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NINTENDO DS FEATURES

0  Why Japanese Developers Need New IPs Part 2 Thu, Sep 2nd, 2010, 9:54 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Last time we covered what exactly is wrong in the mainstream Japanese gaming industry. The oversaturation of RPGs, longstanding titles that change very little, and of course the terrible attempts at reaching Western consumers certainly don't help much. There's really no reason for these developers (or publishers) to be so afraid of moving their products overseas, in fact there are a lot of great reasons to do so. The market is not only ready for Japan to take the lead again, they're almost begging for it. How do I figure? Allow me to explain. More »

0  Things Older Gamers Like To Moan About Thu, Sep 2nd, 2010, 7:32 pm (EST) BY BEN GRIFFIN The gaming world has changed: videogames come on small, shiny things called CD's. A small child thousands of miles away in Korea can whip your ass at Starcraft II. Resident Evil is now considered to have bad voice acting. HD graphics have rendered the outside world obsolete. Hardcore gamers love EA and hate Activision. Yes, sir, the world has changed, and you can either nobly roll with the punches and embrace the future or sit in your favourite comfy, moth-bitten chair and bitch, bitch, bitch. These are some of the topics in gaming today that make old people feel cold and frightened. More »

6  Top Ten RPGs Of This Generation... So Far Sat, Aug 28th, 2010, 12:46 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS This console generation has seen a remarkable shift in what it means to be a role-playing game. Elements that have traditionally been exclusive to RPGs - such as leveling/upgrading characters and equipment, branching, non-linear plots, and collectible items - have begun to be incorporated in numerous other genres, blurring the lines between them. However, the core RPG genre remains intact, featuring a wide variety of the best Western and Eastern game designers have to offer. This is Gaming Union's top ten RPGs of this console generation (roughly 2005 to present), in alphabetical order. More »

4  Top Ten Development Studios Right Now Thu, Aug 19th, 2010, 10:43 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS Games have always been behind other creative mediums - such as film, music, and literature - when it comes to making consumption choices based on the team behind a product, as opposed to its franchise tag or brand. That being said, the "hardcore", enthusiast crowd has always had a deep appreciation and sense of loyalty toward the select group of studios that continually produce quality. Thankfully, that trend is slowly beginning to penetrate mainstream gaming. With that in mind, we decided to compile a list of the top development studios at the present moment - studios that generate a great deal of anticipation behind their endeavors, and are an influential force in the industry. This list is specifically directed towards individual teams, not publishers (i.e. Nintendo) or multiple teams that produce games under a common label (i.e. Ubisoft Montreal). More »

0  Madden 11 Pre-Launch: Top Five Series Milestones Mon, Aug 9th, 2010, 9:35 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS In gaming, August goes hand-in-hand with the arrival of a new Madden game. It's the time of year that signals the upcoming end of a typically long summer drought in major retail releases. Madden 11 is upon us. To mark the occasion, we decided to chronicle some of the biggest milestones throughout Madden's storied past. A lot has come and gone since 1988's John Madden Football (EA's football debut) on the Apple II - competitors, consoles and misguided additions alike. EA has had its share of successes, as well as some failures over the years - such as the quarterback vision mechanic, Madden IQ test and player weapons. We'll focus on what truly advanced the franchise and has stood the test of time. More »

1  Alienating The Mainstream: The Price Of Gaming Continues To Increase Tue, Jul 27th, 2010, 12:58 am (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS The rising cost of game production and its negative impact on the health of publishers has been a hot topic throughout the gaming industry for quite some time. To cope with this problem, many publishers and industry analysts have been speculating about new ways to extract money from the consumer. Third-parties have been toying with the idea of a subscription model for their online offerings, industry analysts continue to predict a rise in the price of retail products, new 'premium' services segment the market, the list goes on. While much of this remains speculation at this point, the fact is that gaming is already an incredibly expensive hobby. Publishers need to look for alternative ways to generate revenue, rather than continuing to pile charges on the player. More »

0  Player-Created Content And Why It's A Good Thing Fri, Jun 4th, 2010, 7:27 pm (EST) BY NICK LittleBigPlanet has been the definitive game for player-created content, and with over two million levels created by players themselves it has changed the way games can be played, created and shared. Media Molecule first set out to give gamers a different experience to what they are used to, giving them limitless possibilities in the process and freedom to explore their own imagination. Two years later, fans of LittleBigPlanet are still producing some of the finest levels seen in most games, all thanks to Media Molecule's choice to give gamers the power to create. Giving gamers this kind of power is not only a new direction for games, but possibly the best direction for games. More »

0  Harvest Moon Grand Bazaar Multiplayer Seems Silly And Useless Fri, May 21st, 2010, 5:56 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA The Harvest Moon series is one that I've always met with a bit of reservation. I can pick up the game and play it with relative ease, it's not hard to figure out what's going on or what you have to do. It's just hard to get past the fact that it's a videogame about farming. What was I farming for? Why was I farming? To be the best farmer? As a result my relationship with the game is a little touch-and-go, and as each title tries to think of a new way for players to farm it's hard not to wonder if perhaps they're out of ideas. More »

1  3D’s Place In Gaming Tue, May 18th, 2010, 12:10 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS Recently, the entertainment world has witnessed the rise in popularity of 3D technology. This phenomenon is demonstrated by blockbuster films such as Avatar and Alice In Wonderland, making 3D viewing an integral part of the experience. Interest outside the box office has also grown. Major television manufacturing companies like Samsung and Sony have begun to incorporate expensive, 3D enabled TVs into their product offerings. This trend has also started to make its mark on the gaming industry. All three platform makers have announced 3D initiatives - Sony and Microsoft with 3D enabled consoles, and Nintendo’s new 3DS handheld. While there is room for 3D content in games, the emphasis many companies are placing on it feels like an opportunistic attempt to push expensive products on consumers, as opposed to creating substantive game content. Of the big three, Sony, in particular, seems to have the greatest incentive to see 3D hardware thrive. The company’s TV division has been looking for new ways to introduce products into the market, since consumers have become increasingly indifferent to advances in traditional 2D resolution. Therefore, Sony, and its competitors, have been eager to brand 3D as the “next big thing” in home entertainment, so they can continue to sell TVs at a premium price point. How does this affect gaming? Well, another Sony product, PlayStation 3, was recently updated (via firmware) to make it more 3D friendly. By combining Blu-rays and games that support 3D on PS3, Sony can effectively promote their game, movie, and home entertainment divisions all-in-one. From their perspective, 3D is a godsend. More »

0  Spider Man Dimensions That We Don't Want To See Tue, Apr 13th, 2010, 12:42 am (EST) BY ADAM MA Spider-Man is one of the few heroes that seems to keep on getting video games, despite their reputation. From his text adventure classics in 1978 to the more reason film adaptions in 2002 the web slinger has been around longer then most think. But up until now it's always been the same old Peter Parker, same role, same story. Until recently that is, when Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions was announced, teasing fans with the promise of multiple variations of the iconic hero. With Amazing and Noir already announced, we can only sit back and excitedly dream of what universes will be revealed. But what about the universes we hope aren't revealed? More »

0  Game Tester On Pranks, Horror Stories, And Stereotypes Mon, Apr 12th, 2010, 4:24 pm (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN Working as a game tester in the minds of many gamers is a sweet gig; playing games all day, how can you go wrong? We sat down with Quality Assurance company, The Ant Firm, to talk about the various aspects of being a video game tester, last time covering the topic of why hardcore gamers don't necessarily make good testers. For the second half of our sit-down with The Ant Firm team, we talked about horror stories and pranks from the Quality Assurance Department (also know as home for game testers), and what it means to be a games tester as a career. Composed of Haley Patterson, Tonya Constant, Melanie Lagrou, and Denise Matis, The Ant Firm has seen all kinds of goofs and pranks in their years of game testing before forming their own Quality Assurance company in London, Ontario. Understandably they couldn't name the people involved in their stories, the studios they took place at, or what video games were involved, but those details aren't important. So when we asked for one of their best horror stories, it only took the team about three seconds to think of the same incident, and grin and shack their heads in remembrance. More »

4  Game Testers On Why Hardcore Gamers Don't Make Good Testers Wed, Apr 7th, 2010, 2:36 pm (EST) BY KYLE WYNEN Bugs, glitches and crashes in retail and downloadable games have made headlines more and more in recent months, in large part thanks to huge titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and a number of others that have been plagued with bugs. This has left many wondering where the Quality Assurance teams, better known as game testers, have been. Are they asleep at the wheel? In fact, many gamers bet they could make better testers than those employeed by the bug-ridden AAA titles. Pondering this, we sat down with third-party Quality Assurance company, The Ant Firm, and ask them if the regular gamer could really make the grade and prevent the next Modern Warfare 2 fiasco. The Ant Firm is a fairly new London, Ontario based Quality Assurance company, lead by Haley Patterson, Tonya Constant, Melanie Lagrou, and Denise Matis (fun fact: Bioshock for PS3, and half of Bioshock 2 were made in London, Ontario). Before forming The Ant Firm, the four worked for Beanbag Studios, a Nintendo DS and PC developer, where they worked in the Quality Assurance and Writing departments, before the studio closed. Being gamers themselves, they understand the feelings of gamers angry with game bugs, glitches, and crashes, but they don't think the average gamer, or even hardcore gamer, would make a good games tester. More »

1  5 Franchises Where You Wonder 'What Happened'? Mon, Apr 5th, 2010, 7:25 pm (EST) BY NELSON Gaming has become an increasingly important section of entertainment over the last few decades and as such there have been a vast amount of franchises that have flourished over time. Many of these have retained the elements that made them special to gamers while continuing to push forward and it's for this reason that they've stayed at the top of gamer wish lists. This isn't the case for all franchises though. No, while some franchises have continued their legacy, others have seen their legacy disappear into thin air and some have even suffered desperate attempts to rekindle a once vividly burning flame. Below are five franchises which have suffered such a fate - going from hero to zero for some reason and causing gamers to wonder "What Happened?" More »

7  Sony Must Learn From The iPhone, DS With PSP2 Sun, Apr 4th, 2010, 8:44 pm (EST) BY JORDAN DOUGLAS On March 24th 2010 the PSP celebrated its fifth birthday, and to mark the occasion we decided to look ahead to the next generation of PSP and outline what direction the handheld should take. The current PSP suffers from a lack of identity; much of its functionality is underused because of poor marketing and an unintuitive design. It has been overshadowed and out performed by innovations on the Nintendo DS, and has come under increasing pressure from new competitors - namely Apple's iPhone. The new PSP must learn from past mistakes and take notes from the competition if Sony wants to stay relevant in handheld gaming. That being said, since launching in 2005, the PSP has had its share of success: it has sold over 60 million units worldwide, plays over 500 retail titles, 20,000 movies and much more. In Japan, the PSP has been a phenomenal success consistently reaching the top of the hardware charts thanks to killer software such as Monster Hunter. Other notable titles include God of War: Chains of Olympus, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo, Gran Turismo and Resistance: Retribution. However, these triumphs have not hidden flat North American sales, rampant piracy and a lack of focus. What follows is a list of features that should be included in the PSP 2, in no particular order. More »

0  Why It's Safe To Have Faith In Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Thu, Apr 1st, 2010, 6:14 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Most long standing FPS titles are forced to go through a reinvention stage at some point. Like when the competition invents some new mechanic that must be copied, or when players are simply too tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Modern Warfare has changed the way the Call of Duty franchise looks and feels, the same way that Medal of Honor, Splinter Cell, and Halo have all been trying to revitalize themselves. But Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series has been reinventing itself for years now, unlike the competition, and Future Soldier may be the fruit of all Ubisoft's labour. More »

0  Two Improvements Needed For Pokemon Fifth Generation Wed, Mar 31st, 2010, 5:00 pm (EST) BY SHAWN Since the original release of Pokemon Red and Blue back in 1996 in Japan, the Pokemon franchise has spanned numerous consoles and handhelds, each title garnering critical acclaim and sales. In the main series of the franchise, every new generation has been accompanied by a new handheld. But with the upcoming fifth generation of Pokemon, the games are being released on the same handheld as the previous generation: the Nintendo DS. Without the usual leap in technology, what should Nintendo look for to ensure that their next title isn't just more of the same? The original Nintendo DS Pokemon titles, Pokemon Pearl/Diamond, featured a new game engine which showcased numerous improvements, most notably introducing 3D graphics into what had previously been a 2D-only affair. While the controls were still rooted in 2D movement, the game's environment included numerous 3D touches, such as elevated buildings and moving objects. While the next titles in the fourth generation, Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, didn't radically alter this approach, they nevertheless further refined the graphical design set by the original Nintendo DS games. While many might say that Nintendo should radically upgrade the graphics, it would make more sense for Nintendo to expand on other areas of the game which have languished as of late in the recent generation of Pokemon games. More »

0  Top 5 3DS Titles That Would Work Exceedingly Well Tue, Mar 30th, 2010, 5:18 pm (EST) BY ADAM MA Nintendo has a habit of making hardware that becomes a global phenomenon, from the still popular Wii to the classic NES. The Gameboy series is no exception, and with Nintendo revealing the latest in 'must have' portable gaming we can only wonder what kind of games will it even support. No doubt Nintendo will have spent a lot of time researching fan favourites, games that would not only show off everything the 3DS is all about, but be must haves for any fans of handheld games. So here's a list of five games that would garner a day one purchase (if made exclusively for the 3DS) from me or anyone else that has good taste in games and would showcase the potential 3D graphics the best. The list is in no particular order. More »

3  How Voice Acting Has Changed The Video Games Industry Sat, Mar 13th, 2010, 3:58 pm (EST) BY FOZZIE Voice acting, as defined by Wikipedia, is the act of "providing one's voice to an animated character." Though its origin is unknown it's been safely lodged in the acting world for quite some time now. Disney, as many of you are well aware, has been well known for its animated movies and, more impressively, as a voice acting pioneer. Snow White (1937) was the company's first full-length animated feature film made and Adriana Caselotti voiced the movie's title character. More »

	0  Can Knights In The Nightmare Really Work On PSP? Wed, Jan 13th, 2010, 7:07 pm (EST) BY SHAWN In the latest issue of Famitsu, it was revealed that Sting would be releasing a PlayStation Portable port of Knights in the Nightmare, which was released in North America by Atlus last June on the Nintendo DS. More »

	0  How Fighting Fantasy's Graphics Dazzle on DS Posted on 2009/11/20 BY KYLE WYNEN Randy Van Der Vlag is the Lead Artist on Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for the DS, and in a presentation at the Montreal International Game Summit on Tuesday, spoke about how developer Big Blue Bubble pulled off, in this editor's opinion, some of the best visuals on the DS. More »