Aliens: Infestation Launch Trailer: WayForward Wows Once More

What’s looking like one of the last great Nintendo DS games is winging your way courtesy Sega, WayForward Technologies and Gearbox Software. No flashy gimmick here, folks – just good, solid old-school gameplay, amazing 2D visuals and plenty of action. This one is definitely in the running for portable game of the year in my book. I really hope a PSP version is in the works, as this game is too good to be relegated to a single platform…

Tales Of The Abyss Trailers Are Another Fine Reason To Snap Up A 3DS

Yes, even if you’ve played the game previously, Namco Bandai’s upcoming remake looks good enough to make me want to go through it all over again. Given that the original can be pricey once you track it down, it’s nice to see the 3DS getting more quality titles fans want to see appear on the handheld whether they use the 3D effect to its fullest or not.

Happy Birthday, SNES!

While I sold off about 99% of my SNES games to get a PS3 and a bunch of other stuff a few years back, I’ve kept pretty much all of my Super Famicom games simply because there were too many that were never localized for a US release. Sorry for the lousy photo, but all 248 or so are up in a closet in the other room and I don’t have the time to go through them at this point and pick out favorites. This project however, IS on my to-do list once I clear out some space here at the home office and find the time to get the stash down to be photographed (and a few games re-played). I have many favorite games for the system but I absolutely HATE compiling “Top 10” lists, so you won’t get one from me. OK, I’m not that irascible, folks – I just need more time to re-discover some of these games when it’s not so incredibly busy here. It’s absolutely be a LOT more than ten, that’s for sure.

Anyway, Happy Birthday SNES! You’re missed in this era of digital-only releases and mobile games madness, that’s for sure.

Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Flipnote + How To Draw Link Videos

Between the cool 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword coming to the Wii soon, the live symphonic concert and a few other treats for fans new and old, Nintendo even has some nice and arty Zelda-themed surprises in these two videos. I like that green DSi XL in the How To Draw Link clip, but we’ll see if it’s actually released outside of Japan. Seeing that Link sketch reminded me that I have a long-unfinished pencil piece here that I need to finally get done one of these days…

Gamescom 2011: Resident Evil Revelations Trailers

Definitely looking like a step up from the last RE 3DS game, Revelations brings improved gameplay and a new storyline to the mix that focuses on events from the original classic rather than a rehashed game mode from another game. As you can see from the two gameplay trailers below the jump, RER has some of that classic feel fans crave, but the presentation is definitely a lot more impressive than it was back on the PlayStation. Here's hoping the overall experience is much better than expected and there's a better save system in play.Read more »

Sony Announces PS3 Price Cuts Now, Nintendo To Release Lower Priced Wii This Xmas

Yup, the ongoing economy issues worldwide have made these price cuts necessary, but it's also the beginning of the build up to new consoles (which should more than likely be announced at next year's E3 for a 2013-2014 launch by my calculations). At its Gamescom 2011 press conference, Sony announced that effective immediately, the core 160GB PlayStation 3 model will now retail at $249.00 and the core 320GB console for $299 in the US.

Sony also announced a new value model PSP without Wi-Fi support at the event, but as far as I can tell, this model is only set for an European release at a price point of 99 Euros. I'd hope that this model makes it to US shores, as there are literally TONS of UMD games out there that will sell if bundled with the new lower-priced unit.Read more »

SMT Devil Survivor: Overclocked Auction House/Fusion Video

Atlus sure knows how to make the end of the world highly enjoyable, that’s for sure. Even though I sunk something like 160 hours into the DS version, I’m actually thinking about doing it all over again on the 3DS shortly. Check out some of the Demon Auction and Demon Fusion parts from Atlus’ upcoming RPG. Yeah, the person doing the bidding in the video isn’t exactly the best beast buyer, but I’d gather this clip is only showing off the features to those who haven’t yet played the game or who want to see what it looks like in action on the 3DS.

Nintendo Irks Me Again (And Few Other Folks As Well)…

Yes, yes, we know you want Wii U to succeed and you're slowly but surely winding down the number of key first-party Wii releases so gamers can make a smooth, quick transition whenever the new console is launched. However, seemingly PASSING on a US localization of Xenoblade when it's getting a PAL release (with multiple language options as Xenoblade Chronicles) is too much for me to ignore. Here's another game that shows the Wii can indeed to high-quality graphics and sound while also scoring quite high in Famitsu (36/40) AND garnering a nicely sized fan base here in the states and you decide to skip over it? For what? Sure, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be a mega-hit and sell like hotcakes, but the Wii NEEDS more than ONE high quality (and long in development) Adventure/RPG worth lining up for. Remember, you even showed this one at E3 2009 (as Monado: Beginning of the World), so even thinking of depriving North America of yet another promised title will win you no love even amongst certain loyal fans who've stood by you through thick and thin…Read more »

Nintendo Announces Flame Red 3DS Model For 9/9/2011

Hot on the heels of the recent price drop announcement, Nintendo has revealed a new Flame Red 3DS model set to hit stores September 9th, the same day Star Fox 64 3DS is released. Combine this with the 20 free downloadable games deal Nintendo is offering early adopters and you’re looking at a nice package for any gamer finally looking to snap up the handheld. The big Q here is will a flashy new color help drive sales along with what’s looking like a pretty solid 3D remake of another popular franchise game? I’d say that’s up to you non 3DS owners out there to decide, right?

Tough Love: I’d Feel Sorry For Nintendo If They Were Smarter…


Call me crazy, but it looks as if history is repeating itself, this time a bit louder. The last time Nintendo tried to capitalize on the 3D “trend”, we ended up with the Virtual Boy, an interesting yet flawed device that tanked because it was too unwieldy, initially too expensive and only had a handful of monochrome titles released with few others cancelled or shipped out in small quantities. It landed in the discount bins at rental shops like Blockbuster and retail stores and is now a rather cool collectible that showed Nintendo does indeed make the occasional mistake. Flash forward to this week's news that the 3DS is getting a 32% price chop (which resulted in Nintendo's stock dropping by 21% as of this writing) and yes, thanks to a number of high profile game delays and cancellations, it's a case of here we go again… almost.Read more »