Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - A Short Review

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If there's a game on the Nintendo DS that can (and will) make you miss your baths and is the epitome of the "just-one-more-turn" addiction normally found turned-based games on the PC, that game would be Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords.

Puzzle Quest plays a little bit like one of those Heroes of Might and Magic games on the PC. There's the game-world map whereby the hero moves around and there's also the hero's starting location, a city which can be upgraded with player-specific buildings.

The similarities with the HoMM end at combat. While there's also experience to be earned from combat, actual combat takes place as a Bejeweled game between the player and the AI. Where else can you say that you got pwned by a giant vampire bat in a game of Bejeweled?

Being an old title, Puzzle Quest would probably have dozens of reviews to its name, each would also be probably recommend that you get it. My sentiments exactly, having played the game. I got this game as a used copy a couple of weeks ago with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for a paltry RM 90 or USD 28 for both!

If you need to get a new copy, the US version is available at Play-Asia for USD 24.90 (click here) whereas the Japanese import version, Simple DS Series Vol. 23: The Puzzle Quest: Agaria no Kishi (quite a mouthful) is also available at a cheaper price of USD 19.90 (click here).

P/S: Both titles are at bargain prices.

The ROM Report IX: The Old and the New

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NES gamers would probably remember Taito's classic The Legend of Kage which was released in 1987 for the North American NES.

The game was a 2D platformer and even though I've played it as a kid, I remembered distinctively that the hero was a ninja that could jump really high, and one of the enemy types wore a hat and shot flames, and was a tough bastard at that.

Anyways, I got the game to run on the Nintendo DS with the help of the nesDS emulator. You might want to check that out, but before that here's a video of the game running on the DS.


Since the theme of this edition of The ROM Report is "the old and the new", lets talk about the sequel to The Legend of Kage. Yup, Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2 was released in early March 2008 for the Nintendo DS.

The graphics have become much prettier, and along with it, more forgiving gameplay and a rather nice soundtrack as well. The hero, Kage, can still jump really high and comes with a new special power that allows him to duplicate himself.

I'll let the movie do the talking:


Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2, is available at Play-Asia at a cheaper price than what other imported Japanese games are sold for. Click here for purchase details.

Speed Racer: The Video Game - A Nintendo DS Review

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I must say that with WFC Connectivity, Speed Racer: The Video Game would have been up there contending with Mario Kart DS for the best racing game title on the Nintendo DS.


Admittedly, that thought didn't cross my mind before I started reviewing the game. Likewise for many movie tie-ins and in-fact many Nintendo DS games these days, I approached this title with trepidation thinking that hey, at most its gonna be something a little less crappier than M&M's Kart Racing.

Yup, the market is full of shovelware these days that a little pessimistic thinking is acceptable. Are we looking at another video games crunch ala the 80's? That's enough material for another article.

Back to the game. Boy, was I glad to be proven wrong. The game started off with a nice FMV, with the backstory being set after the events of the movie. Without further ado, I jumped into an arcade mode race and the graphics were the first thing that caught my attention.

Someone better create a digital video output expansion set for the DS so that I can view this on my widescreen..this is really good!

It was a really trippy experience going through the first race and the excellent graphics were accompanied with excellent controls and gameplay. Some portions of the track are like half pipes, and if you were to drive off the sides, a tap of a button will bring the car right on to the track. This user friendly approach is extended to situations where you might find yourself driving backwards, and a touch of a button will right the car.

All these stunts, which also include flipping the car during jumps, drifting through corners and executing Car-Fu, which is a mini game that can be executed during overtaking, will help you fill your boost meter which can be expended to provide a timely boost of speed.

However, fill the boost meter to the brim and you'll have access to the Zone. It's abit hard to describe the "Zone", it's like a mega boost of sorts and pretty much worth the effort to fill the boost meter.

More importantly, stunts also win fans. Fans are to Speed Racer as currency is to RPGs. the more fans you win over in a race, the more cars, drivers and game modes you can unlock!

Aside from the Arcade Mode, there is also an expansive WRL league mode, which is divided by difficulty level. Each level has its own sets of cups and special events and is the place to be to gain fans to unlock the goodies mentioned in the previous paragraph.

The Options menu provides quite a bit of flexibility. You can choose between three different control schemes, adjust race variables such as number of opponents and laps, and whether to use the metric system or the imperial system for your speedometer (lol..jargon? that's just MPH or KPH).

Speed Racer is like a breath of fresh air among the other racing games I've seen lately on the Nintendo DS and I highly recommend it. Speed Racer: The Video Game is available at Play-Asia with free international shipping to most countries. Click here for purchase details.

Click here to purchase the game at Amazon.com.

Iron Man for Nintendo DS - A Game Review

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Iron Man for the Nintendo DS has been great experience so far, and while I'm playing to unlock the "One Man Army" mode, which I think will get you to blow up more stuff compared to the story mode, the story mode seems to be intriguing on its own. For one, there is that research points thing and secondly, each level is expansive, with multiple objectives and a boss fight of sorts at the end.


Lets talk about the levels first. The levels are so big I have trouble finishing them in a single casual sitting of 5 minutes. Going along with the expansive levels are the rather nice graphics as well. The textures may look a little basic, but hey, it's on DS, not the PSP.

Gameplay is a mixed bag here, but its not necessarily a bad thing. The first level will have you playing a little like Tomb Raider as you fight your way out with the first version of the Iron Man suit. The second level however, transforms into a shmup, as you get to fly around in the latest Iron Man suit, shooting repulsor beams and firing the occasional rocket or unibeam and even release an EM pulse.

You'll require the use of both buttons and the touch screen in order to play. Use the touch screen to aim and fire repulsor beams/flamethrower, or to shoot a unibeam. The touch screen also serves as a guide with arrows pointing to the next objective.

I don't think it would be hard to add a mini-map, like the one found in football games, with dots representing enemies, buildings, powerups and the ilk, on the touch screen, but no such think here. Come on, the levels are big and it's an Iron Man game... high tech and all that jazz.. a mini map would definitely help.

Remember that I mentioned Research Points? Iron Man for the Nintendo DS displays a little more depth compared to other super hero games on the same platform by allowing you to go all RPG on it.

You can spend Research Points to upgrade your Iron Man suit (better shields, repulsor beams, upgraded rockets, etc etc), which you get to pilot from level 2 onwards, but you'll have to destroy ALOT of enemies (and buildings) to obtain them points. Whatever happened to good old (but boring) R&D.

A Story Mode is nothing without a story and Iron Man tells its "cutscenes" in the form of stills with shots from the movie as well as stylize comic book art. Apparent Robert Downey Jr. reprises his character from the movie by lending his voice for the game. And speaking of sound, it's largely forgettable, so don't aim for a sonic experience.

Iron Man has a pretty solid outing on the Nintendo DS, with interesting gameplay and RPG elements and is available at Play-Asia (click here for purchase details).

Weirdest/Coolest FMV on the Nintendo DS

The use of full motion video is getting pretty common place among Nintendo DS games, with the usual suspects such as the Final Fantasy series of games leading the way. Even the boxing game, K-1 World GP (Japanese import) utilizes FMV for its intro.

Most of the time, these FMVs are CG spectacles, designed to awe more than anything else. But have you seen anything that actually have you chuckling?

Here's one:

That's the FMV intro for Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon and it references old Chinese Kung Fu movies and even the Karate Kid, but look out for the Nintendo DS Lite in some scenes. The game requires knowledge of Japanese kanji characters (you write them on the touch screen) and when done succesfully, translates to kungfu moves to defeat your on screen enemy. Think Street Fighter where you have to write your combo moves instead of mashing buttons.

As you might expect, I couldn't go far with the game since I'm handicapped by my lack of kanji knowledge but for those of you out there with written Japanese knowledge, this is an interesting game to check out.

Hissatsu Kung Fu: Kanji Dragon is available at Play-Asia, click here for purchase details.

bit Generations Coloris for the GBA - A Game Review

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If you have a game title that rhymes with chorela, you would be chuckling like me every time you see the box art for the game Coloris. Even the colour scheme reminds you of something related to the disease (diarrhea, anyone?). But one shouldn't judge a game by the title or box art or a combination of both.

Part of the 3 bit Generations games that I purchased earlier this month, Coloris presents a rather unique experience not unlike the other titles in the bit Generations series. First timers would do well to pay attention to the colour spectrum thingy in the first level.

The level is represented with rows upon rows of multicoloured tiles. The game plays a little bit like Tetris, whereby players will have to get a line of 3 tiles (horizontally, or vertically, or both even) or more in the same colour in order to make them disappear. How to change the colour of a tile depends on the tiles surrounding that particular tile. Remember the colour spectrum?

You can change the colour of the tile, in sequence to the colour of the surrounding tiles! Pretty interesting eh?

Here's a couple of gameplay videos that I shot earlier this evening so have a look:





Coloris is available at...scratch that, it's no longer in stock at Play-Asia, but you can keep tabs on it just in case the game comes back in stock. Click here for further details.

Space Invaders Extreme and the Paddle Controller - A Review

I totally forgot that I have the Japanese edition of Space Invaders Extreme sitting pretty in my Nintendo DS games library until Jonathan commented in my previous post. So how does it play with the Paddle Controller?

A little better compared to playing Arkanoid DS (where it was moving too fast like Hammy on caffeine - watch Over the Hedge and you'll get my drift), but this time, the Paddle Controller is too slow. You can see that minute movement is pretty jerky and this being Space Invaders, you'll find yourself needing to anticipate your moves sooner to avoid getting boxed in by enemy fire.

Forget about side-stepping shots at the last moment, the Paddle Controller is simply too slow. You are better off using the D-pad. Coincidentally, the D-pad is used as the fire button if you have the Paddle Controller connected instead, so there's no switching from Paddle to D-pad on the fly when it comes to movement.

One minor detail that I notice is unlike Arkanoid DS (or Mario Kart DS post-patch), you can't use the Paddle Controller while in Space Invaders Extreme's menu mode.

I think it's time to put the Paddle Controller back into its box. And say "Welcome back, D-pad!"

Arkanoid DS with Paddle Controller - A Really Short Review

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I've got a confession to make. I fell asleep playing Arkanoid DS. I wanted to take my new Paddle Controller for another spin (pun intended) and I was nodding 5 minutes into the game.


I don't know whether it is the really simple graphics (the black gap in the middle between the two screens IS a game breaker), or the horrible controls (the Paddle Controller is sucky because it's too fast) or the now commonplace techno-funky soundtrack (which can give lullabies a run for their money) that caused such a lethargic response from me.

In short, it will be quite a long time before I play that game again.

Anyways, the game is available at Play-Asia for USD 49.90 and comes bundles with the Paddle Controller. Click here for futher details.

When Robot Fights Go The Way of Jankenpon

Rock, Paper, Scissors (a.k.a. jankenpon). That's the name of the game for Zoids Battle Colosseum for the Nintendo DS. You start off the game straight into some dueling action; fans of various Zoid anime/manga series will know that duels are fought between giant mechanical war machines that resemble animals.

Get past the first duel and you'll face a larger game world consisting of various coliseums or arenas, if you'd like it that way. Getting around is pretty easy as the game is pretty linear, marking arenas that you should head next to with an exclamation mark.

Duels are initiated by visiting those marked arenas and before a duel, you are to choose your "Zoid", a pilot, and a special attack of sorts (I don't really know actually, since it's in Japanese). Duels, although presented in 3D (and are quite pretty) are fought over rock-paper-scissors style.

Winning duel will award you with more Zoids and more special attacks. It's a pretty simple premise for a pretty game. Even if it's not too much trouble for you to get around the game with some trial and error, it's not really worth buying the game at its full import price. Unless of course, there's a discount, but only hardcore Zoids fans..or Japan-o-philes need apply.

Zoids Battle Colosseum is available at Play-Asia for USD 14.90 with free international shipping to some countries. Click here for purchase details.

Oshare Majo Love and Berry First Looks With Pictures

The advantage of being a video games blogger (and a one who does his research) is that you'll know what to answer when your other half points out to a Love and Berry arcade machine and asks what is it.

That was exactly what happened while I was holidaying at Genting last weekend. To the benefit of those not in the know, Love and Berry is a cross between a rhythm game and a card collecting game and generally appeals to girls. The cards that you collect (from playing the game) can be swiped at the card reader equipped arcade machines to allow you to play dress up with your characters.

This SEGA game spawned a DS spin-off titled Oshare Majo Love and Berry (DS Collection), and guess what, it arrived in my mailbox earlier today :). The Nintendo DS game comes with its very own Card Reader (which goes into the Slot-2) which reads cards obtained from the arcade version of the game!

One word of caution though, it appears that the game does not read cards from the English arcade version of the game, which is understandable since the DS release is Japanese only. I haven't gone about playing the game (it has joined the long list that is "games bought but waiting to be played") but here are some pictures for the curious:

Oshare Majo Love and Berry (DS Collection) is available at Play-Asia for just USD 19.90. Click here for further details.

New Zealand Story Revolution a.k.a Cute Overload - A Game Review

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I'll put it straight up that I'm pretty inept when it comes to platform games and I avoid buying them because I'll stop playing as soon as my first encounter with a level boss. That's why I have not gotten round buying any of the Castlevania games and my library is only limited to New Super Mario Bros, which has pretty easy boss fights.


When I first heard about New Zealand Story Revolution, I was wondering why the developers decided to name the game that way and was about to dismiss it as a TRAVEL GUIDE (the trouble with names). Little did I know that the game had a pedigreed past (well received arcade game with a lot of console ports) and is actually a really good and cute, but very tough 2D platform game.

It's pretty hard to put in 3 nice adjectives in a sentence to summarise a game (usually people will describe New Super Mario Bros. as just "awesome"), but that's how New Zealand Story Revolution is.

The game will have you play as a kiwi chick, out to rescue his fellow kiwis kidnapped by a walrus. The levels deserve a special mention here, as environmental obstacles such as spikes (and spike trips) combine with a factory line production of enemies to produce a really tough gaming experience!

Due to its nature as a platform game, gamers will be jumping around from platform to platform, some of which as miniscule as small block, miss them and you might end up hitting a strip of spikes lying underneath; or hitch a ride vehicles such as cars or balloons.

Fortunately, the game provides you with a host of weapon power-ups to deal with the never ending amount of enemies. These can be obtained from fallen enemies and will replace your default arrow shot with the ice shot or bomb shot or a sword and shield, amongst other things. You'll also get to collect letters, spelling out Extend, although I do not know what's this for.

The objective of each level is to rescue a kiwi chick at the end of the level. The touch screen is use sporadically, to turn door knobs, and to spot the difference between the top and bottom screens (in order to open up a jump/warp gate to progress).

If you are wondering where I stopped, well, it's at the first boss, the ice whale. Anyways, the graphics are really nice and is an upgrade from the NES version, which plays almost the same minus the touchscreen elements. And yes, the NES version plays fine on nesDS emulator for the Nintendo DS. Just bear in mind that the US NES release is known as Kiwi Kraze.... don't ask me why.

New Zealand Story Revolution is available at Play-Asia, click here for purchase details. Free international shipping is available for certain countries.

Blaxploitation, On The DS?

Blaxploitation, define by Wikipedia as a film genre that stereotyped black people, presenting them as drug dealers and pimps. This kind of stereotype is also common place in video games, and it was just a matter of time before it arrived on the kid-friendly Nintendo DS.


For instance, take a look at Hommie Rollerz for the Nintendo DS. As a piece of shovelware racing game, its quite underwhelming and there's no particular reason to purchase it. However, there's the stereotypical potrayal of black, latino, and even white characters.

I wouldn't say this game will set a dangerous precedence to childred (like they are going to play it anyway), but I bet more games are to follow.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games - A Game Review

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With China's human rights records being in question, this year's Olympics has the potential of eclipsing both the Atlanta and Greece Olympics in terms of controversy. As a refresher, a bomb exploded during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and while there were no bombs in the 2004 Greece Olympics, the organizers had a 1.5 billion US dollars bill, just for security!

One can expect protests and outright boycotts from athletes for the Beijing Games over China's human rights records but this hasn't stop Nintendo and Sega from coming up with "the first official game of the 2008 Summer Olympics". If that isn't enough, the game features two video game icons normally associated as rivals back when Sega was still making consoles, Mario and Sonic.


Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the NIntendo DS, like the Olympics Games, is a multi-sport event. Instead of national athletes the game pits the cast of various Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog games, such as Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Dr Eggman and Sonic in a variety of sporting events. The "athletes" are grouped into categories such as all-rounders, power type, skill type and speed type.... I didn't know Peach was skillful in anything except being kidnapped all the time.

The single player mode offers up Single Match play, where players compete in a single event such as swimming, table tennis, and track and field events (100 meters dash, etc). The Circuit mode basically packages these single events together and the Mission mode will have players playing mini games in particular events such as jumping successfully three times for a total over 20 meters in the Long Jump event.

Here's a piece of trivia: The venue for the events featured in this game take the names of the actual venues in the Beijing Olympics. So, if you have played this game and someone were to ask you where are the cycling events held during the Beijing Olympics, answer confidently. "It's at the Laoshan Velodrome!" I feel smarter already.

While the game looks a little raw graphics wise, the developers peppered the game with voice work for each of the characters and for the announcements that occur during the events. An even nicer touch would be the playback which occurs at the end of the event, so you'll get to see how well (or poorly) you fared.

During the course of the game, you rake up medals, trophies, emblems and crowns, giving you a sense of achievement which while not the same as winning a medal in the actual Olympics, is actually something :). The game only offers up local WiFi multiplayer and the Nintendo WFC functionality (seen on the cover of the game) is for uploading and checking your global rankings.

Last but not least, the Gallery mode will have gamers playing mini-games (again, Sega games are chokeful of mini games, don't you think?) to unlock bits of Olympic trivia. No doubt another enterprise to impress your pals. "Why are the Olympic Games held every four years?" "Because the ancient Olympic Games that took place in Olympia, Greece were held every four years" LOL.

Mario & Sonic makes for a pretty decent casual game, and hardcore gamers wouldn't be left out too since button mashing to new records (a wet dream for real athletes) and rewards galore is the order of game. More so, this game answers the age-old online discussion favourite, who will win in a 100 meter dash? Sonic or Mario?

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and other games for the Nintendo DS are available at Play-Asia, with free international shipping to certain countries. Click here for purchase details.

The Touch Pen Way To Fighting

Hokuto no Ken, otherwise known as Fist of the North Star, sits near the top of my list of favourite manga series. A violent and often graphic martial arts manga, it's probably the only comic book which has the Bruce Lee-like protagonist going a-ta-ta-ta! all the time, just like the legend himself.


Anyways, I wouldn't be at a lost of words to describe the latest Hokuto no Ken game for the Nintendo DS, Hokuto no Ken: Hokuto Kami Denshoumono no Michi. To put it succinctly, the game is like Ouendan and its ilk (Ouendan 2, EBA).

Take the manga panel style gameplay of Ouendan, replace the panels with scenes from the Hokuto No Ken manga, and substitute the soundtrack with kungfu yells and screams, and there you go.

Fans of Hokuto no Ken will know that Kenshiro fighting style involves hitting an opponent's acupuncture points and this game indulges in that. Most of the time, enemies will be occupying the manga panels, and you'll have to tap on dots (representing those acupuncture points) appearing on those enemies within a time limit.

Hitting all the dots within a panel will get you a "Perfect" rating (and "shattering" the enemies at the same time, we wouldn't have it any other way, of course) while missing one or two, will earn you a "Great" rating. Sometimes, it is only possible to advance by getting a "Perfect" rating. The game will also have you sliding the stylus furiously back and forth in some segments.

There's plenty of voice work going on, which is cool and if you do read Japanese, it's like reading the manga itself (while tapping on dots). The artwork in the manga panels is a visual treat because unlike the manga, which is normally B&W, the game is in full colour (yay!).

One of the problems I foresee is that the game might get boring in a while. After all, the game has no catchy soundtrack to speak of (unless you consider Bruce Lee as a songbird); it's mainly about tapping dots before the timer runs out.

Even so, I like the game. And fans of the manga would probably lap it up. Hokuto no Ken: Hokuto Kami Denshoumono no Michi is available at Play-Asia with free international shipping to certain countries. Click here for further details.

Japanese Import Review: Bakusou Dekotora Densetsu BLACK

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Mention Bakusou Dekotora Densetsu Black and most people would go a wa wa what? It's a truck (or lorry, if you are a Brit) racing game for the Nintendo DS.


I don't really like trucks. They are akin to adding fuel to fire that is rush-hour traffic. The sight of them clogging up the Kesas highway is usually accompanied with a lot of finger tapping on the steering wheel while inching along a 3 kilometer stretch.

Bakusou Dekotora Densetsu Black is anything but a traffic jam. In fact, it has more in common with Burnout! You race AI-controlled boss trucks who in turn have an endless supply of henchmen cars who would try to thwart you. Just use your truck to ram into these cars and the boss trucks. You win a race by destroying the enemy boss truck.

It's a pretty simple premise backed up by a simple looking 3D engine. Since you are mainly racing on straight roads with a jump or two thrown in for good measure, the graphics do not stop the onset of sleepiness when you are playing this game. Couple this with forgettable audio (I don't even remember whether the game has a soundtrack), you are much better off playing Mario Kart...or Burnout on the PS2.

Hardcore Japanese import fans can probably satisfy their curiosity by buying the game. It is available at Play-Asia for USD 48.90 (click here for details). But for the rest of us (and that applies to yours truly as well) stay well away.

Sega Superstars Tennis for Nintendo DS - A Review

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In retrospect, Sega's decision to quit making consoles and instead focusing on making games for other consoles is a good one for gamers in general. Otherwise we wouldn't be enjoying such an excellent tennis game for in the Nintendo DS in the form of Sega Superstars Tennis.


I admit that I approached this title with rather high hopes, as the previous tennis game I played, Prince of Tennis: Crystal Drive, although GBA-ish, delivered quite an enjoyable experience. I'm happy to say that Sega Superstars Tennis has exceeded even my expectations and probably is one of the better games I've played this year.

Almost every part of the game screams excellent production values and from the start you are greeted with a FMV sequence which would probably give the Crystal Chronicles or Revenant Wings developers a run for their money.

With its player roster being a showcase of Sega icons such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Nights, Amigo, Dr. Egghead and Ulala, the developers have set out to provide just that, and then some. Gameplay is realised in 3D, not unlike another Sega title, Virtua Tennis for the PSP.

While the DS is not much of a pixel pusher compared to the PSP, character models and the various courts that they play on are jaw droppingly pretty, and look Ma, no lag! As a nice touch, the tennis courts in the Sega Superstar Tennis are based on past Sega titles. Among those titles featured include Curien Mansion (House of the Dead), Space Channel 5, Samba de Amigo with more to be unlocked.

The usual suspects are here when it comes to gameplay options. There's the Quick Play mode and the Single Player mode which allows players to have a match against the computer opponent in either singles or doubles matches. If you are up for it, there's a tournament mode within the Single Player mode as well.

As mentioned earlier, the player roster reads like a who's who list of Sega icons and while you have 8 characters to choose from the start, there are 8 more waiting to be unlocked! Each character has his/her/its own style of play, some are power players while some are spin or all-rounders. In addition to that, characters such as Nights handle differently then others as she floats instead of being grounded.

Each character has also a special ability which can be triggered during gameplay with the right-shoulder button. Abilities work like those featured in Crystal Drive and can only be triggered when the star on the character's feet starts glowing. It is not a convulated as Crystal Drive and while the number of abilities are noticeably lesser, at least you don't need to remember combos :).

Multiplayer mode is confined to local WiFi, which is a little bit disappointing, as I planned to take my A-game online :).

One of the more interesting aspects of Virtua Tennis for the PSP was its collection of mini games and likewise, Sega Superstars Tennis doesn't disappoint. Accessible from the Single Player mode screen, these mission games are themed according to various Sega games such as ChuChu Rocket!, Super Monkey Ball, Virtua Squad and Curien Mansion (House of the Dead).

For example, the House of the Dead mission will have you hitting tennis balls at zombies crawling out from the ground amongst other things. The Virtua Squad mission will definitely give fans of the arcade game a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't spoil it for you; get the game and find out for yourself!

I am so getting this game. Sega Superstars Tennis is available at the following online retailers, click on them for further details:

• Play-Asia ~ USD 34.90 (Free International Shipping)
• Amazon UK ~ £24.98 (Super Saver Delivery - within UK)
  
• Amazon.com ~ USD 29.95 (Super Saver Shipping - within US)
  

I would recommend International buyers to opt for Play-Asia. Never failed me once.

Mr. Bean on the Nintendo DS - A Game Review

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Throughout my entire TV-watching life, Mr. Bean is probably the funniest character on TV who no one would dare associate with. Come on, being called or compared to Mr. Bean isn't funny at all even though his silly/funny antics kept us tuning in week after week.

One spin-off from the live-action Mr. Bean TV series is the animated (duh) series by Tiger Aspect, which is currently being shown on Astro's Disney Channel. Animation probably adds more effect to Mr. Bean's already absurd behaviour. According to the Wikipedia article on the series, Mr. Bean's animated actions are taken from Rowan Atkinson (the guy who plays Mr. Bean in the live series) himselft!

Anyways,Pinnacle has just released a video game based on Mr. Bean: The Animated Series, and it is actually quite a bit better than most tv-show/movie tie-ins. Remember The Golden Compass on the Nintendo DS? I don't think so.

Mr Bean for the Nintendo DS surprises by being quite an adept platformer. Graphics-wise, it adopts a cell-shaded look while retaining the character designs from the animation series. One thing that makes the game stand out is unlike The Simpsons game which took a 2D approach, Mr. Bean is actually in 3D but the game restricts you to the X and Y planes on a linear path. Hence, a 3D 2D platformer...if such a thing existed in the first place.

Like any platformer worth its salt, there is a Story mode. Mr. Bean's teddy has been kidnapped by that dratted cat. Mr. Bean must collect cat biscuits in order to free him. Mr. Bean encounters a lot of enemies along the way, including frogs, bees, guard dogs and moles! To assist Mr. Bean in his endeavours, there're some items such as bug spray, cooking pans and a weird looking hat that renders him invulnerable for a few seconds.

The game will have the player jumping onto moving platforms (it's a platformer alright), pulling and pushing crates, and avoiding environmental obstacles such as explosives(!), pits, garden hoes, water hazards and pointy stuff that come up from the ground. If it does sound daunting, rest assured that the gameplay caters for children and it is rather forgiving.

Finishing levels provides not many incentives except for unlocking mini games such as "whack-a-mole" and jigsaw puzzles. Replay value is limited in the Story mode as the only other thing you can do is to play as Mr. Bean's girlfriend.

Despite that, this game would most certainly appeal to children and fans of the TV series. Currently an European release, Mr. Bean for the Nintendo DS is available on Amazon UK. Click here for purchase details.

Space Invaders Extreme (Japanese Import) - A Review

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"Toto, I've got a feeling that we are not in 1978 anymore, and this ain't our daddy's Space Invaders we're playing here". That is exactly what sums up the experience of playing Space Invaders Extreme on the Nintendo DS.


Space Invaders Extreme presents a 21st century update to one of modern video gaming's pioneer titles and is released by Taito to mark the 30th anniversary of the classic title.

Don't mind the rather staid/retro cover box as the game really is colourful and the gameplay is much faster compared to that of its 30 year-old predecessor. Taito has put in place a rather nice techno soundtrack to complement the psychedelic interface/gameplay and I feel it's like someone converted Planet Puzzle League into Space Invaders!

There's quite a bit of strategy involved when playing Space Invaders Extreme. You'll need to shoot down enemies of the same type or colour in order to get temporary power-ups and also create chains to help boost your score.

Gameplay is divided into 3 types, whereby there's the ubiquitous arcade mode, the ranking mode and as well as a stage mode. The game also supports single cart and multi cart local multiplayer for up to 2 players. Tired of playing face to face and losing? Try the Nintendo WFC multiplayer option which is also available in Space Invaders Extreme.


I'm currently playing the Japanese version of the game, and language is really not a barrier here as in-game instructions and menu items are entirely in English. There's an incentive to purchase the Japanese version as the game double-ups as a collectible item (in my opinion), with the nice looking sticker on the shrink-wrap.


Anyways, Space Invaders is a pretty good time-killer and the variety of stages should keep you entertained for short periods. I wouldn't recommend playing too long because the animated backgrounds (yup, you read that right), even though they are a nice touch, can give you a headache after extended periods of playing.

Space Invaders Extreme is available at Play-Asia, for both the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP. The soundtrack will be on sale from March 19th for anyone who is interested. Click on the links for further details!

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer: The First Hour Review

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I managed to try out Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, a turn-based dungeon crawler for the Nintendo DS yesterday. Fans would know that this is a remake of the old Japanese SNES title, Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren. In fact, both games practically look the same.

If you must know, the SNES ROM for Fushigi no Dungeon 2 runs excellently on the SNEmulDS, a SNES emulator that runs on the Nintendo DS.


So, another day, another dungeon crawler. Turn based gameplay aside (more on that later), Mystery Dungeon share some of the same gameplay elements as the perennial PC favourite, Diablo. Maps are randomly generated, and you'll never play the same map over again, should you restart the game. There's also an option in-game to regenerate a map in which you are currently playing on.

This flexibility results in quirkiness, such as the exit being right next to your starting point, being commonplace. Walking around a map, you'll encounter monsters, items, spell scrolls, money and another RPG staple, traps.

Gameplay, as mentioned earlier, is turned-based. Each movement, or hit on an opponent, constitute a turn but thankfully you'll never really feel the grind as the game takes a rather fast pace at almost anything, except conversations. Maybe it's because of your talkative companion, a weasel (!).

2D-graphics are the order of the day for Shiren, and the game looks like it hasn't aged a day since its SNES days. Fans of the old classic will find themselves at home while new gamers will have an opportunity to play a classic that was previously available only in Japanese.

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer is available at Play-Asia for USD 34.90. Click here for purchase information.

Space Invaders Extreme (Japanese) - I Has It!

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Please excuse me for the lolcat speak. I received my package today from Play-Asia, which was sent via Fedex last Friday, and in it contains, in my humble opinion, a very nice collector's item. As you might have guessed it, it's the Japanese edition of Space Invaders Extreme for the Nintendo DS.

There's a sticker on the shrink wrap stating that the game stating that it is part of Taito's Collection. It would certainly be a shame to remove it.

Anyways, here's one more picture of my purchase. You'll see the copy of Mag Kid (big yellow box) which was also delivered in this shipment:


Did you know also that the Paddle Controller DS works really well with Space Invaders Extreme? Well, now you know. Both game, and paddles are now available at Play-Asia, click here and here for respective purchase details.

New updates: For a full review of Space Invaders Extreme, click here and for a review of Space Invaders Extreme with the Arkanoid Paddle Controller, click here.