1#: REVIEW: Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (DS) 2#: More Blood of Bahamut (DS) screens from Famitsu. 3#: REVIEW: Sega MegaDrive Collection (PSP) 4#: World Destruction (DS) confirmed for North America. 5#: MINI-RANT: Why the PSP is failing. 6#: New Releases this Week. 7#: LOOKBACK: Neo Geo Pocket Color 8#: Help me out? _______________________________________________________________________________________________ REVIEW: Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (DS) Prince of Persia: The Fallen King (DS) on MetaCritic Prince of Persia: The Fallen King on Wikipedia Prince of Persia: The Fallen King is a DS-exclusive title, and was released on the same day as the latest console installment, Prince of Persia. The Fallen King has barely even been advertised. It's certainly in the shadow of it's console counterpart, but is there a reason for this? Read on to find out. I GET IT. The Prince looks like a little kid in this game, get over it. It would have been far easier to animate this way, than to make him life-like. Before any console fanboys come in here and start spouting cuss-words at the game, just remember that the DS isn't as powerful as the Wii, PS3 and 360. The first thing I noticed when I turned the game on, is that it's completely touch-screen based. You don't use any buttons. This can get really frustrating, because the touchscreen controls aren't refined enough, so when you try to grab onto a ledge, you often miss and fall, which gets really frustrating in later levels. Prince of Persia: The Fallen King is a 2D Platformer, it's not really an action platformer though, it's more like a Puzzle Platformer. There's quite a few enemies in the level, but nothing major, just tap them and you'll attack them. The puzzles are pretty simple, and the real challenge of the game is basically just looking around for different areas in the level so you can find stuff to help you through the game, like coins and potions. There isn't a Multiplayer mode, but you can Send a Demo of the game to your friends via DS Download Play. I haven't used it yet though. I'm guessing that it'd give them a very basic Demo that contains probably 1 or 2 levels, just so they can get a basic idea of the game. I can see why they'd add this, but it would have been better if they replaced the Demo feature with a co-op mode, or even better, have both! There's a main map that you can use to select your level, sorta like Mario, except there's really only one direction you can go in Prince of Persia, unless you wanna do extra levels to gain more coins, or just to extend your gameplay time. I personally do them all, because I wanna get the most out of my games, so why not, right? This game uses the DS's touchscreen far too much. Being completely touch-screen based can go really wrong, but luckily the touchscreen controls are used well. The only games that are fully touch-screen based and are incredible, are Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. If the developers spent more time refining the touchscreen controls, and added in optional button controls, the game would've been far better. If they gave you a choice to play with either the touchscreen or the buttons, it'd be way funner. There's a few things that annoy me in the game, and most of them are problems with the unpolished touchscreen controls. The strong attacks don't respond sometimes, and it's really hard to get used to it, because to use the attack you swing in the opposite direction of your enemy. When you're climbing up walls, those goddamn spikes kick my ass, they just seem to come out randomly. It may not seem like it, but I actually really like this game. The touchscreen controls were implemented pretty well, even if some of the parts seem unpolished. I like the fact that it's 2D, but the graphics are in 3D. I loved Prince of Persia on the PS2, and this game doesn't make lose faith in the series. It's really fun to play in short bursts, but eventually the weak combat system and the unpolished touchscreen controls will get to you. BUY IT, BORROW IT, OR BREAK IT? I recommend Borrowing/Renting it first to see if you like it. It's not a game that everybody will enjoy straight away. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ More Blood of Bahamut (DS) screens from Famitsu. More Blood of Bahamut Screens at DSFanboy Blood of Bahamut is an upcoming game for the Nintendo DS. Not many details have been released for the game so far. The only things we know about it at the moment, is that the game will be released on the DS, and we've got a peak at a few screens. This week, Famitsu has featured a few more screens and they look pretty awesome. Famitsu has a 2-page spread on the game, which features loads of awesome pics. To view them all, click on these: Page 1 - Page 2 Blood of Bahamut looks really cool, and of course I'm gonna pick it up and review it when it comes out. Though, that could be quite a while. Nobody has any idea what the Japanese release date is. Even after it does get released in Japan, the rest of the world will have to wait a few more months after that to get the game. That BLOWS. So, is anybody else excited for this game? I sure as hell know that I am! BLOOD OF BAHAMUT FTW! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ REVIEW: Sega MegaDrive Collection (PSP) SEGA Genesis Collection on MetaCritic Sega Genesis Collection on PSP Official Site Sega MegaDrive Collection (known as Sega Genesis Collection outside of EU and AU), features loads of MegaDrive games, and was released for the PS2 aswell as the PSP. Apparently the game's hard to find, so when I found it pre-owned at a Local Store for $20, I bought it right away. So, does this game blow, or is it worth hunting down? Seeing as I was more of an SNES kid, I never owned a MegaDrive/Genesis at a kid and I haven't played half of these games. I was really impressed to see how good the Megadrive's graphics were compared to the SNES. I've played maybe 2 or 3 of these games on different compilation discs, but I haven't played them much, maybe 10 minutes each. So when I found this game, I PLAYED IT TO THE GROUND. It was awesome, I admit it, I was addicted. I had no idea how good the games that I was missing out on as a kid were. I realized that the MegaDrive had games that could easily match up to the SNES's library. This compilation features many, many awesome Genesis games. Some of the better games include Decap Attack, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, Vectorman and Ristar. Since there's not much original content on the disc itself, it'd be pretty pointless to do a complete review on that alone. I'll review 3 games on the disc, then I'll review all of the other features that the disc boasts. Vectorman's on the disc, but instead of reviewing that, I'm gonna do a review on it's sequel, Vectorman 2. Vectorman 2 is a 2D platforming game where you shoot 'photons' at your enemies. The game's really hard, 4 hits and you lose a life, lose 3 lives, you need to start the entire game over again. The main character Vectorman now looks more like a puke-greenish color, which is.. awkward. The game also has far less music (at least in the earlier levels) than the original. The game is still an awesome platformer, but I'd say you should play the original first. Virtua Fighter 2 is the only fighter series I know of that was on the SNES or MegaDrive, apart from Street Fighter. The graphics look decent for a fighter, though they are further back from the screen than in Street Fighter, making it look slightly awkward. Virtua Fighter 2 was originally a 3D fighter made for the arcades, Sega Saturn and Windows, but Sega decided to strip it down, and port it to the Genesis. You get to choose from 10 characters, though I always play as either Akura or Kage. You walk insanely slow, and the sprint button only lets you sprint for a few meters, then it stops. There's 2 attack buttons, though you're never told of any combos, so I just mash buttons basically. I'm assuming the other versions were better, with improved graphics and such, but the Megadrive version is obviously inferior to the others. The final game I'm gonna review is Golden Axe. It's a Beat Em' Up/Hack n Slash game, where you get to choose from 3 characters, an Amazon, a Warrior, and a Dwarf. Golden Axe is incredibly hard, I can only make it towards the end of the 3rd Level, even with the easiest settings. There's a Jump, Magic, and Attack button, though the Magic barely does anything, at least for me anyway. I have no idea how I'll ever pass this, and I doubt I will. The disc also features Golden Axe II & Golden Axe III, so you can really get into the series if you enjoy it. You can unlock Extras by completing challenges. You can unlock interviews, new games, trailers and cheats. To unlock everything, it makes you play basically ever game, which is a great incentive to get you into the collection. BUY IT, BORROW IT, OR BREAK IT? This is definitely a must-own for any Retro fan, or anybody who just loves a fun pick-up and play game. If you've never played the Genesis before though, you should rent it because it isn't exactly for everybody. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ World Destruction (DS) confirmed for North America. Sands of Destruction Confirmed at DSFanboy. Earlier this week, images were found on Sega's FTP server, that are from World Destruction. But they're in English! A few days after they were found, Sega officially announced that the North American version of the game, will be called Sands of Destruction. But anyways, what is Sands of Destruction? World Destruction is a critically acclaimed RPG, that so far has only been released in Japan so far. Many people have been begging Sega to bring the game outside of Japan, and now, Sega has listened. If you wanna see all of the images that were found at Sega's FTP server, click the next link to view the gallery. CLICK HERE Yay! Another game I'm looking forward to. I hope it gets released in Australia though... DAMMIT! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ MINI-RANT: Why the PSP is failing. So you might have noticed that there isn't any PSP news stories here, all I have this week is a review. This is because there was no noteworthy news for the PSP this week. Sony HAS to start paying attention to their console. It sells more units, and is cheaper, so more people will buy it than the PS3. Barely any games are being released for it aswell, it's really becoming quite bad. Loads of games are being released for the DS every single week, whereas the PSP just sits in the corner. So what should Sony do? Give more people a reason to develop for their system. Sony should offer more free online content, to make more people buy their system. If more people bought their system, there's a bigger market for the developers. Come on Sony, step it up! =D _______________________________________________________________________________________________ New Releases this Week Check out the best new releases at VideoGameCountdown.com So, it's getting towards Christmas season, and not that many awesome games are coming out. Infact, barely any games are coming out AT ALL. There's nothing amazing this week, just 1 half-decent title. Here's EVERY New Release for this week, they are: Dungeon Maker II: The Hidden War (DS) This is the only PSP game being released this week. According to a description, it sounds like you make a dungeon that monsters go into, and you beat the crap out of them... Sounds sorta like 'Master of the Monster Lair', which had a VERY similar idea, but didn't work out too well... I won't be picking this one up. Build a Lot (DS) I THINK, and don't quote me on this, that this is a free flash PC game, turned into a DS game. You build houses, then sell them. Yep. Sounds exciting, huh? WRONG. Slingo Quest (DS) *sigh* Left Brain Right Brain 2 (DS) Just what the DS needs! Another Brain Training ripoff! Oh wait, this games gonna suck. My Handheld Pick of the Week this week is... DUNGEON MAKER II: THE HIDDEN WAR (PSP) Do a bit of research, see if you think you'll like it, and if you do, buy it! _______________________________________________________________________________________________ LOOKBACK: Neo Geo Pocket Color Neo Geo Pocket Color on Wikipedia Ah, the Neo Geo Pocket Color. It was never released in Australia, like most handhelds that I'm interested in. DAMN YOU USA AND JAPAN! DAMN YOU I SAY! But anyways, the console itself sounds absolutely awesome! I mean, it has color! That's an automatic sale from me right there. Color rocks! So, yeah, it was an update over the previous version, named the Neo Geo Pocket. The Neo Geo Pocket was monochrome, sorta like the original Gameboy. But with the GBC already released, and the GBA soon to be released, SNK realized they had to do something, and what was that? Make a completely 1st-Party portable gaming system. Goddammit. That's right, SNK was terrible with 3rd-Party Developers. Which basically means that they had to hold the console up completely by themselves. They're like that try-hard tough guy who's struggling with the weights. "NO! DON'T HELP ME! I CAN DO THIS BY MYSELF! *passes out*" That's exactly what the NGPC did, pass out. Slowly, but surely. That's not to say that it didn't have a good run though. It sold 2 million units, and was the most successful Nintendo competitor since the Sega Game Gear. That's pretty awesome for a company that was almost fully 1st-Party. So, why did it stay as a competitor to Nintendo for so long? Well partly because of the price. This thing was so low, I really can't believe how they stayed in business. $65!! That's insanely cheap. I mean, right now the DS costs $200 AU, and at Launch it was even higher! Wow. So, what games did the system have? Well, it had quiet a few awesome series actually. It had King of Fighters, Metal Slug, Fatal Fury, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man (only released in Japan.) Metal Slug and King of Fighters are absolutely awesome! Why did this system fail? The same reason EVERY other handheld does. Nintendo's dominance. They absolutely crushed this console, even though it was successful compared to every other competitor except for Nintendo. Nice try SNK, release another one in conjunction with Sega! It would pwn! "Metal Slug 8, featuring Sonic the Hedgehog, and that one guy from Comix Zone that nobody knows the name of!" OK, maybe not. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Help me out? So, you've read my blog, and now that you realise it's the greatest thing in the entire world, you wanna help me out, right? If you do any of these 4 things, it would help me out greatly: 1. Make me Top Post. 2. Digg my Posts. 3. Comment/Rate my Post. 4. Send me feedback. Have an awesome week everybody, and remember, if you have ANY questions about Handheld gaming, feel free to ask!