From the blatant copyright infringement department comes Still Alive, a homebrew game for the Nintendo DS that does a good job of capturing the madcap mayhem of the popular Valve game Portal from the PC.

Of course, without the raw horsepower of the PC and modern consoles, French developer “T4ils” have had to cut a few corners in the graphics and presentation of the wall-zapping puzzler for the DS version. Fortunately, the core gameplay appears to be intact — players must make their way through maze-like levels by creating portals on wall surfaces which allow them to teleport around the level. Here, the goal is no longer simply to make it to the exit, since the infamous cake from the original game has finally deicded to make an appearance. Players must scoop up the pieces of cake scattered throughout stage as an additional challenge before they can make their way to the next level.

Fortunately, despite the changes in gameplay and graphics, the creativity and dark humor of the original Valve release seems to be intact. Some players have even reported difficulty making it past the game’s menu screen, which requires a little bit of creative thinking. If you think you are up for the challenge, be sure to head over to the developer’s site to download a free copy of the game. If you are not sure how to run homebrew software on your system, be sure and check out our handy DS Homebrew Guide.

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We have some sweet, sweet DS mews to report. After a Nintendo business meeting in Japan, a good amount of new titles and releases were divulged. First of all, Fire Emblem DS, an enhanced remake of the first FE game way back in the NES days, will see Japanese release on August 7. That’s good, but here’s the true ‘sweetness’; a new Densetsu no Stafi game is in the works for the DS, as well as another Rhythm Tengoku. The first is a popular 2D platformer to the likes of Mario, and is quite a popular franchise in the Land of the Rising Sun; the rest of the world, however, hasn’t seen much of the little chubby yellow star, except from a relatively useless appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The latter, Rhythm Tengoku, was a cult classic import titles for the GBA; one of the system’s last gems, really, with addictive rhythm-based gameplay with a twist, from the developers of the WarioWare titles. Although there are no specific details to report on either of the newly announced games, we should be able to get more info soon, seeing how both titles are set to storm Japanese DS systems this July.

So now we have three titles from franchises that have yet to see the light in American soil; Densetsu no Stafi, Rhythm Tengoku, and Daigasso! Band Brothers. This would be a great time for Nintendo of America to make it up to us and bring these games over for a change. We will continue to gather relevant info and pass it on to you as soon as we can get it.

Thanks: [NeoGAF]

Indie developers HermitWorks surprised the world last month when they managed to get a multiplayer match of Quake III running on two iPhones. The coders are now hard at work on a port of their original Mac game Space Trader to the iPhone. Reportedly, the Quake III stunt was just a test to find out how first-person movement and controls might work on the handheld, motion-sensing platform.

Space Trader was reasonably successful when it released on Mac and Linux platforms in the Summer of 2007. An intriguing cross between a strategy board game, space opera and frantic first-person shooter, it is no exaggeration to say that Space Trader broke new ground with its innovative gameplay. The objective of the game is to make money by buying and selling commodities at various locations around the solar system. Things get physical when players take on bounty-hunting missions, or become the bounty themselves for refusing to pay their taxes. The bargain-priced game did not attract a huge mainstream following, but the smattering of reviews around the net were mostly positive, praising the resemblence to early strategy games like Elite.

If HermitWorks can update the graphics and iron out some small issues with the play mechanics, this could be a promising title to watch out for when the iPhone Store opens its virtual doors in June.

After its announcement in February, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood has rapidly become one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming titles for the Nintendo DS. The intriguing combination of an 8-bit mega-franchise with Bioware’s uniquely Western perspective on the RPG genre seemed like a sure bet for success. Early scans showed off some incredible hand-painted artwork and characters, and all seemed right in the world.

That is, until game sites started to be granted sneak peaks of the game in development earlier this month. Although previews are usually upbeat and positive, we couldn’t help but get the feeling that some journalists were underwhelmed by what they saw in this early build. For example, IGN writer Mark Bozon took issue with the game’s lack of complexity and overly repetitive battle sequences:

“The game has its charming aspects, such as classic SEGA sound effects and well done 2D level backdrops, but the overall gameplay could still use some serious work. Battles are extremely repetitive, in-level puzzling is as basic as can be, and so far we haven’t seen anything that really pushes the RPG genre at all on DS, which we certainly expect from a company like Bioware. We’ll have to sit down and get comfy with the final version before making any further comments, but as it stands right now the game could use a bit of a kick in the pants… ”

Our friends over at Go Nintendo enjoyed the dialog and story elements in the version that they saw, but pretty much agreed with negative assessments elsewhere:

“To be frank, I was really bummed after my time with Sonic Chronicles. I was really hoping that the title would show some promise of bringing Sonic to a new genre in style. I can see what Bioware is trying to do, I just don’t know if they will be able to pull it together. This game needs a lot more dev time if it’s to turn out good. The story elements will be there…that’s already clear. It is every other aspect of the game that needs more than fine-tuning…”

Uh oh. From the sounds of it, Bioware had better step up their game if they hope to make a good impression on Sonic fans when the game drops this September. There is obviously a lot riding on this, as it marks the blue hedgehog’s first foray into RPG territory, as well as Bioware’s first contribution to the DS game library. We’ll have more previews as details emerge.

Lucky Europe; not only do they have a sexy silver DS Lite, now they’re getting three more colors, including the extravagantly cool green model you see to the side. On sale on June 13th, new green and red DS Lites, as well as the Ice Blue model previously exclusive to Japan, will hit European retailers, bringing the European ‘DS Rainbow’ to six flavors, pictured below.



No word on a US release for any model, but we can only hope. Keep in mind that if you decide to import a DS Lite from Europe, you will need a special, multi-volt charger or adapter to charge up your battery.

In other ‘colorful’ DS news, Nintendo of America has officially announced the Metallic Rose model, previously available as a bundle with a Nintendog paw print on top. Priced at the standard $129.99, this color will be available on late May.

Thanks: [GoNintendo]

Arkanoid was a smash hit for Japanese company Taito when it arrived in the arcades in 1986. Like the classic Atari game Breakout that preceded it, the purpose of Arkanoid was to break through progressively tougher levels of colored bricks using a ball that could be aimed with a paddle on the lower part of the screen. The upright cabinet featured a distinctive “spinner” input, which made control of the player’s paddle much more intuitive than a standard joystick. There have been many console and PC ports of the game over the years, attesting the popularity and infectious fun of the simple but addictive game. The NES port of Arkanoid originally shipped with a special controller that mimicked the wheel in the arcade version, and this special release of the game is widely sought by collectors specifically for the controller.

Perhaps because of the input limitations of portable consoles, there has never been an official portable release of the game by Taito — until now. Square Enix have signed up to distribute this game as well as an updated version of the classic Space Invaders on the Nintendo DS. The game is expected to be released in North America this June and in Europe one month later. Early previews of the title have praised the included paddle controller (pictured) for its accuracy, as well as the game’s bouncy, updated soundtrack. From the look of the latest screenshots below, the game will nicely reproduce the feeling of the classic arcade title on the Nintendo handheld.

New screenshots added May 21, 2008:

We have already covered some of the new characters that will be available to players in Etrian Odyssey II, namely the Scout, Gunner and Pet. In anticipation of the launch of Etrian Odyssey II in June, we bring you some updated information on more character classes featured in the game.

Dark Hunter
Dark hunters were somewhat underused in the original game, proving somewhat weak against stronger foes and only slightly more useful than the poor Troubador in terms of party support. The Dark Hunters of High Lagaard are similar to those found in Etria; they can still work with either whip or sword to focus on bindings or status ailments, but they now come with some great new abilities. The key difference comes in their ability to set potentially deadly traps: in High Lagaard, dark hunters can react to either physical or magical attacks, no matter what weapon they use. With its new force skill, Bondage, the Dark Hunter will be capable of using every binding technique at its disposal to bind a single enemy’s head, arms, and legs, rendering it completely defenseless.

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UK publisher Lexicon Entertainment today announced a new line-up of brain training games for the DS. This series of five games will offer bite-sized and entertaining quizzes on a variety of topics and will be priced at an attractive $9.99. DS owners will be able to brush up on their knowledge of Geography, Movies, History, and Football (Soccer for us Americans) in these games, making them unique in the crowded brain training space for their treatment of pop cultural trivia. The fifth title in the series will be called “Super Brain Tease”, which we only imagine will demand an ungodly amount of knowledge in every subject imaginable. If we can get our hands on an import copy of one of these, we will be sure and bring you our impressions. In the mean time, let us know what you think about the brain training phenomenon in general in the comments below. Do you own or enjoy these types of games?

April NPD numbers are in, giving us both hardware and software sales data for all consoles and handhelds. On one hand, the Nintendo DS came in second (we don’t need to tell you which family-oriented console took 1st, do we?). The DS sold roughly 415 thousand units, but suffered a considerable fall compared to the 698 thousand systems sold during March. The PSP did its part, too, claiming 3rd spot and selling 193 thousand units, although suffering a drop of about 104 thousand systems from the previous month. The PSP outsold the Xbox 360, PS3, and PS2, and overall hardware sales dropped considerably. On the software department, only two handheld games made it to the top ten; Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness, claiming spots 7 and 8 with 202,000 copies sold each. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and God of War: Chains of Olympus didn’t manage to stay on the software list during April; and where’s Patapon?

As of writing, worldwide DS and PSP sales are:

Nintendo DS: 72 million

Sony PSP: 34 million

As a side note, I’m glad to say that I contributed to PSP hardware sales this past April, with my sleek and shiny Piano Black PSP Slim.

Thanks: [PSP Fanboy]

I honestly can’t speak for everyone here at PVG, but yours truly is an avid rhythm gamer, and the announcement of Daigasso! Band Brothers DX almost made me squeak and giggle like a girl; almost (the announcement of over 100 downloadable songs did that, though, sadly). But I digress; we have new, exciting info regarding the title. Wii connectivity will be implemented, allowing users to download a Speaker Channel to show their musical skills (or lack thereof) through the TV. Even better, for those incapable of producing their own compositions with the game’s complex and overwhelming Song Editor (myself included), players will be able to upload their creations to a server and share them with friends. Many connectivity features and impressive plans for downloadable content are making this a rhythm genre sure-get. Now, if only Nintendo of America understood the need for this game to make it outside of Japan; we can only hope. Worse comes to worse, we can import the title, but there is no guarantee that the game’s Wi-Fi and Wii connectivity features will work outside the Land of the Rising Sun. We will investigate this and provide a full review soon after the title’s late June release.

Thanks: [NeoGAF]