Gaming on the Go! - 14/10/08

CONTENTS:
ARTICLE 1: REVIEW: The Legend of Kage 2 (DS)
ARTICLE 2: Should Microsoft join the Handheld market?
ARTICLE 3: Sony responds to the DSi + My thoughts.
ARTICLE 4: PSP gets DualShock 3 Functionality + My thoughts.
ARTICLE 5: LOOKBACK: Nintendo Gameboy
ARTICLE 6: Help me out?

REVIEW: The Legend of Kage 2 (DS)

The Legend of Kage 2 - Official Square Enix Site
Buy this game from VideoGameCountdown.com
Apparently it's pronounced Kah-je.

All I expected from The Legend of Kage 2, was a game about Ninjas. But what you get, is a hard, yet satisfying experience, that I'm still trying to pass.

Straight after the 1st Level of the game, you would've noticed that the game's really, really hard. But once you've played the game for more than 30 minutes, you most likely would've found a few neat tricks to help you through the levels. Such as randomly throwing your Shurikens, or jumping all over the level to dodge attacks.

The basic storyline, is that you're a Ninja, who has to save a Princess, who was your childhood friend (I think). But the people who captured her, keep sending out tough Ninjas to stop you from reaching the Castle where she's being held captive. Trust me, it's not as dumb as it sounds.

The Bosses in this game, ARE INSANE. They're so hard, I died at least 20 times on the 2nd Level's boss. And, since I'm not that good at Games, I'm lucky there's infinite continues.

Even though this game is really, really hard. But it won't make you turn off the game. It's the type of hard where, if you finally finish a tough level, you'll scream: "FUCK YEAH! I FINALLY DID IT!" I know I did. 3 times. At my Cousins house.

One of the coolest things about this game, are the little bonuses you don't expect, like the cool upgrades, the hidden areas, the well designed bosses, the ninjitsu or the really, REALLY high jumps.

BUY OR NOT TO BUY: Buy it, but only if you enjoy a challenge, and have loads of patience.

Should Microsoft join the Handheld market?

Microsoft Employee talks about a possible XBox Handheld
There's 3 consoles, so why not 3 handhelds? Rumors have been floating around the Internet for years speculating on an XBox handheld, but it hasn't come yet. So, what could we expect from an XBox Handheld if one did come out? Well, there's so many possibilities for an XBox Handheld, it blows my mind as to why there isn't one yet. These are just a few of the features I'd suggest for it:

MUSIC AND VIDEO PLAYBACK
To compete with the PSP and DS, it'd have to be able to play music and video. Specifically in the MP3, WAV, AVI, and WMV format.

GREAT MICROSOFT FRANCHISES
To compete with Nintendo and Sony's great franchises, they'd have to have some good new installments in their series' to have a chance. Games like: Halo, Gears of War, Banjo Kazooie, Killer Instinct, Blue Dragon, Forza and Fable. Plus some new franchises.

2 ANALOG STICKS
The PSP has been criticized for not having 2 analog sticks, so it's be awesome if an XBox Portable had 2 analog sticks. It'd make FPS's so much funner.

GREAT ONLINE
XBox Live is great, so if an XBox portable had it's own similar service with almost no lag, that would be amazing, and a real selling point for the system.

FREE DOWNLOADABLES
If there's no new games coming out for the system, there would certainly need to be something available to keep the users busy and interested in the system. What could be used? Free downloads. Like trailers and demos for new games, screenshots, and skins for your system.

PRICE
It would need to be no more than $10-20 more expensive than the PSP, otherwise it'd lose so many sales, it's unimaginable. Also, if it sold for less than the PSP, it's sales would go THROUGH THE ROOF.

OVERALL: Microsoft should join the handheld race. It'd add excitement and competition for both Sony and Nintendo.

Join me next week because I'll be asking the question:
Should Sega join the Handheld race?

Sony responds do the DSi + My thoughts.

Gizmodo's Interview with John Koller

In a recent interview with Gizmodo, John Koller, the director of hardware marketing for Sony, came out and said that: “Will the DSi do well with [the DS’s] demographic? It probably will. Will it be a product that expands their user base [beyond] under 12? I’m not sure.” So basically, what he’s saying is: “DS SUKS!!1 LULZ.”

It seems that nearly 80 million under-12 year old's own a DS then. Nope, I'm 14, and I own a DS. So do my Grandparents. Shut it. This is exactly what makes people move AWAY from your system.

Also in the same interview, he said quite possibly one of the dumbest comments I've ever read. And I quote: ""Nintendo has kind of a history of these [moderate] kinds of updates."
Really? I don't see much different between Sony and Nintendo here. Look:
DS -----> DS Lite -----> DSi
PSP ----> PSP Slim & Lite -----> PSP-3000
Sure looks like they've both had 2 updates to me. Think before you talk, hey John?

Sony really need to stop with the DS bashing. Sony should just get back to porting PS2 games to their system. Again.

OVERALL: DS SUKZ!! I R SO 1337!

PSP Plus gets DualShock 3 Functionality

Joystiq - PSP gets DualShock 3 functionality.

This week at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced that you'll be able to play an upcoming PSP game, Resistance: Retribution, with a PS3 DualShock 3 controller. Which means double analog sticks.

This new technology is called 'PSP Plus', and it allows players to connect their PSP to their PS3, which lets users play their PSP using a wireless PS3 controller.

This is sure to excite many fanboys who've been wanting double analogs for their PSP. It's not clear if any other games will use the new technology, so it looks like it's just a tech demo, and hopefully a successful one.

This is all pretty cool I guess. But instead of having all these add-ons to their system, Sony could just get to developing a true successor to the PSP, with double analogs, and make it way cheaper for people who don't own a PS3, right? Right.

OVERALL: Use your PS3 controller to play a PSP? Cool. But not useful when you're away from home. Or don't own a PS3.

LOOKBACK: Nintendo Gameboy

Nintendo Gameboy's Wikipedia page

The Gameboy was everything a handheld console should be. It had a great pack-in game (Tetris), an incredible library, a great battery life, it was easy to play, cheap, and most importantly, fun. It easily won the Handheld War of the 90's, and for a reason too.

The battery life on the Gameboy, is RIDICULOUS! According to Wikipedia, it boasts 35 hours of battery life. How could it last this long? Well, simple. It didn't have a backlight, and it had very basic graphics. But did you need great graphics? No, you had to use your imagination, which for kids, was great!

What really attracted people to the system, was the incredible Nintendo games it offered. Many games could keep you entertained for hours! I mean, Tetris kept my whole family entertained for weeks before we got a new game. Some of the great games included:
Tetris, Dr Mario, Super Mario Land, Donkey Kong Land, Killer Instinct, Pokemon, Kirby's Dreamland, Zelda, Metroid II, Megaman, Final Fantasy, Donkey Kong 94 and Q*Bert.

It fought off it's competitors that offered color screens, and better graphics, by supplying incredible games, and a humongous battery life. A true underdog if you compare all the consoles today, but back then, it had many things going for it. It sold for $40 bucks less than it's nearest competitor, and it was made by Nintendo. So really, the other handhelds didn't stand a chance from the beginning.

I've very fond memories of this Handheld, when my brother was playing the SNES, I was playing the Gameboy, and vice versa. So many games kept me entertained, plus, I could plug in my headphones that came with it, so I could listen to the soundtracks late at night without disturbing my parents. I also saved up for the charger, so I saved loads of money on batteries, and saved that money for games instead.

So imagine how excited I was, when I heard that the Gameboy Color was coming out! I POOPED MY PANTS. So, I'll be reviewing that system, next week. Seeya then!

OVERALL: Buy this system. It rules.

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P.S: Thanks for the Top G1 Post last week guys!