Sherlock Holmes conducting an investigation on DS
There are plenty of adventure games on DS about solving crimes — but none of them star the world’s greatest detective. Sherlock Holmes, that is. There are already plenty of Batman games. But developer Frogwares and publisher Focus Home Interactive are taking care of the deficiency of Holmes games, with a new original story starring the detective (from an established adventure game series).
In Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House, Holmes and Dr. Watson are tasked by the British Royal Family with recovering the Queen’s stolen genealogical records. To find out who stole the records (seriously? That’s the case? It’s not an impossible prison escape or seemingly supernatural murder or something?) “you will have to use your senses of logic and observation through dozens of riddles, puzzles and brain teasers of all sorts.” No date has been announced by Focus, and we deduce from the company’s status as a European publisher that there is no information about a North American release yet.
Sherlock Holmes conducting an investigation on DS originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Play Again for the first time on March 30
Here’s some refreshing news: Tecmo announced the release date for a handheld game whose existence isn’t totally humiliating: the supernatural murder mystery Again for DS. The publisher gave a specific day to its former March release date: March 30.
In addition to the date, Tecmo provided some more evidence of Again’s gameplay in the form of a trailer. Fans of Rorschach tests, full-motion video and, particularly, totally intense headache pantomime would do well to have a look. Seriously, this trailer contains the most intense fake headache we’ve seen in the game.
Play Again for the first time on March 30 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Disney Guilty Party: A Wii detective game from Wideload
click to investigate
What’s Disney doing with Wideload Games, the development studio it acquired last year? It’s going to take some detective work to find out. No, really, if you want to play through Disney Guilty Party, the new game from Wideload, you’ll have to do some sleuthing. Because it’s a detective game, you see. Never mind.
Disney Guilty Party is slated for release in the second half of 2010.
Disney Guilty Party: A Wii detective game from Wideload originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dragon Ball Origins 2 flying to DS on a cloud this summer
If, like us, you were surprised by how much fun Dragon Ball: Origins for DS was, prepare to be delighted once again. Namco Bandai announced that it is publishing Dragon Ball: Origins 2 in North America, with a summer release in mind.
The sequel features the same kind of Phantom Hourglass-esque, stylus-controlled action, with the option to switch to buttons. This time, a two-player co-op mode is included, so Goku and a non-Goku friend can beat up the Red Ribbon Army over local wireless. The Japanese release also includes an emulated version of what we know as the NES’s Dragon Power — there’s currently no word if that awful game will be a bonus in the American version.
Dragon Ball Origins 2 flying to DS on a cloud this summer originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Investigate Trauma Team’s forensics missions
A few weeks ago, Atlus demonstrated Trauma Team’s forensics segments for us in a webcast. The publisher just released a new trailer focusing on that mode, so you can witness the medical crime-solving gameplay for yourself. It’s like Phoenix Wright, but more medical-y, and with more revealing clothes.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Trauma Center without some odd supernatural elements, and in Trauma Team’s forensic missions, space virus monsters give way to phone calls from the dead. If only Dr. Naomi Kimishima had the presence of mind to ask the victims who killed them.
Investigate Trauma Team’s forensics missions originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hands-on: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
I’ve never played a game quite like tri-Crescendo’s Fragile Dreams for Wii. While, mechanically, it’s a fairly standard action-adventure game - something like one of the PS2 Silent Hills with experience points - everything about the game contributes to a distinctive mood. Fragile Dreams is an exploration of quiet — something few games ever have any room for.
Continue reading Hands-on: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Hands-on: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Phoenix Wright delivering Justice for All on February 15
Capcom originally planned to release its WiiWare ports of the Phoenix Wright games every other month. However, the publisher today announced that the court date for the second game, Justice For All, has been moved up a month, and will now be available on WiiWare in North America on February 15 (February 19 in Europe).
If you’re playing through the series for the first time on WiiWare, this will be your first opportunity to meet Franziska von Karma, a brilliant young prosecutor who attacks every person she meets with a whip. Somehow, she missed out on the whole “assault = illegal” thing in law school.
Phoenix Wright delivering Justice for All on February 15 originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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VC in Brief: Princess Tomato in Salad Kingdom (NES)
Princess Tomato in Salad Kingdom is your usual text-based adventure game, with a decidedly vegetarian twist. It’s tough for us to provide you with a comprehensive look at a genre with so much content — plus all of the trial-and-error. It wouldn’t make for a very comprehensive and enlightening video, however we soldier on. Check out the latest episode of VC in Brief above!
- Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Every week, we like to check out what’s new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we’re pushy jerks like that.
VC in Brief: Princess Tomato in Salad Kingdom (NES) originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Runaway: A Twist of Fate gets a flood of media, March/April release date in the UK
If you’re reading this post from across the Atlantic, chances are you’re wondering why we’re announcing a release date for Runaway: A Twist of Fate, a game that was released in France and Germany four months ago. Well, you see, for those of you in the UK, the third game in the Runaway point-and-click adventure series is just arriving, with publisher Focus Home Interactive pinning March and April release dates on the PC/Nintendo DS title (respectively).
Aside from a website jam-packed with video of the game (including the trailer you see above and two more after the break), the publisher released a handful of screens that we’ve added to a gallery for your perusal just below. Don’t say we never did nothin’ for ya!
Continue reading Runaway: A Twist of Fate gets a flood of media, March/April release date in the UK
Runaway: A Twist of Fate gets a flood of media, March/April release date in the UK originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft’s Game Room is Doomed to Fail
Microsoft made an announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show about the forthcoming spring release of Game Room, a new virtual space for players to hang out as their avatars and play classic/vintage arcade video games. Sounds fine as a basic description, but my intuition says this will be a bust.
There are several issues that will get in the way of Game Room’s success. First up we have the games themselves. Game Room will be launching with approximately 30 titles, with a promised 1000 titles within three years. That is a ton of shit and I mean that quite literally. If you can name me 20 classic video games that actually withstand the test of time, let alone 1000, I’ll send you a virtual medal.
Then there is the pricing, an area where Microsoft really understands the fine art of screwing customers. Players can either pay $5 for a dual-license that allows for PC and Xbox 360 play, or $3 for a single platform. Finally, players can sink 40-points (50-cents) for a single play.
As someone who grew up with the dawn of video games, having played just about every classic arcade title when it was actually available at my local Shakey’s Pizza, I can honestly say the vast majority of those so-called classics sucked. Add classics from vintage home consoles like Intellivision and the Atari 2600 and you have a recipe for complete boredom.
Look, I find value in these old games as museum relics and they are worth a time-limited trip down memory lane, but the overwhelming majority are just awful by today’s standards. There are only a few games from the 70s and 80s that hold up, like Asteroids, Missile Command, Galaga, Defender, Tempest, Star Castle and a few others. As for Atari 2600 games, none will hold your interest beyond a minute or two, perhaps longer if you’re bathing in nostalgia. I mean c’mon, $5 for Sub Hunt? Sea Battle? Outlaw? Ugh.
Microsoft Game Room smacks of a way to attract impulsive consumers into spending money on something that seems cool but will ultimately lead to regret. Besides, every single one of these ancient games can be played on the PC right now, complete with rule sheets and virtual cabinets, using a well-known emulator called MAME. I assume most hardcore gamers already have MAME or had it but grew bored once the novelty wore off.
If I had been in charge of developing the Game Room, I would get rid of 99% of the vintage games, only using the true classics that have aged well, and devoted the rest of the space to new and relevant XBLA (and XNA) titles like Castle Crashers, Space Invaders Extreme, Geometry Wars, etc. This would boost sales of new wares and foster increased multiplayer competition with games people actually want to play.
Unfortunately, I’m not in charge and Microsoft is wasting resources on something that will prove itself an underutilized failure. It wasnt that long ago that Xbox 360 gamers were complaining vociferously about the abundance of crappy vintage games clogging up XBLA. MS seemed to listen and reigned in the number of releases. Now MS is back with a vengeance, eyes on your wallet, hoping you will succumb to memories and ancient passions, futilely chasing Sony’s Home scheme while ripping off Nintendo’s Mii’s, all so you’ll pony up $5 to play Adventure?
Good luck with that.
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