Lost in Blue

Hunt for your food, manage resources, make fire, survive as long as possible. Oregon Trail this is not. This is Lost In Blue for the  Nintendo DS, a new innovative game for the Tom Hanks at heart who want to see what it’s like to be cast away on a desert island.
Lost In Blue is the sequel to the barely-heard-of GBA game Survival Kids. After getting washed ashore, a teenage boy tries to survive by himself on this island. You must keep yourself (and your little marooned girlfriend) healthy, full, fit, and hydrated. This translates into compeleting minigames for you, which are made to utilize the DS’s Swiss army-like features. Aim your arrow and hunt ‘yerself some deer with the touchscreen in first person, rub sticks together to make a fire and use the Mic to blow some sparks, Milk animals and much more.
Graphics this time around are 3D, a selling point in and of itself with it comes to current DS games. Though not exactly KOTOR, the 3D is a nice boost from the regular Gameboy-esque fare from past titles. Skip past waterfalls and nice little landscapes which help the game give the feel of your own little island.  Hopefully, to add to the experience, the developer won’t add music; Just atmospheric sounds to add to the feeling of being on the island.
Lost in Blue is aimed at the more patient type of gamer, following allowing the same lines of the cult favorite farming/life sim Harvest Moon and the Gamecube’s classic animals-with-rosy-cheeks sim Animal Crossing. Action fans will likely point and laugh but fans of other games similar will be picking this one up when it hit’s the shelves.
With games like Lost In Blue, Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, and Nintendogs all ready to launch on the DS; Every gamer that ever saw those quirky Japanese titles and wished to their fairy godmother that they could land stateside is in heaven right now. Along those lines they also have a new Harvest Moon and a port of Animal Crossing mentioned earlier coming up later on. The DS, I believe, as officially earned the title ‘ Best Console For Japanese Wannabees’ like myself. Lost In Blue gets it’s goat milk lovin’ self onto your DS this September.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

“Lawyers are a hard bunch to make out to be cool, unless you’re the kind who watches Law & Order regularly. Can they work as as video game heroes, without the addition of spiky hair, weoponry or powerups? Well no, because the lawyers in this game have spikey hair. But that’s besides the point. Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney for the DS is trying to become a fast-paced text scrolling adventure that will keep it’s players on it’s feet.

Fast paced and text scroller usually results in a oxymoron in the minds of gamers. Text scrollers are usually a big turnoff to anyone who doesn’t enjoy reading dictionaries in their spare time. So, Pheonix Wright attempts to make up for this by adding a little humor to the mix.

You play the role of anime hairdo’ed, tux-clad Phoenix Wright, an attorney looking for his big break in the world of law. Playing thorugh many different court sessions, you must call forth witnesses and ask the right questions so you can defend your client (or prosecute your opponent) to win the case. Before cases, you gather up evidence and read a profile of the people involved. Walk around the city and interview witness to gather the proof you need. Statements, questions, and rebuddles are shown on the bottom screen while the speaker’s mug dominates the top during court. When it’s your turn to talk, three statements will appear on the dialog screen and you must choose the correct one to stifle a response from whomever you’re drilling. Choices range from blunt to stupidly humorous: as in A.) “Do you deny it Ms. Johnson?”, B.) “Ah HA! I’ll take that as a confession!” or C.) “My, what big teeth you have!”

The obvious problem here will be that with choices such as these, the game will be too easy and predictable. Hopefully difficulty will range so players don’t end up feeling like they’re watching an episode of Dora the Explorer.

Graphics seem to be from Gameboy Advanced-fare. 2D sprites with random anime occurences and effects like giant sweat drops and flashing backgrounds. Not much goes on the the top screen where all of these images occur other then sprites moving their mouths to dialog. If your witness gets shaken up, you’ll be able to see it in thier face and deliver the finishing blow.

If Pheonix works it will be toted as one of the DS’s hidden gems. If not, it will be more fodder for DS haters to point out when bashing the system. Either way, original ideas in games are good these days when sequels rule the store shelves. Everyone needs to be able depart from the nazi/alien/prostitute killing sprees every once in a while. Prepare to open your briefcase’s and practice those witty comeback lines . Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney comes out for the Nintendo DS later this Fall.”

Tetris DS

Best games ever? Most will name a Zelda, Final Fantasy , Pong or Pac-Man. Ask most people what thier “gateway game” was and it’s usually what they think is the best. People will always argue over the best game, but everyone and their great-aunt has played the so-simple-it’s-stupidly-addiciting, Tetris: brainchild of now gaming pioneer Alexy Pajitnov. But you’ve played Tetris a billion times over on every possible system. If you really want to you can easily find a version online to play immediately after reading this preview. What could Nintendo possibly do to make you want to buy this game? Can you say, Wi-Fi, 10 player single-card modes, Zelda, Metroid, and touchscreen action? This isn’t your great-aunt’s Tetris.

To start things off, Tetris DS has six modes: Touch, Standard, Catch, Puzzle, Push and Mission. All of which feature a theme around a Nintendo all-star. But before we get to that I must bring up the Touch mode. Now you can use the stylus to drag your Tetriminos, (Yes, they’re naming the things now) to the appropriate spot. “But, it’s still just Tetris!” you say. I hear you, and apparently the Big N has too. In the Balloon Fight-themed Touch mode the players can hold thier blocks in midair, planning out their moves like a chess match. This means that you can finnaly get that 1 million point score you’ve always dreamed of if your skills suffice. Standard mode is for all you old-schoolers who would rather do without all this newfangled stuff. This mode is classic Tetris and adds a little Mario running through some SMB levels above. In Catch, the player tries to land blocks on a rising pile of other blocks to create a 4×4 square. This mode is Metroid-themed. Puzzle is Yoshi’s mode, as he watches you try and figure out Tetris Puzzles with only a few Tetriminos at your disposal. Push stars the Kong, the goal being to clear two lines at the same time and put them into your opponents area. Finnaly Link is the hero is Mission mode, which has you completing specific objectives under a time limit.

10 player single-card multiplayer? Wi-Fi? We’ll have to keep an eye on this one. More info closer to release.

Age of Empires: The Age of Kings

When the DS was first introduced to the public, people debated on what games would work best with the dual screen setup. First Person Shooters and Real time Strategy games were the first to come to mind. How cool would it be to drag your buildings to your selected spots on a touch screen? Well for many DS owners, thy wish as come true.

Age of Empires: The Age of Kings for the Nintendo DS is based on the original PC hit from Majesco that changed RTS’s for the better a few years ago. With more action then the popular Civilization series, Age of Empires introduced many new people to the genre. Can they deliver on the DS? Just like the PC versions, Age of Empires is divided into campaigns. You can choose from the Britons, Franks, Mongols, Saracens, and Japanese factions to build your army. The type of people you choose determines the look of your buildings and villagers and also determines the missions in your campaign. “Heroes” can show up in you campaign that can help out your army, such as Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan. Each faction has 45 different classes within, like Catapult Soldier and Farmer.

The main purpose of the game remains the same as its previous PC counterparts. Balance resources, fight battles, and build to make successfully grow your Empire. You’ll have to train warriors and assign workings at the same time, and multi-tasking is a must. This is why the DS has such potential for this game, because with the touch screen multi tasking can be made easy. But will Majesco utilize the touch screen, or simply use it as another gimmick rather then a necessity? Only time will tell. Age of Empires: The Age of Kings is slated for release Fall of this year.

New Super Mario Bros.

“You’ve seen them hunt ghost, you’ve seen ‘em wash the baddies away, you’ve even seen ‘em play golf. So how does Nintendo breathe life back into old Mario and Luigi by going back to their roots?

Mario and Luigi team up again for the New Super Mario Brothers for the Nintendo DS. Jump on Goombas, grab those coins and mushrooms, and all in beautiful side scrolling classic action. Memories are all flooding back now.

Yet with every game changes must be made and the select in the New SMB are worth it. The DS’s second screen is not implemented into the game as a gimmick this time around. You can choose which screen the action is on, and the other is like a tool. It is simply used to look at your inventory, coins, lives, and what map you’re on. Footage shows Mario and Luigi on screen together, sometimes working independently (i.e. Luigi Wall Jumps while Mario watches below…). Whether this means that co-op multiplayer is available, or that you simply control both at the same time in unknown. As mentioned earlier, moves like the popular Wall Jump have been added to mix up the original Mario Brothers gameplay. Obstacles like trampolines get in you way and such, providing a whole new dynamic. And of course, the most obvious difference, The game is in 3D now.

With all of these changes, the keys to what made Super Mario Bros. the classic it was still remain. Stomp on Goombas, grab extra lives. Pick up mushrooms to grow in size. Coins, invincibility, Power Flowers, You even grab on to those old flags at the end of the level. The New Super Mario Brothers is going to bring some major deja vu’ to some old school gamer. Will this be a new classic? New Super Mario Bros. comes out later this year.”

Advanced Wars: Dual Strike

“When Advanced Wars was released on the GBA it was a breath of fresh air to many owners. The Final Fantasy Tactics-esque gameplay was a welcoming retreat from the usual platfomers the GBA had to offer. The gameplay was a highly advanced chess match that had the player multitasking and strategizing to complete their goal. Now, a whole new dynamic is being introduced on the Nintendo DS with Advanced Wars: Dual Strike.

The enemy Black Hole Army is at again with a new Commanding Officer this time around. The allied factions of Orange Star, Blue Moon, Yellow Comet and Green Earth have to defeat them and get them out of their lands. All of the CO’s (Commanding Officers) from Advanced Wars and Advanced Wars 2 have returned to the frey, including 7 new. One more for each faction and three more for the Black Hole Army. All of the CO’s have their own unique power that you can use to assist you in battle.

In normal battles, you can use the stylus to move your units by dragging them to the desired spot instead of the slow selecting technique used in the GBA games. The top screen can be used to show unit information, display the clock in timed matches, or even show a countdown clock when an enemy shoots a missle from outer space. Dual Strike also offers up new DS battles. In DS Battles, actions occurs on both screens. Control a dogfight in the air on the top screen while a ground battle goes on below on the touchscreen. You can fight two battles at once on both screens, and if one battle is in jeopardy you can send reinforcements from the other.

The Campaign and Vs. Modes return to Dual Strike, along with Map Editor and Combat modes. Combat takes a completely different look at the franchise, with new real-time action as you control one unit. The Map Editor is a major improvement of the old Design Maps mode now because of the stylus, which can be used like a paint tool.

New Super CO Powers, Tag-Team Battles, CO experience levels. Advanced Wars: Dual Strike has too many features to discuss about right now. It looks like the DS’s abilities are finnaly being utilized and the future looks bright. Arm the cannons, Advanced Wars: Dual Strike enters the frontline August 22, 2005.”

Pac Pix

“When the ever-lovable pizza shaped Pac-Man came onto the scene in 1981, who would have guessed he would have been more then just a fad, but actually a mascot to a highly successful company. Pac-Man’s almost 25 year lifetime has been through it’s highs and lows. Namco, having to constantly reinvent how Pac-Man games are played, has been taking the little guy through hard times, but it’s finally looking up with the announcement of Pac Pix for the DS.

One day evil wizard created a substance called “Ghost Ink” so he could make Ghosts by drawing them. The Ghost pulled pranks on people like hiding in books and scaring them to wreak havoc across the world. Our hero Pac-man and his weapon The Mighty Pen defeated all of the ghost and locked them into a magic book. But before Pac-Man could turn the ghost back into Ink, he was captured in a page and now must defeat them from the inside. You the player must take up The Mighty Pen (or the stylus) And help Pac-Man defeat the monsters once and for all.

On the touchscreen you must draw Pac-Man so he can eat up the ghost from the bottom of the screen to the top for more points. Draw walls to make Pac-Man change his direction or put the stylus on him to make him stop in place. He also increases speed with each ghost he eats. If you’re going against a boss, draw Pac-Man bigger so you can take him on. Farther on in the game you can do things such as draw bombs with long fuses to set the time and bigger circles for bigger blast, or draw arrows to shoot at the ghost. Also you can take a side road in the game to collect items and power-ups on certain levels.

Pac Pix is the first Pac-man game people have been excited about in a while. With innovative gameplay and appealing graphics, Pac Pix is sure to be a crowd pleaser when the rounded one comes to the DS on April 26.”

Puppy Times [Title changed to Nintendogs]

“They’re small. They’re furry. They make girls go ga-ga. They are the puppy dogs you see in the pet store window and think “Aw…how cute,” until you see the price tag. Well Nintendo is hoping to change that with their new DS title, Puppytimes.”

Puppy Times is an interactive game were you can raise up to three dogs. Believed to be played in real-time, you can interact with your puppies using the stylus to do activities such as pet, throw a frisbee, or throw a ball. You can also put the stylus on the screen and watch as your dogs chase it around the room. Dogs can also enter contest to win money for a variety of special items. If two or more DS’s owners with puppies come within range of each other, the dogs will bark and interact with one another. The game’s main focus is supposed to be the intelligent A.I. For instance, if you paid attention to one puppy more then others, the ones left out would become outsiders and that might lead to violence. The microphone is used in the game to give commands to your dogs like to sit, heel, and so on.

The game is listed as a multiplayer games so if two DS’s link it’s possible some new modes may be unlocked. Another big question is if your puppies will ever eventually grow into an adult. A lot of information about this game is unknown because it doesn’t even come to Japan until Spring ‘05, and it still doesn’t have a US date. We’ll give you some more info when it comes closer to release.”

Castlevania DS

“The highly renown vampire game, Castlevania DS is possibly the “system seller” to some worried DS owners. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow was easily one, if not the best, Gameboy Advanced game to be released and now the direct sequel is coming to the DS.

Unlike most games, Castlevania actually uses the touchscreen for the main action. The top screen is used for a map and status data which can be switched by pressing select. The buttons only are mostly used even though the touchscreen adds new depth and abilities. Touch weak bricks on screen and they break apart allowing you to go past walls or create platforms to get to an area.

If you defeat a boss you must also create a “Magic Seal” by drawing a certain symbol on the touchscreen. Draw incorrectly, and you must fight the boss over again.

Multiplayer has yet to be announced but you can trade soul abilities with a friend through the wireless function. Unfortunately, Castlevania DS is not in 3D. It still tops the GBA version’s graphics with having new special effects and backgrounds.

Castlevania DS will be the first game on the DS that might attract none Nintendo fans. The action, platformer, RPG, and puzzle features are enough to keep any gamers bloodthirst quenched. So get out the garlic and wooden stakes. Castlevania comes to America Fall 2005.”

WarioWare: Touched!

“Talk about a guilty pleasure. When the original why-the-heck-am-I-playing-this Wario Ware came out for the Gameboy Advanced everyone was hooked. Microsecond minigames that ranged from running Zelda’s Link through a map, to picking a nose. The quirky style of play had a ton of minigames and unlimited replay value. Now Wario Ware Touched! utilizes the DS’s touch screen and microphone, offering more zany micro fun then you could ever think of.

The basics are the same as the GBA. Minigames will keep coming up and you must complete all of them in about 3 seconds without messing up. The more you start to win, the faster the minigames will go. The main difference here is that the game rarely uses the D-Pad or buttons at all. Wario Ware also has different characters in the game and they all have different style of minigames. Wario’s are all just touching or tapping the screen to swat flies or pop balloons. Mona’s are all either pulling or slicing, shooting arrows, cutting vegetables, (very fun) rolling toilet paper. Jimmy T’s are all rubbing, with things like rubbing a magic lamp and scratch-an-win cards. Ana and Kat’s games are all drawing like creating a path for a skier to follow. Mike’s a new character this time around and he uses the microphone (creative name isn’t it?) like blowing in someone’s ear or cooling coffee. Finally 9-Volt offers up classics re-done, a sure heart stopper for the old school gamers.

Wario Ware Touched is the most anticipated game coming to the DS in the near future. So get ready to laugh your brains out when this one comes around. Get ready for this one February 14, 2005.”