's going to release an external hard disk drive for the Wii so that people can transfer some of their stuff off the machine's internal flash drive, but it has confirmed that the DS is about to get a voice communication headset.
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Japanese magazine Gamelabo claimed that Nintendo Japan executives had met recently to discuss the hard disk drive, but Nintendo UK told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz that that's "pure rumour and speculation".

External storage is handy for Wii owners who like to buy games via Virtual Console, as the 512MB internal drive can quickly fill up. At the moment, users can invest in an SD flash-card to help store some of their software and save-game files away from the main system.

Meanwhile, Nintendo told gi.biz that reports Pokémon Diamond and Pearl will be released alongside a headset peripheral for online voice chat when they arrive in the US next month were true.

The company couldn't confirm plans for a European headset release, but it seems highly likely we'll see one when the games go on sale later this year.. ...

via eurogamer

Koei's revealed more information about its exclusive Wii title Opoona, which will be a "lifestyle RPG" due for release in Japan this summer.

The game is in development at ArtePiazza, the team behind the artwork on the Dragon Quest games, and is set in a "fusion of modern design and fantasy".

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You play as Opoona, descendant of the Cosmo Guard - brave warriors who strive to maintain peace. On a visit to Landroll he becomes separated from his family. His brother and sister go missing and his parents wind up in hospital, and it's up to you to find out why.

In order to investigate further you'll have to travel across the galaxy, from colony to colony. In order to do this you'll need a licence so that you can get a job. Your initial options will be either an idol, rescuer or detective.

However, once you start evolving relationships with other characters and completing duties, your Tamodachi Level will increase, expanding your options. Soon a much broader range of activities will open up, presenting new activities, adventures and jobs before you.

The other area Opoona hopes to succeed is in combat, by using its Active Bonbon Battle system. You see, Opoona has an Energy Bonbon floating above his head like a hovering ball, and its this you fling at enemies by snapping the Nunchuck.

Once you acquire a target, the bonbon will lock on and attack without fail, making it easy for beginners. However, the real skill comes in when you manipulate the trajectory of the bonbon, fiddling with it in strategic ways to gain multi-attacks.

You'll also be able to play as both Opoona's bonbon-flinging brother and sister, Copoona and Poleena, and the whole game is playable using just the Nunchuck.

As your adventure furthers you'll meet up with Chaica, a skillful fighter useful in your battle against the Dark Rogues. You'll also be able to go shopping for rare collectables, something to show your friends at gatherings, we suppose. ...

via engadget

Props to Zunerama for an anti-hack so painfully obvious we're kind of kicking ourselves for not having thought of it before. Want to live stream your music to your pals with Zunes (what do you mean your pals don't have Zunes?) or even FM radios? Just use the FM transmitter. It's relatively low-powered, of course (unless you performed that other hack), but at least anyone who happens to know you're broadcasting on that particular frequency can listen in. Of course, it would be nice if they actually added this feature via WiFi so you could get nearby Zune discovery, track information, and all the fun stuff that makes us pissed about having to resort to such a silly hack as this.

More Info ...

via gp32spain comes a new Amstrad CPC Emulator for the GP2X.

Heres whats new via translation:


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via PSP Fanboy

Like many gamers I've always had the desire to own every console that hits the market. Unfortunately I never owned a Game Park. I always admired the fact that despited not really having big developer support, the system found a fanbase because of its homebrew scene. The systems success also was probably helped by the fact that the Korean gaming platform didn't have a lot of competition.

Until 2002 Japanese electronics were banned from Korea. The increase of competition also came with a system (PSP) that was more than capable of doing homebrew perfectly, making importing a handheld with a homebrew bent less attractive. Now insert credit is reporting that Game Park has declared bankruptcy and their once proud gaming site is replaced by one that sells shoes. You can probably still pick up one of the many Game Park system variations, but it doesn't reduce the sadness of one less player in the games industry.


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