Quake Arena Coming to DS

It's official as official can be as it has come from the mouth of John Carmack speaking at QuakeCon. Quake Arena DS is 'in the works' and may very well become a reality... with a few minor quirks.

First of all he doesn't want it to be like Metroid Prime Hunters, namely no touchscreen and more restrictive like the original Doom. This is a bit of a shame as after maybe an hour with Metroid Prime Hunters the controls felt second nature and despite the learning curve Quake shouldn't be dumbed down for an audience that wants responsive and deep controls.

As of now details are scarce, no word online or not, just that Carmack wants it to be a simple game 'conceptually' so maybe it would be better off labeling this as 'Doom with Quake 2.5 graphics'.



VIA IGN

Call of Duty DS

No joke, the Nintendo DS will be getting some Call of Duty loving. It will, just like Call of Duty 4 be set in the modern world and will be an FPS.

















The production values seem high, this game is one to look out for. Perhaps there will finally be another decent FPS title to play besides Metroid Prime Hunters.

Hitman Reborn DS

It's not what you think...



Sorry for getting you overly excited.

DS Top Seller in Australia

After Nintendo declared the Wii a winner for reaching 100,000 units sold fastest and being rebuttled by Sony saying that the Playstation 3 has been outselling the Wii since its launch (both proven to be true) it seems that over all Nintendo can say it is the leader in terms of raw sales with the DS, selling well over 29,000 units more than the next biggest seller (the Playstation 2) in between the months of April and June.

This is in sharp contrast to the DS launch figures which placed it well below the PSP and Playstation 3. It would seem that even the Wii may make this dramatic come back if the PSP and DS comparison will apply in home consoles. Despite launching a few months before the Playstation 3 the Wii did outsell the Playstation 3 for the first time last week and this trend my continue.

VIA cnet Australia

Pokemon Graphite - Umm, Didn't I Play This Game 32 Years Ago?

Here, I have an exclusive screenshots from Pokemon Graphite, the Pokemon game slated to be released in late 2030, post apocalypse. Imagine all the cool futuristic things we'll have by then, from flying cars to instant cancer removal pills, and of course Plutonium will be sold at every corner drug store. But somethings don't ever change, Pokemon is one of those things.

Why do Nintendo owners put up with Pokemon? Sure, Nintendo doesn't change much with their games, often times they just recycle winning formulas. Though sales inevitably slow, technology becomes more advanced and then the formula is remixed to improve sales and utilize modern technology. From Mario to Legend of Zelda to Tetris, Nintendo moves with the times, even if slowly.

This isn't the case with Pokemon, every single damned Pokemon game is the same, literally the same, besides the difference in GUI and some prettier illustrations there are no differences, no improvements, nothing.

Nintendo fanboys must be idiots, or kids just born into the world after the previous iteration of Pokemon, because one way or the other people aren't taking the fact it's the same game from nine years ago into account.

The DS is not an incapable machine, look at Final Fantasy 3, it looks amazing and is in full 3D, heck, if a Pokemon game MUST stay 2D because it's a cartoon (flawed reasoning, but lets go for it anyway), then Children of Mana is the perfect example of how 2D should be done on the DS.

Sadly with the sales of Pokemon on the DS being as high as ever it looks like the DS 2 version of Pokemon is going to be the same as before. Whats really aggravating is that Nintendo protects Pokemon more so than any of its other franchises, you probably won't get a cease and desist for remaking Legend of Zelda or Mario but you can certainly expect your mothers head in the mail if you try to touch Pokemon.

#Edit: I did buy Pokemon Pearl, I recognize full well that I'm an idiot Nintendo fanboy.

Halo DS Next Week - Sez Cassamassina

Apparently Halo DS is really real and we'll be seeing it for the first time next week, says Matt Casamassina, the lying scounderal of IGN fame.

After claiming he had played Halo on the DS the internet went on fire, most, though, were smart enough to just dismiss his words as sensationalistic bullshit.

But hey what the hey, if the DS can pull of Xbox like graphcis I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Nintendo Big Wigs to Jump Ship?

It seems like there is a very real chance some of Nintendos most valuable employees, including George Harrison (Edit: The other George Harrison), are set to leave Nintendo following a decision by Nintendos higher-higher ups to relocate the PR department from Redmond to New York.

So far Nintendo has not commented on the situation, though if they have any brains they know better than to just up and dump what is perhaps the dream team of NOA. Nintendo has never seen such great success since the original NES days, losing their key players could spell an inevitable death within the coming years.

As of present however these are all just rumours, all of it, yes, up to and including the relocation of the PR department.

VIA GameSpot

Taiko Drum Master Coming to Nintendo DS

It may turn into the Guitar Hero of the portable market, Namco Bandai have announced Taiko Drum Master for the DS and yes it will let you drum to the Super Mario Bros theme.

Controls are still a secret (we still have our imaginations) and Namco still hasn't revealed any screenshots of the lower screen of the game. The game will feature four player multiplayer with drummer personalization features (you can dress up your drummer).



Current song list:

J-Pop:
Natsumatsuri (Summer Festival)
Won't Be Long
Mata Aimashou (Let's Meet Again)
Dance2 Featuring Soy Sauce [Pocky Chocolate Commercial Song]

Children's/Folk Music:
Mori no O-Kumasan (Bears in the Forest)
Inu no O-mawarisan (Dog and the Policeman)

Game Music:
Super Mario Bros.

Classical:
Beethoven's 7th (partial)
William Tell Overture
Heaven and Hell (Offenbach)
Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov)
Classic Medley (Wedding Songs)

Namco Originals:
Kimi ni Touch!
Mojipittan Medley
Kagekiyo
Pachi O-Sensei

VIA Wired

Classics for the DS

There are a bunch of older 'classic' titles that should be ported onto the DS, such classic titles include everything from FPS to RPG's. I've been looking at my 'vintage' gaming collection and have found a couple of games that definitely would work well on the DS and should be ported.

So lets get to it,

Half-Life: This is a no brainer, Half-Life is a classic FPS title that will work with the DS, Metroid Prime Hunters has already proven that FPS games are almost as accurate as keyboard and mouse with a touchscreen and D-Pad. Half-Life is also a real classic, I think if it were to be released on the DS it would find its niche in the older gamer audience who would be playing it while out on the run.

Command and Conquer, Warcraft 2: Two pioneers in RTS titles, there dated graphics yet addictive gameplay should definitely give them a new lease on life on the DS.

MechWarrior 2: While MechAssault on the DS wasn't tii bad an experience it lacked the depth of MechWarrior 2. What made MechWarrior 2 so popular was its extremely deep mechanics, you'd find yourself adjusting what weapons, rate of fire, amongst other things, all from inside the cockpit. MechAssault didn't do the touchscreen justice due to its shallower mechanics, MechWarrior 2 can and will if given the chance on the DS.

Star Wars X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter: As deep as Mechwarrior 2 (re-route all power to front shields) and as realistic Star Wars fighter sim as you can get, even today it has yet to be surpassed in terms of sheer depth. Star Wars buffs and even average fans should be salivating for this already.

Grim Fandango: The DS is supposed to be the savior of adventure games, make it so Lucas! Exploit this chance to bring back Grim Fandango, the graphics are timeless, the gameplay is impressive and if anything this is what the DS was made for. Bring back this classic!

System Shock 2: I want to yelp in fear on a bus full of oily skinned and pimple faced kids.

Diablo 2, Baldur's Gate: Classic dungeon hack and slash fun, these game ran off the mouse and with the DS it can do so off the touch screen. The DS is just crying for a long term epic adventure and these two games would be great to deliver on that.

Unreal Tournament: I've heard of complaints that Metroid Prime Hunters' MP component is just an Unreal Tournament rip off, quite frankly I don't see where the complaint comes in. I recall the sheer thrill I got when for the first time like out of some sort of action movie I jumped out of a helicopter onto a speeding train, or stormed the beaches then looking back seeing my friends getting blown up to pieces. Granted the DS probably wouldn't be able to handle the larger levels from Unreal Tournament I think the smaller maps would still be more than adequate to be ported over to the DS.