The summer heat continues, but unlike July, August features a whole bunch of sweet DS releases to keep us busy. RPG fans will surely get their fix with five different games, each with a very particular style of play to suit every possible role-playing / strategy craving. And if you’re out of school for the summer, keep your brain sharp and in shape with a new brain-training game by Nintendo. Kick back, relax, and get playing these games to be released this month:

Worms Open Warfare 2: - August 6 (Now delayed to September 4): Vastly improving on its predecessor, the second DS installment of Worms improves on gameplay, graphics, sound, and overall quality, including Wi-Fi play and DS-exclusive minigames.

Mega Man: Star Force – August 7: Action and RPG elements mix on a new Mega Man series, very similar to the Battle Network games. Enter the world of the Internet and randomly battle enemies using special cards and weapons. Three versions will be available: Leo, Dragon, and Pegasus, each with some small tweaks and exclusive items to trade with friends.

Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon – August 14: The Harvest Moon simulation gameplay goes RPG. Grow crops and expand your social spectrum as you battle enemies and explore dungeons; the good ol’ farm life. Full preview here.

Heroes of Mana – August 14: A full strategy gaming experience for your Nintendo DS, complete with full and intuitive touch screen controls, four different classes, special ranks, items, and tons of missions.

Luminous Arc – August 14: A turn-based strategy game, similar to Final Fantasy Tactics and the Fire Emblem series. Use either the button or stylus controls as you drive away evil monsters and witches from town.

Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day – August 20: Continue to exercise your prefrontal cortex with a new set of brain-training activities, such as piano playing, giving change, Rock-Paper-Scissors with a twist, and a special version of Dr. Mario. Brand-new Sudoku puzzles are also included.

DS fans, rejoice! In just a few hours, a handful of DS games have been announced. Rumors were out speculating the release of these titles, but now we can rest assured that they are being worked on. First we have official confirmation of Viva Piñata coming to DS. Developed in-house by Rare, the game will feature everything we liked about the Xbox 360 game along with more piñatas, a few extra game modes, and stylus controls. You can even share Piñatas over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Aside from this info, all we have is a single screenshot. Next, Square Enix, not satisfied with working on a remake of Final Fantasy IV for the DS, is now revamping not one, not two, but three Dragon Quest games for Nintendo’s portable. Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI are being remade with a style similar to last years’ Final Fantasy III. No official announcement has been made regarding these games’s possible US release; in fact, Dragon Quest V and VI have never made it to America in any form. We know we’re getting Dragon Quest IX and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, both for DS; hopefully this paves the way to the three recently-announced RPG remakes to get to us, as well. Check out these two scans.

Thanks: [GoNintendo]

It’s not uncommon for some overlooked yet impressive games to go under the radar. A fine example is Beyond Good & Evil for last generations’ consoles. Even a few remarkable DS games have been overlooked, such as Break ‘Em All and Bomberman Land Touch! The most recent issue of Nintendo Power features a review for the upcoming DS game Prism: Light the Way. The game scored 8.5 out of 10 and appears to offer a great puzzle gaming experience. We looked around and managed to find some info on the game with hopes of shining some light on this unnoticed DS title.

Prism: Light the Way features characters known as the Glowbos, which require light to survive. Unfortunately, an evil monster has absorbed all the light and threatens the life of the Glowbos. To the rescue come the Bulboids, bringing light into the world to help the light-deprived Glowbos. Your job in the game is to direct the Bulboids’ light to the Glowbos using a variety of items and objects such as mirrors, prisms, spinners and T-splitters. The action takes place on a large board, and you must zoom in on certain sections of it to solve a mini-puzzle and eventually solve the entire puzzle. A wide variety of gameplay modes are available, including 120 unlimited-time puzzles, Time and Hyper Modes to text your quick thinking, and an Infinite Mode with randomly-generated puzzles. The game is already out for PCs and is controlled with a mouse; this control method is perfect for the Nintendo DS touch screen. We expect intuitive controls for the game when it is released sometime in September, according to online retailers.

We found some gameplay footage of the PC game, which will give you a clear idea of what to expect from the upcoming DS version. Check it out below, and take a look at a trailer of the cell phone version. We will have more information and a review of the game once we are able to snag a copy of it.

There are plenty of role-playing games for PSP owners to choose from. Those familiar with the genre know that many titles are very similar to each other, in terms of gameplay mechanics, battle system, and overall feel. For a game of this genre to really stand out, especially on the turn-based aspect of role-playing, a game needs an involving and interesting story and a battle system that offers something new to the genre. NIS America’s upcoming title, Dragoneer’s Aria, developed by Hit Maker, could very well be the next purchase-worthy RPG for Sony’s PlayStation Portable.

The game takes place in Granadis. Legend has it that six elemental Dragons protect the world alongside Dragoons, especially trained knights that protect the dragons. The game’s main hero, Vale, is about to be initiated as a Dragoon when the evil Black Dragon appears and destroys the city. It is up to you and your friends to discover what caused the reappearance of the mystical Black Dragon, as well as to find a way to get rid of it using the six Dragon’s powers. In terms of story, the game doesn’t seem to offer anything out of the ordinary; fortunately, a variety of characters – each with a specific personality – should keep things interesting as you play.

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Namco Bandai pledges support to Nintendo’s successful dual-screen portable. The company announced an all-new Tales game for the DS titled Tales of Innocence. The game will feature brand new story and characters, designed by series designer Mutsumi Inomata. Tales of Innocence is expected this winter in Japan, with no official confirmation of a US release, but we can count on the game’s localization at some point in 2008. Following the game’s announcement, its teaser site for Japan has appeared, featuring a trailer for the game which you can watch below. The graphics of the game are gorgeous, very smooth and fully 3D. The trailer also shows the game’s battle system, a combination of previous ones from past Tales games.

Namco Bandai also announced a port of the PS2 game, Tales of Rebirth, for the PSP, which will feature widescreen graphics and a gallery mode. Both the Nintendo DS and the PSP are in Namco Bandai’s platforms of choice for future Tales games, alongside Sony’s PS2 and Nintendo’s Wii. Portable role-playing for the win!

Lucky Japanese gamers can pick between seven DS Lite colors with the recently-released new ones, while America only gets three. Thankfully, thinks are beginning to change. The Canadian store Future Shop had a Brain Age 2 / DS Lite bundle available for $159.99 (about $152 USD) featuring a two-toned DS Lite and a free carrying case. The top portion of the new DS Lite entry is red, while the rest of the system is black as black can be. Apparently initial pre-orders of the bundle were filled and the product is no longer available. No official information is available yet, but it’s safe to expect the bundle to reach the US alongside the August 20th release of the brain-training DS title. Although it appears this rarely-colored DS Lite will be a limited edition, it could lead the way to a red DS Lite; we’re halfway there!

E3 is now over and the poor Nintendo DS got very few new games and announcements. There was one game, however, that snagged a great deal of attention. The third entry on the Golden Sun RPG series was supposedly bound to the dual-screen handheld, with an impressive storyline and touch screen psynergy spells. Fans were eagerly awaiting official confirmation and more information on the title, but E3 came to an end with no new info regarding the title. Eventually, DS Fanboy realized that the new screens were actually artwork used by developer Camelot to promote the series. Turns out that prankster “Opium” used Photoshop to fool us all and did so to attract attention to the series and hope that Camelot would finally comply and work on the third Golden Sun game. Well he certainly did that; time will tell if Camelot decides to please Golden Sun fans with a new series entry. Many hearts were broken, but hopefully this bitter experience produces an awesome game in the not-too-distant future.

If you are one of those folks like me who has been drooling over the new iPhone, here is your chance to get one for free (but like anything, you will have to do a bit of work for it). Internet News Blog Profy.com is running a contest with 5 (acutally now 4) Apple iPhones up for grabs. All you have to do to snag one is write a compelling blog post for the site, on an Internet/Web 2.0 topic of your choosing. The guest post that attracts the most comments within a two-week period wins, and the site is giving away free phones all summer long! So, if you have a penchant for writing and some extra time, why not throw your hat in the ring for a chance to win one of the hottest gadgets currently available (at least until the PSP Lite arrives later in September). The webmaster is in touch with me and is shipping my phone as we speak, so hopefully I will have some impressions and unboxing shots soon.

In case you were wondering what a winning entry looks like, here is my post about the democratic failures of Web 2.0. You can also check out official contest rules here.

Kaz Hirai took the stage at the Sony press conference on July 11 to announce that the company is, indeed, planning a sucessor to the current PSP design. Some of us at PVG did a double take when we first saw the new device, because of its similarities to the original model. Upon closer inspection, however, the updated model offers some important upgrades. Perhaps the biggest new feature is the addition of TV-out, which will allow users to play games, movies and other content back on a large-screen television using composite or component cables. The demonstration provided during the press conference (which featured footage from Spider Man 3) looked impressive and clear on the large display. So far there has been no demonstration of the visual quality of games on the big screen, but this is a heck of a lot more convenient than some of the crude work-arounds we have seen.

Elsewhere, the new PSP gets a slight aesthetic overhaul, losing 33% of its thickness and 19% of its front profile. The new system loses the two “bulges” on the back of the machine, and is now covered in all-over gloss finish, which looks great even if it makes it even more of a fingerprint magnet. The unit will feature an upgraded battery that Sony executive Jack Koller promises will provide between 8-10 hours of life. An important feature that is not immediately visible upon inspection of the unit is that it has been re-engineered to provide faster load times, something that has been a headache for some PSP owners. Thanks to the addition of more on-board RAM, the device can now stream information more efficiently from UMD, helping the system to further reduce power consumption.

The PSP “lite” will be available in North America in September. An entertainment pack featuring a 1 GB memory stick, Daxter and the Family Guy Collection UMD will ship for $199.99. A second special PSP bundle will feature Star Wars themed artwork and will include Battlefront: Renegade Squadron for the same price. We would love to hear what readers think about this new redesign: Is it exciting enough to deserve another purchase, and is it slick enough to tempt people who have never owned a PSP?

June is a distant memory and summer is now in full power. The Pokémon craze has finally lost some of its intensity and DS owners might be looking for something new to play. Unfortunately, July isn’t looking like a winner, with very few interesting releases for the Nintendo system (summer is a tradionally slow season for game releases). Remember though; aside from this month’s game releases, E3 promises to reveal a whole bunch of new surprises for the Nintendo handheld; Elite Beat Agents 2, anyone? We’ll have to wait and see, but for you true loyal fanboys, the following games will be out soon:

Cookie & Cream – July 10: Cookie & Cream could be a good game with a twist. You take control of a character on the top screen using the D-pad and L button to hump, while you use the stylus to control a different character on the touch screen to solve puzzles to keep moving on the game’s different levels.

Dynasty Warriors DS: Fighter’s Battle – July 24: The first proper Dynasty Warriors DS game will feature three playable characters, the Phoenix, the Dragon, and the Chimera. The game is a card battler with different decks and cards featuring characters from the series.

Glory Days 2 – July 24: The sequel to the GBA’s Super Army War features the same strategy / action mix with extra features. You’re both part of an army as well as its commander, as you take on different missions on tank or plane. Great music, gameplay, and up to eight multiplayer battles make this game worth a look.

Picross DS – July 30: The overlooked puzzle frenzy Picross reaches the DS. Use your stylus to solve puzzles and reveal the picture. Gameplay is fun and very addictive, and the game will feature downloadable weekly puzzles to extend replay value.

It is also worth noting that some games, such as Heroes of Mana and Rune Factory missed their July release and should be available later on in August.