Like the annoying party guest who takes a big, slobbering bite of celery before submerging it back in the bowl of dip, Sony seems to be getting greedy with its game releases. Not content with the massively successful sales numbers for hit titles Daxter and Wipeout Pulse on the PSP, the company announced to a French gaming website that it will be releasing the games once more on the PS2 for those who missed the handheld versions. The games will reportedly be hitting the home platform as early as this summer.

As PSP fanatics, we are unhappy with this policy for two reasons. First, it sends a message to potential PSP owners that they can hold off on buying the great handheld system, since most high-profile games like Liberty City Stories and Silent Hill Origins will eventually make it to their PS2 loading trays, often with better controls and graphics. There are more than 100 million PS2 consoles in living rooms around the world, and the availability of the core PSP library on that system must have a depressing effect on portable hardware sales. Secondly, gamers who already own a PSP system might be more likely to hold off on buying new software for the machine, worried (with justification) that the game they want may be released with noticeable improvements within a few short months.

We imagine many of you probably have strong feelings about this, so feel free to register them in the comments below. As PSP owners, how do you feel about the system’s best games being ported to the home console? As potential PS2 owners, are you happy about these additions to the already massive catalogue?

Thanks: [Jeuxvideo]

Do you like your pristine white DS Lite or your glossy, light-absorbing black PSP Slim? That’s nice and all, but how would you like a purple DS with a red top screen shell, blue bottom panels and green L / R buttons? Well, hardly anyone would want that, but thanks to the people at ColorWarePC you can have your game system just the way you want it. Using plain colors or metallic ones, which feature a nice faint sparkle, you can customize many aspects of your game console, handheld, controller or Guitar Hero guitar to your liking. You can choose to send in your system or purchase a brand-new one to be painted and sent to you directly. A good amount of colors is available, and the best part is that this isn’t just a well-crafted skin applied on your system; instead, your console / portable is taken apart and painted individually. Mind you, this will void your warranty if it hasn’t expired yet, but this isn’t the most concerning factor. A cool paint job will cost you upwards of $150; a hefty price, but perhaps a few people out there would like to invest in quality system-painting services. Alas, I can finally have my brown PSP / DS Lite, if I could afford them. Check them out, and an example of the many portions of a system that you can color:

Sony today announced that the upcoming spinoff title Secret Agent Clank will be headed to store shelves in North America and Europe on June 17. The game is being developed from the ground up for the PSP by High Impact Games. Following in the footsteps of that other massively popular adaptation for the PSP, this title once again allows players to take on the role of underdog sidekick. Switching things up from the console versions, this game has players controlling Clank on a last-ditch mission to save Ratchet from imprisonment. Clank must use his numerous secret agent skills and melee combat moves to dispatch enemies and maneuver through dangerous areas, in a more stealth-based re-imagining of the series.

Based on the success of the previously mentioned Daxter and Size Matters releases on the handheld, we have very high expectations for this game. Be sure to check back with us in June, when we will have more details on this highly-anticipated title, as well as a full review.

Known in Japan as “Nekketsu High School Dodgeball Club”, the original Super Dodgeball was a big hit in the arcades and the NES home console. A wonderful mixture of the sports and fighting genres, Super Dodgeball attracted a large following and is widely regarded as one of the best multiplayer games ever released for the prolific NES console. Perhaps it was the vibrant and charming character sprites, the simple but endlessly complex gameplay mechanics, or the tight controls, but the designers of the arcade original managed to translate a somewhat oddball sport into a near-perfect gaming experience.

The original game has been revived on a number of consoles since 1988, including the SNES, Gameboy and PC Engine. However, it has been more than 10 years since the last entry in the franchise, meaning that we are long overdue for a remake. Super Dodgeball Brawlers revives the classic spirit of the Technos title, focusing on strategic fighting mechanics and crazy multiplayer matches. The DS version sports some fancier graphics, as well as a plethora of new super throws and characters, Thanks to the DS hardware, this version supports up to 8 players simultaneously, promising to result in some serious trash talk and potentially bruised egos.

Some who have played the Japanese version have complained that the game had fatal problems with timing, making it hard to catch enemy super throws. Fans will be happy to hear that Aksys has fixed this problem in the North American version.

What: A game that should need no introduction for fans of the NES original. Basically, two teams line up face to face and pelt each other with devastating dodgeball throws. This update adds support for up to 8 players via local wifi.

Why: The DS has proven to be the perfect handheld for impromptu multiplayer gatherings. Super Dodgeball Brawlers is sure to be a big hit at our next DS party.

Who: The original NES and arcade title was developed by Technos. This version is being published by Aksys Games in the United States.

When: Super Dodgeball Brawlers is already out in Japan, and this localized version will hit shelves in North America on May 27.

Continue after the jump to check out some footage of the game in action, but be careful, the nostalgia factor is extemely high and may bring a tear to some oldschool gamers’ eyes.

Read the rest of this article »

Can you believe it? It’s almost May already; time sure flies. This means that Mother’s Day, the Kentucky Derby, and the Indianapolis 500 are approaching, among other events. According to Wikipedia, no other month of the year starts with the same day as May does; if true, no other month in 2008 will start with a Thursday. Cool, huh? Oh, and there are a few DS games worth your cash during this month. Check out the following DS titles set to ship this May:

Crosswords DS – May 5: A new member of the Touch Generations series, Crosswords DS offers a ton of crosswords with multiple difficulty levels and intuitive touch screen controls. Not only that, but anagrams and word searches are also available to add to the fun, and get this; $20 gets it for you. If you can get one DS game in May, make it this one and get more bang for your buck.

Super Dodgeball Brawlers – May 27: True to the NES classic, this dodgeball-inspired title puts you in charge of a team ready to knock out the competition. Level up your characters, master Special Moves, and use the ball to smash your enemies, as well as other items that land on the field.

LOL – May 2008: No, I’m not laughing; LOL is the game’s name. This multiplayer-only title is like a piece of paper split into multiple DS systems; with a single copy of the game, a host can issue a challenge, such as asking for a certain picture, phrase, or even a mathematical equation, and the other players do the rest. Votes are then issued and the winner picks a new challenge. Simple, yes, but interesting and, well, funny as well (lol). Set to release sometime in May, this game will be sold online-only for $20. Our advice? Pick up an extra copy, keep it for a few years, and sell it on eBay for some neat profits down the road.

Spring is in full bloom, and that means that gamers can come out of hibernation, bring along their favorite handheld, and venture outdoors to greet the sunshine. If you are one of the few people who won’t be glued to Grand Theft Auto IV this month, or if you find you need to catch some fresh air, you may find something to satisfy your gaming tastes on the PSP for the month of May. Technically an April release, the SNK Arcade Classics compilation contains an impressive array of old-school arcade favorites including Metal Slug. Echochrome has a lot of puzzle fans excited for its unique “perspective” on gameplay, and sports fans have an up-to-date roster of teams to look forward in EA’s UEFA Euro 2008.

SNK Classics Volume 1 — April 29: If you haven’t already played (and enjoyed) Metal Slug, you probably aren’t fit to be a gamer. Fans might not realize that SNK crafted some other great titles, however, including Shock Troopers and Top Hunter, available in this compilation.

Iron Man — May 2: Games based on movies which are based on comic books don’t have a strong track record, but in preview videos seen online, Iron Man for the PSP seems to be a competent actioner with ground based fighting and flying levels.

R-Type Command — May 6: Irem strays from the shooter genre to bring a tactical turn-based R-Type to the PSP. You can read more about what to expect from the gameplay in our short preview here.

Echochrome — May 8: In this first-party puzzle title guaranteed to melt your brain, Sony asks you to guide a hapless wanderer through five dimensions of crazy perspective. The creative presentation and unique game design could make this another cult hit on the PSP.

World Championship Cards — May 13: Delyed by a month, this title features 30 different card games. If you are one of those that has to stay away from those addicting poker handhelds you might want to shy away from this one too, for your own health.

UEFA Euro 2008 — May 19: Almost as fun as watching the matches unfold live on TV, you can experience all the thrills of the Euro 2008 soccer tournament with this Electronic Arts release. Go Spain!

In September of 2006 Nintendo released two Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, one for each of its portable gaming devices, GBA and DS. Developed by ChunSoft, a team with more than enough experience with the genre, Nintendo seemingly started a revival of dungeon crawlers. Not only that, but these Pokémon spin-offs introduced an interesting idea; no longer do you play with Pokémon, now you are one of them, and it’s up to you to figure out why. This premise, the relatively obscure genre, and obviously the brand name made the games a success. Unfortunately, reviewers in general weren’t too keen on the titles, not able to look past the repetitiveness of gameplay and level design. These factors didn’t matter to gamers, though; the franchise quickly found a dedicated ‘cult’ of sorts, populating forums and exchanging rescue codes. A pair of sequels was released in Japan last year, and North American DS players just received the latest updates of the series, Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness. Unfortunately, most of the flaws present on the first titles remain.

Read the rest of this article »

One of the biggest rumors circulating this week on the Nintendo DS front is the possibility of a Paper Mario port coming in July of this year. This news remains a rumor because the only source, a Japanese website, does not provide very much detail – or an official source – on the announcement. The site states only that the game will NOT be an original title, but rather a direct port of the classic N64 game, Paper Mario. This little detail has delighted some fans, who claim (with some justification) that the first game remains the strongest in the series.

Whether this report will prove to be true or not remains to be seen. On one hand, it seems like a logical choice, given the popularity of the series and the lack of a Paper Mario title on the current handheld. On the other hand, as some observers have already pointed out, the Big N seems to be well past the “port everything under the sun to DS” phase, and would most likely want to develop more original content for the system. Any thoughts?

Sorry male gamers, but we don’t mean “hot” in the Jade Raymond sense. The programmers we pay homage to below come from companies large and small (some are completely independent), but they all have one thing in common. Each of the teams featured here have taken on the challenge of bringing exciting entertainment content to the iPhone/iPod Touch. Given the amount of buzz that was created by the public release of the Apple SDK last month, we decided to showcase some of the lesser-known developers who have shown their commitment to the iPhone by announcing games using these new software development tools. Anyone with an Apple PC, and iPhone (or iPod Touch) and $100 can sign up to develop and release applications and games on the iPhone Application Store, which will open its virtual doors in June. Some of these projects are still in the early beta or prototype phase, but what we have seen so far leaves us impatient for more. Make no mistake, these indie programmers are hot!

What? Off-road Velociraptor Safari / Unity Engine
Who? Flashbang Studios / Unity Technologies

In what might possibly be the most fun to be had online, the designers of Off-road Velociraptor Safari brag that their game gives players the chance to “Hit Raptors” and pull off “Sick Stunts” while driving around in a presumably dystopian dino-ridden landscape of death. Perhaps the nicest thing about the game is its vivid 3D graphical polish, provided by the use of the Unity 3D engine. The developers of this middleware have promised that they are bringing their powerful 3D authoring tools over to the iPhone, and there is no reason why Flashbang Studios won’t follow there with Raptor Safari and their upcoming game, Jetpack Brontosaurus, as well

What? Multi-player Quake 3
Who? A collaboration of awesome hackers

We have already reported on this working demo of Quake 3 multiplayer that HermitWorks bodged together using code from an earlier project by icculus, and you can follow this link to our earlier story to view a video of the ensuing one-handed deathmatch in action. Of course, there is little chance that Apple or whoever currently owns the rights to the Quake franchise will allow an official release, but the fact that these guys got multiplayer FPS working so flawlessly opens the door to all kinds of amazing possibilities in the FPS genre.

Read the rest of this article »

Yes, the rumors of yet another DS redesign continue. Everyone is talking about this, again. And with E3 fast approaching, a perfect moment for the mysterious DS revamping does as well. We even heard that this ‘new’ system is all done, sitting prettily, waiting for DS Lite sales to drop significantly. Many great DS games are on their way for this Summer, and Fall / Winter surprises could strike at any time; maybe this ‘DS the Third’ could breathe even more life and success to Nintendo’s current handheld. Do you see a new DS version unveiling at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo? Perhaps not so soon? Is another DS model a given? We have talked about this, multiple times, but it’s time to find out what you think: