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EA Announces Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Be you a fan of J.R.R. Tolken’s The Lord of the Rings series or not, at least one of the countless games based on the books are sure to spur your interest.

Well, adding to the extensive library of Lord of the Rings games, EA’s Pandemic Studios has recently announced their latest creation; Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Based in The Lord of the Rings universe as seen in the movies, LotR:C will allow players, for the first time, to take control of Sauron’s army along with the good guys, in their conquest for Middle Earth domination.

Set for release worldwide in fall of 2008 for the 360, PS3, PC and DS, those interested could tune into Spike TV’s GameTrailers TV on June 20th to get a glimpse at the world premiere of both never before seen game footage and the game’s first official trailer.

PSP Outsells DS 2-to-1

So far, 2008 has been the year of the PlayStation. Sales and popularity of the PS3 has reached new ground, and the PSP is doing quite well, too. In fact, it is doing better than the DS according to Reuter’s latest report. The agency quotes Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain as saying that the PSP has outsold the DS in the country by more than 2-to-1 in April.

PSP sales came in at over 380,000 units, with the DS clocking in at 170,000. However, Nintendo pretty much kicked Sony’s ass in the console market, having sold five times as many Wii units as the PS3 in the month.

The country’s best selling console game was Monster Hunter Freedom 2G for the PSP. It has been reigning supreme for two months.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Announced

Reviving the classic franchise, developer Tecmo today announced Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff, a DS title that features stylus control, customizable playbooks, classic Tecmo Bowl-style custscenes and multiplayer over wireless and Wi-fi.

“We are extremely excited to bring back everyone’s favorite football game to the Nintendo DS,” said producer Ryan Gilbo. “Kickoff is packed with everything that fans wanted to see in this revival. No other football game will ever compare to Tecmo Bowl as this is the game that started it all.”

The game will feature customizable team, super over-the-top abilities, and various music and sound effects that take players back to the era of the classic videogames age.

Kickoff is slated for release this Fall.

Nintendo: Wii Sells 25M, DS 70M

Nintendo has been on a roll ever since it launched the DS and the Wii. The company recently released financial documents which reveal that the Wii has sold 24.45 million units worldwide since its 2006 release, eclipsing the Xbox 360’s 20 million. It has also sold a staggering 70.6 million units worldwide since its debut in 2004.

Over 18 million Wii and 30 million DS units were sold in the company’s 2008 fiscal year alone, which ran from April 1 to March 31. Nintendo saw its net income jump to 1.67 trillion yen ($16 billion US), a 73% increase over the past fiscal year.

Yes, Nintendo executives are currently swimming around in money. And no, they aren’t going to share it with you.

No Madden in next Madden

Electronic Arts is looking to make a big change in the upcoming Madden game; John Madden won’t be the announcer for the game. Instead, Tom Hammond of NBC Sports and Cris Collinsworth of NFL Network and NBC Sports will be taking his place in Madden ‘09. We all knew that it would happen sooner or later, as the football legend is in his seventies.

Keep in mind that this is the 20th installment of the series, so it just wouldn’t be complete without the main man himself. The game is titled after him, so why not include him? Maybe at least a cameo would do justice.

Read (AOL Sports)

From the Abyss Announced

Publisher Aksys Games today announced that From the Abyss, an action RPG developed by Japanese studio Sonic Powered, will be released in North America this Fall.

The game is set in the world of Rubenhaut, a huge place that is randomly generated at the start of each journey. Players will be able to customize their character using skill points and capture the souls of monsters to utilize enemy skills in battle. As expected from a DS title, the game will support local multiplayer via wireless for a two-player cooperative mode.

GRID gets in-game advertising from eBay Motors

GRID, a TOCA Touring Car series video game developed by Codemasters, will be seeing in-game advertising by eBay Motors. In order to receive part upgrades for your car, you’ll have to revisit the eBay Motors storefront.

It does get kinda annoying seeing constant brand names pop up in your face when you’re playing a title that you already purchased. Isn’t enough that you shelled out the money to buy the game in the first place? But then again, it’s always nice to see that investors are lined up for ad opportunities in video games, which will only make the production value of the game greater and further fuels the industry.

Read (Next-Gen)

Golden Sun DS?

Golden Sun, considered one of the best original role playing games on the Gameboy Advance, could be seeing another sequel for the Nintendo DS. When Hiroyuki and Shugo Takahashi of Camelot were asked about any future plans for the series, they responded:

“We want to play that game too, just as much as you. We love Golden Sun! We are working on a lot of different things - a lot of different design documents and so on, including some different RPG ideas. Don’t worry, we’re thinking about RPG stuff! We’ve got all these ideas, many many different things we’re thinking about - but of course, we still have just one team, so we’ll see what happens.”

The original game received exceptional reviews and praise from critics, as well as selling many copies. A new entry in the series would definitely satisfy the hunger for new RPGs on the Nintendo DS.

Read (GWN)

Man Proposes Through Bejeweled, Developer Helps with Wedding

Proposing marriage through video games is nothing new, but the effort that went behind this one is amazing. New Jersey resident Bernie Peng spent a month coding a custom DS version of Bejeweled, his girlfriend’s favorite game, so that when she hit a certain score in the game, a marriage proposal would appear on-screen.

His effort paid off quite well, as not only did she achieve the score, she said yes. “I thought it was pretty cool,” he said to AP. “In a nerdy way, though.”

Even more interestingly, after Peng posted about this on his blog, PopCap Games, the game’s developer, committed to flying the couple out to Seattle for their honeymoon and providing copies of the game for wedding guests.

“Most video game companies would frown on people manipulating their games,” said PopCap representative Garth Chouteau. “But it won him a woman. As a bunch of geeks, we have to say, ‘Bernie, hats off to you.’”

Rune Factory Hitting States in September

Rising Star Games has announced that Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for the DS will be available this September. The action game has players awakening as an unnamed character in a village known as Kardia. As the game progresses, players are tasked with ridding the nearby caves and ruins of monsters using various swords, spears and quite comically, farm tools.

The game includes fundamental Harvest Moon gameplay, letting players grow crops, tend livestock, make friends and even get married. RPG aspects include collecting materials to create new items, equipment and furniture, among other things. It makes use of a real-time action battle system for skills and equipment, fighting monsters and casting magic spells.

As expected from a DS game, it makes full use of the touch-screen, allowing players to fleece their sheep and pet animals directly. It also features various multiplayer modes, as well as support for Nintendo Wi-fi Connection, allowing players to send emails, screenshots and messages to other players.

New DS at E3?

While there is no solid evidence to support Famitsu publisher Hirokazu Hamamura’s speculation that this year’s E3 may mark the unveiling of the latest-and-greatest version of Nintendo’s most popular hand held console to date. At this point, Hamaura’s speculation is based purely on industry chatter and his own gut feeling that a new DS is right around the corner.

Joystiq outlines Nintendo’s handheld release schedule since the Gameboy Pocket, making it clear that this really isn’t that hard to believe considering Nintendo has released a new version of hand held roughly every 2 years:

- 1998: Game Boy Color
- 2001: Game Boy Advance
- 2003: GBASP
- 2004: Nintendo DS
- 2005: Game Boy Micro
- 2006: DS Lite.

I guess all we can do in the meantime is cross our fingers and wait until E3 rolls around to see what’s in store for us.

Square Enix Announces FFIV For July 22nd

Following up on the cover story in the newest issue of Nintendo Power, Square Enix has put out a press release confirming and also dating the FFIV remake for the Nintendo DS. Of course, the remake features the same 3D upgrade as FFIII, but also voiced cut scenes and added content, which are sure to make most people very interested in picking up a copy, no matter how many times they’ve played it.

The game will officially be released on July 22nd in North America.

Final Fantasy IV is regarded as one of the best old school Final Fantasy’s by many fans, but it was very recently available on the Game Boy Advanced, so it will be interesting to see how that that does or doesn’t effect the sales of the title. One thing is for sure, the game certainly will not be a flop, Square Enix sure knows how to leverage its IPs to the fullest.

Sample Cooking Mama 2 in Sushi Restaurants

Love sushi? Looking forward to Cooking Mama 2 on the DS? Head on over to YO! Sushi that has partnered with 505 Games to offer customers the chance to play the game for free.

The sushi restaurant campaign will see free DS consoles preloaded with the game being offered to customers for the duration of their meal in the Farringdon Road and Poland Street restaurants in London from April 14, with many more of the chain’s 30 UK restaurants following suit over the coming months.

“We’re overwhelmed with YO! Sushi’s enthusiasm and support for our Cooking Mama 2 campaign,” commented Ian Howe, Managing Director, 505 Games. “The YO! Sushi brand is colourful, cool, fun and essentially Japanese, which are all values shared with our Tokyo-developed Cooking Mama series. This is going to be an exciting and creative campaign and we’re looking forward to getting some great feedback from family sushi diners across the UK.”

The companies have also partnered to offer customers of the restaurant the chance to win DS and Wii consoles and copies of the recently released game.

Trauma Center 2 Cuts Open Release Date

Atlus sent out word that Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 will be released to retail stores on July 1. A direct sequel to the notoriously difficult 2005 surgical simulation title, Under the Knife 2 has players stepping into the shoes of Dr. Derek Stiles once again as he deals with the aftereffects of GUILT, the plague from the first title.

As expected, the game features a variety of enhancements, new operations and new difficulty modes, which implies that it will be as infamous as its predecessor. This is the fourth entry in the series, as two Wii games have been released after the first DS game came out.

IGN Slips Up Again: Skate On Nintendo DS And Wii

Proving to be a great blight on unannounced EA projects, IGN again posted a news story about an unannounced title, and promptly removed it. But this time at least, google actually caught the news story in question, and cached it for your reading pleasure. Skate, previously just available on PS3 and Xbox 360, has proven to be a pleasurable distraction from the all too dominant Tony Hawk series. It’s funny even, that the tables are turned, and it is EA having to compete with a non licensed sporting franchise. It really isn’t too surprising that they would choose to port the title to the wildly successful Nintendo platforms as well.

But naturally, no matter how much sense it makes, it hasn’t yet been announced. IGN seems to have a bit of a trigger finger as far as unannounced EA projects go, so we’ll just have to keep holding out breath to see if they strike out again.

Dragon Sword FINALLY in Europe

European gamers are a sad, depressed bunch, mostly because they cannot experience the awesomeness of Ryu Hayabusa’s sword-fighting on the DS. Ubisoft has come to the rescue, announcing that they have signed a distribution agreement with Tecmo to release Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword in Europe. Already released in Japan and North America, Dragon Sword will hit the continent of Europe this June.

The latest entry in the series and the first for the DS, Dragon Sword features rendered backgrounds, traditional fast-paced action and gameplay that takes advantage of the console’s touch-screen. Ryu’s combat moves have been mapped onto the DS touch-screen and directional buttons allow him to run, jump, attack and cast Ninpo.

Dragon Sword was developed by fashionable ninja Tomonobu Itagaki and Team Ninja.

Tree-hugging RTS Announced, Hippies Happy

  Tree huggers/hippies unite! Rising Star Games has today announced Ecolis – Save the Forest for the DS, a real-time strategy game that has players literally saving the forest.

Set for release on May 30, the game will have players make use of their tree-hugging skills by using the touch-screen to control units of woodland creatures named Ecolis, Ecoby and Ecomon which will protect the Mana Woods. All the creature types will have unique skills that can be used in over 40 missions. The game will also support two-player play via the Nintendo Wi-fi Connection and for up to four player via single card download play or ad-hoc multi-card play.

Trauma Center Sequel Revealed

Citing the latest issue of gaming magazine Nintendo Power, the fanboys over at DS Fanboy reports that another entry in the surgical series Trauma Center headed to the dual-screened portable later this year.

Dubbed Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, the game will feature a rebalanced difficulty mode for those who found the original frustrating. Other details disclosed include improved surgical tools and several unaddressed plot points.

Further details are forthcoming. This marks the fourth entry in the series, with two Wii games released after the original DS installment.

Final Fantasy IV Localized And Coming Soon

The most recent issue of Nintendo Power had another great segment on an upcoming RPG remake Final Fantasy IV, which is indeed being localized for North America. Despite them remaining fairly cryptic, one would assume the cover story for the American magazine would suggest the game is nothing but North American bound. And the localized screen shots give a thing or two away as well. The issue of Nintendo Power is now on stands, and I’ll keep scrounging through it to uncover any other tasty tidbits.

Hopefully no nasty April Fool’s jokes are found between its pages, giving me hope of the final localization of Mother Earth.

Myst DS Goes Gold

Development on Myst DS has completed, publisher Empire Interactive announced today. The portable adventure title will take full advantage of the DS’ touch-screen technology, incorporating new tools for a “greater challenge.”

The game, developed by Hoplite Research, features more than 40 hours of gameplay and an all-new interface, a new set of mini-tools, re-mastered soundtrack and video, and the Rime Age, a new world not included in the original Myst.

“MYST has been around over a decade, and it is an absolute pleasure to reintroduce the game to long-time fans and first-time adventure seekers,” said Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales, Empire Interactive.

Myst DS will be available in stores starting May 13.

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