‘Oh-oh, I heard a cracking noise…’ Unfortunately, many DS Lite owners have gone through the sad experience of the DS crack; a crack that can easily give one a heart attack or two. Some DS Lites, especially the early ones, suffer from cracked hinges. The actual reason for the problem has never been truly known, but last time we checked Nintendo offers a free system replacement for such an unfortunate event. Many DS Lites have developed the crack even though they were cared for and played under normal circumstances; as it stands, the problem seems to be quite random, and there’s nothing we can really do to prevent it. Yours truly has had three different Lites and luckily none of them have cracked, but we want to know about your experience with the crack attack. Have you experienced it? Were you mad, sad, or both? Did you really not drop your DS on a hard surface? We want to know; leave a comment and share your fortune / misfortune with us and fellow DS players!

A good puzzle game is truly a gaming jewel to be recognized. The amount of replay value and overall fun that some puzzle games offer is enormous, and they hardly get old. A lot of puzzle tittles offer a ton of unlockables and entertaining multiplayer features, as well as a variety of gameplay modes to keep everyone, regardless of skill, glued to their DS for hours to end. We have compiled a list of some of the best DS puzzle games out now; all of the games except for Tetris DS are the classic ‘match three similar pieces’ style, but their designs are very different and each is very fun in a unique way, and any of these should satisfy any puzzle lover and keep you busy for a very long time.

Planet Puzzle League: This one is the newest, and possibly the best, classic puzzle entry to the Nintendo DS. Known as Tetris Attack / Pokémon Puzzle League/Challenge / Puzzle League for a variety of previous Nintendo systems, the fast-paced puzzle gameplay is enhanced with touch controls, Wi-Fi play with voice chat, and new gameplay modes. This game is easy to learn, hard to master, and offers a great deal of replay value, especially if you have a few friends to challenge. Full review here.

Meteos: This one might be a bit hard to find nowadays, but you can’t go wrong with this space puzzler with incredibly intuitive touch controls and crazy puzzle action. Play in a large variety of planets—each with different physics, field dimensions, and music / sound effects—as you launch Meteos up to your human or CPU opponents. This game also offers a lot of unlockables and four-player multiplayer action, single or multi-card. Meteos also features one of the best soundtracks for a Nintendo DS game.

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There have been rumors floating and flying and soaring around the net reporting that Koji Igarashi, producer of the Castlevania series, has said that a new Castlevania game is in the works for the Nintendo DS. This happens to have occurred during an interview during the Games Convention. Nothing is 100% official yet, but we’re pretty sure that this is the case, and that makes us happy to the max. PSP owners shouldn’t moan; according to the same interview, a new PSP Castlevania could be made; it all depends on the success of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles coming to Sony’s portable late October. Yours truly is excited; it seems I’m a vampire after all.

PSP owners looking for some ’shopping action’ on their portable will have to wait a while before being able to spend their $$$ through their systems. The ‘upcoming’ PSP Store, not yet entirely defined as to the contents it will offer, is being worked on, but due to homebrewed applications and firmwares available, possible movies available through it could be easily pirated. Said store will, without a doubt, feature some sort of downloadable games and other content that could also be compromised by homebrew applications. Sony assures us that the PSP Store is coming, but they need time to work on a solution to this dilemma. It’s not all bad news, however; with a system revision and a bunch of good games to play, we all have stuff to spend our money on.

Thanks: [PSP Fanboy]

Last year’s Cooking Mama for Nintendo DS was a surprise hit for many, especially in Europe, where the game continues to sell well and remains atop best-selling charts. The casual, budget title was extremely successful and even got a Wii version. Majesco Games hopes to continue the success of cooking games with the recently announced Cooking Mama 2: Dinner with Friends, both for DS and Wii, coming to Europe on early 2008 and to North America shortly thereafter. 80 new recipes and 150 cooking mini-games will be included. You can also customize your kitchen and Mama in Decoration Mode. This time around, hungry judges will taste your food and score you based on your performance and dish quality, and single-card four player multiplayer cook-offs have also been confirmed. If you liked the concept of Cooking Mama but perhaps were disappointed with its demo-esque qualities, Cooking Mama 2 will fully satisfy you. We will have more information on the game as it becomes available; for now, check the game’s scan to the right.

Thanks: [GoNintendo]

As witnesses of the tremendous success of the Phoenix Wright franchise on the Nintendo DS, it’s our duty to submit the following news to the Court Record

- Phoenix Wright 4, which is trademarked as ‘Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney’ in America, will likely come to the US. Capcom’s final decision, however, will be based on the success of the third entry of the Phoenix Wright series, Trials and Tribulations. According to series producer Minae Matsukawa; “We would like to [release the fourth title in America], and we’re working to make sure that happens. But it’s kind of pointless if number three doesn’t do very well, so we want to make sure people know about that, buy it, and tell their friends!” If we all do our part, we can continue to enjoy some sweet courtroom action, but unfortunately…

- Phoenix Wright 3 has been delayed. The game was expected to release by the end of September, but Capcom has moved the game’s release date to October 23rd. Many desperate fans of the ace attorney Phoenix might consider importing the third title from Japan, which includes English subtitles, but we have a better plan that could be up your alley…

- Pre-order Phoenix Wright 3 for around $20. That’s right; twenty bucks can get you the American release of Trials and Tribulations soon after its October 23rd US release; you can save some cash and support sales of the game in order to improve our chances of getting the fourth title from the series! Here’s how:

- Using Google Checkout to get $10 off your first order, visit Buy.com and pre-order the game for $18.99 with free shipping. If you have already used the Google Checkout discount…
- …you can pre-order from FamilyVideo.com and use coupon code NEWPGMEM to get $5 off your order, for a total of $20.97 shipped.
Thanks to tinyandi from the CAG forums!

No objections, huh? Thought so.

It’s official; a new DS Lite color is coming to America on August 21st. Bundled with Brain Age 2: More Brain Training in Minutes a Day and a free carrying case for $149.99, this new crymson / onyx DS Lite has some jumping with excitement and heading to their local games store to pre-order it, and others are downright disgusted with the weird color combination, or so they say. We’re just glad that we’re finally getting something special (take that, Japan!) We would like to know your opinion on the new DS Lite color:

A Nintendo patent was recently updated and it shows a possible tilt-sensing portable gaming device. Much like Sony’s Six-Axis PS3 controller, this device features X, Y, and Z axis tilt detection for motion gameplay on the go. We know that motion-sensing portable games can be done well (thank you, WarioWare: Twisted!), but perhaps creating a portable revolving around motion-sensing could not be the best way to go. As far as things are right now, this is only a patent that lets us know that Nintendo is at least thinking about the whole idea. Nothing is known about the possible DS-2, or a possible successor to the Game Boy franchise, so we can relax for a while. If anyone, however, can pull off a motion-based portable system is Nintendo and their ‘Blue Ocean’ strategy of innovation and market expansion. Imagine a motion-sensing, ultra-thin and flexible touch screen gaming device! Time will tell how the next portable gaming war will be posed.

Thanks: [GoNintendo]

The Nintendo DS is getting some sweet RPG love this month, and so is the PSP. A few titles will satisfy role playing and strategy gamers looking for something to do during the rest of the summer, alongside a few other interesting titles. Keep an eye on these games expected to release this month:

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars – August 7: A compilation of Crazy Taxi 1 and 2 complete with added multiplayer support and a few other twists, such as the ability to listen to your MP3s during playtime.

Dungeons and Dragons Tactics – August 14: The classic Dungeons and Dragons experience, but much simpler; a turn-based RPG with over 40 missions and seven classes to choose from, and a vast encyclopedia of items, enemies, and strategies.

Dragoneer’s Aria – August 21: Save the world from the evil Dark Dragon on this turn-based RPG. A good story, an interesting Mana-based combat system, and multiplayer features are only a few elements of the title. Full preview here.

Jeanne D’arc – August 21: Travel back in time to the times of Joan of Arc on this fantasy strategy RPG to the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea.

Dead Head Fred – August 28: Take revenge on your assassin, and try to find your head while you’re at it. This action / beat-em-up game with some puzzle-solving elements and a weird yet attractive storyline should keep PSP glued to their system.