Portable Gaming Revolution

Jagged Alliance is a tactical RPG series that first saw the light of day in the mid-to-late 1990′s on the PC. This game was originally announced quite some time ago, but disappeared off the radar when the publisher, Strategy First, cancelled all of the DS titles that they had in the works.  

The good news is that publisher Empire Interactive has picked up the ball and is running with it, being backed up by Cypron Studios handling the developmental end of things. The game has you controlling various squads of mercenaries, with each unit in possession of their own unique personalities and skills to take on the various challenges presented in-game. Jagged Alliance for the DS is slated for release sometime in 2009.

Check out the full press release after the jump.

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Earlier this month I made mention of a homebrew title called Age of Nations. I’ll give you a very brief synopsis of the game in case you missed my earlier article.  Basically, it’s a real-time strategy game that been coded in Lua for the PSP by homebrew developer seanpaul223.

A lot of work has gone into this next edition of the game, including an entire rewrite of all of the programming.  A lot more functionality has been added in the form of resource gathering abilities. Another major change has been made to the actual controls of the game, so if you’ve been playing previous versions make sure to check out the QJ.NET PSP Development Forum to get the latest control details. You can read up on all the changes made in v3 after the jump.

Download: Age of Nations v3

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For those of you who may not have heard of this title as of yet, Everyday Shooter was originally released for both PS3 and PC and has gotten fantastic reviews everywhere for it’s incredible usage of music paired with a fairly basic shooter. It sounds fairly run-of-the-mill, but anybody who has played the game will be quick to assure you that it’s not!

You control a ship that changes shape with every level, shooting your way through graphically amazing scenes to the sounds of an all-guitar soundtrack.  Instead of the destructive sounds that usually accompanies shooting enemies in these types of games, each enemy you shoot adds harmonizing guitar riffs. 

Unfortunately, there is no separate release date confirmed at this point. The only way announced so far to snag a copy of the game is via a PSN voucher that is included with the PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Packwhen it is released this November.

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Earlier this month, I reported that a new edition in the Parasite Eve franchise would be making it’s way to both the PSP and mobile phones. I also promised that I would be forthcoming with any further news about the game, and here it is!  

Square Enix’s director of the project, Hajime Tabata, had a few details to share.  Not many, but enough to keep us wanting more! He has indicated that Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday will be a true third-person shooter with the possibility of of some online action, but his team is still investigating the infrastructure versus adhoc possibilities that are available to them.

Also released were a few story line details: Aya Brea remains as the heroine in the game as she fights to eliminate “The Twisted”, who act as her antagonists this time around. She has a brand new ability at her disposal called overdrive, which will allow her to “cross time” in her fight. There is still no release date in sight as of yet, but again… I’ll keep you posted!

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About I week ago, I posted news that the FCC had blown the cover of the PSP-3001. Finally, Sony has officially released all the information you could possible want to know about the upcoming release of the newly named PSP-3000.

When compared to the previous model, the PSP-2000 (or PSP Slim), there is virtually no visual differences unless you take a really close look. The two major additions to take note of come in the form of the built-in microphone, which is definitely good news for those PSP owners out there who use Skype, and the PS Home button. The other new features are the improved anti-glare screen for when you’re playing outdoors along with a higher contrast ratio to go along with the greatly increased color spectrum.

There will be three entertainment packs released between October and November of this year, including both of the new PSP colors (Mystic Silver and Piano Black), various games, memory cards and PSN vouchers. Check out all the information and package details along with the full press release after the jump. 

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All of our footy fans out there will be interested to find out that as of this coming Sunday, August 17th, you’ll be able to download 45 minute clips of the highlights of the Barclays Premiership to watch on your PSP. Sky Sports has committed to airing 92 Live league games along with 242 “near-live” matches, so you should be able to find ample viewing material, regardless of your favorite team!

For those of us in North America who may not be aware, Go!View is a conglomeration between Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Sky Sports who are committed to bringing the PSP’s video-on-demand feature to the gaming market in the UK. You’ll be looking at a subscription fee of £5 (€7) for the sports pack.

Check out the full press release after the jump.

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I’m going to point  out right at the beginning that this it NOT a re-design of the PSP, but rather a re-working of the PSP-2000, mostly on the interior of the unit. Looks like all Sony is doing with the 3001-model is try to reduce costs by using smaller and more efficient components. Supposedly, their other reason for releasing yet another version of the PSP is to make it tougher to hack to help combat piracy.   

There is really nothing new to note on the exterior, including the much-coveted second analog stick. I’m thinking we’ll have to wait for Sony to release a PSP2 sometime in the future for that particular add-on. Even the much-talked-about and rumored microphone and “Home” button redesign seem to be missing from the shots obtained from the FCC.

Sony has been quite close-lipped on any further details on the PSP-3001, but I’m sure some sort of formal announcement will be coming fairly soon. I will keep you posted when that happens.

What do you think? From the information released so far, will it be worth upgrading?

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Overlord, as a series, was most recently released for PC and Xbox 360 back in 2007 and PS3 in 2008 by publisher Codemasters. It has a lot of Pikmin-like elements in it’s controls, but that is where the comparison has to end. The game itself is quite a bit darker in subject matter, where you play the Overlord and control your minions to complete puzzles and generally scare everybody into submission to keep control of your kingdom. Kinda sounds like fun! 

The programmers over at Codemasters must be very busy indeed, not only are they hard at work putting together the sequel (Overlord II) for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3; they are simultaneously creating original titles for both the DS and Wii. 

The DS-exclusive version, titled Overlord Minions, is coming from Climax Studios and has you controlling your four servants (Giblet, Zap, Blaze and Stench) using the stylus to solve puzzles and attack enemies in more of a puzzle-action game. The game promises to bring the same type of humor and hilarity that the original title had.  

All of the new Overlord titles are in the early developmental stages are slated for release sometime in 2009.

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A new PSP-exclusive title has been announced by developer Stormregion. It will be a turn-based strategy game set in space called Mytran Wars. Not a lot of information is known as of yet other than it’s the 23rd century and humans will be pitted against aliens in their search for resources. 

Stormregion are best known for their PC warfare games such as Codename: Panzers, Rush for Berlin and S.W.I.N.E., so it should be interesting to see how this PSP game, set so far out of their usual element, pans out. Here are the slim details that were issued in a preliminary press release:

It’s the 23rd century: The earth’s natural resources are virtually exhausted and the ruling multinational conglomerates are searching for new raw material deposits in space in order to avert the impending catastrophe. One planet turns out to be a real El Dorado, full of natural resources. But as the human conquerors in their armed mecha encounter the extraterrestrial inhabitants a dreadful war breaks out.

I will keep you posted as any further information and, hopefully, screenshots are released.

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The Koreans have been enjoying a rhythm music game called DJ Max for a while now and those of us in North America with a craving for more than just Guitar Hero have had to import the game, up until now! The game’s developer, Pentavision, has announced through PM Studios that it will be bringing a combination of the two DJ Max games (DJ Max Portable and DJ Max 2) that have been released in Korea to North America under the title DJ Max Fever.

The game is very similar to Beatmania in that you have to hit buttons to coincide with falling notes on the screen, but that is where the similarity and simplicity ends. Along with the button mashing there will be scratching elements thrown in and quite a few techno beats.

The title will pack in more than 100 songs for you to tap through; a Freestyle mode that’s activated by performing a perfect mix; goal-based contests called Extreme challenges; five difficulty levels…; Network Battle Mode; and a collection gallery to house the music videos, soundtracks, and images you unlock.

I usually consider myself fairly competent when it comes to music games, but seeing the videos of this title in action truly humbles me! The difficulty on the DJ Max series looks insane, but then, the series is known not only for it’s great tracks but also for it’s uncompromising difficulty. I may have to pick it up just to test my not-so-mad skills! I won’t have to wait that long either, with DJ Max Fever scheduled for a November 11th release date.

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Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? used to be an absolute favorite game of mine as I was growing up. I couldn’t count the number of hours I spent playing both the original and Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego? on my parent’s old 486 computer in the basement.

The news that Carmen Sandiego will hopefully soon be gracing my DS screen is definitely exciting! There is virtually no information known about the game, other than it’s existence that was accidentally leaked by the ERSB when Mindscape applied for a rating for the portable title.

I’ll keep my eyes open for further news on his title and will keep you all posted.

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Electronic Arts has announced a new puzzle/adventure game that is being developed for the DS, slated for release early in 2009. Titled Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, it looks to bring some unique aspects as it combines platforming adventure elements along with puzzle solving. Both screens of the DS will be utilized: one for action-platform and the other for puzzles, with the choice of when to switch between them left entirely up to the player.

We are excited to bring an indie-inspired new intellectual property to the EA Casual Entertainment Label with Henry Hatsworth that fuses together two styles of gameplay utilizing the two Nintendo DS screens like never before,” said Robert Nashak, VP of EA Casual Studios. “The innovative elements of the game have the potential to appeal to both Nintendo enthusiasts and more casual Nintendo DS players.

You play the part of British adventurer, Henry Hatsworth, as he explores upwards of 30 levels among 5 exotic worlds in his search for certain artifacts that grant special powers while defeating all sorts of enemies and “outrageous world-ending bosses”. The puzzle part of the game will be used to gain both health and power-ups as well as to transform your character into different forms as you work your way through.

Check out the full press release after the jump.

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