This week’s first downloadable feature is actually an application and not a game. AdHoc Party is available free at the PlayStation Network store as an application that will allow PlayStation Portable owners to play their PSP games online through their PlayStation 3. A program that was released in Japan last year that connects the PSP to the internet using the PlayStation Network instead of standing within close range of another player just to challenge them. You can now connect to them in much the same way you connect to multi-player games on your PS3. How does this program work? Check out this introduction video by Sony:

The next downloadable feature is Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines for $39.99 for the PSP. Follow Altair from the holy land into Cyprus trailing the Templar’s to their newest conquest and assassinate them. A direct sequel to the original Assassin’s Creed and a prequel to Assassin’s Creed II, in fact players who own Assassin’s Creed II can connect the PSP to their PS3 to unlock and transfer health and weapon upgrades from the PS3 game to the PSP game to aid in your missions. Check out Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines:

Price Drops

• Uno (PS3/Now $7.99)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Echoes (PSP/$2.99)
• D-CUBE Planet (PSP/$3.99)
• Circles (PSP/$3.99)
• PSOne Classic: Resident Evil 2 (PS3/$5.99)
• PSOne Classic: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS3/$5.99)
• Peggle (PS3/$9.99)

Free Demos:

• Smash Cars Demo (PS3/Free)
• PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe Demo (PSP/Free)
• LittleBigPlanet PSP Demo (PSP/Free)
• Promethus Demo (PSP/Free)

Bonus Game Content:

• Way of the Samurai 3 Accessories (PS3/Free)
• High Velocity Bowling: Techno Modern Ball Pack (PS3/99 cents)
• High Velocity Bowling: Psychedelic 60’s Ball Pack (PS3/99 cents)
• PAIN: Flavor Flav (PS3/$1.99)
• Peggle Nights (PS3/$4.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Pack:

• KISS Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Lick It Up” by KISS (PS3/$1.99)
• “Modern Day Delilah” by KISS (PS3/$1.99)
• “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by KISS (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• AFI Pack 01 (PS3/$8.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Beautiful Thieves” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “End Transmission” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “Love Like Winter” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “Medicate” by AFI (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Leaving Song, Pt 2″ by AFI (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Song Tracks

• “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “California Über Alles” by Dead Kennedys (PSP/$1.99)
• “You’re No Rock ‘n’ Roll Fun” by Sleater-Kinney (PSP/$1.99)

The Beatles Rock Band Pack:

• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Album) (PS3/$13.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Within You Without You” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “When I’m Sixty-Four” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “She’s Leaving Home” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Lovely Rita” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Fixing A Hole” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Pulse 11/19 Edition (PS3/Free)
• Pain: Flavor Flav Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Launch Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 15 sec Accolade TV Spot (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10: Director’s Cut Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Madden NFL Arcade Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Flag Runner Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 TV Commercial (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II Arsenal Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II TGS Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II Dev Diary 3 (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II GP Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Critter Crunch “Feeding Time” Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Army Of Two: 40th Day Extraction Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Peggle Trailer (PS3/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Peggle Theme (PS3/Free)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Wallpaper (x5) (PS3/Free)
• Topatoi Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Peggle Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• DJ Max Fever Wallpaper (x4) (PSP/Free)
• Armored Core 3 Wallpaper (x2) (PSP/Free)
• Armored Core 3 Portable Theme (PSP/Free)
• Celtic Maidens PSP Theme 3 (PSP/$1.49)
• Celtic Maidens PSP Theme 4 (PSP/$1.49)
• Celtic Maidens 2 Premium Plus Theme (PS3/$1.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Black Friday 2009: Meijer sale ad has been leaked
  “Meijer’s 2009 Black Friday ad is now online and it’s pretty good in terms of game deals. Specifically, there isn’t much, but the doorbusters are quite impressive if you don’t already own a console or handheld system. I mean,…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Walmart’s video game sale items revealed
  “The ad that perhaps every Black Friday 2009 shopper has been waiting for has been leaked onto the internet. Walmart’s 2009 Black Friday ad has been scanned in and is ready for your critical perusal. From what I’ve…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Toys R Us video game sales
  “Next up for leaked Black Friday 2009 ads, Toys R Us! Yes, the ad is out and, if you’re going to be buying toys this holiday season, you’ll find some deals that will make you very…” MORE »
• Toys R Us sale going on November 20-21, 2009
  “Just checked my mailbox and lo and behold, there’s a new Toys R Us sales flier. The latest sale runs from Friday, November 20, 2009 until Saturday, November 21, 2009. It looks like Toys R Us is…” MORE »
• NASA hoping to recruit new talent with Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond
  “In an effort to attract new and younger talent to its ranks, NASA has come up with a new strategy: Using video games to give people a chance to get a glimpse of outer space.  NASA believes that there are…” MORE »
• Advertorial: Binverse, the next evolution In downloads
  “Experience what it’s like to download at unlimited speeds from a massive collection of over 800 Terabytes of user uploads. You’ll max out your Internet connection downloading a file in minutes that would take hours using other technologies.  Binverse utilizes 256-bit…” MORE »
• Xbox Live update includes new features, Facebook and Twitter account access
  “This Tuesday (November 17, 2009) Microsoft unleashed a new update for it’s Xbox 360 system.  The new update includes the ability to use a bigger screen, a clearer picture and accessibility from the comfort of your living…” MORE »
• Deal of the Day: Buy a PSPgo via Amazon, get $50 PlayStation Network credit
  “So you were thinking about buying a PSPgo but couldn’t quite swallow the $250 it costs to own one? That’s well understood these days and we could use an uplifting deal every now and then. Amazon has…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Toys R Us holds pre-Black Friday game sales, allows layaway for consoles and more
  “It’s a hectic time of year for consumers. There are pre-Black Friday sales. Thanksgiving Day sales, Black Friday sales and post-Black Friday sales. Thankfully, you’ll get a brief break for a few weeks in December, before the after Christmas and…” MORE »
• Konami selling its iPhone, iPod Touch games for 99 cents each
  “Black Friday deals are always exciting to look at and fantasize about. Getting up and bearing the weather and crowds is a whole new can of worms though. For now lets take the digital approach…” MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

New Spaces and Places

Guitar Hero 5 VIP Room

For those fans of the Guitar Hero 5 franchise who have been testing the red ropes to the VIP room since this space first opened back in April 2009. The ropes have dropped and those who fill out a registration form are treated to a VIP lounge. Step inside this huge lounge to receive a free virtual t-shirt and then walk or run over to the bass drum area for a virtual guitar for your personal space.

HOME Theater

Full Metal Alchemist—This week at the Home space theater anime fans can enjoy a full second season episode of Full Metal Alchemist now until November 19, 2009. Just look for the sign above the door to find which room is playing this film. Those who enjoyed the film can find it at the PlayStation Network Store in the video section for more episodes.

Final Fantasy XIII—Also this week, an exclusive never-seen before look at the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII introducing new characters and giving players a glimpse of the game play and the shear awesomeness of all things Final Fantasy.

Steven Segal Lawman—Check out this sneak peek of A&E’s new reality series and receive a free virtual item this Wednesday. This new series features Steven Seagal joining Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in New Orleans taking his fans along for the ride through training and patrolling the streets as an actual law enforcement officer assisting the department with enforcing the law and keeping the streets of New Orleans safe in his new reality series on A&E December 2, 2009 at 10 p.m. Pacific Time or 9 p.m. Central Time.

Changes

This week players may notice a few changes at the mall this week. For example the paintings are no longer being sold at the mall and furniture designed for specific apartments are now being sold in the real estate store as bundles. For some reason or another those who won the Alcove from the Siren Ward of Despair game, the item is still missing from the inventory. I’m not sure how much longer it will take before the item is returned to the inventory list but Sony encourages HOME users to report any personal items still missing from your inventory in the PlayStation forums under Home technical support.

Shopping Mall

This week at the mall look out for the Assassin’s Creed II Live by the Creed bundle at Threads and help celebrate the game’s release this week. This week the stores have individual categories and bundle sections, unless listed next to the item in (parenthesis) all items are available for male and female avatars.

Real Estate Store located on the first and second floor of the mall

Pirate Galleon Apartment
For those who purchased the pirate outfit during the Pirates vs Ninja event last year, brush it off and get ready to set sail as you command your own pirate galleon in this new apartment space by nDreams for $5.99 at the Real Estate Store located in the Home Shopping Mall. This new space features a dock overlooking a peaceful cove, a musical tiki bar and a giant pirate galleon equipped with a cannon to blast away any enemy sailing too close. The mini-game pits players against an armada of galleons slowly sailing closer to your hide out and as they draw near they will launch bomber boats that can blast your ship away if you’re not quick enough to take them out first. You only have five lives so aim quick and time it just right to sink the ships. Don’t forget to blast the ghost ship for extra points. Prizes include furniture for your tiki bar and a lovable parrot. Check out the Pirate Galleon. (Please note the parrot doesn’t really snore or squawk, this is just a presentation by nDreams.):

Threads - located on the first floor of the mall.

The Original V-Shirt Section

• Fashion Pirate T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Female Only)
• Crazy Sexy Disco Party T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Goldie Chain T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Make Scores Not Wars T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Tux T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Virtually Skint T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Demon T-Shirt cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Bored Giraffe T-Shirt by Teetonic cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Robot Invasion T-Shirt by Teetonic cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Fatal Attraction T-Shirt by Teetonic cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Night Owl T-Shirt by Teetonic cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Scissors vs Rock vs Paper T-Shirt by Teetonic cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Crazy World, 1972 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Maalaea T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Skull, 1972 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Come Together, 1969 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 79 cents (Female Only)
• This Is Not Here, Oct 6th 1971 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 79 cents (Female Only)
• Texas Arcade Massacre T-Shirt by Joystick Junkies cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Big Al’s T-Shirt by Joystick Junkies cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Pirate Skull T-Shirt by Joystick Junkies cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Monkey Madness T-Shirt by Joystick Junkies cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Cheap Ninja Costume T-Shirt by 8Ball cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• FBI Logo T-Shirt by 8Ball cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Let’s hug it out T-Shirt by 8Ball cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Wingman T-Shirt by 8Ball cost 79 cents (Male Only)
• Island Records Logo T-Shirt by Island Records in choice of black or white cost 99 cents each
• Indiscriminate T-Shirt by Billabong in choice of White or Blue cost 99 cents each (Male Only)
• Gravity T-Shirt by Billabong in choice of Black or Blue cost 99 cents each (Male Only)
• Idolize T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Symphony T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Stutter T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Rogue T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Joyner T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Female Only)
• Wo’Mang T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Female Only)
• Hey, Hey, Hey T-Shirt by Billabong cost 99 cents (Female Only)
• Bermuda, December 1980 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• This Is Not Here, Oct 6th 1971 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Yoko Ono, 1980 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 99 cents (Female Only)
• Indian, 1967 T-Shirt by Worn Free cost 99 cents

Assassin’s Creed II Section

• Assassin’s Creed II Promotion Bundle cost $2.99
Individual Items:
• Assassin’s Creed II Logo Wrist Band cost 49 cents
• Animus Logo T-Shirt cost 79 cents
• Assassin’s Creed II Logo T-Shirt cost 79 cents
• Animus Logo Hat cost 79 cents
• Assassin’s Creed II Logo hat cost 79 cents
• Assassin’s Creed II Ezio Hoodie cost 99 cents

Where’s Waldo Section

• Wenda Costume Bundle cost $7.49 (Female Only)
Individual Items Include:
• Wenda’s Glasses, Hat and Shoes cost $1.49 each
• Wenda’s Shirt and Skirt cost $2.99 each
• Waldo Costume Bundle costs $8.49 (Male Only)
Individual Items Include:
• Waldo’s Cane, Glasses, Hat and Shoes cost $1.49 each
• Waldo’s Shirt and Pants cost $2.99 each
• Odlaw Costume Bundle costs $8.49 (Male Only)
Individual Items Include:
• Odlaw’s Mustache, Glasses, Hat and Shoes cost $1.49 each
• Odlaw’s Shirt and Pants cost $2.99 each

Threads Headgear Section

• Bucket Hats in choice of Black, Brown, Grey or White cost 49 cents each
• Camo Bucket Hat cost 49 cents (Male Only)
• Bucket Hats in choice of Khaki, White Floral, Red Floral or Blue Flora cost 49 cents each (Female Only)
• Headband Headset cost 49 cents (Male Only)
• Big Afro cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Tribal Cornrow cost 99 cents (Male Only)
• Wrap-around Headband in choice of Pink or Blue cost 99 cents each (Female Only)
• Side Pony-Tail cost 99 cents (Female Only)

Threads Hands Section

• Ring with Crystal Star in choice of Gold or Silver cost 25 cents (Male Only)
• Red Glitter Fingernails cost 25 cents (Female Only)
• Bangle with Ring in choice of Gold or Silver cost 49 cents each (Female Only)
• White Digital Watch cost 49 cents (Male Only)

Threads Top Section

• Peace Necklace with Tie-dye T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Nerdy Neckwear cost 49 cents
• Zebra Print Dress Top cost 49 cents (Female Only)*
• Dot Print Dress Top cost 49 cents (Female Only)*
• Dress Shirt in choice of Brown with Brown Shaded Stripe, Black with Grey Shaded Stripe or Black with Lilac Shaded Stripe cost 49 cents each (Male Only)
• Rugby Top in choice of Pink and Grey, Black and Green, Brown and Grey or Red and Blue cost 49 cents each (Female Only)
• Turtleneck Long-Sleeved Shirt in choice of Black, Pink or Yellow cost 49 cents each (Female Only)
• Cyber Goth Top cost 49 cents (Male Only)
• Hoodie Top in choice of Green, Black, White, Navy, Pale Blue, Pink, Jungle Camo or Urban Camo cost 49 cents each (Male Only)
• 70’s Suit Jacket in choice of White or Black cost 99 cents each (Male Only)
• MDRXB700 T-Shirt with Headband Headphones around neck in choice of White, Yellow, Blue or Pink cost 99 cents each (Male Only)
• 70s Style Dress in choice of Pink or Blue cost 99 cents each (Female Only)

Threads Bottoms Section

• 70’s Suit Trousers in choice of Black or White cost 49 cents each (Male Only)
• White Hot Pants with choice of blue or pink tights cost 49 cents each (Female Only)
• Zebra Print Dress Skirt cost 49 cents (Female Only)*
• Dot Print Dress Skirt cost 49 cents (Female Only)*
• Chinos with Crown Buckle in choice of Beige or White cost 49 cents each (Male Only)
• 3/4-Length Trousers in choice of Khaki and Cream or Blue cost 49 cents each
• 3/4-Length Trousers in choice of Blue and Orange or White cost 49 cents each (Male Only)
• 3/4-Length Trousers in choice of Blue and Yellow, Pink and Red, Blue and Cream or Cream cost 49 cents each (Female Only)

Threads Feet Section

• Leather Sneakers in choice of White or Red cost 25 cents each (Male Only)
• Short Boots in choice of Black or Red cost 25 cents each (Female Only)
• Enamel Shoes in choice of White or Black cost 49 cents each (Male Only)
• White Knee-high Boots cost 99 cents (Female Only)

Threads Jewelry Section

• Small Silver Hoop Earrings cost 25 cents (Female Only)
• White Pearl Earrings cost 49 cents (Female Only)

Threads Accessories Section

• 70s-Style Sunglasses cost 49 cents (Female Only)
• Wide-Framed Sunglasses in choice of Pink or Blue cost 99 cents each (Female Only)
• B Sunglasses in choice of Red or Green cost 99 cents each (Male Only)

*Threads Dress Section

• Zebra Print Dress Bundle cost 99 cents (Female Only)
• Dot Print Dress Bundle cost 99 cents (Female Only)

Furniture Store - located on first floor of Mall

Burn Zombie Burn Section

• Character Statues in choice of Bruce, Daisy, Zombie or Zombie Rusher cost $2.99 each

Table Section

• Deco Table cost 99 cents

Ornament Section

• Human Plush cost 49 cents
• Stuffed Hamster cost 49 cents
• Gun Case Bundle cost $1.49
Individual Items Include:
• LRm-5960 Rifle cost 49 cents
• TxRm-20 Handgun cost 49 cents
• Revolver-6 cost 49 cents
• PsT-50 Pistol cost 49 cents
• Weapon Racks Bundle cost $2.49
Individual Items Include:
• Modern Bow Rack cost 49 cents
• Colonial Gun Rack cost 49 cents
• Contemporary Military Gun Rack cost 49 cents
• Pirate Sword Rack cost 49 cents
• Medieval Sword Rack cost 49 cents
• Future Gun Rack cost 49 cents
• Muk Yan Jong cost 99 cents

Light Section

• Stained Glass Lamp cost 99 cents
• Summer House Light cost 99 cents

Sofa Section

• Deco Bed cost $1.49

Site [PlayStation Blog] Site [A&E:Steven Seagal Lawman ]

Image Source: A&E Official Steven Seagal Lawman Site

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The holiday shopping season is drawing near as people are preparing to pick up Christmas and Hanukkah gifts for the 2009 holiday season. This year tons of fantastic DS games were released, and it may be difficult to pick out the perfect one for your favorite DS owner.

For Gamertell’s 2009 DS game gift guide, there are 30 DS games released in 2009 that could make fantastic holiday gifts. To make your search easier, Gamertell’s DS gift guide has been sorted by ESRB rating. Just go to the section that is appropriate for the age of person you’re shopping for, and hopefully you’ll find some good DS gift ideas. If Gamertell’s reviewed the game, click the game’s title to read and see what we thought about it.

Let’s take a look at some great DS game gift suggestions:

ESRB Rating: “Everyone”

Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled
Genre: RPG
Price: $19.99
Release Date:
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes.
Target Audience: Chrono Trigger and classic RPG fans. Old school gamers.
Description: Kairu is the only man in Bel Lenora with no magic. The last person in Bel Lenora with no magic was a general who wreaked havoc. He also has a mysterious black mark on his hand. After he is banished from Bel Lenora to the outside world, he and his friends journey to perhaps help him find magic and save the world.

Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop
Genre: Casual / Action
Price: $29.99
Release Date: October 20, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Alcohol Reference
Target Audience: People who enjoy casual games, people who enjoy cooking and fans of the Cooking Mama series.
Description: Help Mama cook once again! This time a shopping mini-game has been added and there are 80 new recipes included.

Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands
Genre: Simulation / RPG
Price: $29.99
Release Date: November 10, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief and Use of Alcohol
Target Audience: Men and women, probably over the age of 10, who enjoy simulation games, play Farmville or Farm Town on Facebook and are patient.
Description: You play as a young man or woman who has come to the Sunshine Islands to start life as a farmer. You can tend to crops, raise animals and explore mines to make money. You can also befriend townspeople and local animals, and even raise a family. Oh, and you may want to collect the Sun Stones to restore the Sunshine Islands that have sunk into the ocean.
Note: If the person you’re thinking of buying this for already has Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, ask them if they’d like Sunshine Islands before buying it as a gift. They’re practically the same game.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
Genre: Action / Puzzle
Price: $19.99
Release Date: March 17, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Cartoon Violence
Target Audience: Fans of side-scrolling action games casual match-3 puzzle games.
Description: Henry Hatsworth is searching for treasure, and ends up on a massive adventure. When enemies are defeated in the side scrolling adventure, they fall to the bottom screen match-3 puzzle. Eliminating them in the match-3 puzzle powers up Henry. It’s a quirky combination that works.

Lego Rock Band
Genre: Music
Price: $29.99
Release Date: November 3, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief and Mild Lyrics
Target Audience: Anyone who likes portable music games.
Description: A DS music game that doesn’t require any peripherals, so DS lite and DSi owners alike can play. It’s essentially Rock Band, only with Lego characters, no peripherals and a more family friendly set list that includes rock songs and top-40 hits.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
Genre: RPG
Price: $34.99
Release Date: September 14, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief and Mild Cartoon Violence
Target Audience: Super Mario fans who want to play a funny RPG where the two characters, and Bowser, are the stars.
Description: Fawful fed Bowser a mushroom that made him inhale Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and the princess’ toad attendants and fed many of the Toads mushrooms which made them blow up to gigantic proportions. Then he decided to take over the kingdom. Mario, Luigi and Bowser join forces to stop Fawful’s reign of terror.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Genre: Sports /Mini game collection
Price: $34.99
Release Date: October 13, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Cartoon Violence
Target Audience: Gamers of all ages who like sports mini-games and Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog characters.
Description: Mario, Sonic and characters from both of their respective game series take part in multiple winter Olympic events.

Peggle Dual Shot
Genre: Puzzle
Price: $19.99
Release Date: February 27, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Target Audience: Casual game fans.
Description: It’s the PC Peggle game, only portable. It contains the two PC games Peggle and Peggle Nights.

Sim Animals Africa
Genre: Simulation
Price: $29.99
Release Date: October 27, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief
Target Audience: Children and fans of the original Sim Animals game.
Description: Interact with African animals and help keep them happy and healthy. You can also play as an animal.

Space Invaders Extreme 2
Genre: Shooter
Price: $19.99
Release Date: October 19, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Target Audience: Pretty much anyone. Specifically fans of shooters, Space Invaders and classic arcade games.
Description: Space Invaders Extreme only better. There are new power ups, Super Fever Time, Fever Time, Bingo Rounds, Time Attack modes and multiple difficulty levels. There’s also a new multiplayer battle mode where you face off against a friend, shooting aliens to see who’s best.

Style Savvy
Genre: Simulation
Price: $34.99
Release Date: November 2, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Target Audience: Primarily women of all ages, though men may appreciate this shop management simulation as well. I’d recommend it for ages eight and up, since younger children may have trouble attending to customers and managing the stock in their shops.
Description: Players are the newest employee at Primavera, the most popular boutique in the city. After a brief introduction and tutorial, your natural style, talent and business sense prompt Primavera’s owner, Dominic, to give you your own boutique to manage. Take care of customers, buy stock for your shop, enter fashion contests and dress up your character.

The Legendary Starfy
Genre: Action
Price: $34.99
Release Date: June 7, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Cartoon Violence.
Target Audience: Gamers of all ages and genders. Since it’s pretty easy to play, it would make a good first-platformer for children.
Description: Bunston the rabbit was chased into Pufftop Palace by unknown villains, and fell into the ocean. Starfy and his friend Moe the clam followed him, deciding to help. Once they find him, they discover Bunston has amnesia and has lost crystals. Starfy, Bunston and Moe travel the ocean trying to find the crystal fragments, defeat the people who were chasing Bunston and helping ocean residents in need.

Touchmaster 3
Genre: Mini-game collection / Casual
Price: $29.99
Release Date: October 23, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Mild Cartoon Violence and Mild Language
Target Audience: People of all ages who want something they can play for a few minutes or a few hours.
Description: A collection of 20 assorted action, card, puzzle, sports and trivia mini-games.

Wire Way
Genre: Action / Puzzle
Price: $29.99
Release Date: November 3, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Comic Mischief
Target Audience: Players of all ages looking for a fun action/puzzle game.
Description: The alien Wiley Springer is on a quest to find his love, but to do so he’ll have to journey through all kinds of levels, moving along wires and propelling himself upwards towards the top of each level.

ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+”

Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island
Genre: Simulation / RPG
Price: $29.99
Release Date: October 27, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language and Suggestive Themes.
Target Audience: Men and women who enjoy games where the goal is to making items, explore areas and talk to townsfolk. People who like games with a sense of humor. I’d say it’s best for ages 13 and up, since younger gamers may not have the patience required to collect all the necessary ingredients.
Description: Annie is a lazy girl who dreams of marrying into money. So, her grandfather ships her off to Sera Island, which is in the process of being turned into a resort. Annie has three years to prove she is a capable and competant alchemist, and if she wins all the contests and successfully manages her resorts, she could end up marrying a prince.

Avalon Code
Genre: Action RPG
Price: $19.99
Release Date: March 10, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Fantasy Violence and Mild Language
Target Audience: RPG fans who like to tinker with the in-game world and build relationships with other characters.
Description: The world is ending, and only things that have been entered into the Book of Prophesy will be saved when the world is reborn. The player is the one who has been tasked with filling the Book of Prophesy with things that should be saved by smacking things with it. You can then alter the properties of items entered in the book with codes. You also will face off against the villain who is going to cause the world to end.

Bleach the 3rd Phantom
Genre: Strategic RPG
Price: $29.99
Release Date: September 15, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Alcohol Reference, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language and Suggestive Themes.
Target Audience: Anime fans. Strategic RPG fans who love Fire Emblem and Advance Wars style games.
Description: Two soul reapers from the past have suddenly found themselves in the present. You choose which one you’ll play as, Matsuri or Fujimaru, and their abilities, and then join with Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends to face off against Aizen, the Arrancars and hollows.

Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
Genre: RPG
Price: $39.99
Release Date: February 16, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Alcohol Reference, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Simulated Gambling
Target Audience: Classic RPG fans and Square Enix fans.
Description: The most recent Zenithia Dragon Quest DS entry follows a hero through three generations - his adventures as a child as he journeyed with his father, his adventures traveling on his own and the journey he undertakes with his children. Together they attempt to save the world. The DS version adds in a new marriable character, Debora.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Genre: Action RPG
Price: $29.99
Release Date: March 24, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Fantasy Violence, Language and Mild Suggestive Themes
Target Audience: Action RPG fans who like to work and adventure with friends. People who don’t mind level grinding to collect materials. Square Enix fans.
Description: You are a 16 year old who has just taken part in a coming of age ceremony at a village in the woods. However, when you return, you discover that one of the village children has fallen ill with the Crystal Sickness. You must go to the outside world to search for a cure, which starts a chain of events that result in you restoring your village’s crystal. Also, you can play with people who own the DS or Wii version.
Note: If the person you’re buying this for doesn’t have Wi-Fi internet or friends with the game, then don’t buy it for them. Many of the storyline quests are unplayable without assistance from other Echoes of Time players.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Genre: Action RPG
Price: $34.99
Release Date: September 29, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Fantasy Violence
Target Audience: Fans of the Kingdom Hearts series. Disney fans who are too old for the childish Disney games. People looking for a solid action rpg to play.
Description: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days takes place during the time when Roxas was a member of Organization XIII, the villains in Kingdom Hearts II. Roxas takes missions for the organization and works along its members, all while trying to figure out who and what he is.

Magician’s Quest: Mysterious Times
Genre: Simulation
Price: $29.99
Release Date: May 5, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Comic Mischief and Mild Suggestive Themes
Target Audience: Harry Potter fans. People who thought Animal Crossing was too slow and boring.
Description: Create a character and attend a virtual magic academy. Learn all kinds of magic spells you can use on neighbors, take weekly tests and interact with friends over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Phantasy Star Ø
Genre: RPG
Price: $34.99
Release Date: November 12, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
Target Audience: People who want an MMO-like experience on their DS. Phantasy Star fans. RPG players.
Description: Players are mercenaries called Hunters, journeying on an alternate version of Earth taking missions and facing off against monsters in an attempt to protect and save people. You can customize your character. You can also play with others over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or play through the single player story mode.
Note: Again, if the person you’re buying it for doesn’t have Wi-Fi internet access, ask before you buy this game because the multiplayer experience is a big part of the game.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Genre: Puzzle
Price: $34.99
Release Date: August 24, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Alcohol Reference and Mild Violence
Target Audience: Men and women who like to solve puzzles and think critically. While it is suitable for ages 10 and up, the difficulty of some of the brain teasers and puzzles could frustrate younger games. It’s most suitable for ages 13 and up.
Description: The sequel to Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Professor Layton, his assistant Luke and his ward Flora have another mystery to solve. Layton’s mentor, Dr. Schrader, has died of unknown causes, and everyone think the Elysian Box is behind it. Supposedly, the Elysian Box has the power to kill anyone who dares to open it. It’s up the Layton to discover the truth.

Scribblenauts
Genre: Puzzle / Action
Price: $29.99
Release Date: September 15, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief
Target Audience: Creative men and women who want to solve puzzles with a wide assortment of items.
Description: Scribblenauts tasks player with solving 220 action and puzzle levels by helping Maxwell overcome challenges and retrieve the Starites. The game recognizes over 20,000 words and allows players to create and share levels.

Suikoden Triekreis
Genre: RPG
Price: $34.99
Release Date: March 17, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Language and Mild Suggestive Themes
Target Audience: Pokemon fans who love collecting items, monsters or characters in games. Fans of the Suikoden series. People who would enjoy a fantasy RPG that explores the notion of parallel universes.
Description: The One King wants to alter the Million World universe so there is only one timeline and one universe, instead of many. This means that all the other universes will be destroyed. You must collect the 108 Stars of Destiny and strike back at the One King before he destroys the universe the characters are in as well.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Genre: Action RPG
Price: $34.99
Release Date: December 7, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Everyone 10+” for Mild Fantasy Violence
Target Audience: RPG fans, Nintendo fans and Legend of Zelda fans
Description: Zelda has been turned into a phantom, and Link and her must journey around the world via train to save her and Hyrule. It’s also the first Zelda game where Link and Zelda travel and work together.

ESRB Rating: “Teen”

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Genre: Strategic RPG / Visual Novel
Price: $29.99
Release Date: June 23, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Fantasy Violence, Language, Mild Blood and Partial Nudity
Target Audience: Men and women over the age of 13 who enjoy dramatic, challenging and thought-provoking games. Also, fans of other Shin Megami Tensei games.
Description: Shibuya, Japan has been locked down. All the power is out and there is no way in, or out. To make matters worse, demons are now roaming the street and a mysterious cult whose intentions are unknown is milling around the city. The main character and his friends are given COMPs, DS like devices, from his cousin Naoya, and find they now have the power to control demons and perhaps even end the lock down.

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Genre: Strategic RPG
Price: $29.99
Release Date: Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Fantasy Violence, Mild Language and Mild Suggestive Themes.
Target Audience: Square Enix game fans, fans of the Valkyrie Profile series and people who are interested in a game where moral decisions effect the course of the story.
Description: After Wylfred’s father died, his family fell apart. He always blamed the Valkyrie Lenneth for his death, since after he died she left a feather signifying that she had chosen him as an Einherjar, one of her soldiers. Wylfred decides that he must kill Lenneth to make things right, and Hel gives him a plume that will allow him to become powerful enough to do so. But if he uses it, there will be a price.

ESRB Rating: “Mature 17+”

C.O.R.E.
Genre: FPS
Price: $29.99
Release Date: August 11, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Mature 17+” for Blood and Gore and Violence
Target Audience: Fans of first person shooter games.
Description: The year is 2028, and communication with the C.O.R.E. lab, where scientists were investigating a meteor that crashed to Earth, has been lost. Jason Crane and his fellow soldiers have been sent to figure out what has happened at C.O.R.E.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Genre: Action
Price: $29.99
Release Date: March 17, 2009
ESRB Rating: “Mature 17+” for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Sexual Content, Strong Language and Violence
Target Audience: Adult men and women, over the age of 17, who enjoyed going on virtual crime sprees in the console versions of Grand Theft Auto.
Description: After Huang Lee’s father is killed, he’s robbed of the sword he was supposed to take to his uncle and he’s beaten and left behind, Huang decides to strike back. He goes after the men who insulted him and destroyed his family to get revenge and power.

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Video games can often be used to build essential life skills, or to educate players. You can learn new languages, improve hand-eye coordination, find new recipes, study for exams, prepare for stressful situations or build your vocabulary.

So, this year, train for the Black Friday shopping rush by picking up a few games.

Gamertell’s ready to offer up five video game suggestions that may help you prepare for the busiest shopping weekend of the year. You’ll not only help improve your shopping skills but also become more patient, learn avoidance techniques and stress management techniques.

• Barbie: Game Girl (Game Boy): This incredibly frustrating game, set in a shopping mall, will help you learn to be patient. The controls are horrible, the levels are frustrating and Barbie doesn’t seem to ever jump or move as accurately as you want. If you can make it through this game, you can quietly, and perhaps even happily, endure anything Black Friday throws at you.
• Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop (DS): The Shop Mode is what you’ll want to focus on for your training. It’s a good way to train agility and strategic skills. The other shoppers don’t care about you, only their own paths and goals, a mindset that will be shared by Black Friday shoppers. It’ll help you learn to focus on number one.
• Dead Rising (Xbox 360, Wii): Think of the zombies as the endless and agitated crowds you’ll be fighting through at your local big box store or shopping mall and use it to practice surviving without being trampled or assaulted. Note: Refrain from using violence when dealing with the human crowds you’ll encounter on Black Friday.
• Style Savvy (DS): Catering to the needs of occasionally demanding and fussy customers will help hone your gift selection skills, ensuring that the items you bestow on others don’t find their way to the return counter of the stores you purchased them from.
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox): Finding your local Old Navy or Walmart should be simple after having to scour Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas for the stores so CJ can get the latest clothes.

If think of any additional games that could help people prepare and get in the proper mindset for Black Friday, please let us know in the comments below.

Read [Gamertell] Site [TheBlackFriday.com] Site [BlackFriday.info]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

For those of you looking for all the great Black Friday (aka the day after Thanksgiving, aka November 27, 2009) video game deals all in one place, you can check out all of our Black Friday posts.

For those of you who like things in nice, nifty, easy-to-browse bullet-point style lists, here ya go:

• Toys R Us - Doorbusters galore! Both Friday and Saturday they want you there very early. Each day has different deals so check the post o see which day (if not both) you need to wait in line. Some games on sale both days as well.
• Meijer - Doorbuster deals are on system bundles. Looks like they like to give out $50 gift cards with systems, too.
• Best Buy - Black Friday Doobuster deals. oh my. Deals include $10 DS games, $5 PC games, $20 PS3 and Xbox 360 games and $15 Wii games as well as discounted systems. Bust a door but not your )or someone else’s) shoulder.
• Target - Cheaper DSi with gift card, controllers and discounted games for every system. for some reason this store has gone with prices ending in $7 ( as in $7 PSP game, $17 DS games, $27 Wii games and $37 PS3 and Xbox 360 games). Couple bundles as well.
• Kohl’s - Has some DS and Wii games on sale now for 20% to 30% off, accessories for 20% to 50% off. Otherwise, only advertised deal is really gift cards per $50 spent for Black Friday.
• Half Price Books - Oh yeah, you read that right. A store with “book” in the name. Yes, they sell games. Gift cards, discounts and other first-through-the-door style goodies.
• Sears - The store that used to rule the gaming coup is hyping its LCD TVs on the cheap and Doorbuster electronics deals. Otherwise, assorted games for $15 and inexpensive 2- and 3-packs.
• Kmart - Decided to go with “Blue Friday” instead of “Black Friday?” Whatever. HDTV, LCD TV and a DSi are on the Doorbuster Deal list. for Black Friday there’s games for each system (this time ending in “9”).
• Walmart - For now no Black Friday deals but there are some going-on-now deals including Make-Your-Own DS Lite Bundle, a few Wii things and a couple music games for the other two systems. There is a $200 Xbox on the pre-Black Friday deals list.
• Circuit City - More a pre-Black Friday online-only sale, the main game deal is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for $55.9. The rest are HDTV and computer (desktop, laptop and netbook) deals.

Oh yes, there will be more. We’ll update this page as they come including ads as fast as we can scan and slap ‘em online.

Don’t miss our look at five games that can help prepare you for the hectic shopping pace of Black Friday.

Also check out the Black Friday coverage on sister sites Gadgetell and Appletell. Gadgets and Apple stuff is mm, mmm, good.

Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Black Friday 2009: Kohl’s video game sales
  “The Kohl’s Black Friday 2009 ad has leaked its way onto the internet, so add that to the list that also includes Kmart and Sears. In terms of video game sales, the…” MORE »
• Halo Legends animated short films expand game’s mythology
  ” Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries are taking the Halo universe one step further with a series of computer-generated and anime-styled new short films called Halo Legends. The stories will focus on the origins and history of the Halo universe…” MORE »
• Black Friday 2009: Target sale ad and its video game deals
  “Target’s Black Friday 2009 ad is now out online. The entire ad has been scanned and distributed over the internet. The store typically goes all out for Black Friday and has had quite a few nice sales over the…” MORE »
• Deal of the Day: Buy Wii Fit Plus, get a free case of Hint flavored water
  “Beverage companies have been targeting gamers for a while. Recall Harcos’ Mana Drink, Mountain Dew more than once and, of course, various Bawls brews. The latest beverage endeavor is by Hint Inc., a company that…” MORE »
• Activision Blizzard creates CODE, war veteran support organization
  “Activision Blizzard is creating an organization dedicated to raising awareness on unemployment amongst war veterans. The non-profit foundation, called Call of Duty Endowment (CODE), will focus on raising funds and assisting organizations dedicated to job placement…” MORE »
• Assassin’s Creed 2 extended preview airing during South Park episode
  ” If you’re eagerly anticipating the forthcoming release of Assassin’s Creed 2 and have cable, then you’ll want to watch South Park at 10pm, 9pm Central time on Wednesday, November 11, 2009. Well, technically you don’t want to watch South…” MORE »
• Apple App Store gaming update for the week of November 3 to 9, 2009
  “The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown…” MORE »
• EA to lay off 1500 employees
  “Ouch. Some very difficult news is coming from Gamasutra today, which just announced that Electronic Arts will cut 1500 jobs by April 2010. It’s being called a cost-cutting strategy (as all layoffs are, really), and it comes hot on the…” MORE »
• Opinion: Visually impaired gamer’s suit against Sony may be a bit frivolous
  “A visually impaired gamer named Alexander Stern is suing Sony, Sony Online Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment America for not offering features that make their games accessible for people with visual disabilities. According to Stern, by not including these options, Sony is…” MORE »
• 10 best unintentionally educational games
  ” Video games are often berated for the lack of educational content found in them. They’re often considered a waste of time. But, if you look closely, even games that aren’t slapped with the edutainment label or feature educational material can be…” MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Prepare the laser cannons and bring those shields up this week at the PlayStation Store with this week’s downloadable game Star Trek D.A.C. for $9.99. Based on Paramount Picture’s motion picture movie Star Trek, this game allows players can choose a starship to command (including the U.S.S. Enterprise) from either Starfleet Command or the Romulan Empire. There are three modes players can select: single-player mode, online versus and co-op. It also features music and sound effects from the movie.

Check out Star Trek D.A.C.:

This week’s downloadable PSP game is Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble for $39.99. In this game players control a student named Takashi Sakamoto who wants to rise to the top of juvenile delinquency in Japan as a Kenka Bancho. In the US. we would know these guys as the super cool tough guy in school most student’s either fear, challenge or suck up to. In Japan Takashi must take down all his rivals to include established Banchos during a school trip to Kyouto where all the Banchos from the other schools will eventually meet.

Check out Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble:

Price Drops

• Tank Battles (PS3/Now $6.99)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Pinball Heroes – High Velocity Bowling (PSP/$3.99)
• Pinball Heroes – Hot Shots Golf (PSP/$3.99)
• Pinball Heroes – PAIN (PSP/$3.99)
• Pinball Heroes – UNCHARTED (PSP/$3.99)
• Bubble Trubble (PSP/$4.99)
• PSOne Classic: Command & Conquer: Red Alert (PS3/$5.99)
• Braid (PS3/$14.99)

Free Demos:

• Inferno Pool Demo (PS3/Free)
• NCAA Basketball 10 Demo (PS3/Free)
• MX Vs. ATV Reflex Demo (PS3/Free)
• Star Trek: D-A-C Demo (PS3/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• PAIN Fat Princess Character (PS3/Free)
• Rag Doll Kung Fu Mistress of Mime Character (PS3/Free)
• Rag Doll Kung Fu Shaolin Scarecrow Character (PS3/Free)
• Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce Quest Pack #7 (PSP/Free)
• PAIN Speed Oocher Mode (PS3/$1.99)
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Costume Pack (PS3/$3.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Pack:

• Lenny Kravitz Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz (PS3/$1.99)
• “Lady” by Lenny Kravitz (PS3/$1.99)
• “Let Love Rule” by Lenny Kravitz (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• SpongeBob SquarePants Pack 2 (PS3/$2.99)
Individual Tracks:
• “Employee of the Month” by SpongeBob SquarePants (PS3/99 cents)
• “A Day Like This” by SpongeBob SquarePants (PS3/99 cents)
• “Ridin’ the Hook” by SpongeBob SquarePants (PS3/99 cents)

• White Stripes Pack 1 (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” by White Stripes (PS3/$1.99)
• “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine” by White Stripes (PS3/$1.99)
• “Icky Thump” by White Stripes (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Song Tracks

• “Club Foot” by Kasabian (PS3/$1.99)
• “Smash it Up (Part II)” by The Damned (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “Excuse Me Mister” by No Doubt (PSP/$1.99)
• “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time – Launch Trailer
• Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time – Space Trailer
• Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time – Time Trailer
• Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time – Weapons Trailer
• Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines Teaser Trailer
• The Saboteur Just Getting Started Trailer
• The Saboteur Pre-Order Trailer
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 Limited Edition Trailer
• Star Trek: D-A-C Trailer

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Tekken 6 Lars Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Lilli Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Nina Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Yoshimitsu Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Zafina Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Deep Space Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• Road to China Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• Dita Von Teese Theme 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• Dita Von Teese Theme 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• Dita Von Teese Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Junkyard Girl Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Ratchet & Clank Dynamic Theme (PS3/$2.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation] Site [Star Trek D.A.C.]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

When people think of the Shin Megami Tensei series started by Atlus, they probably first think of the PlayStation versions of Revelations: Persona or Persona 2 as the start of the series. It isn’t their fault, really. After all, for people in North America, that was probably their first encounter with Shin Megami Tensei.

However, the series has been along for much longer than that. It all began with Megami Tensei, which eventually underwent a slight title change and became Shin Megami Tensei. There are entries in the series going back as far as the Famicom, and in Japan the series considered as mainstream as Final Fantasy. Unfortunately, people outside of Japan will never get the opportunity to play through the older entries, unless there’s some sort of port or remake, which is unlikely due to the age of some of the older entries.

Today in Important Importables, we’ll look back at the surprisingly long history of the Shin Megami Tensei games, taking a brief overview of all of the entries in the series. Please bear in mind though, that more recent entries will probably have more detailed descriptions than the older ones.

Megami Tensei / Shin Megami Tensei

While all of the Shin Megami Tensei series and its offshoots tend to get tagged with the Shin Megami Tensei moniker in North America, in Japan only the main series and the miscellaneous offshoots are branded with it.

The earliest games were first person dungeon crawlers and, of course, had the trademark demon partnering system that has appeared in some shape or form in all Shin Megami Tensei games. They also tend to take into account player’s choices to shape the course of the game, take place in either modern times or the future and often have a plot that involves saving the world.

The first Megami Tensei games were made by Namco, and not Atlus. Atlus took over the series with Shin Megami Tensei. Also Shin Megami Tensei: If… is the predecessor to the Persona spinoff series.

These are the main Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei games that have been released:

• Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (Famicom)
• Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II (Famicom)
• Shin Megami Tensei (Super Famicom, Sega CD, PlayStation, GBA)
• Shin Megami Tensei II (Super Famicom, PlayStation, GBA)
• Shin Megami Tensei: If… (Super Famicom, PlayStation) Note: It is the predecessor to the Persona series.
• Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (PS2) Note: It was the first entry in the Shin Megami Tensei line released in North America and had Devil May Cry‘s Dante cameo appearance.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (DS) Note: A US release has just been confirmed.

Persona

The Persona is probably the Shin Megami Tensei branch best known outside of Japan. There have been five entries in this series, and while they the originals featured the first person dungeon crawling and demon negotiation, the series has progressed to focus on high schoolers who suddenly develop the ability to use Personas, who resemble many of the demons from the other games, to save the world.

North America has actually seen releases of all the Persona games so far, with the exception of one, Persona 2: Innocent Sin. Given the popularity of the franchise, perhaps we’ll one day see that game in English as well.

These are the Persona games that have been released:

• Revelations: Persona/Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PlayStation, PSP)
• Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PlayStation) Note: This is the only Persona game to never receive an English release.
• Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PlayStation)
• Persona 3 (PS2, PSP)
• Persona 4 (PS2)

Devil Summoner

The Devil Summoner Shin Megami Tensei spinoff series has seen a North American release as well, but hasn’t achieved the same level of fame. It technically began life as an official part of the main Shin Megami Tensei series, but then developed into its own spin-off series.

The Devil Summoner games all share some common themes - they’re set in modern, or close to modern, Japan and typically follow the adventures of a main detective protagonist with the ability to summon and talk to demons, who’s investigating some kind of dire misuse of demons. The first two games didn’t get released outside of Japan, and the second two games did.

These are the Devil Summoner games that have been released:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (Sega Saturn, PSP)
• Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (Sega Saturn, PlayStation)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (PS2) Note: This was the first Devil Summoner game to be released in English.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2)

Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible

The Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible series are the most distantly related to the other games in the Shin Megami Tensei family. They are RPGs, but typically take place in a fantasy setting, have players recruiting and fusing monsters instead of demons and are created for a wider audience that includes children. Basically, they’re toned down versions of the main series of games.

Here’s a list of all the Last Bible games released.

• Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible/Revelations: The Demon Slayer (Game Boy, GBC, Game Gear) Note: It is the only Last Bible game that was released in English.
• Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II (Game Boy, GBC)
• Another Bible (Game Boy)
• Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible III (Super Famicom)
• Last Bible Special (Game Gear)

Majin Tensei

This Japan-only Shin Megami Tensei series spin-off is basically a look at what would happen if Fire Emblem combined with Shin Megami Tensei. It’s a strategic RPG that involves the player hiring, fusing and battling with demons instead of typical strategic RPG units. None of the games ever received an English-language release, but both recently had PC versions released.

There are the Majin Tensei games available:

• Majin Tensei (Super Famicom, Windows PC)
• Majin Tensei: Spiral Nemesis (Super Famicom, Windows PC)

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children

Similar to the Last Bible series, Devil Children is another all ages spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei. The main entries in the series are very similar to Pokemon and Digimon, revolving around heroes and heroines who are half human, half demon and recruit, raise and battle monsters. Also, like Digimon and Pokemon, there are multiple variations of the same game.

The series is so popular in Japan that inspired two anime and two manga series.

Here are the Devil Children games you can find:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Black Book, White Book and Red Book (GBC, PlayStation)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Light Book and Dark Book/DemiKids: Light and Dark (GBA) Note: This is the only entry in the Devil Children series to be released in English.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Puzzle de Call! (GBA) Note: Unlike the other Devil Children games, this is a puzzle game.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Fire Book and Ice Book (GBA)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Messiah Riser (GBA) Note: This entry is a strategic RPG.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

The Digital Devil Saga games are RPGs like the majority of Shin Megami Tensei games, but this spin-off series has some unique hallmarks. Characters transform into a demon form, rather than being able to have demons fight at their side and be fused. The game also takes place far in the future, after the apocolyse, and focuses on the battle among tribes fighting to try and reach Nirvana.

There are two Digital Devil Saga games available, and both received US releases:

• Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (PS2)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2)

Miscellaneous spin-offs

There have been many Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs, but most of them have ended up as one-shot deals and didn’t spawn a series like Persona or Devil Summoner. Since they don’t really fit into the other three categories all that well, it’s easier to just place them here. Most are RPGs of some sort, like the Shin Megami Tensei staples, but occasionally there will be one that slips into another genre, like strategic RPG or action.

These are the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei games that have been released:

• Jack Bros. no Meiro de Hiho/Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy)
• Shin Megami Tensei: NINE (Xbox)
• Megami Tensei Online Imagine/Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine (Windows PC)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (DS)

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews the DC-IE Import Enabler for the Dreamcast.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last weekImportant Importables listed 100 interesting games you can only play if you import in honor of its 100th column.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

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The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Short list this week folks, not a whole lot to pick from but your best gaming app bets for this week are Jelly Car 2, EGO City Invasion, RPG Quest Minimae and Anagram Fun. Maybe next week will bring a more plentiful bounty.

What’s Free

EGO City Invasion Free
“EGO City is under attack. You and your jet-propelled tank are its last line of defense. Using strategy, cunning and a mind-blowing array of weaponry, you will save EGO City from destruction.”

iShotMino
NOTE: Description was in Japanese, but this looks like a very basic vertical scrolling shooter.

Climber - Action Heroes EP3 Lite
“You are the shadow hero stuck in the bottom of a destroyed city. Use your claw to climb back to the free sky.”

invaders 3D
“Tilt your hand to move your ship, press onscreen button to shoot aliens.”

Bayou Beats
“Play this rhythmical music game to meet characters from the upcoming Disney film, the Princess & the Frog, and hear the brand-new soundtrack! Tap along with the music to get high scores and unlock special content. Game also includes extra features like animated character clips and the just-released Ne-Yo “Never Knew I Needed” music video!”

Oil Tycoon 2
“Game “Oil Tycoon 2” is a development of this genre, where you have to lay a pipeline from sources to consumers of ready-made elements by their rotation in opposite directions.”

What’s New

Action

CYEARS ShootingSimulator: Price: $2.99
“Pilot through many different types of missions and survive through attacks from numerous types of enemies! The results and play data can be shared with other players through our ranking and Twitter!”

Rope Raider: Price: $0.99
“Choose one of the three different game modes and plunge down from your trusty old hot air balloon. Use your grappling hook with accuracy and time your swings right to gain speed and reach new heights. Immersive city filled with atmosphere amplifies the entertaining experience. Customize your gaming experience with three different game modes and three different difficulty levels. Rope Raider will get you swinging in no time!”

Major Warhead: Price: $0.99
“Major Warhead is a blend of real time strategy and tower defense game. Your objective is to defend your military outpost in the desert of Al Dusra. Protect your base from hoard of incoming enemies that include soldiers, suicide bombers, rocket launchers, Tanks, Jeeps, All Terrain Vehicles, Armored Personal Carriers loaded with soldiers. Most of your soldiers have been shipped off and you are left to defend your base with one Apache and two artillery. See if you can survive the waves of enemy who specialize in targeting your individual units and buildings. Protect the oil derrick to ensure enemy units don’t hide behind the smoke. Save your helipad so you can spawn more apaches when they are brought down. Watch out for the tanks. Try to win without loosing any of your buildings.”

Swing Boy: Price: $0.99
“The play is the easiest game ever. When the ball appears, tap anywhere of the screen to swing the bat. But watch out. there is not only the ball but also other things you should not swing. If you hit more and more balls, the ball appears faster, and many different objects will appear. Can you play to challenge world’s greatest players?. The score will send to server and you can compare your record with others.”

Adventure

Gnome’s Treasure: Price: $1.99
“Wandering around levels, gnome is looking for precious gems to gather into his sack. On the gnome’s journey to his cherished goal through mysterious dungeons with horrible monsters guarding flawless gems concealed inside, he is certain to encounter dozens of strange worlds and discover magnificent mysteries. The gnome can either runaway or elude the guarding monsters. Evading monsters implies two possible actions. The gnome can either dig a pit or drive the monster into a dead end. The gnome’s primary objective is the key. The only way to get the key is to collect all of the gems on the level. The key is then used to open the door and sneak into the next level. The game consists of 40 levels with gradually increasing difficulty.

Arcade

Angel Spoiler: Price: $2.99
“Angel Spoiler is a shooting arcade game which Devil(user) keeps Soul from going to Heaven by shooting arrows.”

Board

Crosslogic Ultimate: Price: $0.99
“Crosslogic, also known as Nonogram or Griddlers are picture logic puzzles in which cells in a grid have to be colored or left blank according to numbers given at the side of the grid to reveal a hidden picture. In this puzzle type, the numbers measure how many unbroken lines of filled-in squares there are in any given row or column.”

Card

NOTHING

Casino

NOTHING

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

My Firefighter: Price: $1.99
“Explore the fire engine as it heads to the fire and see if you can make the ladder go up, the wheels turn and many other hidden surprises. Touch the siren and hear it roar. Push the horn and listen as it blasts out its warning. Then you can try to put out the house fire by positioning the Firefighter’s hose up or down and spraying water. But wait, it starts back up again keeping the action going.”

Family

Just Me and My Dad: Price: $3.99
““Just Me and My Dad” is an interactive picture book based on the popular children’s book by Mercer Mayer, featuring Little Critter, one of the most beloved characters of all time. Follow along as Little Critter reads you the story of what happened when he went camping with his dad. Then play with each page of the story by touching the screen and discover hidden animations. Surprise animation scenes are hidden all over each page of the story. Touch each word of the story and Little Critter sounds it out, reading the word back to you. Little Critter will help you learn to read.”

Miximen: Price: $1.99
“With beautifully designed characters that you shake up and spin back together, or mix up even more, decorate, save to your photo library and send to friends. Wow! What strange mixed up miximen can you create? …oh yes, and kids love it too!”

Music

Rock Band Trivia Quiz: Price: $0.99
“How well do you know your famous rock band trivia?”

Rhythm Stage: Price: $3.99
“Just tap the screen to the rhythm!”

Puzzle

BamBoy: Price: $0.99
“BamBoy is a fun, addictive, strategic action/puzzle plat-former game. The goal is to collect all the fruits by maneuvering through the deep forest environment. “Bam Bam” to kill the enemy by creating a pit hole and escape through the exit ladder. Take the “BamBoy” through 23 progressing levels and achieve a new high score.”

Racing

Ground Effect: Price: $3.99
“Ground Effect is one of the most fun, exhilarating, addictive & visually impressive games to arrive at the App Store. Think flying, think driving, think racing, then think again! Skim land and seacapes in your high performance ekranoplan at low altitude and breakneck speed, supported by a cushion of air.”

Role Playing

RPG Quest - Minimae: Price: $2.99
“After years of peace, the offspring of evil has arisen. Prove yourself, brave knight! Seek the 8 rings of power and bring peace to our land once again! RPG Quest - Minimæ is a neo-retro RPG in the tradition of classic 8-bit RPGs. Discover a large world filled with creatures to battle, towns to explore and secrets to uncover.”

Simulation

Space Master: Price: $1.99
“You’ve guided planes and mastered boats. Yet in Space, you need more skills to claim success!
Are you ready to engage in the challenging career of a Space Master? Land your space vessels on five different planets and secure Earth’s resources. Consider distance, speed and angle of each ship, then draw a line to fire the thrusters. Catch a falling ship until it hovers, move it sideways, let it fall freely before giving it a final burst to land safely, all triggered with you drawing a single line. Before you know it, this natural and unique approach will get you conducting an elegant and beautiful ballet in space.”

Armored Train Charlie: Price: $0.99
“Armored trains aren’t available to everyone, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t pretend to be a commander of one. Armored Train Charlie is a simulator of a war zone with 6 different missions. Navigate through the network of rails and deliver supplies, while defending your train from tanks, military jeeps and cannons. Attach loose wagons by bumping into them. Detach wagons at designated areas by sliding them with finger. Tap railroad switches to change your route and explore the playground.”

Sports

NOTHING

Strategy

NOTHING

Trivia

NOTHING

Word

Speed Scrabble: Price: $1.99
“Speed Scrabble, also known as Take Two!, is a fun, fast-paced word game where you try to form connected words from your available letters as quickly as possible, in a race against your opponents, or the clock. Form words and new letters arrive. Incorporate the new letters and win the round. The game can be played offline in single player mode, or test yourself against other players by joining the online community.”

Hebrew Hangman: Price: $0.99
“Hebrew Hangman has many different categories ranging from car makes through local singers to chemistry and special categories just for Hebrew speakers.”

Anagram Fun: Price: $0.99
“Anagram Fun takes a word, scrambles it, and challenges you to solve the scramble by rearranging the letters in your virtual letter rack. There may be more than one valid solution!”

iPhone and iPod Touch Links

Appletell: [Appletell reviews three accidentally educational games for iPhone, iPod touch] [Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup - November 6, 2009] [Free Apps roundup for November 6th, 2009]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Video games are often berated for the lack of educational content found in them. They’re often considered a waste of time. But, if you look closely, even games that aren’t slapped with the edutainment label or feature educational material can be teaching valuable skills to the people playing them.

Gamertell’s put together a brief list of some video games that weren’t created with the developers aiming to educate the masses, but can end up helping players build some valuable skills. With some, the educational value is pretty obvious, but with others you probably could spend hours playing without even realizing you’ve learned something from it.

1. Bookworm Adventures & Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 (PC): You have to create words from letter tiles in your possession to defeat opponents. As you get further into the game, more difficult letters tend to pop up. It boosts you vocabulary, and helps better your spelling skills, without you even knowing it.
2. Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village & Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS): Both Professor Layton games get players thinking critically. They help boost math and reasoning skills, and also encourage creativity. Unless, of course, you visit a blog like Professor Layton and the Curious Village Walkthrough.
3. Scribblenauts (DS): Here’s another vocabulary booster. When you know the game is capable of recognizing, and creating, objects for over 20,000 words, it makes you want to plug in as many as you can to see if the game will recognize it and what kind of items the words will spawn.
4. Pokemon (DS): An unusual series you probably didn’t expect to see here. However, Pokemon is a great way to get kids reading without them realizing it, and also is a good way to help develop patience and reasoning skills. After all, players have to know the weaknesses and strengths of each kind of pokemon.
5. Wii Sports (Wii): Its a great way of developing good hand-eye coordination.
6. Line Rider (PC, DS, Wii): While many people probably just tinker around with Line Rider for fun, or to see the little sledder crash, it also can teach some physics lessons along the way.
7. Final Fantasy (NES, SNES, GBA, PC, PS1, PS2, DS, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360): Like Pokemon, it gets players reading. Plus, the language typically isn’t dumbed down in the games, so players could be building their vocabulary as well. Critical thinking and reasoning skills can also come into play when players need to figure out how to defeat tricky bosses or overcome the occasional challenging mission.
8. Half-Minute Hero (PSP): It’s a surprisingly good way to teach players about proper time management. While you can usually pay an in-game character to extend the 30 second deadline in each mission, you also have to figure in how to raise money to extend the deadline or reach that character in time.
9. Space Channel 5 & Space Channel 5 Part 2 (Dreamcast, PS2): It’s a great way to learn to accurately follow directions and boost memory skills. After all, you have to repeat the motions back exactly the way you heard them if you want to succeed.
10. Patapon & Patapon 2 (PSP): Both games help players learn to stick to and follow a rhythmic pattern and memorize patterns. If you don’t memorize the correct patterns and follow the beat, your Patapon warriors won’t do anything.

If you can think of any other games that could be unintentionally educational, let us know in the comments!

Read [The New York Times] Also Read [Gamertell]

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This week’s first featured downloadable game is Military Madness: Nectaris for $9.99 on the PS3. This remake of the original Military Madness for the TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment System back in 1986, features two opposing forces battling for supremacy on the moon. Players choose a commander for their Army and strategically use up to 20 unique abilities by plotting their attacks on an overhead map and watch the battles unfold in a cinematic view of the action. Up to four players can choose the maps they wish to fight on in multiplayer mode, set the number of turns and time limit for each game, and customize their armies. This game allows controller share for players who don’t have enough controllers for everyone playing on the same console. Check out Military Madness: Nectaris for the PS3:

The next downloadable game this week is Numblast for $4.99 for the PS3 and PSP. In this game a young boy accidentally changed his friend into a monkey while trying to solve the Numblast stones. Players must help the boy change his friend back by lining up the correct stones together. Check it out:

Price Drops

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine Weapon X Arena Pack (PS3/Now $4.99)
• TV Show King Price Drop (PS3/Now $6.99)
• Mercury Bundle 2 Sale (PS3/Now $9.99)
Bundle includes:
• Archer Maclean’s Mercury
• Mercury Meltdown

Qore Subscription

• Qore Episode 18: November 2009 (PS3/$2.99)
• Qore Annual Subscription: November 2009 (PS3/$24.99)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• PSOne Classic: Gex (PS3/PSP/$5.99)
• Crimson Room: Reverse (PSP/$7.99)
• Creature Defense (PSP/$7.99)
• Ben 10: Protector of Earth (PSP/$14.99)
• Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground (PSP/$14.99)
• Ben 10 Alien Force (PSP/$19.99)
• Ghostbusters The Video Game (PSP/$29.99)
• Star Wars Clone Wars: Republic Heroes (PSP/$29.99)
• Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (PSP/$29.99)
• Class of Heroes (PSP/$39.99)
• Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP/$39.99)

Free Demos:

• Trine Demo (PS3/Free)
• Military Madness: Nectaris Demo (PS3/Free)
• MotorStorm Arctic Edge Demo (PSP/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• LittleBigPlanet Anniversary Costume (PS3/Free)
• LittleBigPlanet Spaceman Costume (PS3/Free)
• Brutal Legend Tears of the Hextadon Map Pack (PS3/Free)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Character Compatibilty Pack (PS3/Free)
• Topatoi: Arcade Style Pack (PS3/Free)
• Way of the Samurai 3 Weapons DLC (PS3/Free)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Juggernaut Playable Character (PS3/$1.99)
• Dragon Age: Origins Warden’s Keep (PS3/$6.99)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Character and Mission Pack (PS3/$9.99)
• Dragon Age: Origins Stone Prisoner (PS3/$14.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• Nirvana Bleach Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “About a Girl” by Nirvana (PS3/$1.99)
• “Blew” by Nirvana (PS3/$1.99)
• “School” by Nirvana (PS3/$1.99)

• Foo Fighters Pack 03 (PS3/$6.99)
Individual Tracks:
• “Best of You” by Foo Fighters (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters (PS3/$1.99)
• “Wheels” by Foo Fighters (PS3/$1.99)
• “Word Forward” by Foo Fighters (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Song Tracks

• “Fake Friends” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “Toxicity” by System of a Down (PSP/$1.99)
• “Waking the Demon” by Bullet for My Valentine (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Pulse 11/5 Edition (PS3/PSP/Free)
• PlayStation 3 TV Commercial – “Candle” (PS3/PSP/Free)
• PlayStation 3 TV Commercial – “Montage” (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Numblast Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars “Out For Revenge” Video (PSP/Free)
• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Trailer (PSP/Free)
• 2 for 1 Mercury Bundle Trailer (PSP/Free)
• God of War Collection Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed 2 Dev Diary 4 (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age: Origins City Elf Origin Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age: Origins Dwarf Commoner Origin Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age: Origins Mage Origin Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NIER TGS 2009 Trailer (PS3/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Tekken 6 – Returning Characters Theme (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 – The Fight Card Theme (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 – The New Faces Theme (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Alisa Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Asuka Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Hwoarang Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Jin Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Kazuya Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10 Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• Let’s FIFA 10 Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10 Blanco Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10 Rooney Wallpaper (PS3/Free)
• FIFA Soccer 10 Rooney Wallpaper 2 (PS3/Free)
• Lemmings PSP Theme (PSP/Free)
• Roadkill – Animal PSP Theme (PSP/$1.49)
• Roadkill – Human PSP Theme (PSP/$1.49)
• Roadkill Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Family Guy Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• DarkMatter Quadrilogy PSP Theme Pack (PSP/$4.49)
• DarkMatter Quadrilogy Theme Pack (PS3/$5.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• 28,275 PSPgos sold on the November 1, 2009, launch in Japan
  ” Famitsu featured an interesting news story pertaining to the PSPgo today. The system launched November 1, 2009 in Japan, and Enterbrain already has the first day sales figures for Sony’s latest incarnation of the PSP. Brace yourself - only…” MORE »
• Apple App Store gaming update for the week of October 26 to November 2, 2009
  “The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown…” MORE »
• DS bundle deals in the Toys ‘R Us 2009 Big Toy Book
  “The Toys ‘R Us Big Toy Book ad arrived in this past Sunday’s (November 1, 2009) paper, and while it is filled with a number of big and pertinent video game releases, there aren’t really that many…” MORE »
• Aldi ad for November 4, 2009 offers a $249.99 Wii bundle deal
  “The Aldi ad for November 4-10, 2009 has a pretty nice Wii bundle deal, if you’re looking to pick one up for a friend or family member this holiday season. The custom bundle is billed as a Nintendo Wii…” MORE »
• Toys R Us ad for November 6-7, 2009 features multiple game bargains
  “If you check your mailboxes, you may find a Toys ‘R Us circular proclaiming that a massive sale is going to be held Friday, November 6, 2009 from 9am to 12am and Saturday, November 7,…” MORE »
• Latest Persona 3 Portable details revealed at AtlusNet
  “AtlusNet.jp updated recently with many new details about Persona 3 Portable, the PSP port/remake of Persona 3, which came out November 1, 2009. The most obvious and talked about addition is the ability to play as a heroine…” MORE »
• Nintendo downloads for November 2, 2009
  ”  There’s a large assortment of downloadable games available today for Wii and DSi owners. There are three new WiiWare games, two Virtual Console classics and three DSiWare games. Not…” MORE »
• Advertorial: Binverse, the next evolution In downloads
  “Experience what it’s like to download at unlimited speeds from a massive collection of over 800 Terabytes of user uploads. You’ll max out your Internet connection downloading a file in minutes that would take hours using other technologies.  Binverse utilizes 256-bit…” MORE »
• Doom cover artist Don Ivan Punchatz dies at 73
  “The man behind one of the most well-known game covers in history died October 22, 2009. Don Ivan Punchatz created art for National Lampoon, Playboy and National Geographic during his decades-long career.  He suffered a heart attack October 11, 2009,…” MORE »
• Gamertell Review: Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga for Wii
  “Title: Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Price: $39.99 System: Wii Release Date: September 29, 2009 Publisher (Developer): Xseed Games (K2) ESRB Rating: “Teen” for alcohol reference, blood, fantasy violence MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

This first week of November 2009 brings us the biggest update we have seen in awhile. Tons of games for you guys and gals to choose from including Virtual Villagers 3, Word Spin, and DOOM Classic. If none of those do it for you, there are still plenty of other games to choose from.

What’s Free

BomberDove Lite
“BomberDove is a fun and addicting shooting game with a comic touch! Have you ever been bombed by a dove? Now’s your chance to get your revenge. Shoot the doves to score as many point as you can within the time limit on Timed Mode.”

Fantasy Warrior: Good & Evil Free
“Good or Evil? What side will you choose? Step into a world of heroes, villains, and legends as you join this epic conflict in Fantasy Warrior. Fight for good through 5 quests with sword in hand as you get a taste of this epic adventure. Purchase the Full Version and journey through a vast world of deep dungeons, scorching deserts, and misty marshes as you make your mark by playing both sides of the story. Crusade for good as Rento the valiant warrior or fight for evil as Vera the beautiful, but deadly vampire countess! Fulfill your destiny on quests to advance the powers of light – or darkness – as you enjoy a massive fantasy adventure full of hours of gameplay!”

Adventure Zones Lite
“Do you like simple but strategic games such as “Chess” or “Reversi” that competing with your friends? Or, do you like “Solitaire” type of game that you play solo? If then, you will love our “Adventure Zones”. Measure your wits in the adventure world. As a Treasure Hunter, you will have to collect various treasures throughout the world. You can obtain treasure by linking the block roads. Rules are simple, but circumstance changes simultaneously depends on what strategy you have. Make the game yours while competing with your rivals.”

Chupacabra Killer LITE
“A Chupacabra is on the loose, sucking the blood from animals and leaving them for dead! Kill as many animals as you, as fast as you can.. But watch out for the snipers, they are trying to capture you before you can mangle the innocent little prey. Even a blood thirsty Chupacabra has difficulty catching prey sometimes, so there are awesome weapons to pick up and use against them. Hear the prey scream and the blood splatter as you sink your teeth into them!”

Transylvania Adventure
“Princess Sabrina needs you! Come play the classic adventure game Transylvania™, the perfect escape for Halloween! You will wander a haunted landscape and face a howling werewolf, a sinister vampire, and other supernatural foes on your quest to find and rescue the princess!”

Battle Zone 1942 Lite
“Inspired by the classic Seawolf, Battle Zone 1942 is a fast-paced arcade action game coupled with fresh innovative gameplay features. for fans of the Original Seawolf, as well as old and new players to the action game genre, this game is for you!”

Squared! Free
“Squared! Free is Quick and Addictive Arcade Action! This is the ad supported full version. How to Play: Drag the center black square to collect other black squares! Pick up the black circle for a power-up. Watch out for red squares! It’s easy to learn, hard to master! Compete on the worldwide leaderboard featuring your country flag. The perfect two-minute time killer.”

ArtemisLite
“Artemis is a vertical scrolling shoot’em’up game! Keldor - the emperor of Morag built a new fleet and is trying to conquer the galaxy once again! With your modern R4000-2 space ship you can try to destroy a crucial part of Keldors evil robot fleet!”

Sock Slider
“Sock Slider is an addictive pick-up-and-play game that simulates the physics and fun of running and sliding in your socks. The objectives are simple- either run and slide across the floor as far as you can, or see how many times you can slide into the circle.”

Monster Ball Lite
“Monster Ball is a turn based strategy game that builds on the simplicity of checker without getting as complex (*ehm* and boring) as chess. This lite version features 3 of the 16 levels in the full version, annihilation game mode and single player gameplay.”

Backgammon NJ Lite
“Backgammon NJ Lite is fully-functional with no ads. The only difference from the full version is that the lite version includes Manual Rolls only. That is, you’ll need to roll real dice and enter your rolls into the game. With this lite version, you’ll be able to clearly see all of the features of the game: how well the AI plays, the look and feel of the game, how Hints & Tutor mode can help you improve your game, etc. If you like Backgammon NJ Lite, get the full version for automatically generated dice rolls and all the same great features! Backgammon NJ is a full-featured backgammon game which uses an advanced, neural network-based, artificial intelligence. Players of all skill levels can match wits against a computer opponent or play against another person in 2-player mode on a single device. Discriminating players will appreciate how well the AI plays. It uses a neural network trained on millions of positions, a bearoff database, and a match equity table to achieve strong gameplay that will challenge even expert players.”

Gas Tycoon 2 Lite
“If you have already played in the classic pipe puzzle game, such as “Pipe Mania” or “Pipe Dream”, then you’re familiar with this genre. Game “Gas Tycoon 2” is a development of this genre, where you have to lay a pipeline from sources to consumers of ready-made elements by their rotation in opposite directions. If you have already played in the first part of the “Gas Tycoon”, then you’ll love this sequel. We tried to make the game more interesting, more beautiful, and created more and more new levels.”

Falling Sands Free 2
“Falling Sands Free 2 is the sequel to the hit simulation game Falling Sands. Remember the classic sand games found on the web way back when? Now you can enjoy it on the go with Falling Sands Free 2! There’s no objectives in Falling Sands Free 2, you simply choose a particle (“sand”) type, the size of the brush, and draw along the screen with a swipe. As the sands mix, they each interact differently allowing for some neat visuals. Make a calming water based game, or go destructive with smelter, fire, and plants! Falling Sands Free 2 fully supports the accelerometer allowing interesting moments when you tip your device. Also supported are custom backgrounds including support for your photo album.”

Perfect Balance: Lost Trials
“Rotate and stack shapes, and try to achieve perfect balance in this physics puzzle! The third Perfect Balance game for iPhone & iPod Touch with 30 new and unique levels. And this time it’s free! Play this and you’ll see why both Perfect Balance: Harmony and Perfect Balance: Inferno have gotten great reviews… Perfect Balance was released as a Flash 9 game at the beginning of 2009, and over 7 million players have enjoyed its challenges after the game hit the biggest Flash games sites in the Internet world wide. If you like games like Tetris, Topple, 99 Bricks, Tower Bloxx and Super Stacker, you just might love Perfect Balance! Girls play it, too!”

Explosion! FREE
“Explosion! FREE is a skill game that will try out your memory, reflexes and timing in an attempt to defuse a dangerous bomb, before it esplodes! Thanks to the e-Defuser™ in fact, you can enter certain codes, using the keypad, in order to prevent the explosion. Find the highest number of hidden words, organized into different categories, as fast as you can… but be careful! Guess each word before time runs out, otherwise the bomb will esplode, ending your game! It won’t be an easy task to decipher the sequence of 50 hidden words, because after each error (wrong letter) the timer will increase its speed, getting you closer and closer to a very explosive epilogue!”

What’s New

Action

DOOM Classic: Price: $6.99
“Welcome to Hell! Prepare to relive the First Person Shooter that defined a generation with the legendary original DOOM - now on the iPhone. As a space marine stationed on the planet Mars, you are all that stands between the armies of Hell and their invasion of planet Earth! DOOM Classic includes the original three episodes as well as Episode Four, Thy Flesh Consumed, spread across 36 levels of non-stop carnage and action. Choose from customizable control schemes, all designed by id Software co-founder and industry legend, John Carmack. Wield unforgettable weapons like the Chainsaw and the BFG 9000 while fighting through notorious monsters like the Imp, Cacodemon, and Hell Knight! In DOOM Classic, multiplayer action is reborn! With a wireless connection, battle up to four players in Deathmatch mode, or work together cooperatively and fight back against the demons of Hell.”

Amy’s Dessert Shop: Price: $0.99
“Running a dessert shop is the dream of Amy since childhood and she is going to make her dream come true. In order to raise capital and gain experience, Aunt Mary has helped her with getting several jobs so she can earn more money. Through referrals, Amy managed to get 3 jobs at the same time working at a pancake shop, an ice-cream shop and a cake shop to gain more experience. She is working very hard and learning as much as she can. She believes she can run her own dessert shop in the very near future. Amy’s Dessert Shop is a time management game which offers fast paced action and innovative game play. Player will play as shop owner and efficiently serve 60 kinds of desserts. In order to satisfy each customer’s different needs, the player has to response fast enough to manage different orders.”

Blood Beach: Price: $2.99
“You are hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned and have no option or hope except to fight and win. You are alone. Just you, your guns, and the thin stretch of what you call Blood Beach stand between you and the whole of the Japanese Imperial Navy… Blood Beach is an authentic WW2 sim in the classic arcade style. You are the lone defender of a remote listening post in the Solomon islands. While you have an impressive arsenal including the M2 BMG, Bofors 40mm, and of course your Thompson SMG, the Imperial Japanese Navy will throw everything they can muster at you, “Zeros”, “Bettys” , even Nagato class battleships in their methodical and relentless push to recapture the Solomon’s.”

Jean’s Boutique: Price: $2.99
“Jean’s Boutique Time Management Game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Manage your own virtual Jean’s Boutique. Run your own Jean’s Boutique, a great fashion game combined with the fun of serving customers. To make it in the fast-paced world of fashion, Jean will need to be fast on her feet, dedicated to her customers, wise in her upgrades. For fast fashion fun, there’s no place like Jean’s Boutique!”

Fantasy Warrior: Good & Evil: Price: $4.99
“Good or Evil? What side will you choose? Step into a world of heroes, villains, and legends as you join this epic conflict in Fantasy Warrior. Journey through a vast world of deep dungeons, scorching deserts, and misty marshes as you make your mark by playing both sides of the story. Crusade for good as Rento the valiant warrior or fight for evil as Vera the beautiful, but deadly vampire countess! Fulfill your destiny on quests to advance the powers of light – or darkness – as you enjoy a massive fantasy adventure full of hours of gameplay!”

SUSHI-DO: Price: $0.99
“SUSHI-DO” is an unprecedented action puzzle game. The sense of speed that kept the flick operation that is one of the characteristics of iPhone/iPod touch alive is a game to overflow. The stage is a sushi shop of EDO period. It is a fight of three SAMURAI who have the appetite without exhausted and workman of the sushi.”

Black Eyed Zombies: Price: $1.99
“The Zombies are out tonight! They only have one goal - kill you. You only have one goal - kill them. Blast them down while dodging the ghouls and goblins. Don’t let the bats and ghosts knock you down. Earn bigger weapons by catching the falling skulls. Earn additional life by catching cake dropped by the scooter girl. Don’t let the Zombie lawn mower run you down. Kill the devil beasts and win the game! Listen to our Zombie killing music or start your iTunes with something good from Nine Inch Nails while you splatter Zombies.”

Taxi Fight!: Price: $0.99
“Under the busy city lights, Taxi Fight! puts you in a quick race against time and traffic to catch a cab. Just tap a waiting passenger, then tap any available taxi to get them hustling on their way. The more passengers you get into free cabs, the more fares your taxi company earns. But wouldn’t you know it – the more success you have, the faster the cabs speed along the city streets, making them a real challenge to chase down. If your passengers have to wait too long for a cab, they’ll literally explode in rage. And if one of them is run over, game over!”

Adventure

Adventure Zones: Price: $0.99
“Do you like simple but strategic games such as “Chess” or “Reversi” that competing with your friends? Or, do you like “Solitaire” type of game that you play solo? If then, you will love our “Adventure Zones”. Measure your wits in the adventure world. As a Treasure Hunter, you will have to collect various treasures throughout the world. You can obtain treasure by linking the block roads. Rules are simple, but circumstance changes simultaneously depends on what strategy you have. Make the game yours while competing with your rivals.”

Aether Fighter: Price: $0.99
“Aether Fighter is a 2D shooting game in the “shoot’em up” style of arcade games like Galaga and Space Invader.You need to fight a space army,levels get harder and harder,your main challenge is surviving and useing the cannon to bring down as many invaders as you can in order to defeat the invasion. This is inspired on classic arcade games with updated graphics and sound.It also leverages the unique iPhone user interface to make the game even funier. You can tap anywhere on the screen to shoot and use the accelerometer to control your cannon. Save the world and have fun!”

Alice in Bomberland: Price: $1.99
“From the designer/programmer of the hit game Topple, and the visual artist from Braid, Sonic Boom presents Alice in Bomberland! Alice in Bomberland brings a new spin to the classical stories and characters from legendary author Lewis Carroll. Help Alice collect the missing pages of her story as she tries to outlast the explosive attacks of the fantasy world that is Bomberland. Don’t worry though; you’ll come across fantastic powerups to help you on your way through this bizarre world. See you down the rabbit hole!”

MarsRover: Price: $0.99
“Take a perilous journey across Martian landscape in this unique platform, physics game built specifically for the iPhone. Navigate your space AV over challenging terrains while avoiding destruction by evil Martians, land mines, wicked projectiles, or even falling into bottomless chasms. Marsrover is a fun addictive game with original graphics and stunning effects. Particle explosions set off by landmines and missiles will have your adrenaline glands on overdrive. Your AV’s shocks recoil to absorb ground collisions on this rough terrain. Tilting your device to control speed. Drive slowly over rough surface to prevent rollovers. Using the trusty hand brake for emergency stop will ensure you stay alive. Have fun exploring Mars! Check out video samples at www.redskygames.com”

Chupacabra Killer: Price: $0.99
“A Chupacabra is on the loose, sucking the blood from animals and leaving them for dead! Kill as many animals as you, as fast as you can.. But watch out for the snipers, they are trying to capture you before you can mangle the innocent little prey. Even a blood thirsty Chupacabra has difficulty catching prey sometimes, so there are awesome weapons to pick up and use against them. Hear the prey scream and the blood splatter as you sink your teeth into them!”

Ocean Hunters: Price: $0.99
“The ocean flows with many treasures. Do you wanna experience a ocean-hunter’s life? You may choose a character from two to start your expedition. Come On! As a ocean-hunter, you need to work hard to unlock the piscary. And then catch the fishes, search for the treasures as many as you can. The expedition through the seas was fraught with challenges and dangers. You may learn some skills to strengthen yourself.”

Totemo: Price: $0.99
“Unloose the spirit. Break the spell. TOTEMO is a game designed to soothe your mind and train your brain. Uncover the mystery hidden between the realms in a unique puzzle game. Travel to enchanted places of the past with your witch doctor guide and solve over 60 logic tasks. Play at your own pace. Think hard and weight carefully your next move, or just stroke your moves intuitively and let the solution emerge in front of your eyes. Play the survival mode for extra challenge, make your stand against the time and write your name into the on-line leaderboards.”

Hamster Hunt: Price: $0.99
“When Cute Attacks - An ill-fated experiment leaves rampaging mutant hamsters out for blood. Now the mad scientist has to bring out his super weapons to stop these killer hamsters before they overrun the world!”

Arcade

Big Buck Hunter Pro: Price: $2.99
“No confusing navigation controls or disorienting scope work. Just intuitive arcade fun with the replayability you have come to expect from Big Buck Hunter Pro. Simple concept, challenging execution: shoot the three biggest whitetail bucks you can find (per site) without hitting any does. But be careful—innocent does and crafty critters will try to distract your keen hunter’s eye at every step. With a combination of kill distance, impact location (where you hit the deer), and number of shots for the kill, a skilled hunter can achieve Big Buck Hunter glory with higher scores to flaunt on the networked leaderboards. Big Buck Hunter Pro also features integration into the BBHP arcade network allowing players to track their own personal Arcade Leaderboards and Hunting Party statistics right from their iPhone or iPod touch.”

Squared!: Price: $0.99
“Squared! is Quick and Addictive Arcade Action! How to Play: Drag the center black square to collect other black squares! Watch out for red squares! Pick up the black circle for power-up. It’s easy to learn, hard to master! Compete on the worldwide leaderboard featuring your country flag. The perfect two-minute time killer.”

MoneyTalks: Wealth Simulation: Price: $2.99
“With this game you will be able to change your routine insights on the money, bank account balance or cold cash. As soon as you cross the “poverty line” in the game you cross it in sensational world that keeps the very secret of dissonance between your mind and reality. The reality decrees that when you change your feelings, your profits change as well! The more you are “in contact” with the big money in your mind, the more you feel it is real. Gaining the power of habit to think differently about money opens the door to riches. Ease your doubts and try for yourself with the magical MoneyTalks game!”

Crazy Neighb: Price: $1.99
“Ever have that neighbor who annoys you? Rather than keep all of that anger bottle up, why not do some fight back? Now, you have the chance, Crazy Neighb, an amazingly funny and intensive fighting game. In this game, you are going to choose your favorite character to fight with your “neighbor”. Don’t hesitate, enjoy the game and play with your friends!”

Jungle Swing: Price: $0.99
“Jungle Swing is an extremely addictive, fast-paced, pick up and play game.  The goal is simple - swing your monkey from tree to tree and also use your handy jetpack to travel as far as you can.  That’s right, the monkey has a freaking jetpack! It’s Jungle Swing’s simplicity and addictiveness that will keep you coming back for more. If you’re a fan of games like Doodle Jump and Flight Control, you’ll love Jungle Swing. It’s simple addicting fun!”

To The Point: Price: $0.99
“You’ve got some arrows. You’ve got some targets. Your targets are varied. You’ve got your targetty target. You’ve got your squirrely target. And you’ve got your girly target. Hit the regular target and you get points. The more points, the happier you become. And we all strive for happiness, no? The squirrel awards with time! After all, that is what squirrels do. Fancy yourself a modern-day William Tell? Shoot the apple off the girl’s head for glorious points! But ... aim carefully or suffer the consequences should you hit the girl instead! Now, go forth and fling some arrows through the air at high velocities for no good reason at all! Enjoy!”

Board

Monster Ball: Price: $0.99
“Big guys eat smaller guys and grow bigger. But watch out! Once greed takes over and you grow too large, you will explode into 1000 pieces scattering the neighbors with green goo. Find the right balance, take tactical advantage of the myriad of special tiles like splitters, clone machines and bazookas and you will be victorious with a big, sarcastic smile on your lips. Monster Ball plays across platforms, so you can sit at school on your PC or Mac and battle your friend on his iPhone on the bus. Tired of the 10+ maps that ship with the game? Simply download some new ones! Welcome to the world of nasty green monster balls!”

Fruit Dish: Price: $0.99
“There are 7 kinds of fruits. Each time there are three fruits displayed randomly. Anytime the same kind of fruit combine in a line over 5, they will disappear. Tap the fruit that you want to move and then tap the blank. There must be a path without barrier between the fruit and the aim space. Game over when there are less than 3 blanks. Each 5 fruits disappear you will get 10 scores. More fruits disappear one time more scores you get.”

DINGBATS: Price: $2.99
“DINGBATS are cunningly disguised names, phrases and sayings that are turned around, upside-down, sideways or jumbled up. HOW TO SOLVE? You need to work out the hidden word or phrase on each card. It could be the size, position or direction that will give you a clue. Sometimes, the pictures combined with a word or a number will give you your answer. If you get stumped by a puzzle, just relax and come back to it later. Then, when you figure it out you’re sure to let out what we call the “Dingbats Ahhh!” We have included a “PASS” button but use it wisely, as you are only awarded a few passes!”

Gas Tycoon 2: Price: $1.99
“If you have already played in the classic pipe puzzle game, such as “Pipe Mania” or “Pipe Dream”, then you’re familiar with this genre. Game “Gas Tycoon 2” is a development of this genre, where you have to lay a pipeline from sources to consumers of ready-made elements by their rotation in opposite directions. If you have already played in the first part of the “Gas Tycoon”, then you’ll love this sequel. We tried to make the game more interesting, more beautiful, and created more and more new levels.”

Card

Sweet Pairs: Price: $0.99
“This is a card matching game. It uses the traditional playing cards so that adults can play it. Tap a card to flip it. Shake the device during the game to bring up a quit menu. Change backgrounds and card images in the options. Play with either 28 or 54 cards. Some say this game can enhance your memory.”

Casino

World Series of Poker Hold’em Legend: Price: $6.99
“Go from poker amateur to hold’em legend by winning prestigious WSOP events in Las Vegas and other casino venues around the world. This is the most authentic, fastest playing Texas hold’em poker game with an in-depth career mode and global real-time multiplayer. This is the real deal!”

Hot Poker Tour LIVE! World Texas Hold’em by Aftershock: Price: $4.99
“Enjoy Gorgeous Avatars! Play LIVE! With Real Players around the world!”

Dice

Snake and Ladder Classic: Price: $0.99
“Snake and Ladder, is a children’s board game in which children can play against the device or against another players. The game is called Chutes and Ladders in most other parts of the world. It is played between 2, 3, 4 players on a 5 multi-level playing board with numbers from 1 to 48 on grid squares. On certain squares on the grid are drawn a number of “ladders” connecting two squares together, and a number of “snakes” also connecting squares together. To play, you can use touch to roll the dice or simply shake the iPhone or iPod touch and then the respective beads move according to the result. When a player lands on a square containing the foot of a ladder, they move up to the top of the ladder. When a player lands on a square containing a snake’s head, they move down to the tail of snake.”

Educational

ABC Maze: Price: $0.99
“Control Birdie by tilting your iPhone or iPod Touch and help him catch all the runaway letters.”

Family

Catch me now!: Price: $0.99
“Test and improve your reflexes in this addictive game where you have to drag angel smiley around the screen and avoid devil smileys who are trying to catch you. This sounds easy enough but after initial warm up things get harder and harder because speed and number of devil smileys are increasing. There are 40 increasingly harder levels to play in normal mode but you can also try to break your personal record in time trial mode. Your all times best score gets automatically saved in both modes and you can also load this highest finished level in normal mode and continue playing from this level anytime you wish.”

Falling Sands 2: Price: $0.99
“Falling Sands 2 is the sequel to the hit simulation game Falling Sands. Remember the classic sand games found on the web way back when? Now you can enjoy it on the go with Falling Sands 2! There’s no objectives in Falling Sands 2, you simply choose a particle (“sand”) type, the size of the brush, and draw along the screen with a swipe. As the sands mix, they each interact differently allowing for some neat visuals. Make a calming water based game, or go destructive with smelter, fire, and plants! Falling Sands 2 fully supports the accelerometer allowing interesting moments when you tip your device. Also supported are custom backgrounds including support for your photo album. Falling Sands 2 will save your current game and background on exit too! Now you can play whenever you feel like it, and continue on at a later time!”

Thanksgiving Taps: Price: $0.99
“Thanksgiving and the autumn harvest are almost here, so it’s time to get your iPhone into the holiday spirit! Step inside the world of Thanksgiving, with the easy-to-play, finger-gripping game, Thanksgiving Taps! The object of the game is simple. Just tap the turkey, harvest bowl, cranberry, or pumpkin to score 10 points. As easy as that sounds, Thanksgiving Taps advances in difficulty with each point scored, so keep your focus on the iPhone screen and get ready to tap away! How many taps can you get?”

Music

RockQuiz-Classic Rock vol. 1: Price: $0.99
“How well do you know Classic Rock trivia? Great game for parties and to stump your friends… Unlike most quiz games… your score will be based on speed and accuracy. Free updates for life. Dozens of questions ranging from easy to super obscure. Rock On!”

Air Horn Premium: Price: $1.99
“Air Horn Premium” is your one stop shop for the most annoying horns ever known to man!”

Christmas Carols - Jingle Bells and more: Price: $0.99
“Get yourself in the festive seasons cause you know its the season to be jolly! Christmas Carols features many widely popular carols. Sing along with the provided lyrics! Jingle away to the relaxing tunes on your very own jingle bell! Merry Christmas!”

Puzzle

Perfect Balance: Lost Trials Gold: Price: $0.99
“Rotate and stack shapes, and try to achieve perfect balance in this physics puzzle! The third Perfect Balance game for iPhone & iPod Touch with 30 new and unique levels. And this time it’s free! Play this and you’ll see why both Perfect Balance: Harmony and Perfect Balance: Inferno have gotten great reviews…”

Glass Master: Price: $0.99
“Your task is to place pieces of broken stained-glass window on their former places. Controlling is highly intuitive. Grab and move piece of glass using one of your fingers and rotate it using another one.”

Puzzle Sylt: Price: $4.99
“Enjoy a different kind of puzzle!
Just take a break from the stresses and strains of everyday life!
You can play on a bus or train, in an airplane, a waiting room,
a car (but only as a passenger!) or on a long journey,
to relieve stress in the office or during boring meetings.
ME iPSylt is both enjoyable and relaxing. It’s a bit difficult to describe how it works, you simply have to give it a go and see for yourself. But this much we can explain:
Shake it once and a stack will form.
Shake it again and a random number of stacks will form in different positions. Different again on every second shake.
Each stack contains one or more pictures.
Pull a picture to an available position and start to do the puzzle.
However, you can also create your own stack – take a part of the puzzle from the overall picture and put it in another one.
Start first with one stack and then make 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6.
The possibilities for variation are virtually unlimited.
Thus, you can set your own level.
Here’s a tip:
The last picture to be added to a stack is always the second in the stack.
Try it and see.
This is absolutely great fun and never gets boring.
”

KidsWordfind: Price: $0.99
“To play Kids Wordfind, select a wordlist from the options page and search for the hidden words by swiping with your finger or tap the first and last letter to reveal the word. When you identify a correct word, it is crossed off the list below the grid. Easy setting for new players and hard for older players. Beat the countdown clock and earn bonus points for the next level. The puzzles get harder with each new level, words start appearing in more directions and the time to complete them is reduced. Play again and beat your highest score.”

Racing

Cliffed: Price: $1.99
“Challenge your friends to the most addictive race to the bottom! IUGO presents its latest sensation in casual gaming with this frantic 2D scrolling racer. WARNING: This game will get your heart and fingers racing!”

HalloweenFly: Price: $0.99
“Halloween Fly is a game made for halloween. Very easy to play, but very fun. Some one said that “it’s SIMPLE but ADDICTIVE”. In Halloween Fly, you control the Cat, just by tapping the screen , flying over one car after another, eating some special sugars such as “SuperMan Sugar” and “Rocket Sugar”, avoiding monsters like bat, crow , even big ghost.”

Role Playing

Act ShakeGirl: Price: $0.99
“Tilt your iPod/iPhone and target RingRing with light. When RingRing is crying in the light TOUCH it to HIT them. If u hit RingRing 3 times it will die. U can also use “Special Power”
by touching 4 battery marks. U can SHAKE and boost UP Special Power
and get more CaloryPoint.”

Simulation

Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City: Price: $1.99
“Virtual Villagers: The Secret City is the third chapter in the award-winning Virtual Villagers series from the creators of Fish Tycoon and Virtual Families. This is the same game that became a best-selling Windows and Mac sensation! Care for and nurture a tribe of little people by teaching them the basics of survival. Grow a small village in your iPhone: your little villagers have food needs, housing needs, technologies to research and diseases to fight! As the tribe grows and prospers, the villagers become curious about the ruined city they have discovered and the secrets it holds. The game continues to progress in true real time, even when your iPhone is turned off, so don’t forget to check in regularly to care for your tribe, help them gain skills and technology, and enable them to discover the secrets that lay waiting for them. How will you lead your tribe?”

Pocket Oinko: Price: $0.99
“Have you always wanted a friend in your pocket? Invite Oinko to move in and keep you company! Oinko is a cute little pig with a mind of his own, living inside your iPhone or iPod touch. Watch him as he eats, sleeps, bathes, plays and uses the restroom. Guide him through his daily routine by suggesting things to do. Keeping Oinko happy rewards you with bonus points. Use these to buy him more toys and snacks. Pocket Oinko has dozens of unique animations and events, and plenty of items for him to interact with. Every major update will add more content for you and Oinko to enjoy together!”

Sports

Real Deer Hunting: Price: $0.99
“Introducing Real Deer Hunting from the developers of the original Deer Hunter game – and founders of the hunting game genre back in 1997. Real Deer Hunter is the first in a series of ultra realistic hunting games. Real Deer Hunting boasts realistic deer behaviors, outstanding graphics, and the most immersive hunting experience available. Hunt the hardwoods of snowy Indiana or the scrubby plains of rugged Texas all while being surrounded by the sounds of nature, blowing clouds, falling snow, or pouring rain! Use your hunting skills to call in doe, bucks, or elusive, non-typical monster bucks! Deer have real-life behaviors: they wander to food sources, hear your calls, and respond to your scent and movement. A spray of cover scent will keep you hidden while you spot distant deer with range-finding binoculars. Use rattling antlers and doe bleat or buck grunt calls to attract the biggest buck for your trophy. Unlock new stands as you work toward the most prized hunting spots in the state!”

Pocket Billiard: Price: $1.99
“There are two game modes those are single play mode and Vs play mode. Single play mode is for practice and enjoying your self Vs play mode is played by turns. You can see white balls and yellow balls on the right side. The yellow balls are disappeared when you cue but the white ball is deposited or the other balls are not deposited. If the 6 yellow balls are all disappeared, one of white ball is disappeared.”

Pocket Putt: Price: $0.99
“18 holes of fun challenging Putt Putt golf in the palm of your hand! Bank the ball off barriers, avoid moving obstacles and get a feel for the controls on the practice green before your game! Simple controls allow for full 360 degree aiming of your shot and for control of the strength of your putt. Be careful not to putt too hard or you’ll bounce off the pin! Features 18 challenging holes, practice green and clear top down view of the action with simple, intuitive controls.”

Way Of The Kung Fu: Price: $0.99
““Way Of The Kung Fu”, Play this addictive game of skill and concentration as a young martial arts apprentice. Follow the moves that your kung-fu master will give you to elevate your fighting skills. Train in various settings and try to beat your high score. This is a simple app, yet extremely entertaining!”

Strategy

Zombie Attack! Second Wave: Price: $3.99
“Just when you thought it was safe…ZA! is back! Lovers of zombies and tower defense-style games combined have a second chance to tear into more zombies with more weapons and in more locations than ever before. IUGO built upon what you loved best about the original Zombie Attack! game making it bigger, better and bloodier! Your mission: play as a survivor from the ultimate Zombie Apocalypse, protect your shack and stay alive. Kill zombies, earn points and cash to upgrade your weapons and bolster your fire power. Easy tilt and touch-screen controls make ZA! SW an instant iPhone-exclusive favorite.”

Doodle Break: Price: $0.99
“Doodle Break” is an classic “Breakout(tm)” in doodle version!

Avatar of War: Price: $0.99
“Avatar of War is a drawing commands game where you draw different gestures on your iPhone for different kinds of commands such as March Forward/Backward, Charge, Retreat, Focus Fire, Assassin etc. You can use the drawing commands wisely to get an upper hand in the battle. There are different types of units such as warriors, archer, mage, knights, catapult, assassin, gryphon etc. Each of them has their unique abilities which can help you fight for glorious victory.”

Trivia

Awesome Movie Trivia: Volume 2: Price: $0.99
“How well do you know your favorite movies? Test your knowledge again with Awesome Movie Trivia: Volume 2. This volume includes 50 more questions. Awesome Movie Trivia: Volume 2 includes a prize for anyone who can get a perfect score. Are you awesome enough to take up the challenge?”

Word

WORD SPIN: Price: $0.99
“Boost your mental agility, language skills and greatly enhance your ability to play ALL word games better with one of the most captivating word games ever invented: WORD SPIN®. Any time you have a spare moment you can now experience the mesmerizing word game that millions of WORD SPIN® fans around the world have enjoyed.”

iPhone/iPod Touch Links

Appletell: [Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup - November 2, 2009] [Appletell reviews “And Another Thing…” H2G2 audio book for iPhone, iPod touch] [Appletell reviews augmented reality games for iPhone 3GS] [Appletell reviews two deer hunting games for iPhone, iPod Touch] [Free app roundup for October 30th, 2009]

Gamertell: [Top 5 Halloween games for the iPhone and iPod Touch]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by Jessica Moen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Looking for something to play while you’re out tricking and treating this Halloween? Then we have just the list for you, because who says the iPhone and iPod Touch can’t get in on the Halloween fun? There are plenty of Halloween apps out there but below are our top 5 gaming apps to download that are sure to raise some hairs or at the very least raise your Halloween spirits. Have better options? Then list them below!

1. Silent Hill
What’s a Halloween list without a Silent Hill game? Unfortunately, this entry into the series doesn’t present a gripping story but instead offers a first-person view of a exploratory frustration. So why is it on the list? Because it’s still creepy hearing sounds in the distance as you clamor to find the exit to your flashlight lit dungeon. At $4.99 it is a bit pricey but then again you should be fully aware of what you are buying with a Silent HIll game.
2. Inkvaders
This just in, aliens are invading!!! No this isn’t Orsen Wells reading War of the Worlds, it really is a war of the worlds!!! It’s up to you Generic Marine (literally the guy’s name) to fight them from the moon to the earth and save what you can of humanity. Seriously though, Inkvaders is a lot of fun and very challenging if you want it to be. It’s kinda like a poor man’s Metal Slug without the POWs or crazy Independence Day references, instead just simply being a trial to see how many aliens you can cap before either reaching the end of the stage or death. This one’s $0.99 and well worth it.

3. Crush the Zombies
What do you do when an alien virus turns your fellow human friends into zombies? That’s right, you jump onto your nearest road roller and start crushing some zombies! Of course, you should also search for non-zombies and lead them to safety, but you know, doing donuts while making zombie mash is both fun and important too! Fair warning, the controls are a little loose but for $0.99 how can you not afford not to go for a ride?
4. Resident Evil Degeneration
Much like Silent Hill what’s a Halloween list without a Resident Evil game? The decision to go with Degeneration is based purely on the fact that you are probably burnt out on Resident Evil 4 because you know, it’s on EVERYTHING! Zombies, assisted laser tarting, PDAs, and full-fledged 3D models, all for $4.99 coupled with the fact that Capcom has yet to release Resident Evil 2 on the PlayStation Network Store and I’d say this is about the best you are going to do for a portable Claire and Leon tale.

5. DOOM Resurrection

Last but not least, especially in price, is DOOM Resurrection. I’m sure what else to write here other than it’s DOOM. Howabout, it’s an on-rails, first-person shooter, with lots of guns and exploding demons, set in the DOOM universe? It’s $6.99 and an all new chapter in the DOOM saga? Wait, there’s a DOOM saga? Nevermind, if you like crazy mayhem on Mars with demons from Hell, DOOM is well worth your money. 

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Netflix signs with Sony, service available through PS3 soon
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• PS2 turns nine, Sony says system’s “life cycle will continue”
  “Sony’s PlayStation 2 console may have just turned nine but for fans in the know that may seem to mean there’s only one year left to the system’s life. Sony has often mentioned a 10-year life cycle…” MORE »
• Gamertell Review: Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble for PSP
  ” Title: Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble Price: $39.99 System(s): PSP Release Date: November 10, 2009 Publisher (Developer): Atlus (Spike) ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Animated Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes and Violence Pros:…” MORE »
• Miyamoto says next Wii might be more wee
  “In an interview with Popular Mechanics, gaming legend Shigeru Miyamoto talked about what he feels will be the natural evolution of the Wii and its various control devices.  They have the technology. They can rebuild it and…” MORE »
• Penguin releases three Wii MotionPlus bundle kits
  “Penguin Unlimited, maker of some great gaming accessories, is coming out with three different bundle packs that utilize the Wii MotionPlus accessory. The bundles include Samurai Sword, Golf Club, and Tennis add ons.  All three bundles will be out just in time for Christmas 2009…” MORE »
• Apple App Store gaming update for the week of October 19 to October 25, 2009
  “The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown…” MORE »
• EA’s Peter Moore says disc-less consoles a decade away
  “The industry seems sharply divided on how much of an impact digital downloading will have on the future of game sales. There has been speculation about whether the next Xbox or PlayStation will even feature any kind of…” MORE »
• Rumor: Nintendo to release DSi with larger screen in Japan
  “Nintendo usually waits a couple years before changing the hardware on its handheld devices but it just may break tradition this time around. According to a report from Nikkei news service (via a quick NeoGaf translation of a MORE »
• Sony Home Update: New worlds, zombie hunt and lots of mall goodies
  ” New Spaces Uncharted 2: Nepalese Village Located under the same map as the original Uncharted world is the new Uncharted 2: Nepalese Village. A gorgeous place and, once you are loaded in, you are given a…” MORE »
• Large-screen DSi LL not a rumor, headed to Japan and Europe (updated)
  “The DSi has only been available for roughly a year in Japan, and already Nintendo’s prepared the next incarnation. The DSi LL has been confirmed for a November 21, 2009 release in Japan and a Q1 2010 release in Europe.…” MORE »

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This week’s first featured downloadable game is Inferno Pool for $9.99 on the PS3. But this isn’t the old school game of pool we all know and enjoy. In fact, this game takes pool to a whole new extreme challenge for up to four players. In this game players can compete locally or online to pocket as many balls as they can to clear the table and knock their opponents out of the race by stockpiling their balls to unleash total mayhem. Because every ball a player pockets drops on their opponent’s table, check it out:

The next downloadable game this week is Zombie Tycoon for $7.99 for the PSP. In this game players create and control the zombies roaming the city for the brains of helpless victims. Check out Zombie Tycoon:

Price Drops

PSP Game Sales
Note: The following games for the PSP are 50 percent off until November 4, 2009 other price drops may only be temporary unless specified.

• Super Stardust Portable
• Echochrome
• Myst
• Brain Challenge
• Unbound Saga
• Manhunt 2 (PSP/Price Drop $19.99)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (PSP/$4.99)
• Crystal Defenders (PSP/$9.99)
• LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival (PSP/$14.99)
• Darkstalkers Chronicles: The Chaos Tower (PSP/$19.99)
• Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (PSP/$19.99)
• NBA 2K10 (PSP/$29.99)
• Petz Dogz Family (PSP/$29.99)
• Petz Hamsterz Bunch (PSP/$29.99)
• Petz Saddle Club (PSP/$29.99)
• Hasbro Family Game Night (PS3/$39.99)

Free Demos:

• Ratchet And Clank Future: A Crack In Time – Ratchet Demo (PS3/Free)
• Fat Princess Demo (PS3/Free)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Demo (PS3/Free)
• LocoRoco Midnight Carnival Demo (PSP/Free)
• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Demo (PSP/Free)
• Crystal Defenders PSP Demo (PSP/Free)
• Petz Saddle Club Demo (PSP/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• PAIN – Celebrity Character Elvira (PS3/$1.99)
• Trivial Pursuit Sports Pack (PS3/$4.99)
• DJ Hero Extended Mix Pack (PS3/$5.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Packs:

• All Hallows Eve Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Gor Gor” by GWAR (PS3/$1.99)
• “Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson (PS3/$1.99)
• “Astro Zombies” by The Misfits (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• Wolfmother Pack 1 (PS3/$8.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Sundial” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “Pilgrim” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “Woman” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “White Unicorn” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “New Moon Rising” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)

• Rob Zombie Pack 01 (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Superbeast” by Rob Zombie (PS3/$1.99)
• “Dragula” by Rob Zombie (PS3/$1.99)
• “Burn” by Rob Zombie (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Song Tracks

• “Sugarbaby” by Morningwood (PS3/99 cents)
• “Best of Me” by Morningwood (PS3/99 cents)
• “Rock Me” by Liz Phair (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “My Old School” by Steely Dan (PSP/$1.99)
• “Kool Thing” by Sonic Youth (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes – Mastering the Cell Processor (PS3/Free)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes – Online Technology (PS3/Free)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes -Thinking Like A Dog (PS3/Free)
• The Saboteur – Irishman In Paris (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 – Post-Moves Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Just Cause 2 – Vertical Gameplay (PS3/Free)
• Just Cause 2 – Panau Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Just Cause 2 – Announcement Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Front Mission Evolved – TGS 2009 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age Origins – Warden’s Calling (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age Origins – Dalish Elf (PS3/Free)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Squad Story 1 (PS3/Free)
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Squad Story 2 (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II – Dev Diary 1 (PS3/Free)
• Assassin’s Creed II – Dev Diary 2 (PS3/Free)
• PAIN – Celebrity Character Elvira Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier Story Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Timbaland Trailer (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Intro Trailer (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Sessions: Max & Clay (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Sessions: Artist Series 1 (PSP/Free)
• Beaterator – Sessions: Artist Series 2 (PSP/Free)
• Thexder Neo – Launch Trailer (PSP/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Skull Bash Theme 1 (PSP/99 cents)
• Skull Bash Theme 2 (PSP/99 cents)
• Infantry Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• Apache Gunship Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tanks Theme 3 (PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tanks Theme 4 (PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tank Theme 2 (PS3/$1.99)
• Lingerie Football League: Dallas Desire Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Skull Bash Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• South Park Dynamic Theme (PS3/$2.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Halloween is only a day away, and what better time to continue thinking about how the spooky and extraordinary can tie into our daily lives. Monstrous creatures are a mainstay of the holiday, whether people watch horror movies starring them or dress up as said characters to frighten and impress. If you think about it, some of those monsters have quite a bit in common with some well known, established and perhaps even loved video games.

To help you all get in the holiday spirit, Gamertell’s gone through the massive library of games available to see what they would be if they were monsters.

Imagine/Ener-G/Dreamer/Charm Girls Club/Petz = Zombies

It started out with just one game line, Imagine, and now look what it has become. Step into a DS game section and you’ll be overwhelmed by a sea of pastel, substandard games for girls. And, even though you may never actually see anyone buying them, they keep appearing! The section grows larger and larger. I wouldn’t be surprised if those games even rotted your brains. Just like zombies!

World of Warcraft/Everquest/Warhammer Online = Vampires

Frankly, it’s easy to compare any MMO game to a vampire. With an MMO, people get drawn into a whole other world and environment. Slowly but surely, playing that game becomes their sole motivation in life. They can’t live without it. Then, they recruit their friends! So not only are the MMOs time vampires, they turn the people playing into them as well.

Pokemon/Mario Party/Dokapon/Soul Calibur = Wolfman

Think about it, Pokemon, Mario Party and Soul Calibur games have the ability to turn people into something that they’re not. A normally respected and intelligent man can suddenly be transformed into a person with an uncontrollable urge to “get ‘em all,” even if it means skipping work to get to a special Toys ‘R Us event for a rare pokemon. Mario Party and Dokapon, two adorable-looking board games, can quickly and easily turn friends against one another - often resulting in a violent debacle. The same can be said for Soul Calibur - the most unexpected people can turn out to be harbingers of doom.

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad/Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers/Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball/Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 = Witches

Witches are supposedly able to seduce, charm and allure - casting spells on people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Sounds a lot like video games where companies purposely insert a lot of unrealistic, scantily clad women to try and get men to play, doesn’t it? And normally, those games are the kind people would probably overlook, but because the women are half-dressed, guys will flock to play and buy them.

101-in-1 Explosive Megamix/WarioWare/Rayman Raving Rabbids = Frankensteins

Any mini-game collection can be considered a Frankenstein monster of sorts. All kinds of short games are tossed in, that wouldn’t work on their own. Many times, the games will be based on old classics which haven’t been popular in years. Yet all together, the collection of games work. Sometimes they come out good, sometimes bad. All in all, they’re strange amalgamations - just like a Frankenstein monster.

A.S.H.: Archaic Sealed Heat (DS)/Dirty Harry (Xbox 360)/Winter (Wii)/Eight Days (PS3)/Earthworm Jim PSP/Mother 3 (GBA) = Ghosts

Ah, the poor games trapped trapped in limbo or cancelled altogether. People may have had high hopes and expecations for them, especially for games like Earthworm Jim PSP, A.S.H. and Winter, but it wasn’t to be. Now, the gamers are haunted by the wonderful games that they will never get to play.

Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Hey everyone! This is a momentous day for Important Importables. Today marks the 100th column. Who’d have thought, right?

Anyways, to celebrate today, I’m listing my 100 all time favorite games that you can only get by importing. These are titles that aren’t available in North America, and you have to import from either Japan or Europe if you want to play them.

Remember, this isn’t a comprehensive list and is based on my personal picks. It’s a general guide to some great games you should be aware of. It’s also a bit biased in terms of systems, because it was formed based on games that I’ve either played or taken an interest in over the years. So, since I’ve imported quite a few DS games and that’s one of my favorite systems, there’ll naturally be more DS games represented.

If there’s a great import game you know that isn’t on the list and should be, tell the world in the comments. Also remember, many consoles have region protection! If you have a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, DS, PSP or PS3 you should be region-free, and if you have a Dreamcast you can buy or make a special boot-disk which makes your console region-free.

Dreamcast

• Bomber HehHe: It’s a puzzle game with some action elements. The goal is to place bombs to take down buildings.
• Capcom vs SNK 2: A fighting game, of course. The first one did get a US release, but this one didn’t.
• Cosmic Smash: It’s sort of like Arkanoid/Alleyway, in that you have to destroy blocks. Except you’re playing as a human trying to smash them with a ball, and racing against the clock.
• DUX: A side scrolling shoot-em-up (the Dreamcast was known for them) that has the distinction of being one of the most recent DC releases. It came out in 2009.
• Last Hope: Pink Bullets: Again, one of the more recent DC releases and shoot-em-up. It’s an updated and adjusted version of the Neo Geo game Last Hope.
• Napple Tale: Arisia in Daydream: A platformer where a girl named Arisia is tasked with returning the lost seasons to Napple Town.
• Pop’n Music: A fun, bright and colorful music game.
• Princess Maker Collection: You get Princess Maker 2 and Princess Maker 3 in one game.
• Rainbow Cotton: A shoot-em-up (cute-em-up) that’s the first 3D entry in the Cotton series.
• Puyo Pop Fever: It was the last Sonic Team DC game, but was never released outside of Japan.
• Any Sakura Taisen game: They’re all fun blends of visual novel, strategic rpg and dating sim games.
• Shenmue II: Only Europe and Japan got the sequel to Shenmue. I recommend importing the European version, since it’ll be in English.
• Shinseiki Evangelion: Ayanami Rei Ikusei Keikaku: Think Princess Maker, only with Rei Ayanami from Evangelion as the potential princess. Its also available on the DS, PC and PS2.
• Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles: A recent Dreamcast puzzle release.

DS

• 100 Classic Book Collection: Basically an e-reader program with 100 classic books built in and an additional 10 that can be downloaded. It’s available in Europe, but not North America.
• Arabian’s Lost: An otome/RPG where the main character is an Arabian princess of a land filled with thieves, gamblers, assassins and crooks who must earn 10 million in 30 days to keep from being trapped in an arranged marriage. Its also available for the PS2.
• A.S.H.: Archaic Sealed Heat: A strategic RPG from Nintendo that was supposed to come to North America, but never did.
• Daigasso Band Brothers / Daigasso Band Bros. DX: A music game where you play songs using the DS face buttons. You can also create your own songs in both games and download songs in the sequel.
• Dokidoki Majo Shinpan!: A somewhat-perverted game which has gained fame and notoriety for the fact that players touch girls on the touch screen to determine if they’re witches.
• Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland: An RPG starring Tingle from the Legend of Zelda series and revolves around his quest to get money and get to Rupeeland. It received a Japanese and European release, but never appeared in North America.
• Game & Watch Collection 2: A Japanese Club Nintendo promotion that includes the Game & Watch titles Parachute and Octopus.
• Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2: The sequel to Retro Game Challenge. Since the first game wasn’t a huge seller in North America, we probably will never see an English version of the sequel.
• Hirameki Action: Chibikko Wagyan no Daiki na Bouken: This is a side-scrolling action game where players guide a little dinosaur with a mighty roar through levels.
• Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars: The first Idolm@ster game where players act as the idols instead of a faceless producer. It’s also the first game in the series with a male idol (though he’s in disguise as a girl).
• Itadaki Street DS: A monopoly-esque board game from Square Enix starring characters from Super Mario and Dragon Quest. It also has Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support so you can play online.
• Jump Ultimate Stars: A Smash Bros style fighting game with 300 characters from 41 Shonen Jump mangas. Unfortunately, it’ll never get a worldwide release due to licensing issues.
• Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten: A Japanese-English dictionary that’s perfect for people studying Japanese. A few Game&Watch games are also hidden in it.
• Katekyoo Hitman Reborn DS Flame Rumble X: Mirai Chou-Bakuhatsu!!: A 2D fighting game starring the characters from the manga/anime Katekyoo Hitman Reborn.
• Ketsui Death Label: An impressive shoot-em-up from Cave.
• Love Plus: A Japanese dating sim that’s gained a massive following in a short period of time. It takes place in real time and players are actually able to date, then marry, one of three girls they choose.
• Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken: A Taiko no Tatsujin drum game that even has an adventure/story mode.
• NANA: Live Staff Daiboshuu! Shoshinsha Kangei: A life sim based on the Nana manga/anime/movie where the player can make a life in Tokyo and try to get a job with one of the two bands from the series.
• Ochaken no Daibouken: An adorable and enjoyable platformer starring the Ochaken dog and Ochaneko cat characters.
• Otometeki Koi Kakumei Love Revo DS!!: A hilarious and occasionally touching otome simulation where the main character is a fat girl trying to lose weight so she can get a boyfriend.
• Any Ouendan game: They’re like the Elite Beat Agents game, only better.
• Sigma Harmonics: A Square Enix adventure RPG where players must time travel to prevent murders and preserve the present.
• Slide Adventure: Mag Kid: An action/puzzle game where players attach a peripheral and slide the DS around to make the main character, Mag Kid, move.
• Soma Bringer: A gorgeous action RPG from Nintendo that may never get a worldwide release.
• Tales of Innocence: A good DS entry in the Tales of series that Namco Bandai never released outside of Japan.
• Tales of Hearts: Again, another good DS Tales of entry. It’s available in two versions - one with CG cutscenes and one with animated ones.
• Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 1st Love and 2nd Season: These two DS games are otome life sims where players guide a girl through high school and hopefully help her find a boyfriend.
• Vampire Knight DS: A DS otome simulation with visual novel elements that is based on the Vampire Knight manga/anime.
• Xenosaga I + II: A DS adaptation of the first two Xenosaga games.

GameCube

• Doshin the Giant: a god/life simulation where players determine how Doshin interacts with island natives. It was available in Japan and Europe.
• Kururin Squash: An action/puzzle game where players must navigate through mazes.

GBA

• Any bit Generations game: They’re a nice variety of stylish, simple puzzle and action games.
• Densetsu no Starfy: The first game in the Legendary Starfy series.
• Densetsu no Starfy 3: The last Starfy GBA game and the first where Starpy is a major character.
• Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi: The only GBA Fire Emblem game not released in English. It’s the first GBA Fire Emblem, but the sequel to the Fire Emblem GBA game released in North America.
• Genso Suikoden: Card Stories: Suikoden II with card battles.
• Mother + Mother 2: The original Mother and Mother 2/Earthbound in one cartridge.
• Mother 3: The RPG Earthbound sequel. It’s main character, Lucas, appeared in Smash Bros Brawl.
• Rhythm Tengoku: A music game and the prequel to Rhythm Heaven.
• Super Mario Ball: A Super Mario pinball game.
• Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2: A Tales of mash-up action-RPG. It’s mainly about fetch quests and quick missions.
• Tomato Adventure: An adorable Nintendo RPG designed for beginners. It has some elements found in the Mario & Luigi RPGs.

PC

• Any and every Touhou game ever released: They’re fantastic shoot-em-up (cute-em-up) games.

PS2

• beatmania IIDX 16 Empress: A fantastic music and rhythm game.
• Bleach: Blade Battles 2nd: A fighting game with the Bleach characters.
• Espgaluda: A Cave shooter that’s a prequel to ESP Ra.De..
• Fate/stay Night: Realta Nua: An all ages version of the popular visual novel Fate/stay night.
• GuitarFreaks & DrumMania Masterpiece Gold: The original guitar and drum music video game. This is one of the best entries in the series.
• Melty Blood: Actress Again: A fighting game starring characters from the visual novel Tsukihime.
• Namco x Capcom: An RPG with action and strategic elements that has characters Namco and Capcom games making cameos as either allies or opponents.
• Nana: A life simulation game based on the Nana anime/manga where the player moves to Tokyo and gets to interact with characters from the series.
• Tales of Destiny Director’s Cut: A PS2 remake of the PS1 classic Tales of Destiny, with additional content.
• Tales of Symphonia: A PS2 port of the GameCube game with additional content.
• Tian Xing: Sword of Destiny: A hack-and-slash game Devil May Cry fans would love.

PSP

• Audition Portable: A portable version of the PC MMO. The gameplay is similar to the Bust-a-Groove games.
• Any Bleach Heat the Soul game: Great PSP fighters starring Bleach characters.
• Breath of Fire III: A PSP port. It was released in Europe, so you can import it and play it in English.
• Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable: A PSP port of a PS2 game with extra characters. It’s a monopoly-esque board game with characters from Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.
• Hatsune Miku Project Diva: A Sega music game starring the Vocaloid Miku Hatsune that lets you import your own .mp3s and create your own songs and music videos.
• Idolmaster SP: Available in three versions, Perfect Sun, Missing Moon and Wandering Star, it was the first portable version of Idolm@ster.
• La Corda d’Oro: A PSP port of the PS2 and PC otome/simulation where players attempt to become a great violin player and win competitions while also making friends or possibly finding a boyfriend.
• Macross Ultimate Frontier: An action game that lets players fight pretty much every battle in the Macross anime series.
• Maplus: Portable Navi and GPS Receiver: turns your PSP into a GPS.
• Parodius Portable: A port of the side-scrolling shooter.
• Persona 3 Portable: A port of the PS2 game Persona 3 with a second storyline where the main character is a girl. It’ll probably get a US release, but for now it’s Japan-only.
• Princess Crown: A port of the VanillaWare Saturn game that’s the spiritual successor and prequel to Odin Sphere.
• Princess Maker 4 Portable: A port of a Princess Maker game that’s very similar to the cult classic Princess Maker 2.
• Suikoden I + II: The PS1 games on one UMD.
• Tales of Eternia: A port of Tales of Eternia/Tales of Destiny II. It’s available in English in Europe.
• Tales of Rebirth: A port of the PS2 Tales of game that never made it outside of Japan. It isn’t available in English.
• Tales of VS.: A fighting game featuring characters from the Tales of games.
• Twinbee Portable: A port of the classic shoot-em-up.
• Ys VII: The latest entry in the Ys action-RPG series. It may see a US release, but for now it’s Japan-only.

SNES

• Der Langrisser: A strategic RPG with multiple endings based on decisions the player makes.
• Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu: The fourth Fire Emblem game and regarded as one of the best. It introduced the romance/relationship element into the series and is multigenerational - if two characters get together in the first part, their child will appear in the second.
• Live a Live: A Square Enix RPG with seven storylines that unexpectedly all end up being connected.
• Sailor Moon: Another Story: An RPG inspired by Sailor Moon with an original storyline that has become a cult classic and is unexpectedly spectacular.
• Seiken Densetsu 3: An entry in the Square Enix Mana series that was never released outside of Japan.

Wii

• 428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya de / 428: In a Blockaded Shibuya: A highly acclaimed visual novel. It’s been ported to the PS3 and PSP.
• Captain Rainbow: It’s an action/adventure game from Nintendo where a character named Nick, aka Captain Rainbow, goes around helping people on Mimin Island trying to either grant his wish or the wishes of islanders. It features many little known or forgotten Nintendo characters.
• Disaster: Day of Crisis: An action/adventure game released only in Australia, Europe and Japan. Players help Raymond Bryce, who works for the government, survive and save people during natural disasters and stop a terrorist group called SURGE. It will likely never receive a US release.
• Sukeban Shachou Rena: A mini-game collection featuring cats working at Cat Queen, Inc. Your goal is to start out as an entry level cat. You work your way up to the head of the company and earn respect of the CEO, Nekopunch mascot Rena.
• Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: The Taiko drum game series comes to the Wii.
• Zero:Tsukihami no Kamen / Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse: The fourth entry in the Fatal Frame series.

Xbox 360

• Idolm@ster: The original Idolm@ster game, where players help an idol, or group of idols, become a success.
• Death Smiles: A new Cave shoot-em-up with a gothic theme.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables takes a one-week break, but will return November 13, 2009 to talk about Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last weekImportant Importables looked at six Japanese gadgets that exist only to be adorable.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

It’s the last week of October (2009) and we are counting down to the holiday release rush on the App Store, which kicks off with a handful of new Halloween apps including CDE’s Crush the Zomibes, the free Wordsearch Halloween and Little G’s Halloween Adventure. Other big notables are Guardian Soul, Groovin’ Blocks and NBA Live. So get tricked or get treated or simply get some apps my friends.

What’s Free

Hip Hop All Star Lite
“Rise to Hip Hop DJ Stardom by scratching and beat matching the hottest Hip Hop tracks from Busta Rhymes, Kid Cudi, DJ Green Lantern, Kool G Rap and more! Hip Hop All Star turns your iPhone and iPod Touch into virtual turntables!”

My first words Lite: Constellations
“Kids age 2 to 7 will now have fun learning basic words. The aim of the game is to arrange the letters in the correct order to make up a word. Letters are pronounced when touched. When word is completed, it’s pronounced and provided letters were arranged in the correct written sequence an animation is displayed. This version includes only 4 different constellations.”

Groovin’ Blocks Lite
“Get ready for a puzzle game unlike any you’ve ever seen! Groovin’ Blocks brings a unique mix of Rock Band-style beat matching to classic puzzle gameplay. It’s addictive! Maneuver colorful blocks and drop them in like-colored clusters to clear the board. But this is not your average puzzle game—this is the first puzzle game where you get rewarded for playing to the rhythm of the music. An original soundtrack with all new beats really drives the puzzles in Groovin’ Blocks. Drop the blocks on the beat for higher scores and bonuses—and really let the music take over! And for the first time, you’ll be able to take this successful Wii™ title on-the-go with a whole new iPhone edition! Play to the music with Groovin’ Blocks!”

Neanderbal
“Neanderbal is a game of logic.. and brawn! The dinos have taken over your prehistoric home and it’s up to you to save you and your family from these dangerous predators! How? Go for the nests! But dino eggs are notoriously hard - too hard to simply smash with your club (unlike those exploding mushrooms and balloon plants!). Luckily, there are plenty of giant boulders hanging around to help you with your cause? Smoosh the dino eggs by rolling boulders on them, but watch out! You only have so many boulders to use, and you can’t risk letting even a single dino egg hatch!”

Worderus Lite
“Can your brain perform under pressure? Worderus Lite is an ad-supported version of the fast-paced word game Worderus. Tap the falling letters to spell words and make the letter blocks disappear. Don’t let the blocks pile up to the top of the screen, or its game over!”

Reebok iSprint
“Do you think you’ve got quick fingers? Well test them out on Reebok’s iSprint, probably one of the most addictive games you’ll ever play! Set your fingers in the starting blocks and wait for the gun… then sprint to the finish line by swiping your fingers down the screen.”

Hangman Free
“Think you have a good vocabulary? Take on your iPhone or a friend in this chalkboard classic and find out how good your vocabulary really is. Hangman Free is the best Hangman game available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game faithfully captures every detail of the classic Hangman experience, right down to the chalk dust. Hangman Free supports one player and two player gameplay, so you can let a friend choose a word or have your phone select a word from a broad range of categories.”

WordSearch Halloween
“For a limited time only… get this free Halloween treat! You get to solve countless puzzles in this special holiday edition of AFKSoft Word Search. And you can keep playing long after the holiday.”

What’s New

Action

Guardian Soul: Price: $3.99
“Summon Action RPG! Summon the Guardian!! This romantic action RPG is about a novice knight, Leica, who defends her town Agnus from invasion of the Kingdom of Largo for the treasure, Agnesian. Starting the journey, she encounters a guardian master by chance and they get closer as time goes by. Revolving around main quests for defending Agnus, Leica faces many other guardians and guardian masters. Guardian Master: One with special power that summons guardians. Items obtained from guardians enable you acquire other guardians, weapons, armors and potions from an alchemist.”

Roswell Fighter: Price: $2.99
“Roswell Fighter is the ultimate classic arcade style shooter, but with improved and fresh game-play. Tons of aliens wait for you! And do not forget, mother earth is in danger – so be fast and blow up everything in a beautiful mixed 2D/3D environment. Roswell fighter will charm you with its great 50’s art style and music! The game-play starts classic but will get more and more challenging through the time while you face totally new and innovative game features. Mini-games and huge bosses will force your adrenalin to the limit.”

Crush the Zombies: Price: $0.99
“The aliens have invaded your hometown. Most people in the vicinity are infected with the alien zombie virus. There is no cure for this virus. You found a road roller in your backyard and you decided to use it to get out of your house and search for survivors who are not infected with the zombie virus. You need to guide them to the exit door so they can escape from the zombies. The game controls are the wheel control to move and the right and left steering controls for direction navigation. Basically, you need to use the wheel control and the steering controls to navigate your road roller to crush the zombies. The more zombies you crush, the more combos you obtained. There will be no lack of zombies to crush as they keep coming in waves to swarm you and your vehicle. There are five types of enemies in this game. Two children zombies and a big deformed zombie which you have to deal with while navigating your road roller. The worst has yet to come. There is an green alien that will shoot lasers at your road roller to damage your getaway vehicle. Fortunately, you have in-game items to help you in difficult situations. These items usually appear after you completed several combos by squashing more zombies with your road roller.”

Adventure

Nicky Boom 2: Price: $0.99
“Nicky Boom 2 on iPhone : Nicky Boom strikes back! Following the thrilling adventures of little Nicky Boom, retro platform game that combines adventure, puzzle and 90’s graphics, is now available on the App Store to try to solve a new riddle. With his magical goose by his side, help Nicky Boom to find out who removed the ladders and blocked the entrance of the caves in his country of origin. Enjoy your new weapons, go look for keys to secret passageways, and get ready to fight hordes of toadstools that divide when they’re attacked, of killer wasps which fire at you, spiked wheels, and even hungry grizzlies.”

Endless Defence: Price: $0.99
“A shaman summoned a lot of monster, And began attacking the city through the teleport , You are THE HERO, THE ONE, Only you can save the city! Take up your sword and FIGHT BACK!! You must prevent enemies from attack the stronghold. Let’s see “How long can you survive?”

Little G’s Halloween Adventure: Price: $1.99
“Out to Play Entertainment brings you a magical holiday game experience based on the award winning animated short, Little G.’s Halloween. It’s Halloween Night, and it’s up to you to help guide our small ghostly friend as Little G. encounters menacing Pumpkin Guards, spinning Treatbags and other surprises. His goal is to collect all 13 treat bags in numerical order and get back home as quickly as he can. But be alert. Little G. must avoid the flashlight beams of roving Trick-or-Treaters or find himself whisked back to the beginning of the street. Can you brave this spooky challenge? As a special treat, this adventure is paired with the original, short animated film Little G.’s Halloween. This charming film has been screened at film festivals around the world and featured in children’s programs at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.”

Arcade

Crystal Gems: Price: $0.99
“Crystal Gems is a cool remake of the famous breakout classics with the additional touch. Navigate your transporter ship with the finger, deflect your crystal gem collector ball over the power shield and try to collect all crystal gems to clear a stage. If the gems start to shine while you collect them your score will double. On your trip you will find different power ups, monsters and a challenging level design.”

Warp Fighter: Price: $1.99
“Warp Fighter is a aerial dog fight game through time in different ages from first world war 1 until a futuristic UFO to fight air to air with them. In the 3rd century of the earth’s life the human became a confederation and the industry pollution was the major problem , this caused a collapsing of the entire temperature system that create holes on the ozone , the solar shadow make a chain reaction that create an overlapping of ages between the old and the new worlds. Old and new country start to be face to face with different cultures and war concept was never forgiven , so each country of this different parallel world decide to race against each other creating the warp fighter challenge. Scope of the challenging is to beat all the other airplanes and survive to this one to many air combat game This game is dedicated to enthusiasts of ’80 shoot’em up game is a remix of the old time pilot game with a new completely renovated sound and graphics plus more weapons for a full nice extended game.”

Alien Outpost: Price: $1.99
“Like defense games, but sick of “flicking” enemies around a screen with your finger? If so, then you’ll love Alien Outpost! Alien Outpost is a fast paced defense game with awesome shooter gameplay mechanics! Defend your base against wave after wave of alien attackers, and manage your assets wisely as you upgrade your defenses. Alien Outpost will have you on the edge of your seat!”

Penguin Break: Price: $0.99
“Penguin Break is an exciting, captivating game of runaway penguins and your efforts to stop them. Reaction, strategy, split-second timing, and careful aim – you’ll need them all to get the highest scores in this light-hearted, easy-to-pick-up, can’t-put-it-down flock of fun for your iPhone/iPod Touch.”

Board

The New York Times Sudoku Daily: Price: $4.99
“Bring the gold standard of Sudoku to your iPhone and iPod Touch with The New York Times Sudoku. Officially licensed by the puzzle experts at The New York Times, Sudoku fans of any level can now play daily puzzles, post solve times and compare their performance with this challenging game. 5000 puzzles are included, plus great features for the ultimate Sudoku challenge. Whether you’re playing the included puzzles, creating your own grids, or playing the daily downloaded puzzles, this Sudoku game is sure to become a favorite app on your iPhone for a long time.”

Jewel Master: Price: $0.99
“Jewel madness is a crazy little gem that once played you will have a hard time letting it go. This Jewel Puzzle game is Tetris Bejeweled and simon all rolled up into one. As the Jewels drop you must press that matching colour. This game starts off slow but don’t let that fool you. As you progress they will come faster and faster. At the end you will see your best run and your global score. If your running out of Power watch out for Star Power. This little item will boost your power back to 100%.”

Pumpkin Peg: Price: $0.99
““a Pumpkin Peg” is an “Solitaire/Peg” board game in the “Halloween version”.

The Sudoku: Price: $2.99
“This sudoku game has 5 different levels. Each level has thousands of grid design.”

Card

LetsHoldemPoker: Price: $3.99
“Lets you meet people who share your love this great card game. You can enjoy the various games with high qualities at this “LetsHoldemPoker”. You can enjoy playing the game “LetsHoldemPoker” under some different levels, such as normal,master or legend with many other players. And it will be very interesting yo you. The game offers realistic game playing,very smooth graphics and vivid sound effect.”

Casino

NOTHING

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

Little Cook: Price: $0.99
“Now kids can plan and create a wide variety of meals in their very own virtual kitchen! Little Cook is an engaging game that helps children learn from and be entertained by their own decisions. No chef is too small in the Little Cook kitchen – select your favorite meal from pizza to ice cream sundaes, and add whatever ingredients appeal to you! Want to put candy in your soup? Go ahead! Just be prepared to have your creation tested by a professional kid-taster at the end of the game. She will not be shy when raving about perfectly prepared meals, or about criticizing wacky ingredients. Onion and peanut butter sandwich? Ewww! Whether you stick to the rules, or play as a zany chef, children will enjoy the colorful graphics and range of responses from their food taster. A game of trial and error, you can return to the kitchen again and again to experiment with new dishes and improve your culinary skills! Learn to cook with Little Cook, and best of all, have fun trying! Recommended for children ages 4-7.”

Animal Tracks Quiz: Price: $0.99
“Animal Tracks Quiz” is a quiz game which invites you to test your knowledge of wild nature and its inhabitants. It may be used for testing and educational purposes for people well-informed about tracks and footprints of wild animals. Game consists of 30 questions. The question contains the photo of animal’s tracks you need to name. Each question has 4 possible answers. When you tap one of the answers, the default color of the pressed button is changed to green (when it was the right answer) or to red (wrong answer). You have 3 attempts to give the right answer. If you give it at the first attempt you will receive 3 points, at the second attempt - 2 points, at the third - 1 point. After 2 wrong answers the country name will be shown at the bottom of the screen to help you. Play the “Animal Tracks Quiz” now and find out how well you know world of wild nature!”

My first words: Constellations: Price: $0.99
“Kids age 2 to 7 will now have fun learning basic words. The aim of the game is to arrange the letters in the correct order to make up a word. Letters are pronounced when touched. When word is completed, it’s pronounced and provided letters were arranged in the correct written sequence an animation is displayed. This version includes 18 different constellations.”

Family

Shopping Crazy: Price: $0.99
“Shopping Crazy is a puzzle game in which you have to help the Smith family get home after a long and accident-laden shopping trip. You will need to use all your wits to rearrange the obstacles and help the get out of the maze of the mess they got in!”

Balls to Holes - 250: Price: $2.99
“Balls to Holes - 250 is a super interesting !!! Which will make you to be addicted from the beginning. Balls to Holes - 250 is a fun game that you try to land colored balls into adequate holes, by drawing ink strokes. Balls to Holes - 250 gets challenging as you level up. Different color balls, puzzle like walls, acceleration of the balls will make the game challenging but yet enjoy full experience. Each level gets more challenging yet enjoy full to play. 250 levels are there for you to get started your journey.”

Fish Dish: Price: $0.99
“Fish Dish is most fun and famous fish style game available for the iPhone. Eat the fish which is smaller than you, and avoid which is bigger than you. You can have a wonderful time with various kinds of cute fish. As your fish gets bigger, prettier fish that you can get will appear. Feed your fish which is hungry. You can also check your score by online ranking system.”

GameBox Classics Gold: Price: $0.99
“The fun-filled, award-winning, most popular game collection for iPhone! GameBox Classics Gold is a collection of six highly addictive arcade games to keep your mind stimulated and your finger tapping! This Gold edition is the updated version of the all-popular free game, Gamebox Classics. If you liked the free version, you will definitely love this one too!”

Robinson Crusoe’s Story: Price: $0.99
“This time instead of fairy tales, Digital Media brings you classical adventure book written by Daniel Defoe about adventurous life of Robinson Crusoe. Kids will love to see what happened on the island and who is Friday. What’s more - We give you digital coloring book so your kids will have twice fun with this application.”

Asteroids vs Planet: Price: $0.99
“Meet Planet. One day floating peacefully in the universe and the next, bombarded by an endless asteroid field. Use tilt controls to avoid the asteroids and attempt to maintain the optimum planetary position. While your score constantly grows, staying close to the center increases your score even faster. Keeping Planet in the center adds combo multipliers to help build your score to astronomical heights. When things get too hairy, tap the screen to activate a temporary shield. Use them wisely though - you have three to use and when they’re gone, they’re gone for good… How high can you score before the inevitable armageddon?”

Music

Groovin’ Blocks: Price: $1.99
“Get ready for a puzzle game unlike any you’ve ever seen! Groovin’ Blocks brings a unique mix of Rock Band-style beat matching to classic puzzle gameplay. It’s addictive! Maneuver colorful blocks and drop them in like-colored clusters to clear the board. But this is not your average puzzle game—this is the first puzzle game where you get rewarded for playing to the rhythm of the music. An original soundtrack with all new beats really drives the puzzles in Groovin’ Blocks. Drop the blocks on the beat for higher scores and bonuses—and really let the music take over! And for the first time, you’ll be able to take this successful Wii™ title on-the-go with a whole new iPhone edition! Play to the music with Groovin’ Blocks!”

Touch Lyrics: Price: $1.99
“Touch Lyrics is a intelligent music player that magically displays lyrics for your iTunes songs. Play music using a familiar iPod like interface while singing along to those songs. Beautiful, fully featured with a massive lyrics database for your iPod and iPhone.”

The Club: Price: $5.99
“Welcome to The Club where the best parties take place. In this music arcade game you’re trying to match couples and score as big and as often as possible! Make your moves and dazzle your partner. It’s time to start clubbin’! Use the touch screen to make different dancers meet and spend the night together. Your score depends on the qualities of the dancers and the general party mood. But beware, if the wrong people bump into one another a fight might break out and that will definitely ruin the vibe. Thank goodness there’s always a chance a celebrity will enter the game and look for the right people to join the afterparty.”

MusicQuiz - How well do you know your favorite music?: Price: $0.99
“Play MusicQuiz and find out how well you know the music collection on your iPhone/iPod touch! Here’s how it works: Randomly selected music pieces from your own iPod music library will be played for a few seconds. Then 5 possible answers will be displayed, from which you have to choose the right one. One game runs for several rounds. All your collected points can be recorded in a global Highscore list. That way, you can compare your score to other players worldwide. “

Puzzle

Pang Pond The Hero Begins: Smoky Orge: Price: $2.99
“From the popular comic that captured Thai reader for over 20 years and onto the animation that made international success. Today let joining the wonderful experience together with Pang Pond in his newly exciting Action Puzzle game. You will be taking a role of little super hero who has an importance mission to saving the world from the dangerous monster which having a toxic gas as a weapon. Go through this exciting and challenging mission in “Pang Pond Smoky Ogre the Game”

Paired Sounds: Price: $0.99
“Paired Sounds is game that a player looks for the same sounds, just like a pairs card game. The purpose of this game is to find the exact same sounds. There are many different sounds such as animal, people, House, Army, and Midi. As you keep clearing the stages the boxes of sounds keep increasing, which means the game gets harder. while playing the game, a player can hear the voices, it provides interesting hearing. More sounds will be added later such as instruments and Languages.”

Star Paint: Price: $0.99
“Each level in Star Paint is dynamically created, offering a new puzzle each time you play. Stars will appear on the screen, with lines connecting each one. Move the stars until none of the lines are crossing to clear the level. Sound easy? Watch your time, because if you take too long, it’s game over. To help, use multiple fingers to grab and move different stars at the same time. Make it through normal and medium modes and you’ll unlock Hard mode - turning off the timer, and opening up some really devious puzzles.”

Racing

Zombie Karts: Price: $0.99
“Eeek! The zombies have taken to the streets… in custom go-karts! Pick a zombie and race til you drop. Use power-ups and shortcuts to defeat the others and become top zombie. It’s wacky Halloween racing fun.”

Role Playing

Stranded!: Price: $1.99
“Stranded! is a desert island survival game set in the Space HoRSE universe. Four passengers on a space ship were on a mission to colonize a new planet when the ship crash landed on a planet that is almost completely covered by ocean. You are the only survivor - an upper-management executive from the Decoo corporation, the company that sponsored the original mission. Now you must use your survival skills to stay alive long enough to get rescued. Build shelter, find food and drink, and collect salvageable parts from the wreckage that wash ashore. Use the parts to build a space radio and call for a rescue team to win the game. Search for natural resources, then use them to create other items using various combinations.”

Dungeons: Price: $2.99
“Scour the undead infestation in 99 dungeons, fighting in four differently themed worlds. Defeat reanimated skeletons in the fiery lava world. Try to escape being frozen solid by zombie wizards in the icy snow dungeon. The lush jungle and abandoned castle have monsters ready to raise their blades against you, the intrepid adventurer. Luckily, you have tricks of your own! Use four customizable abilities to put down your foes. Spend synergy points to decide how your magic spells evolve. Collect treasures held by the dungeon’s inhabitants to improve your chances against the relentless horde of creatures that await. At the end of each labyrinth, a ferocious battle-hardened knight awaits. You’ll need all your wits about you to defeat him and gain access to the next level. Best of all, each time you enter a dungeon it’s completely different! Create the spells you want. Wear the items you think will give you the best chance against evil. No two adventures are quite the same in Dungeons.”

Simulation

3D Rollercoaster Rush Bundle Pack: Price: $7.99
“Take a wild ride with this 3-in-1 Bundle Pack of the Original, Jurassic, and Haunted 3D Rollercoaster Rush games, an award-winning and top downloaded brand in June! This Bundle Pack is a steal with a whopping 120 different 3D action-packed rollercoaster tracks! 120 ways to feel the rush of zooming through the highest peaks, biggest drops, underwater, and haunted pumpkin patches in Career Mode! You can even go head-to-head with your friends via Bluetooth in both Jurassic and Haunted themes. Please be warned to eat lightly before playing or you may lose your lunch due to the thrill seeking INSANITY!”

Kitty BubbleWrap: Price: $0.99
“POP, POP, POP—no one can resist making those little plastic bubbles explode! Now your experience never ends with this computerized bubblewrap you can pop again and again. But wait, there’s MORE—our bubblewrap comes with a new and surprising picture revealed at the end of each sheet! With hundreds of pictures of kittens and cats, the real test is how fast you uncover them all!”

Magic Earthwand: Price: $2.99
“Enter a fairy tale world where three enchanted princes are turned into Magic EarthWands and sent into a dark world to catch love that the evil wizard Duche Baggums stole from them. Using an original 3D algorithm written expressly for the iPhone platform, the Magic EarthWand simulates the behavior physics of the classic Cup and Ball game. This charming and beautiful game takes you through the journey of the three princes of Earth in their quest to restore light to the world and return to their original selves.”

Sports

NBA Live by EA Sports: Price: $9.99
“NBA LIVE by EA SPORTS™ delivers the most realistic 5-on-5 action available for iPhone® and iPod touch®! AUTHENTIC TEAMS, REAL STARS, TRUE LEGENDS
With real NBA rosters, you can dominate the game as Dwight Howard and other All-NBA stars. Or unlock legends from favorite NBA teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers, and more. Match up all 30 NBA teams in the new 82-game Season Mode. Play a casual game in Exhibition Mode, or battle all the way the Finals in the ultra-intense Playoff Mode. Control the game with a virtual analog stick. Use the accelerometer to accurately shoot free-throws. Press the clipboard to pick from multiple plays on offense or to set your strategy on defense. Stay in the zone with the beat of15 music tracks from artists like Matt and Kim, Snoop Dogg, and Xzibit. Hear legendary announcer Marv Albert accent the action as you rain 3s from downtown.  Tip-off anytime, anywhere, and watch your game come to life in vivid 3D. It’s intuitive enough for the casual gamer, but delivers the authenticity that hardcore fans demand.”

Strategy

NOTHING

Trivia

SPLINTERS: Price: $0.99
“The third dimension of puzzle games is just one fingertip ahead. In SPLINTERS you have to rotate a three-dimensional point cloud. From the right perspective, the cloud merges into an image. Play against the clock to win a place in the worldwide highscore list. 30 Levels are waiting to be mastered with skill and spatial ability.
SPLINTERS takes full advantage of the graphic chip of the iPhone / iPod touch to ensure a direct and smooth gameplay.”

776 Things You Didn’t Know: Price: $0.99
“776 Things You Didn’t Know is a collection of interesting facts and trivia. Board at a bar? Killing time during class. Pull out your iPhone/iPod Touch and fire up this 776 Things You Didn’t Know. This application is a great way to start up conversation. Did you know that every time you lick a stamp you consume 1/10 of calorie? Did you know that rabbits can not vomit. There is no such thing as naturally blue food. Even blueberries are purple. 776 Things You Didn’t Know is great for random facts, curious situations, conversation starters, parties, and settling bets.”

Word

Aero Frenzy: Price: $0.99
“Aero Frenzy is an engaging word game with high-flying fun! Race your airplane to the finish line by building words from the available letters. Can you reach the finish before your opponent does? It’s high-flying fun as you race across the sky!”

Hangman Pro: Price: $0.99
“Think you have a good vocabulary? Take on your iPhone or a friend in this chalkboard classic and find out how good your vocabulary really is. Hangman Pro is the best Hangman game available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game faithfully captures every detail of the classic Hangman experience, right down to the chalk dust. Hangman Pro supports one player and two player gameplay, so you can let a friend choose a word or have your phone select a word from a broad range of categories.”

iPhone / iPod Touch Links

Appletell: [Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup - October 26th, 2009] [Appletell reviews Keep Defenders for iPhone, iPod touch] [First iPhone firewall soon to be in Cydia]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

While watching horror movies on Halloween is a perfectly acceptable way to celebrate the holiday, it’s also a hands off approach. You’re a spectator, not an active participant in the action. You could always go out to a good haunted house, but those can be far away and quite expensive. Perhaps the best approach would be to gather a handful of your closest friends and have a horrific video game marathon. The beauty with the horror game marathon is that it has the thrills and occasional scares of a horror movie marathon, but also the excitement and personal involvement of a haunted house.

Here’s how to set it up right. Invite only a handful of people over. A number between three and five is perfect, but anymore than seven and it may not be as frightening. Where ever you’ll all be playing the games will have to be dark, save for the light of the television screen. A few candles wouldn’t hurt as well, but make sure they’re set up so they don’t drip, cause a mess or perhaps burn your place down. If anyone has to leave the room, set it up where there are no other lights on, and they have to take a flickering, ready to burn out flashlight, to light their way.

If you have enough time, you can also set up some optional decorations. I’m not talking about the stuff you can find at Walmart or your local dollar store. Try to purposely arrange things in your home or room that look otherworldly or out of the ordinary. Make sure a coat rank has a sufficient number of coats so it looks like a menacing individual in the moonlight. If there’s a scary tree outside your window, leave the shades open. If you ever had a furby or incredibly creepy American Girl doll, now’s the time to leave it in a shadowy corner, watching. Another tip - if there are creepy household noises that you can amplify, do so. Or, claim that you’ve never heard that sound before.

Now, for the games. I’d recommend going with a five hour, five game marathon. From 9pm to 2am works well. You can adjust the schedule as you like though. Also, if you don’t have five games, perhaps just one or two really good, scary ones, then focus on the games you do have and use the marathon to try and complete them in a single night. In case you’re wondering how to proceed, here’s four schedules PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii owners could use.

PS2 owners

9pm - 10pm: Clock Tower 3
10pm - 11pm: Silent Hill 3
11pm - 12am: Rule of Rose
12am - 1am: Fatal Frame
1am - 2am: Fatal Frame 2

Note: The PS2 had a wide selection of horror games. If you don’t think the schedule above would work for you, some good games you can substitute in are Haunting Ground, one of the other Silent Hill games, Siren, Fatal Frame 3 or a Resident Evil game.

PS3 owners

9pm - 10pm: F.E.A.R.
10pm - 11pm: Resident Evil 5
11pm - 12am: Siren: Blood Curse
12am - 1am: Silent Hill: Homecoming
1am - 2am: Dead Space

Xbox 360 owners

9pm - 10pm: Left 4 Dead
10pm - 11pm: Clive Barker’s Jericho
11pm - 12am: Silent Hill: Homecoming
12am - 1am: Condemned: Criminal Origins
1am - 2am: Dead Space

Wii owners

9pm - 10pm: LIT
10pm - 11pm: House of the Dead: Overkill
11pm - 12am: Resident Evil 4
12am - 1am: Dead Space: Extraction
1am - 2am: Ju-on: The Grudge

One final note, should you make your own schedule, try to arrange the games in order of scariness. Leave the most unnerving and frightening game for last. And also, bear in mind, that the schedules above are just suggestions, and don’t cover all horror games available for those systems.

Also Read [Gamertell]

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The Love

The Hate

Full Story » | Written by Jessica Moen for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

New Spaces

Uncharted 2: Nepalese Village

Located under the same map as the original Uncharted world is the new Uncharted 2: Nepalese Village. A gorgeous place and, once you are loaded in, you are given a piece of a mask to start your treasure hunt to unlock one of three mini-games in this new area. The pieces of the mask are scattered throughout this small village and once you find them all you unlock the mini-game Mask Mayhem where you race against the clock to put the mask back together. Finding all the mask pieces unlocks a virtual ritual dagger for your personal space. There are other unlockables in this space acquired upon completing the other games including Fortunate Thieves, Mask Mayhem and a Torch Race.

Check out this new space:

Tekken 6: Mishima Zaibatsu’s Recreation Floor

This lounge has a mini-gymnasium, a bar, lounge area and arcade center which acts as a launching station for the games. Stop into the gym and tryout the dumbbells and grab a bottle of water for your virtual workout.

Check out my friend RayBladeX’s virtual tour of this space:

Street Fighter 4: S.I.N.‘s Secret Base

This launching lounge allow fans of Street Fighter 4 to gather and talk or challenge each other about all things Street Fighter. Also in this space, if you dress your avatar as a Street Fighter Character you can perform an action like “Boo” to hurl a fireball towards a friend. Also, with the release of this new space ,25 alternate Street Fighter costumes have been released. See the store list below.

Zombie Hunt

In the battle between the Home residents and the undead, there’s a hunt to find the pieces of a zombie left all over Home. Explore the different worlds and search high and low for pieces of this zombie and put it back together again for a voucher code that unlocks free zombie-themed items. Just don’t lose your lunch while picking up the pieces. Check out the S.P.A.Z. HQ at UndeadYourself.com for photos of the zombie-themed furniture.

Shopping

S.I.N. Secret Base Store

Male Only Alternative Street Fighter Outfit Bundles:
• Dhalsim Costume Bundle cost $1.49
• Akuma Costume Bundle cost $1.49
• Sagat Costume Bundle cost $1.49
• Seth Costume Bundle cost $1.49
• Guile Costume Bundle cost $2.49
• Gouken Costume Bundle cost $2.49
• Ken Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Ryu Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Zangief Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Blanka Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Fei Long Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Vega Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• M. Bison Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Abel Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• El Fuerte Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Rufus Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Dan Costume Bundle cost $3.99
• Gen Costume Bundle cost $3.99
Female Only Alternative Street Fighter Outfit Bundles:
• Sakura Costume Bundle cost $2.49
• C. Viper Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Rose Costume Bundle cost $2.99
• Chun-Li Costume Bundle cost $3.99
• Cammy Costume Bundle cost $3.99

Threads 1 - located on the first floor of mall

• Zombieland T-shirt cost 49 cents
• Do-Rags in choice of jungle camo, red, red skull, stars and stripes or urban camo cost 49 cents each
• Flame-Patterened Slip-On Skate Shoes cost 49 cents
• Flip Flops cost 49 cents
Male Only Items
• Loot XOR3T T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Creature Monster Head by Loot cost 49 cents
• Beige Baseball Cap cost 49 cents
• Army Cap cost 49 cents
• Do-Rag in choice of Blue or Black Skull cost 49 cents each
• Army Beret cost 49 cents
• PS Home Trucker Cap cost 49 cents
• Letterman Jacket in choice of Green and White, Black and White, Red and White or Blue and Yellow cost 49 cents each
• Denim Jacket cost 49 cents
• Baseball Shirt in choice of Striped, Blue, Grey or PS HOME cost 49 cents each
• Sports Top in choice of Grey and Red or Blue and Grey cost 49 cents each
• White Top in choice of Blue or Powder Blue Raglan Sleeves cost 49 cents each
• Cream Top with Salmon Raglan Sleeves cost 49 cents
• Orange Top with Burnt Orange Raglan Sleeves cost 49 cents
• Blue Top with Burnt Orange Raglan Sleeves cost 49 cents
• White Top with Green Raglan Sleeves cost 49 cents
• Charcoal Waist Coat with choice of Blue, White or Black Shirt cost 49 cents each
• Black Waist Coat with White Shirt cost 49 cents
• Beige Waist Coat with White shirt cost 49 cents
• Turtleneck Shirt in choice of Red, Blue or Black cost 49 cents each
• Tank Top Shirt in choice of White, Brown or Blue cost 49 cents each
• Corduroy Jeans in choice of Red, Tartan or White cost 49 cents each
• Cargo Pants in choice of Urban Camo, Beige, Black or Green cost 49 cents each
• Cargo Shorts in choice of Jungle Camo, Green, Grey or Black cost 49 cents each
• Sweat Pants in choice of Green, Blue, Red or Turquoise cost 49 cents each
• Beach Shoes in choice of Red and Orange, Cream and Red, Green, Blue and Red, Cream and Blue or Blue and Orange cost 49 cents each
• Cyber Goth Shoes cost 49 cents
• Slip-On Skate Shoes in choice of Pink Check, Floral Green, Pink or Ram Skull cost 49 cents each
• Eye Mask cost 49 cents
Female Only Items:
• Mummy Monster Head by Loot cost 49 cents
• Baseball Cap in choice of Pink or Red and Blue cost 49 cents
• Do-Rag in choice of Pink Camo or Black cost 49 cents each
• Padded Gilet over Fleece in choice of Black and White or Grey and Black cost 49 cents each
• Halterneck Dress in choice of Blue Floral Print, Floral Print, Black or Black and Grey cost 49 cents each
• Long-sleeved T-shirt in choice of Grey and Khaki, White and Blue, Salmon and Blue, Grey and Orange, Blue and Orange, White and Green, Red, Blue, Grey, Green or Black cost 49 cents each
• Belted Flared-Jeans in choice of Black with a Red Belt, Green with a Yellow Belt, Grey with a Pink Belt, Blue with a White Belt, Red with a Black Belt or Black with a White Belt cost 49 cents each
• Lace-Trimmed Skirt in choice of Black, Red, Green, Tartan or Skull Patterned cost 49 cents each
• Black Cropped Pencil Jeans cost 49 cents
• Baggy Chinos cost 49 cents
• Trousers in choice of Green, Beige, Black, Grey, Blue or White cost 49 cents each
• Walking Sandals in choice of Tan or White cost 49 cents each
• Beach Shoes in choice of Green, Khaki and Red, Blue and Yellow, Grey and Cream, Blue or Cream and Blue cost 49 cents each
• Slip-On Skate Shoes in choice of Gold Check, Pink Floral or Skull and Teal cost 49 cents each
• Small Silver Hoop Earrings cost 25 cents

Real Estate Store - located on the first and second floor of Mall

Finally the long awaited City Penthouse has finally arrived and costs $4.99. After being removed earlier this year because of bugs and glitches associated with this space it’s finally fixed and ready for Home users to move in. This personal space overlooks a night cityscape with two floors of space for furniture and pictures. Check out this Home user’s penthouse:

Furniture Store 1 - located on the first floor of Mall

Paintings from Mass Media Games, Inc:
• “Lono” by Jeff Hibers cost 99 cents
• “Madonna” by Jeff Hibers cost 99 cents
• “Mr. Dopek” by Jeff Hibers cost 99 cents
• “One Thing After Another” by Jeff Hibers cost 99 cents
• “Orbital Kachina” by Jeff Hibers cost 99 cents
Furniture:
• Penthouse Coffee Table cost 99 cents
• Penthouse Display Plant cost 99 cents
• Penthouse Corner Sofa cost 99 cents
• Penthouse Sofa cost 99 cents
Neptune Suite Collection:
• Golden Throne cost $4.99
• Channel Back “Media” Sofa cost 99 cents
• Corner Couch cost 99 cents
• Deep Seats ~ Arm Chair cost 99 cents
• L-Shaped Black Table cost 99 cents
• Stadium Seating Couch cost 99 cents

Threads 2 - located on the second floor of Mall

• Animania T-shirt Bundle cost $2.99
Individual Items Include:
• Animated Flashing Battery, Stars and Stripes, and a Revolving Smiley T-shirts cost $1.99 each

• Glow Crazy Bundle cost $3.49
Individual Items Include:
• Animated Revolving Earth T-shirt cost $1.99
• Pink Glow Sticks cost $1.99
• Pink Animated Glow Shoes cost 99 cents
• Animated White Glow Glasses cost 99 cents

• Glow Fever Bundle cost $2.99
Individual Items Include:
• Glow Sticks in choice of Pink, Blue or Yellow cost $1.99 each

Furniture Store 2 - located on the second floor of Mall

• Furniture-Tastic Bundle cost $4.99
Individual Items Include:
• Blue Animated Neon Sofa cost $1.99
• Pink Animated Neon Chair cost $1.99
• Pink Animated Neon Footstool cost $1.99
• Green Animated Neon Table cost $1.99
• Green Animated Neon Lamp cost 99 cents
• Blue Animated Neon Flower cost 99 cents

Costume Shop - located on the second floor of Mall

Halloween Costumes:

• Skelly-Bob Outfit by Outso in choice of Glowing or Erie bones set each cost $2.95
Individual Items Include:
• Skelly-Bob Shoes and Gloves in choice of Glowing or Erie bones cost 49 cents each
• Skelly-Bob Skull, Trousers and Shirt in choice of Glowing or Erie bones cost 99 cents each

Werewolf Costume:
• Wolfen Head, Feet and Hands cost 49 cents each
• Wolfen Shirt and Pants cost 99 cents each
Mummy Costume:
• Mummified Head and Feet cost 49 cents each
• Mummified Body and Legs cost 49 cents each
Grim Reaper Costume:
• Grimmed Head, Feet and Hands cost 49 cents each
• Grimmed Body and Legs cost 99 cents each
Jack-O-Lantern Costume:
• Jack-O Hat and Feet cost 49 cents each
• Jack-O Body and Legs cost 99 cents each

Male Only Costumes:

Angelic Warrior Costume
• Angelic Sandals cost 49 cents
• Angelic Armor Top with Wings Extended and Armor Bottom cost 99 cents each
Frankenstein Costume:
• Frankenstein Head, Feet and Hands cost 49 cents
• Frankenstein Body and Legs cost 99 cents each
Vampire Costume:
• Vampiric Head, Feet and Hands cost 49 cents each
• Vampiric Body and Legs cost 99 cents each

Female Only Costumes:

• Fancy Witch Costume Bundle by Outso cost $2.95
Individual Items include:
• Gloves and Animated Bat Shoes cost 49 cents
• Spider Hat, Skirt with Socks and Witch Corset cost 99 cents each

Angel Costume:
• Angelic Heels cost 49 cents
• Angelic Tunic with Cherub Wings and Bottom cost 99 cents each
Bride of Frankenstein Costume
• Bride of Frankenstein Hair and Feet cost 49 cents each
• Bride of Frankenstein Dress and Legs cost 99 cents each

Site [PlayStation Blog]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

This week’s first featured downloadable game is PlayStation One Classic Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee for $9.99. Players control Abe, a skinny little ugly creature that must survive a world filled with dangers armed with only physic abilities, farting and other weird noises as well as hand signals to rescue his own species from extinction. Check it out:

The next downloadable game this week is Trine for $19.99. In this game there are tons of traps and skeleton armies trying to stop you from completing your quest. Players control three characters - a magician, a thief and a knight - to help them solve puzzles, create objects that can smash or trap the enemy as seen in this Video.

Price Drops

Note: Some price drops are only temporary unless marked and may return to full price at any time.

• Lumines Supernova (PS3/Permanent Price Drop $9.99)
• Burnout Paradise (PS3/Temporary Price Drop $14.99)
• Siren Halloween Sale Full game (PS3/Original Price was $39.99/Now $29.99)
• Three Siren Halloween Sale Bundle Packs (PS3/Original Price was $14.99 each/Now $11.99 each)

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus (PS3/$9.99)
• Armored Core 3 Portable (PSP/$14.99)
• Yggdra Union (PSP/$14.99)
• Riviera: The Promised Land (PSP/$14.99)
• R-Type Command (PSP/$14.99)
• Lemmings (PSP/$15.99)
• Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP/$19.99)
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PSP/$19.99)
• The Warriors (PSP/$19.99)
• Hammerin’ Hero (PSP/$19.99)
• Capcom Puzzle World (PSP/$19.99)
• The Secret Saturdays: Beasts of the 5th Sun (PSP/$29.99)
• Marvel Super Hero Squad (PSP/$29.99)
• Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament (PSP/$29.99)
• Crimson Gem Saga (PSP/$29.99)
• Half-Minute Hero (PSP/$29.99)
• Undead Knights (PSP/$39.99)
• FIFA Soccer 10 PSP (English and French version) (PSP/$39.99)
• WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2010 (PSP/$39.99)

Free Demos:

• Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Demo (PSP/Free)
• Ratchet And Clank Future: A Crack In Time – Clank Demo (PS3/Free)
• Critter Crunch Demo (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Ball: Raging Blast Demo (PS3/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• Way of the Samurai 3 – Head & Apparel Items (PS3/Free)
• Lumines Supernova Holiday pack (PS3/$2.49)
• Lumines Supernova Add-on Bundle (PS3/$4.99)
• FIFA Soccer 10 Live Season 2.0 All Leagues (PS3/$9.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Packs:

• Classic Rock 2 Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Lay It On The Line” by Triumph (PS3/$1.99)
• ”Show Me The Way (Live)” by Peter Frampton (PS3/$1.99)
• ”Freeze-Frame” by J. Geils Band (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• Queen Pack 01 (PS3/$15.99)
Individual Tracks:
• “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “Fat Bottomed Girls” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “I Want It All” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “I Want to Break Free” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “Killer Queen” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “One Vision” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “Somebody to Love” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “Tie Your Mother Down” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)
• “Under Pressure” by Queen (PS3/$1.99)

Albums:

• Abbey Road Album — The Beatles (PS3/$16.99)

Individual Songs:

• “Because” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Oh! Darling” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)
• “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “All I Want” by The Offspring (PSP/$1.99)
• “The Rock Show” by Blink-182 (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Pulse 10/22 Edition (PS3/PSP/Free)
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves – Eye of Indra 1 (PS3/Free)
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes: Technology and Gameplay (PS3/Free)
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes 2: Story And Art (PS3/Free)
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Behind The Scenes 3: Making of the Cinematics (PS3/Free)
• Aliens vs. Predator – Predator Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Infamy Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Guitar Hero Van Halen Trailer (PS3/Free)
• FINAL FANTASY XIII TGS 2009 Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age: Origins Sacred Ashes Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age: Origins Stone Prisoner Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Dragon Age: Origins Warden’s Keep Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Eight Summer Dew Tour Videos (PS3/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

*Note: Items with star is only available from the U.S. PlayStation Network Store only.
• LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival Wallpaper (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Hot Pockets PS3 Theme (PS3/Free)*
• Three Hot Pockets PS3 Wallpaper (PS3/Free)*
• LocoRoco: Midnight Carnival Theme (PSP/Free)
• Zombies On TV PSP Theme 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• Zombies On TV PSP Theme 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• 40’s WWII Pinups PSP Theme 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• 40’s WWII Pinups PSP Theme 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• Beach PSP Theme 3 (PSP/$1.49)
• Beach PSP Theme 4 (PSP/$1.49)
• School Girls Attack! Hook-Ups Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Tokyo City Police Hook-Ups Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.99)
• Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Theme (PS3/$1.99)*
• 40’s WWII Pinups Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Beach Theme 2 (PS3/$1.99)
• Zombies On TV Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Cat Girl Akiko Hook-Ups PSP Theme (PSP/$1.99)
• Ice Cream Girls Hook-Ups PSP Theme (PSP/$1.99)
• Nurse Girl Nikki Hook-Ups PSP Theme (PSP/$1.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Halloween is swiftly barreling down on us but, due to monetary situations, creating an elaborate costume is probably out of the question. A more practical, inexpensive and easy alternative is probably best.

The thing is, video game fans can still show their allegiance to their favorite games without breaking their budgets. It isn’t too difficult to dress up as some of the more famous characters out there and, with a little creativity and common sense, come up with a pretty decent costume. Even if it doesn’t turn out well, who cares. Halloween is all about having fun.

So, for budget-conscious individuals, Gamertell has 15 video game costume suggestions for you.

For Men:

• Mario: Blue overalls, red shirt, gloves and hat, construction paper and double-sided tape. The construction paper is to make a moustache and the M insignia for the hat and I’m pretty sure you can figure out what the double-sided tape is for.
• Luigi: See Mario. Substitute the word “green” where ever you see the word “red”. Make sure the hat insignia says “L.”
• Disguised Solid Snake: Here’s one where you could go one of two ways. You could just grab a cardboard box and crawl around under it all night. Or, grab some cheap fatigues from Goodwill or an Army surplus store and a mullet wig to go with your cardboard box.
• Ryu: Head to Goodwill and search for a Karate outfit. You’ll probably actually find one. If anything, settle for the shirt and a pair of white pants. Grab a long, red ribbon or strip of fabric and tie it around your head and you’re all set. If you can find the outfit in red, you could go as Ken.

For Women:

• Princess Peach: Pick up a floor length pink dress. Again, Goodwill is great for this and they usually have a special Halloween section. Also, grab some costume jewelry and one of the Burger King free gold crowns (add spray paint if you want to avoid promoting any one company). If you’re not blonde, you’ll need a wig or can of cheapie, temporary hair color as well.
• Princess Daisy: See Princess Peach, and substitute “yellow” for “pink.” If your hair isn’t brown, pick up a brunette wig or spray color as well.
• Terra or Rydia (FFVI or FFIV: Here’s one that could go either way. Both need a green wig. Both also need a strapless swimsuit - go magenta if you want to be Terra, or green if you want to be Rydia. Pick up some patterned tights as well. Again, green for Rydia, and paisley for Terra. You have some freedom with footwear, matching boots would be best, but you can get by with green or magenta shoes. If you want a cape as well, get some red (Terra) or green (Rydia) fabric and string. Costume jewelry is optional. You could also pick up a magenta (Terra) or green (Rydia) skirt, or a sword/staff if you’d like.
• Lara Croft: Green or black tank top, khaki shorts, wig (if necessary), scrunchi, cheap glasses (frames only) and two water pistols. Boots would be best, but black sneakers could work as well.

Gender Neutral:

• Red Ring of Death: Sure to strike terror into the heart of any Xbox 360 owner. You can do this two ways - the really cheap way, or the sorta cheap way. For the cheap way, grab a white T-shirt and a red sharpie. Draw an oversized RROD symbol on the shirt with markers. If you want to class it up, get a narrow, flat piece of cardboard, white paint, some appropriate colored sharpies and some string. Make the cardboard look like the front of an Xbox 360. Draw the RROD on it. Attach string and wear it.
• Harvest Moon Farmer: You have a bit of freedom here. All you really need is a backpack and some kind of hat. Baseball hat for guys, bandanna for girls. Overalls are a nice touch, but optional. Jeans work just as well.  If there’s a particular entry in the series you’re fond of, use that farmer’s look as your model.
• Pokemon Trainer: Normal clothes and a stuffed Pokemon toy (check Walmart or Goodwill). If you really want to go all out, stop by Michaels or your local craft store. Pick up some small, styrofoam balls and a red sharpie. Make them look like pokeballs, and tape them to an old belt.
• A Sims 2 or Sims 3 person: Get a headband with a spring already attached to it. These antenna headbands are everywhere around Halloween. Get one in a color you like. Also, pick up a black sharpie and green construction paper. Make two large, green diamonds out of the construction paper. Glue or tape them to the antenna, so that you don’t see what was on there before, just the diamond on the front and back. Use the sharpee to add accents to the diamond. Put it on, and you’re set.
• Lost in Blue survivor: Take some old clothes and tatter/fray the edges a bit. Put on a pair of old, comfortable gym shoes. Grab a stuffed monkey, backpack and a large stick from outside. Now you’re a shipwreck survivor, trying to find a way back home.
• Pac Man ghost: Buy a red, pink, teal or orange sheet. Cut holes for your eyes. Follow around your friends. I’m pretty sure Pinky is the only girl but, really, they’re ghosts. Does gender really matter?
• Animal Crossing avatar: Grab a cheap watering can or slingshot, some gold paint, a brown paper bag and a darker brown marker. If you’re a girl, you’ll have to wear a dress. Paint the watering can or slingshot gold. Decorate the brown paper bag with the bells symbol.

Do you have an idea for a cheap and easy to make video game costume? Let us know in the comments below!

Read [Nothing Corporate] Also Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Apple supposedly has an announcement to make this week, probably trying to steal some thunder from the Windows 7 release this Thursday (October 22, 2009). What could Apple possibly announce? Who knows at this point, we really haven’t heard if they are officially announcing anything. But feel free to place your bets below.

I will venture a guess that whatever Apple announces it won’t have anything to do with your iPhone or iPod Touch but this week’s list certainly does:

What’s Free

Domineering Lite
“Domineering is a very easy to learn strategy game where each player takes turns placing their dominoe. Each player tries to force the other player into not being able to place their piece on the board. One player may only place dominoes horizontally, and the other may only place them vertically.”

Geo Warfare Lite
“Protect your city from an alien invasion by battling against enemy spaceships in their attempt to conquer Earth. Your goal is to destroy indicated targets before they reach any alien aircraft. Failure to do so will cause UFOs to fire lasers towards your city.”

Piyo Blocks Lite
“Your task is simple – swap adjacent Piyo Blocks to match 3 or more of the same kind to capture them. To level up you will need to capture a target number of each kind of Piyo. The real skill comes into play when creating combos, which multiplies your score for capturing the Piyos. The bigger the combo you create, the greater score you’ll get!”

Total Soccer
“Total Soccer is a clone of the original Soccer game released by Atari in the 70’s. With a simple tap and drag interface and a totally configurable game, Total Soccer is THE app for the classic gamer.”

Real Soccer 2010 Free
“Try out the free version of Real Soccer 2010, - the #1 soccer game on the App Store and discover the thrill of the greatest football matches: Barcelona vs. Manchester or Brazil vs. Spain!”

Word 2 Word
“This word changing puzzle game will test your brain as well as your vocabulary. A fresh new take on word ladders, your goal is to transform one word into another, making new words along the way, by changing just one letter at a time. Do you have the smarts to master all 50 puzzles?”

What’s New

Action

ASTROBOY: FLYING ACTION: Price: $2.99
“oin in the adventures of Astro Boy, the young robot with astonishing powers, super strength and an ability to fly. Journey with him through Metro city and beyond and take on his arch rivals with special weapons. The first OFFICAL Astroboy game available for the iPhone and iTouch, lets you take control of your favorite character through 6 action packed levels. Your goal is to cross all hurdles in your path, destroy all the vicious villains for a final showdown with Pluto, the world’s strongest robot.”

Air Force Online: Price: $0.99
“Air Force Online is a game that lets you relive your childhood memories of playing the planes game. The game lets you navigate a World War II Japanese fighter plane and your mission is to bring down enemy aircraft by rotating your plane clockwise or anti-clockwise in the skies to avoid enemy fire as well as to chase after the enemy aircraft.”

Tap-Fu: Price: $3.99
“Tap-Fu is a casual beat-em-up inspired by games like Karateka, Double Dragon, and Castle Crashers. Features rich 3D levels and striking 2D characters, with unique and easy to learn control systems and fast-paced combat with combos and Style Points.”

A Lyndon Wicked Tale: Red Rage: Price: $0.99
“Lyndon’s Wicked Tales: Red Rage is an epic story that takes the story of Little Red Riding Hood and turns it on its head. The game fully embraces the true nature of the story and creates a dark and intriguing tale that pits Red on an engaging journey against wolves, vampires, and werewolves. Of course there are many twists throughout the game that propel the player forward and continue the story.”

Adventure

Pang Mobile: Price: $2.99
“Test your reflexes in this highly addictive official remake of the 80s arcade classic, “Pang”, also known as “Buster Bros” in the US. Travel from Japan to the tropical shores of Hawaii as you take up the task of saving civilisation from dangerously bouncing bubbles that threaten city landmarks across the planet. Can you save Mount Fuji from being flattened by spherical dangers? Will your reactions be good enough to defend the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty? Or can you wear them down while saving your own skin? Everyone’s favourite from the arcades, Pang is easy to learn but difficult to master as you progress through 17 locations saving the world’s attractions with an assortment of weapons from the grappling hook to the twin harpoon. Use various power-ups including a force field and time freeze; anything to give you the edge to avoid their fatal touch.”

iMPig: Price: $0.99
“Help Piggy shoot the wolves and keep back the wolves’ attack. More wolves are killed, more props you will get, and even become more powerful as green giant, spider man, or bat man. But meanwhile more difficult the obstacles become. Move on, protect the little piggy and become a really bat man.”

frog jumping adventure: Price: $1.99
“Once upon a time there was frog prince. The frog was jumping around the world to find princess to be prince again. Your frog prince’s greate adventure is ready to go. It’s simple one button Jumping game.”

Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet: Price: $3.99
“Take on the role of a homicide detective in this spine-tingling mystery by bestselling author JAMES PATTERSON. Study murder scenes, perform forensic analysis and find evidence as you try to solve a series of ghastly murders in San Francisco.”

Arcade

Polapoly Blue: Price: $1.99
“The ultimate figure swapping puzzler! Now it is in polygon. More twist, structured story, reasonably leveled missions and dazzling action than any other figure swapping puzzlers! Feel the extreme pleasure as you swap adjacent Poly to match three or more colors in 6 different directions! Unlike other typical figure swapping puzzlers, Polapoly let users to select various ways to play the game.”

Watergame - (Old water toys): Price: $0.99
“The most refreshing experience for the iPhone! Remember when you used to play with those old water toys? Now Anyplays will take you back to your childhood with WaterGame. Turn your iPhone/iPod into a water tank and try to place all coloured balls in the corresponding baskets to complete every mission.”

Geo Warfare: Price: $0.99
“Protect your city from an alien invasion by battling against enemy spaceships in their attempt to conquer Earth. Your goal is to destroy indicated targets before they reach any alien aircraft. Failure to do so will cause UFOs to fire lasers towards your city.”

Board

Domineering: Price: $0.99
“Domineering is a very easy to learn strategy game where each player takes turns placing their dominoe. Each player tries to force the other player into not being able to place their piece on the board. One player may only place dominoes horizontally, and the other may only place them vertically.”

Card

3 Kingdoms Landmaster: Price: $1.99
“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight for your own fortune! Take over your opponents’ land to level up your own land. You could make more money with more land, so take as much land as you can!! Use as many cards as you want on your opponents. From taking over others’ land to playing some tricks on your opponents, the special effect on this cards will overwhelmed them! So buy as many cards as you want! Characters from the famous 3-kingdom Chinese history will join this game. Their cuteness, unique personalities and facial expressions will blow you away! Don’t ever trust anyone when you are rich! Even when they claim to be your friends… If you’re not in the mood for tricks and fights, go for the free mode. You change the game settings in your way Bet small or play big; it’s all up to you! Play the game just the way you like. We have 2 different ways of control for you. It’s ok if you don’t know how to play. We have the best tutorial for you to guide you into the overwhelming world of land wresting!”

Casino

NOTHING

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

Math Brain for Kids: Price: $0.99
“Test your ability to solve different math operations.”

Touch Touch Typing: Price: $3.99
“This application is a “Flick Japanese Input” training application. You can lesson Japanese flick-kanji-input with fun. The basic lesson is for a beginner and special lesson is for experts. The challenge mode allows you to challenge the speed, accuracy of “flick-kanji-input”. With tapping the logo area of the main screen, you can change the mode to “Touch Typing” training mode. In this mode you can try to input kanji with no-key-top-keyboard. When you master “Touch typing”, you’ll be able to input kanji so fast.”

Memory Commander: Price: $0.99
“Train your brain with “Memory Commander”! 65 levels with increasing difficulty train you to remember up to 10 symbols. Remember the symbols at the top. Once they disappear try to find the symbols as fast as you can. The faster you are the more points you get. Become “Memory Commander” on your phone first and then compete worldwide via the online HighScoreList.”

Cut Word: Price: $0.99
“An original word game from M.G.Studio. In this game,Cut Word offers you 45 levels to challenge.Each level has a series of words which is both in Chinese and English.We all know Chinese word is a square word,it’s hard to remember,but each word has its character. Since the game began,the word’s order has been reordered,so in a limit time,you need to drag them to the right order to finish this level’s challenge. This game can lead you to find out the Chinese square word’s magic,then help you remember it.You can show off the word you have got by your hand. It’s awesome!”

Family

Squeeballs Party: Price: $2.99
“Family friendly video game for kids ages 9 and up. You will slice, dice, fire and shock the toys as one of our testers through over 70 mini games found in 5 different game genres that provide endless hours of fun for everyone.”

Magnoid Plus: Price: $0.99
“Magnoid Plus…..... is a very interactive and addictive game. As you progress with the game by removing the bricks, it becomes more exciting. The speed of the ball will gradually increase without you even knowing, which makes this game really exciting. It will act as your favorite pass time, while traveling or when you are getting bored. Being the initial version, we have made this application simple and Addictive. Our enhancements are going on that will reveal more features and information which you will really love in our next enhanced version. We would welcome your ideas as to what all things you would like to have in the application so that we can try and incorporate it in our next version.”

The Snow Queen: Price: $0.99
“Digital Media is proud to bring to you classical story made famous by Hans Christian Andersen. Join Gerda on her journey to find Kay and bing him back. And after watching story you can color scenes from fairy tale in coloring book.”

Cinderella: Price: $0.99
“Digital Media brings you new animated version of classic fairy tale - Cinderella. Inspired by Charles Perrault writing we created a funny and eye catching application where your kids can watch Cinderella’s story and play with coloring book where they can let their creativity free with dozens of colours and textures on 10 scenes from this beautiful tale.”

Music

NOTHING

Puzzle

Cash Cow: Price: $0.99
“Cash Cow makes pocket change add up to loads of fun! Help Buck the Cow and his friends save the farm in this original game of coin-counting. The objective is simple: earn money by counting up your loose change. Small coins make big coins, and big coins make dollar bills. Things get trickier when you add counterfeit money, ladybugs, gold nuggets, glowing coins, and powerups into the mix. With its unique challenges, fantastic graphics, and catchy soundtrack, Cash Cow is one app you’ll keep playing again and again!”

Piyo Blocks: Price: $0.99
“Your task is simple – swap adjacent Piyo Blocks to match 3 or more of the same kind to capture them. To level up you will need to capture a target number of each kind of Piyo. The real skill comes into play when creating combos, which multiplies your score for capturing the Piyos. The bigger the combo you create, the greater score you’ll get!”

PuzzMon: Price: $1.99
“Apprenticeship magic knight’s Mint clears the trial given because it becomes an independent magic knight. The mission of each level is put out, and if monsters of a specified number are knocked down in time, the level is clear. It is possible to knock it down by moving the monster up and down and right and left, and arranging the same three monsters or more sideways.”

Racing

NOTHING

Role Playing

NOTHING

Simulation

Anna Montana: Price: $1.99
“You start the game as Anna Montana, a desperate co-ed turned housekeeper, who tidies up houses at Glamour Lane, which belong to some very diverse and eccentric individuals. You will need to pick up laundry and drop them off at an automated washer & dryer, pick up the scraps, vacuum the floor, clean and mop the rooms and do everyday household duties. Successful completion requires following instructions given by the fussy home owners and completing multiple housekeeping tasks. The quicker you tidy up the houses, the more Glamour $$ you earn. Efficiency not only earns you a higher tip from these well-known stars but also additional elegant awards.”

Lone Wolf - Lion’s Den: Price: $0.99
“Lone Wolf - Lion’s Den is Donoma Games’s second entry in the sniper genre focusing on stealth and strategy. Lion’s Den challenges the player to find different ways of completing each mission without alerting the other guards. The latter half of the missions focuses on quickly eliminating the enemies.”

Fail Boat: Price: $0.99
“Are you ready to set sail on the high seas? Fail Boat puts you at the helm of your very own ship to deliver cargo to ports all over the world. Find the most lucrative jobs and climb to the top of the leaderboards with the most gold! Traveling between ports is in real-time, so after you set sail, you can go about your business and check Fail Boat whenever you want to see when you’ll arrive. Good luck captain!”

CrazyBumb: Price: $0.99
“Bumb, crazy bumb. You must touch the correct position to perish the bumb. Note that where you touch, where the rocket go and explosion. And there are many kinds of item can boost up youself.”

Sports

PaperJet: Price: $1.99
“Paper Jet is a game where a paper plane is thrown three times and players compete for the highest total distance thrown. Make full use of all the different items in the air and on the ground to fly your paper plane further and further. Hit a ‘nitoro’ and you’ll go even further! Hit a bird and you’ll slow down! Who will be in command of the heart pounding battle that looms in the sky?! With the ranking function you’ll know where you rank among players from around the world. So aim to have the world’s best throw!”

Hockey Allstar Shootout: Price: $0.99
“Beat the best goalies the world has to offer in this addictive, easy to play hockey shootout game! Choose between nine different countries as you attempt to deke out top class goalies. Will you try and beat the goalie five hole? Decide to go top shelf? The choice is yours.”

Ragduck Hunt: Price: $0.99
“Blast ducks from the sky and witness their fall in glorious 3D with full ragdoll physics enabled! Test your marksmanship by collecting all the coins.”

Strategy

Abductor: Price: $0.99
“Humble Gaming offers you an extended, fun filled and unique Match 3 type Puzzle Game, with loaded features offering good value. All the fun of a typical Match 3 puzzle game with additional twists of power plays and a mission specific to celebrate the Halloween spirit. An UFO, during a routine visit is intrigued by how Earthlings celebrate Halloween. They decide to abduct the ‘spirit’ of Halloween, by taking with them any and all objects and artifacts that represent or symbolize Halloween.”

Trivia

Explosion!: Price: $0.99
“Explosion! is a skill game that will try out your memory, reflexes and timing in an attempt to defuse a dangerous bomb, before it esplodes! Thanks to the e-Defuser™ in fact, you can enter certain codes, using the keypad, in order to prevent the explosion. Find the highest number of hidden words, organized into different categories, as fast as you can… but be careful! Guess each word before time runs out, otherwise the bomb will esplode, ending your game! It won’t be an easy task to decipher the sequence of 50 hidden words, because after each error (wrong letter) the timer will increase its speed, getting you closer and closer to a very explosive epilogue!”

Word

NOTHING

iPhone and iPod Touch Links

AppleTell: [Appletell reviews Elgato’s EyeTV for iPhone] [App it Up: The Fright Factory] [Free Apps roundup for October 16th, 2009] [In-app purchases now available in free apps]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

New Spaces

Zombies have invaded PlayStation Home ... Again

In an Halloween-style event along with a new personal space has been released that will transform all that enter into zombies. In much the same fashion as the Hamster invasion earlier this year, Home residents are divided in a virtual protest. Those for the undead and those against. Check out Mr. R. Phunrooner of the “Society of People Against Zombies” website at Undead Yourself website for more information about this battle. Players can choose to wander the streets of Home in search of a warm brain to munch on or join the rest of humanity in their new struggle of survival this Halloween.

Ratchet and Clank - Time Traveler Space

This new in-world space is loaded with activities, mini-games and all things Ratchet and Clank to include a store with Ratchet and Clank-themed items available for purchase (see store list below) for fans awaiting the launch of the new Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time release for the PlayStation 3. This space features a museum of all of Ratchet and Clank‘s tools, weapons and gear. As well as a dance area and three mini games to try that all unlock special exclusive reward items. An Artillery mini-game, Firing Range mini-game and a Lost Sheep mini-game. Check out this video for more details:

Shopping

Grummelnet SuperStore located in the new Ratchet and Clank Time Traveler Space

Clothing:
• Dr. Nefarious’s Helmet cost 49 cents
• Ratchet’s Hat (with Ears) cost 49 cents
• Captain Slag’s Gloves cost 49 cents
• Ratchet’s Boots cost 49 cents
• Ratchet’s Vest cost 99 cents
• Ratchet’s Pants (with Tail) cost 99 cents
Furniture:
• Percival Tachyon’s Throne cost 99 cents
Personal Space:
• Ratchet and Clank: Home Sweet Home personal space cost $6.99. This new personal space is located in space over a dry looking planet with several floors and rooms to decorate. Check out this Home user’s tour of the new space for a better look:

Real Estate Store located on first and second floor of mall

• Zombie Deadquarters cost $4.99, this space will automatically transform players and their friends into zombies upon entry. Complete with old beat up furniture, rattling doors, whispers and all things zombie. Check it out:
(Warning: If you are easily frightened by scary noises you might want to turn the volume down before watching the video.)

Threads 1 located on the first floor

• Anti-Zombie T-shirt cost $1.99
• Breast Cancer Awareness Jerseys cost $2.00
Males Only Items:
• MotorStorm Lunatic Carbon DH Gloves cost 49 cents
• MotorStorm Lunatic Pressure Suit (Top) cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Lunatic C95s (Pants) cost 49 cents
Females Only Items:
• MotorStorm Bikergirl Studded Gloves cost 49 cents
• MotorStorm Bikergirl Leather Jacket cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Bikergirl Leathers (Pants) cost 49 cents
• MotorStorm Bikergirl Race Shoes cost 49 cents
• Wedding Veil cost 49 cents
• Wedding Dress Top cost 99 cents
• Wedding Dress Skirt cost 99 cents
• Wedding Dress Shoes cost 99 cents

Furniture Store 1 located on the first floor

• MotorStorm Broken Boombox cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Busted TV cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Burntout BBQ cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Bucket Seat cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Camping Chair cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Camping Seat cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Tyre Footstool cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Generator Seat cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Easy Chair cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Car Seat cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Skateboard Sofa cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Buggy Model cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Coyote Rage Statue cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Workbench cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Scrap Table cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Flight Case cost 99 cents
• MotorStorm Tool Chest cost 99 cents
• Neptune Suite Triangle Chair cost 99 cents
Furniture Bundles:
• Neptune Suite—“Zig Zag Woods” Bundle cost $1.99 and includes “Zig Zag” couch, love seat and table. Individual items cost 99 cents each.
• Neptune Suite—“Artsy” Seats Bundle cost $1.99 and includes Large “Twisted” Sofa, “Twisted” Chair and Kiss Me Chair. Individual items cost 99 cents each.

Threads 2 located on the second floor of the mall

Males Only Items:
• Pharaoh’s Haircut cost 49 cents
• Pharaoh’s Neck Piece cost 99 cents
• Pharaoh’s Skirt cost 99 cents
• Special Edition Animated Growing Vines T-Shirt cost $1.99 in choice of Black Shirt with Orange Vines or Black Shirt with Green Vines
Female Only Items:
• Cleopatra’s Crown cost 49 cents
• Military Uniform Hat cost 49 cents
• Military Uniform Gloves cost 49 cents
• Military Uniform Shoes cost 49 cents
• Cleopatra’s Shirt cost 99 cents
• Cleopatra’s Egyptian Short Skirt cost 99 cents
• Military Uniform Jacket cost 99 cents
• Special Edition Animated Blooming Flower T-Shirt cost $1.99 in choice of Red Shirt with Pink Flowers or Black Shirt with Yellow Flowers

Furniture Store 2 located on second floor of mall

• Rocket Lava Lamps with Black Base cost 99 cents in choice of Blue, Green or Red
• Rocket Lava Lamps with Silver Base cost 99 cents in choice of Blue, Green or Red
• Bubble Lamps with Black Base cost 99 cents in choice of Green, Orange or Purple
• Bubble Lamps with Silver Base cost 99 cents in choice of Green, Orange or Purple

Read [PlayStation Blog] Site [PlayStation] Site [S.P.A.Z. Website]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

This week’s featured downloadable game is Topatoi: The Great Tree Story for $9.99. Players control a vehicle that operates much like an old fashioned children’s spinning top toy through a platform puzzle to make their way up a tree by leaping, spinning or rolling through, over or across moving platforms. As you conquer the different challenges and make it up the tree players can unlock more challenges and obstacles to face as they continue their adventure. Check it out:

This week’s PSP downloadable game is SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike for $15.99. Players can control a team of highly trained Special Operations Command team into hostile territory to neutralize the enemy, collect important information and survey the area. Players can play in single or multiplayer online mode and even play special operation units from different countries. Check it out:

Price Drops

Note: Some price drops are only temporary and may return to full price at any time.

• Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars (PS3/Original Price $9.99/Now $4.99)
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PS3/Original Price $14.99/Now $9.99)

Here is what else is new:

PlayStation One Classic:

• Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (PS3/$5.99)

Downloadable Games

• .detuned (PS3/$2.99)
• BUZZ! Junior: Monster Rally (PS3/$4.99)
• Mushroom Wars (PS3/$9.99)
• Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl (PSP/$14.99)
• Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon (PSP/$14.99)
• Reel Fishing: The Great Outdoors (PSP/$14.99)
• Midnight Club L.A. Remix (PSP/$19.99)
• Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (PSP/$19.99)
• Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max (PSP/$19.99)
• Astro Boy: The Video Game (PSP/$29.99)
• Manhunt 2 (PSP/$29.99)

Free Demos:

• NBA 2K10 Demo (PS3/Free)

Bonus Game Contents:

• Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce DLC Pack 6 (PSP/Free)
• High Velocity Bowling Ball Pack: Planets (PS3/99 cents)
• High Velocity Bowling Ball Pack: Halloween (PS3/99 cents)
• High Velocity Bowling Doug Graves (PS3/99 cents)
• Hot Shots Golf Costume Pack 4 (PS3/$2.99)
• Red Faction: Guerrilla Smasher Pack (PS3/$4.99)
• BUZZ! Quiz TV Space Pack (PS3/$5.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Packs:

• Wolfmother Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “California Queen” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “Cosmic Egg” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)
• “Pilgrim” by Wolfmother (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• The Brütal Legend Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “(We Are) The Road Crew ‘08″ by Motörhead (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Metal” by Tenacious D (PS3/$1.99)
• “More Than Meets the Eye” by Testament (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Tracks:

• “Show Me the Way” by Black Tide (PS3/$1.99)
• “What’s My Age Again?” by Blink-182 (PS3/$1.99)
• “Satch Boogie” by Joe Satriani (PS3/$1.99)
• “Surfing with the Alien” by Joe Satriani (PS3/$1.99)
• “Icarus – Borne on Wings of Steel (Live)” by Kansas (PS3/$1.99)
• “Point of Know Return (Live)” by Kansas (PS3/$1.99)
• “Andres” by L7 (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “Jeremy” by Pearl Jam (PSP/$1.99)
• “Headknocker” by Foreigner (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves – Cologne Gamescom Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Gran Turismo PSP TV Ad: Behind The Scenes (PS3/PSP/Free)
• GT PSP Producer Interview 2 (PSP/Free)
• White Knight Chronicles Quest Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• LocoRoco – Midnight Carnival Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Madden NFL 10: Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the AFL (PS3/Free)
• Tekken 6 Motivation Trailer (PS3/Free)
• DJ Hero Jazzy Jeff Trailer (PS3/Free)
• DJ Hero Grandmaster Flash Trailer (PS3/Free)
• UNO Trailer (including French and Spanish) (PS3/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Fate/Unlimited Codes Wallpaper 3 (PSP/Free)
• Azmodeus Dark Angels PSP Theme 9 (PSP/99 cents)
• Azmodeus Dark Angels PSP Theme 10 (PSP/99 cents)
• Shades of Autumn PSP Theme (PSP/99 cents)
• Nebula Tunnels Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• Hells Heads Theme (PS3/PSP/$1.49)
• Shades Of Autumn (PS3/$1.49)
• German Panther Tank PSP Themes 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tank PSP Themes 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• German Panther Tank (PS3/$1.49)
• Cat Girl Akiko Hook-Ups (PS3/$1.99)
• Azmodeus Dark Angels 5 (PS3/$1.49)
• Azmodeus Dark Angels Premium Theme (PS3/$1.99)
• Ice Cream Girls Hook-Ups (PS3/$1.99)
• Nurse Girl Nikki Hook-Ups (PS3/$1.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Opinion: Sony’s silence concerning PSPgo sales data speaks volumes
  “Companies like to brag about good sales figures. When a new system - or new iteration of an existing system - is released on the market, companies want consumers to know how successful it is. It isn’t a bad idea,…” MORE »
• PSPgo can be, and has been, hacked
  “Poor Sony. The original PSPs have been a favorite of pirates and hackers for a while. They’d create custom firmware and then go nuts with homebrew, emulation and piracy. Sony probably thought going download-only with the PSPgo would keep…” MORE »
• Deal of the Week: Pay whatever you want for World of Goo
  ” 2D Boy is taking a different approach to celebrating World of Goo’s first birthday. Instead of receiving tons of presents, 2D Boy decided to give us World of Goo for a discount of our choosing. This means we…” MORE »
• What Would Jesus Play: Walmart testing Christian games in Texas
  ” Is the Christian market for games being underserved? Is there, in fact, a market for Christian games? Walmart and Left Behind Games will try to answer those questions with a test in 100 stores in the Houston and Dallas…” MORE »
• October 2009’s spookiest game releases (update)
  “It’s October, which mean video game publishers are making sure that any spooky or Halloween-themed games they have are ready to make their debut. While horror games, or games with spooky themes and characters, aren’t unusual, there tends to be…” MORE »
• Pick up your Wii controllers in white or black
  “Nintendo has just announced a new color of Wii remotes, motionplus and nunchuks - black. It’s good not only for people who want to show a little individuality, but also for people whose white controllers are dirt magnets!…” MORE »
• Cyberbike’s exercise bike the most unlikely Wii peripheral ever
  “Before you ask, this isn’t some kind of joke. Bigben Interactive has decided that it is going to take the next step with its Wii fitness game and stuff a whole exercise bike in the box. Don’t…” MORE »
• Apple App Store gaming update for the week of October 5 through October 11, 2009
  “The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown…” MORE »
• McFarlane Toys releasing Halo Series 6 Medal Edition, more Odd Pod action figures October 2009
  “McFarlane Toys (aka Spawn.com) has announced yet another wave in the continuing series of Halo-themed action figures. This latest 6-inch figure batch, available in stores this month (October 2009)…” MORE »
• Sony Home Update: PixelJunk Museum, Dethklok and charitable purchases from EA
  ” New Spaces and Special Items New Spaces - Pixel Junk Museum The Pixel Junk Museum just opened its virtual space filled with all things Pixel Junk to include videos, displays with descriptions of the creatures or vehicles…” MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Opinion: Sony’s silence concerning PSPgo sales data speaks volumes
  “Companies like to brag about good sales figures. When a new system - or new iteration of an existing system - is released on the market, companies want consumers to know how successful it is. It isn’t a bad idea,…” MORE »
• PSPgo can be, and has been, hacked
  “Poor Sony. The original PSPs have been a favorite of pirates and hackers for a while. They’d create custom firmware and then go nuts with homebrew, emulation and piracy. Sony probably thought going download-only with the PSPgo would keep…” MORE »
• Deal of the Week: Pay whatever you want for World of Goo
  ” 2D Boy is taking a different approach to celebrating World of Goo’s first birthday. Instead of receiving tons of presents, 2D Boy decided to give us World of Goo for a discount of our choosing. This means we…” MORE »
• What Would Jesus Play: Walmart testing Christian games in Texas
  ” Is the Christian market for games being underserved? Is there, in fact, a market for Christian games? Walmart and Left Behind Games will try to answer those questions with a test in 100 stores in the Houston and Dallas…” MORE »
• October 2009’s spookiest game releases (update)
  “It’s October, which mean video game publishers are making sure that any spooky or Halloween-themed games they have are ready to make their debut. While horror games, or games with spooky themes and characters, aren’t unusual, there tends to be…” MORE »
• Pick up your Wii controllers in white or black
  “Nintendo has just announced a new color of Wii remotes, motionplus and nunchuks - black. It’s good not only for people who want to show a little individuality, but also for people whose white controllers are dirt magnets!…” MORE »
• Cyberbike’s exercise bike the most unlikely Wii peripheral ever
  “Before you ask, this isn’t some kind of joke. Bigben Interactive has decided that it is going to take the next step with its Wii fitness game and stuff a whole exercise bike in the box. Don’t…” MORE »
• Apple App Store gaming update for the week of October 5 through October 11, 2009
  “The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown…” MORE »
• McFarlane Toys releasing Halo Series 6 Medal Edition, more Odd Pod action figures October 2009
  “McFarlane Toys (aka Spawn.com) has announced yet another wave in the continuing series of Halo-themed action figures. This latest 6-inch figure batch, available in stores this month (October 2009)…” MORE »
• Sony Home Update: PixelJunk Museum, Dethklok and charitable purchases from EA
  ” New Spaces and Special Items New Spaces - Pixel Junk Museum The Pixel Junk Museum just opened its virtual space filled with all things Pixel Junk to include videos, displays with descriptions of the creatures or vehicles…” MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and MTV Games today (October 12, 2009) released the full track list for the upcoming Lego Rock Band game.

The list includes songs by Blink-182, David Bowie, Jackson 5, Pink and Queen. The press release indicates that, like previous Rock Band incarnations, there will be downloadable tracks available after the game is released through the Lego Rock Band store. Song packs for Rock Band will work with this release as well although only the “family-friendly” games will be able to be used in Lego Rock Band. The Lego Rock Band tracks can then be exported across other Rock Band games. For a fee, of course (for 800 Microsoft Points or $9.99).

Gamers will be able to create avatars, band members, roadies and crew by mixing and matching various Lego pegs, parts and pieces (please add licensed properties). You can also use your other Rock Band peripherals and controllers with this release.

Lego Rock Band will be rated “Everyone” by the ESRB and will be released Holiday 2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and DS.

The console Lego Rock Band track list includes:

• All American Rejects, “Swing, Swing”
• The Kooks, “Naive”
• The Automatic, “Monster”
• KoRn, “Word Up!”
• Blink-182, “Aliens Exist”
• KT Tunstall, “Suddenly I See”
• Blur, “Song 2”
• Lostprophets, “Rooftops”
• Bon Jovi, “You Give Love a Bad Name”
• P!NK, “So What”
• Boys like Girls, “Thunder”
• The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”
• Bryan Adams, “Summer of 69”
• The Primitives, “Crash”
• Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
• Queen, “We Are The Champions”
• The Coral, “Dreaming of You”
• Queen, “We Will Rock You”
• Counting Crows, “Accidentally in Love”
• Rascal Flatts, “Life is a Highway”
• David Bowie, “Let’s Dance”
• Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters”
• Elton John, “Crocodile Rock”
• Razorlight, “Stumble and Fall”
• Europe, “The Final Countdown”
• Spin Doctors, “Two Princes”
• Everlife, “Real Wild Child”
• Spinal Tap, “Short & Sweet”
• Foo Fighters, “Breakout”
• Steve Harly, “Make Me Smile”
• Good Charlotte, “Girls & Boys”
• Sum 41, “In Too Deep”
• The Hives, “Tick Tick Boom!”
• Supergrass, “Grace”
• Iggy Pop, “The Passenger”
• Tom Petty, “Free Fallin”
• Incubus, “Dig”
• T-Rex, “Ride a White Swan”
• Jackson 5, “I Want You Back”
• Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk”
• Jimi Hendrix, “Fire”
• We the Kings, “Check Yes Juliet”
• Kaiser Chiefs, “Ruby”
• The Zutons, “Valerie”
• Katrina & The Waves, “Walking on Sunshine”

The DS version of Lego Rock Band will includes:

• All American Rejects, “Swing, Swing”
• P!NK, “So What”
• The Automatic, “Monster”
• The Primitives, “Crash”
• Blur, “Song 2”
• Queen, “We Are The Champions”
• Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
• Queen, “We Will Rock You”
• Counting Crows, “Accidentally in Love”
• Rascal Flatts, “Life is a Highway”
• David Bowie, “Let’s Dance”
• Ray Parker Jr., “Ghostbusters”
• Europe, “The Final Countdown”
• Spin Doctors, “Two Princes”
• Good Charlotte, “Girls & Boys”
• Sum 41, “In Too Deep”
• Iggy Pop, “The Passenger”
• Supergrass, “Grace”
• Jackson 5, “I Want You Back”
• Tom Petty, “Free Fallin’”
• Kaiser Chiefs, “Ruby”
• Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk”
• Katrina & the Waves, “Walking on Sunshine”
• We the Kings, “Check Yes Juliet”
• KT Tunstall, “Suddenly I See”

Site [Harmonix] Read [Gamertell]

Full Story » | Written by PJ Hruschak for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s Apple App Store game releases. We cover them all - good and not so good - in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at the top and in your face. The list is available every Monday, right as you are about to start that long work week.

Not much to say about this week’s list. Some releases look interesting and others, well, not so much. Yep, it’s another week of gaming apps, so get to it kids!

What’s Free

Brazil Kick Control
“Brazil Kick Control is more than a kick up game. It will challenge your ability to control the ball, in a highly addictive, reflex-challenging way and more important: IT’S FUN! You will still have to kick the ball up, easily done with a finger swipe, but pay attention! Uncontrollable wind bursts and curious birds are there to either hinder or help you and the longer you play, the faster the ball will drop and the stronger will be the wind. Challenge your friends and see who has the best score. Be careful, it’s a very addictive game, even the developers could not stop until they beat each other. Truly a new “toss app” kind of experience, with very nice and cool animations and effects :) Using an exclusive Hi Score server, you can play as a single player and contribute to a team, competing as a top player and within the top team. Get a quickie when you have little time, or challenge how long you can survive on the normal mode.”

GeoTron Lite
“GeoTron is a fast paced, skill driven, arcade shooter featuring dazzling graphics and an energetic retro soundtrack. GeoTron features hours of fun and will bring back joyful memories of retro arcade style gameplay re-imagined with gorgeous graphics and updated play styles to keep it fresh and addictive. Challenge your friends to beat your high score or show off how long you can survive the constant threat of oncoming enemies. Inspired by other games in this genre such as Geometry Wars and Asteroids, GeoTron contains all the things which make these games addictive and fun, yet rewarding and challenging each and every time you play. Retro soundtrack that matches the gameplay that has to be heard to be appreciated! Hum along to your favourite 8-bit tunes as you blast the enemies away… This lite version is just a taste of what is available in the full version. The full version contains 4 distinct gameplay modes (Normal, Minute Madness, Survival and Gridlock) and even more classic 8-bit tunes!”

Storm Attack Lite
“attle storms. Destroy blocks. Unlock awards. Compete in the global leaderboard. Think you’re ready? Storm Attack Lite is an addicting, fast-paced, arcade block-blasting game. Drag, organize, and zap away a constant stream of falling blocks… but be careful! Every minute, a storm rains down an ever-increasing swarm of blocks. It’s a constant battle against the clock as you fight for survival. Build up your bonuses, keep an eye on your ammo, and don’t get caught in the storm!”

MazeRunnerLE
“Experience the newest game app that people are hooked on. MazeRunnerLE, the best maze game ever created for the iPhone and iPod Touch! Easy to use, challenging to master, MazeRunnerLE will have you lost deep in a world of hedges, gems, pits, secret doors, teleports and more. With 5 mazes for you to explore and race MazeRunnerLE will give you hours of brain-teasing fun. The Lite Edition consists of the first 5 introductory mazes of MazeRunner and gives you a taste of what the MazeRunner games have to offer.”

Squiz Lite
“Note that the first time you play Squiz you will need an internet connection to download questions. After that you can play the game offline, but you will need an internet connection to add more questions if you run out. Squiz is an exiting trivia game for the iPhone and the iPod touch! Plenty of new questions are added every day, so there is no risk of running out of questions. Play a single player game for high score, or play in multiplayer mode with up to four players. Earn power-ups, which will help you solve the most tricky questions.”

What’s New

Action

Draw Slasher: Dark Ninja vs Pirate Monkey Zombies: Price: $0.99
“who can stop them! Slash through your enemies in style known from countless Japanese anime, and movies! Cut off your opponents heads, hands, legs - whatever you want! Slash them to pieces and never stop the mayhem! Hack your opponent and reappear behind his back. Do it over and over and make the biggest combo ever seen without being wounded once!”

Pirate Waters: Price: $0.99
“Prepare to be boarded! Pirate Waters is a very enjoyable 3D game. Sail your ship by tilting your iPhone or iPod Touch. Destroy enemy ships. Collect treasures and collect different power-ups. Rescue sailors. Upgrade your ship at docks. Sail through 20 levels across different environments (south, north, tropics, volcanoes, snow). Save the world from evil pirates and become a pirate too!”

GeoTron: Price: $0.99
“GeoTron is a fast paced, skill driven, arcade shooter featuring dazzling graphics and an energetic retro soundtrack. GeoTron features hours of fun and will bring back joyful memories of retro arcade style gameplay re-imagined with gorgeous graphics and updated play styles to keep it fresh and addictive. Challenge your friends to beat your high score or show off how long you can survive the constant threat of oncoming enemies. Four different and unique gameplay modes provide different challenges and offer new ways to play and high score tracking ensure you will want to play over and over again. Inspired by other games in this genre such as Geometry Wars and Asteroids, GeoTron contains all the things which make these games addictive and fun, yet rewarding and challenging each and every time you play. Retro soundtrack that matches the gameplay that has to be heard to be appreciated! Hum along to your favourite 8-bit tunes as you blast the enemies away…”

Soosiz: Price: $0.99
“Darkness is falling and your friends are missing. Do you have what it takes to save the world? Experience the groundbreaking gameplay mechanics, excellent playability and pixel-precise controls in this gravity-defying platformer where words like up and down get a totally new meaning. Simple controls make Soosiz easy to learn, but it’s a challenge to truly master the game. Enhancing your skills will be essential in beating the new gameplay elements and enemies introduced in each world. Watch out for the reduced gravity in space, slippery surfaces on the ice, gravity fields, freezing fountains and more.”

Adventure

Battle Zone 1942: Price: $0.99
“Inspired by the classic Seawolf, Battle Zone 1942 is a fast-paced arcade action game coupled with fresh innovative gameplay features.
for fans of the Original Seawolf, as well as old and new players to the action game genre, this game is for you! Time period: World War II. Location: English Channel. Mission: Battle huge assortment of enemy naval fleets. Weapons: upgradable torpedoes and the ability to use airstrike.”

Zombie Tap: Episodes: Price: $0.99
“Zombie Tap: Episodes is an experiment in episoding gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Joe just finished his shift at the bar and wants nothing more than to get home and get some sleep. But in the parking lot, he finds a zombie horde with a different idea. Will he make it home? Or will he succumb to the spreading zombie plague? The first release of Zombie Tap includes episode 1. Future updates will add new episodes, each one a mini-game dealing with Joe’s attempts to just get home alive. Each episode will tell another piece of the story.”

Arcade

Robophobia: Price: $0.99
“You are Star Commander Ivan Medved nicknamed Iron Fist, leader of an elite Galaxy fighting unit on Special Ops assignment. Your call to duty is to save the Galaxy from grip of the Crazy Robots Army, who live on the planet Robophobia.”

NFL Rush Zone: Price: $1.99
“Two NFL games in one! Competition is king in the NFL Rush Zone! See how many touchdowns you can score in a quick pass action game of Lateral Collateral and escape detention to make it to the big game in Detentionator Dash!”

Storm Attack: Price: $1.99
“Battle storms. Destroy blocks. Unlock awards. Compete in the global leaderboard. Think you’re ready? Storm Attack is an addicting, fast-paced, arcade block-blasting game. Drag, organize, and zap away a constant stream of falling blocks… but be careful! Every minute, a storm rains down an ever-increasing swarm of blocks. It’s a constant battle against the clock as you fight for survival. Build up your bonuses, keep an eye on your ammo, and don’t get caught in the storm!”

Singularity Drive: Prologue: Price: $0.99
“Singularity Drive: Prologue. A classic, retro side scrolling avoid ‘em up! In 2097, the experimental time ship ‘Singularity Drive’ was lost on its maiden voyage. Trapped in the Vortex, can you change history and get the Singularity Drive back to the future?”

Stunt Driver: Price: $2.99
“Check out the trialer at: http://www.championsoft.com/stuntdriver. With Spin and Flip technology you can pull off all kinds of tricks and land smoothly. Stunts range from waterfalls to skyscrapers and even jumping out of the back of a cargo helicopter. Get this unique and exciting game now!”

Board

NOTHING

Card

NOTHING

Casino

Heads or Tails Zombie: Price: $0.99
“Meet your friends at the cemetery for a creepy storytelling, or a get together for a late session of that horror movie? Let a zombie decide that for you! Just swing up your iPhone/iPod Touch (hold it tight!) and the coin will be tossed up using 3D physics with impressive realism! Unlike other coin apps, the result is not randomly generated but rather based on gravity calculations that change the outcome depending on the way you shake your iPhone/iPod Touch. If you practice hard enough you can even challenge your friends on Heads or Tails Zombie! Loads of fun for this Halloween (and all year long too) with this scary version of Heads or Tails!”

Creepy Slots: Price: $0.99
“Creepy Slots… the spooky themed 5 reel casino slot machine where you must align the correct spooky symbols to win the creepy jackpot! Enter the Spooky Wheel of Fortune bonus game to win virtual prize bonuses and accumulate more creepy credits. Upload, share and compete with your hi-score online via AGON and post to Facebook and Twitter!”

Dice

NOTHING

Educational

Ni’s Quiz: Price: $0.99
“The Ni’s Quiz Show is a game in which players answer quizzes based on their common knowledge in history, music, movie and science, etc. Jessica, Kim and Jack try to answer questions today to become the best quiz king. Total 50 questions are presented at each stage and the game is over for five wrong answers. A nice chance to upgrade your common knowledge!!! Challenge the Quiz King.”

mult puzzle: Price: $1.99
“This is a puzzle game of multiplication. The original is well known game ‘mpuz’ in emacs editor, This is a remake for iPhone/iPod touch from scratch. The rule is easy. Guess the combinations of alphabet and number. To try your guess, tap a alphabet button in multiplication and tap a number button below. As a result, the button at the center becomes equation( for example B = 7 ). Then tap a center button. You can get a hint by tapping ‘hint’ button. You can give up a game by tapping ‘giveup’ button. It is a simple screen. But buttons funnily rotates, trembles, laughs as a visual effect.”

Super Banker: Price: $0.99
“Super Banker is a game about “Counting bill” game. Player is a new hire employee into the worldwide bank group. In the same rule, player need to service some customer and get promotion, after player promotion to CEO level, then will travel to another city. (New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Shanghai) Each city has different currency, background, and buildings. Player need to count the correct money to get promotion. Enjoy it!”

Family

Just Find World (Spot the difference): Price: $0.99
“Just Find World succeeds the name and fame of Just Find It. Reasonable difficulty, fancy design and great control! Educational App with Links to Wikipedia for Each Place - You can trace where you have traveled. And if you want to know more about the place you are playing, tap the Wikipedia icon on the screen. With Just Find World you’ll be a traveler rather than a tourist. Different Spots - Different When You Back - Even if you encounter the same place again, the different spots won’t be the same. You won’t be bored!”

Titanic Rescue: Price: $0.99
“Take part of a hilarious MARINE RESCUE OPERATION as you FLING crazy cartoon gentlemen out of the cabins aboard the sinking ship. Slide forth empty vessels below to safely catch the passengers, but make sure they don’t bounce off an edge, a pile of sacks, a boat full of jazz musicians or any other crazy obstacle that might come floating. How long can you keep the gentlemen from plunging into the sea? Come join the rescue squad in TITANIC RESCUE!”

Music

Beat Runner 145 bpm: Price: $0.99
“Run or jog to the beat with your iPhone/iPod Touch. Beat Runner plays a series of drum loops sampled at 145 bpm whilst you run with your iPod in hand, or in pocket (using the built in accelerometer to sense arm/leg movement). The aim of the game is to race faster than a ticking time bomb that races against you on a series of world-wide stages.”

Puzzle

Mumbees: Price: $1.99
“Challenge your memory with Cackleberries.com’s version of a classic card game! Select Easy, Medium or Hard and you will be dealt 4, 6 or 16 pairs of cards. Choose any two cards and if they match they will stay face up. If they don’t, they’ll turn back over. Try to remember which cards are where by choosing pairs of cards until they are all matched. When all the cards are face-up, you win! Fun for any age level! Is your memory up to the challenge of Mumbee’s Match?”

Racing

Roaring Racers: Price: $0.99
“Diabolico and his gang have taken control of the local racing circuit. Playing the part of Buddy Bullet, you’ll need all the ROAR you can muster on your path to the top. Beat Diabolico and the gang to save the town.”

Boost 3D: Price: $1.99
“Boost is a 3D fast-paced experience unlike any other. The game’s visually stunning graphics and unique gameplay style will easily appeal to both experts and casual gamers. As you maneuver through the tunnel, you’ll have to dodge an ever-increasing amount of obstacles. But it’s not as simple as it sounds - the level will dynamically change it’s shape, so watch out!”

Role Playing

Sushi Chain: Price: $1.99
“This setting took place in Ueno, Tokyo. The Main character could not stand the corporate rat race anymore, and decided to call in sick for a few days. As he was walking around Ueno Park, he stumbles upon an Ad looking for a “Sushi Disciple” that would like to be trained and eventually own a famous Sushi restaurant if he/she pass the “Sushi Exams” Without hesitating, the main character applied to be a “Disciple”. How Far can you take your Sushi Chain? Or Will you have to call your boss and apologize?? It’s up to you!”

Simulation

iPuppy World: Price: $2.99
“ALL-IN-ONE CLIENT AND NEW BREEDS - Six iPuppy breeds (Husky, Chihuahua, Schnauzer, Dalmatian, Toy poodle and Labrador) with 17 color variations all in ONE client. NEW AVATARS - Make your beloved iPuppy even prettier with dozens of fashion and classic avatars. No mention the future highly customizable hair colors. NEW GROWING SYSTEM - Spend more time interacting with you iPuppy each day can grow them faster and stronger. NEW FRIEND SYSTEM - Make new friends in iPuppy World and bring your Facebook friends in. Visiting each other more and share happiness together. EXPLORE THE WORLD - Visit friends’ house, bring two iPuppies to play together and find great stuffs hiding there. Explore the world of iPuppy to find even more secrets to share. NEW BADGE SYSTEM - Collect the unique iPuppy Badges by visiting others to make your iPuppy the most popular collector in the world. UNLIMITED UPDATES - iPuppy series will NOT release any other stand-alone clients after iPuppy World. All future new content will be added only to iPuppy World as updates, and most of them are FREE!”

Junkmobile: Price: $1.99
“Help the guy get as far as possible on his newly purchased ‘junkmobile’. This will not be easy as parts will be falling off the vehicle during driving. The less parts remain, the slower the car will be moving, while the time is limited! In order to re-attach a falling part, use your finger to catch it and put it back where it belongs. Over time, the rate of parts falling off increases making them harder to catch.”

MazeRunner: Price: $0.99
“Easy to use, challenging to master, MazeRunner will have you lost deep in a world of hedges, gems, pits, secret doors, teleports and more. With 25 mazes for you to explore and race MazeRunner will give you hours of brain-teasing fun.”

Sports

NOTHING

Strategy

Collision: TTTM: Price: $1.99
“In Collision - Travel To The Moon, you can fly your spaceship on a mission to the Moon, using its powerful engine and the natural force of gravity. Escape the Earth’s pull and find the fastest route. There are several ways to obtain a spectacular score, but which one is the best? In all cases, make sure to save as much fuel as possible for future missions to the stars! Bonus points are awarded when you complete a full orbit around the Earth or the Moon, and when you play on higher difficulty levels.”

Trivia

Triviality - History: Price: $0.99
“Triviality - History is the first in a new series of trivia games for the iPhone. Triviality brings a new trivia engine that ensures that you never see repeat questions until you’ve seen them all. Triviality is a fast paced trivia game; we never want you to have to wait for the next question. Play by yourself to set a new high score on our global leader boards, or duel a friend with another iPhone or iPod Touch with our bluetooth multiplayer feature. Either way, you can earn achievements by answering questions correctly and quickly.”

Word

Whirly Word: Price: $0.99
“From the makers of the most popular Sudoku games on iPhone comes a new whirl on word games! Have fun with anagrams; no really, words can be fun! How many words can you discover from six letters? Solve the puzzle instantly by finding the six-letter word or step up to the challenge of finding all possible words with the letters given. Whirly Word comes with over 5,000 puzzles, multiple color schemes, score tracking, and background music and sound effects that can be turned off so you can listen to your iPod while you play. The large buttons and sensible design allow you to get lost in puzzles for hours. Or take a quick break from your daily routine to play for just a few minutes. This game is smart and remembers right where you left off. Our puzzles use words that you will recognize. So challenge your vocabulary prowess and play until you win!”

Wordigo: Price: $0.99
“Wordigo’s quick pace – only 7 minutes a game – keeps you on your toes as you race to complete all the paths AND achieve a high score before time runs out. Or, turn the timer off and make completing all the paths on one of the 8 boards the challenge.”

iPhone/iPod Touch Links

AppleTell: [Free Apps roundup for October 9th, 2009] [Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup - October 9th, 2009] [iPhone OS 3.1.2 available now] [Pornographic games on the iPhone: a workaround]

GamerTell: [Gamertell Review: Circuit Strike One for iPhone, iPod Touch]

Full Story » | Written by Kris Rosado for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

It’s October, which mean video game publishers are making sure that any spooky or Halloween-themed games they have are ready to make their debut. While horror games, or games with spooky themes and characters, aren’t unusual, there tends to be a surge in their release as October draws near. After all, we saw Dead Space Extraction (Wii) and Undead Knights (PSP) both make their debut on September 29, 2009.

It makes sense, if you think about it. If you don’t have plans to attend a party or attempt trick-or-treating on October 31, then there’s a good chance you’ll be sitting at home with nothing to do. You could always watch one of the many horror movies that will likely be airing, but playing a brand new game is certainly a better alternative.

So, let’s look at the games that have been, or are being, released in October, 2009. We’ll try and keep this list updated throughout the month, in case another new release sneaks in.

Undead Knights
System: PSN
Price: $39.99
Genre: Action
Release Date: The UMD came out September 29, 2009, but it debuted on the PlayStation Store as a download on October 1, 2009. So it technically counts.
Premise: You’re an undead knight who was brought back to life by a corrupt and evil king. So, you decide the best course of action is to strike back and take him down. You get to summon your own zombie army to help you accomplish this goal, of course.

Obscure: The Aftermath
System: PSP
Price: $29.99
Genre: Horror Adventure
Release Date: Like Undead Knights, the UMD was released at the end of September, 2009, but it appeared on the PlayStation Store on October 1, 2009
Premise: The sequel to Obscure, this follows the high school survivors from the previous game in their new life in college. Black flowers that can create lucid dreams start appearing all over campus, and spawn terrible things. You have to help the survivors make it through alive again.

The Jolly Gang’s Spooky Adventure
System: Windows PC
Price: $6.99 at Big Fish Games.
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: October 3, 2009
Premise: The Jolly Gang has a mystery to solve. Apparently, there’s a ghost inhabiting a psychic’s apartment, and they have to investigate it and figure out what is going on.

Fishdom: Spooky SplashFishdom: Spooky Splash
System: Windows PC (Though a Mac version is reportedly on the way.)
Price: $19.95 at most sites. Playrix Games has it on sale for $9.98 until November 1, 2009.
Genre: Puzzle with some simulation elements.
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Premise: You play Match-3 puzzles so you can purchase fish and accessories for a Halloween-themed aquarium. Not exactly the most chilling game on the list, unless you pretend the fish are all like the one from that South Park Halloween episode.

Creepy Slots
System: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $0.99
Genre: Puzzle (Slot Machine)
Release Date: October 7, 2009
Premise: It’s a slot machine game, only creepier. Instead of trying to line up cherries, bars or 7’s, you’re trying to line up ghosts, eyeballs and black cats.

A Witch’s Tale
System: DS
Price: $29.99
Genre: Action-RPG
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Premise: Apprentice witch Liddell has accidentally unleashed the Witch Queen, most evil witch ever in an attempt to become an amazing witch without studying. Now, with the help of a vampire guardian and magical dolls, she has to journey throughout the magical world to seal the Witch Queen up again.

Ju-on: The Grudge
System: Wii
Price: $29.99
Genre: On-rails horror simulation
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Premise: It’s a haunted house on your Wii. But not just any haunted house, the one from the movie The Grudge, known in Japan as Ju-on. A second player can join in to make scary things happen quicker to the person playing.

Campfire Legends: The Hookman
System: Windows and Mac
Price: $19.99
Genre: Puzzle (Hidden Object)
Release Date: October 14, 2009
Premise: A hidden object game where you must help a woman who’s stuck in the woods where the Hookman, the figure from urban legends, is lurking about..

Goosebumps Horrorland
System: DS
Price: £19.99
Genre: Casual horror-themed mini-game collection
Release Date: EU: October 16, 2009. It isn’t out in North America until November, 2009.
Premise: Players get to experience and explore the Goosebumps Horrorland, going on all 30 rides either alone or with friends.

Dreamkiller
System: Xbox 360
Price: $39.99
Genre: Shooter
Release Date: October 19, 2009
Premise: Not exactly Halloween-themed, but creepy none-the-less so it works. You guide a psychiatrist through her patients dreams and nightmares to help save them and make them better.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated October 14, 2009 at 1:13pm CST to add in the casual game Campfire Legends: The Hookman.

Product Page [Big Fish Games] Product Page [Playrix Games] Product Page [Software Amusements]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

New Spaces and Special Items

New Spaces - Pixel Junk Museum

The Pixel Junk Museum just opened its virtual space filled with all things Pixel Junk to include videos, displays with descriptions of the creatures or vehicles found in games including Pixel Junk Shooter, Pixel Junk Eden, Pixel Junk Monsters and Pixel Junk Racers. Browse through the displays to learn more about the game or browse the store for Pixel Junk virtual items. (See store list below.)

Charitable Purchases

This week the PlayStation Home has partnered with EA Sports to create exclusive virtual items to support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. NFL Football fans can purchase the NFL team jersey of their choice for $2.99 from the Atlanta Falcons to the Tampa Bay Bucanners to the Washington Redskins Jerseys and have 100 percent of all proceeds donated to the Brees Dream Foundation organized to support breast cancer research and awareness programs in hopes of fighting this deadly disease. The Jersey’s can be found Threads 1 located on the first floor under the EA Sports item category. The jersey’s are available for both male and female avatars.

The art of Jon Burgerman

This week at the mall gamers will find interesting items featuring the art work of Jon Burgerman, a UK-based artist who brings unique and exclusive art items such as virtual clothes and tattoos for avatars as well as future art for in-home virtual spaces to the PlayStation Home.

Movie Theater

The hit Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse has invaded the movie theater featuring death metal super group Dethklok. Check out the video featuring band members Nathan Explosion (lead vocals), William Murderface (Bassist), Skwisgaar Skwigelf (guitarist), Toki Wartooth (guitarist) and Pickles (Drummer) as they rock their way towards world domination. Some images may be too violent for some viewers to watch so view the film at your own risk. And don’t forget to check out their virtual items at the Mall.

Shopping Mall

Threads 1 located on first floor of Mall

• Metal Dethklok 2009 World Tour T-shirt is Free
• Dethklok T-shirts (20 different designs) are 99 cents each
Female Only Items:
• Bridesmaid Mini Top cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Tied Top cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Tube Top cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Short Sleeved Top cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Mini Skirt cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Criss-Cross Dress cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Straight Skirt cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Balloon Skirt cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Layered Skirt cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Flowing Skirt cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Red Shoes cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Two-Strap Shoes cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Open-Toe Shoes cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Pendant Shoes cost 49 cents
• Bridesmaid Low-Heel Shoes cost 49 cents

Real Estate Store located on both first and second floor of the mall

• MotorStorm Monument Camp Site cost $4.99. The MotorStorm campsite overlooks the speed way in the valley below. Decorate your space with beat-up furniture, junked car parts and more. Check it out:

Furniture Store 1 located on the first floor of the mall

Paintings:

• “Arthotecture” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Bigblow” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Birds of California” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Blue Poodle” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Bottom Feeder” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Chips” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Codependency” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Cybo” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Dandy Bandy” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents
• “Fauxy Wauxie” Modern Art Painting cost 99 cents

Furniture Collections:

• Neptune Suite Collection—Tuxedo Style Furniture Bundle cost $1.49
Individual Items:
• Large Tuxedo Style Sofa, Medium Tuxedo Style Sofa and Tuxedo Style Chair cost 99 cents each
• Neptune Suite Collection—Vases and Vessels Bundle cost $1.49
Individual Items:
• Carved Stone Vase, Green Clay Vessel, Green Glass Vase and Sea Blue Vase cost 49 cents each
• Neon Cactus cost 75 cents
• Neptune Suite Collection—Mix-It-Up Furniture Bundle cost $1.99
Individual Items:
• Glass Coffee Table with Metal Frame, I Gotcha Chair, Slant Back Love Seat and a Tall Dark and Deep Chair cost 99 cents each
• Neptune Suite Collection—Natural Plant Decor Bundle cost $2.99
Individual Items:
• Bonsai Tree on Plant Stand, Bonsai Tree on Wood Stand, Oblong Vase with Branches, Small Vase with Branches, Palm Breeze in Vase, Palm Spray, Zinc Planter with Botanical - Low and Zinc Planter with Botanical Tall for 75 cents each

Individual Furniture Items

• 3-Ply Chair cost 99 cents
• Take-A-Load Off Chair cost 99 cents
• Pedestal Wood Chip Chair cost 99 cents
• Slide and Glide Sofa cost 99 cents

Threads 2 located on second floor of the mall

• Arrow through Head Headband cost 99 cents
• Axe in Head Headband cost 99 cents
• Propeller Head Headband cost 99 cents
• Devilish Horns cost 99 cents
• Head Horns cost 99 cents
• Side Horns cost 99 cents
• Rabbit Ears Headband—Blue ears for male and Pink ears for females cost 99 cents
• Heavenly Halo Headband cost 99 cents
• Elfin Ears cost 99 cents
• I Heart Glasses cost 99 cents
• Jon Burgerman’s Glow in the Dark Rainbow Sneakers cost 99 cents
• Jon Burgerman’s Glow in the Dark Ice Sneakers cost 99 cents
• Jon Burgerman’s Animated Sad Bomb Hoodie cost $1.49
• Jon Burgerman’s Animated Anton Hoodie cost $1.49
• Hoodie with Skull Tattoos cost 99 cents

Male Only Items:

• World War 2 Helment cost 49 cents
• Hoodie with Maori Inspired Tattoo cost 99 cents
• Vest with Dragon Tattoo cost 99 cents
• Vest with Tribal Tattoo cost 99 cents
• Faux Military Jacket cost 99 cents
• Samurai Headband cost 99 cents

Female Only Items:

• Cropped Shirt with Butterfly Tattoo cost 99 cents
• Cropped Shirt with Star Tattoo cost 99 cents
• Hoodie with Star Tattoo cost 99 cents

Pixel Junk Museum Store

• Q-Games Logo T-Shirts in choice of following colors: Aqua, Burgandy, Camel, Green, Grey, Peach, Pink, White or Yellow for 49 cents each
• Pixel Junk T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Eden Gate T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Eden XMB T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Monsters Tikimask cost 99 cents
Males Only:
• Monsters Kuri HeadPhones cost 49 cents
• Monsters Fancy T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Monsters Hard T-Shirt cost 99 cents
Females Only:
• Black Q-Games Logo T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Monsters Tribal T-Shirt cost 49 cents
• Monsters Bee Slippers cost 49 cents
• Monsters Easy T-Shirt cost 99 cents

Read [PlayStation Blog] Site [PlayStation] Site [National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Site] Site [Jon Burgerman’s Official Website] Site [Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse Site]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

This week’s featured downloadable is a cute little game featuring a cute little critter named Biggs titled Critter Crunch for $6.99. In this game players control Biggs and must help the furball eat as many insects hanging out on the vines above him through many levels until he is so full he’s about to hurl - enough to feed smaller critters like himself - in a very disgusting way. The game features a co-op and versus multiplayer mode to quickly nab the flies and move certain insects to create a chain reaction and collect the jewels they drop while eating.

Check it out but fair warning: If you are easily grossed out or squeamish you may want to just continue reading instead of watching trailer.

This week’s PSP downloadable game features NBA 10: The Inside for $29.99 with new quests, new modes and minigames. The game follows the career of Brandon Roy, a guard for the Portland Blazers and an NBA superstar player. Players will have a ton of options to choose from playing four full quarter games using two teams of their choice or play a block party-mini game, NBA themed bowling, an interesting looking game called Cherry Pickin’ and more. Check out NBA 10: The Inside:

Here is what else is new:

Downloadable Games

• Pandemonium! (PS3/$5.99)
• NBA LIVE 10 (PSP/$39.99)

 
Bonus Game Contents:

• LittleBigPlanet Original Music Pack 1 (PS3/$3.99)
• DiRT 2 Trust Fund (PS3/$4.99)
• DiRT 2 Access All Areas (PS3/$4.99)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour: Riviera Golf Course (PS3/$7.50)
• IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey Mission Pack (PS3/$9.99)
• Fallout 3 Mothership Zeta (PS3/$9.99)
• Fallout 3 Point Lookout (PS3/$9.99)

Guitar Hero 5 Packs:

• Billy Squier Track Pack (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Everybody Wants You” by Billy Squier (PS3/$1.99)
• “The Stroke” by Billy Squier (PS3/$1.99)
• “When She Comes To Me” by Billy Squier(PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Pack:

• Electric Six Pack 01 (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Dance Epidemic” by Electric Six (PS3/$1.99)
• “Gay Bar” by Electric Six (PS3/$1.99)
• “I Don’t Like You” by Electric Six (PS3/$1.99)

• The Raconteurs Pack 01 (PS3/$5.49)
Individual Tracks:
• “Many Shades of Black” by The Raconteurs (PS3/$1.99)
• “Salute Your Solution” by The Raconteurs (PS3/$1.99)
• “Steady As She Goes” by The Raconteurs (PS3/$1.99)

Individual Tracks:

• “Head Over Feet” by Alanis Morissette (PS3/$1.99)
• “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette (PS3/$1.99)
• “Handlebars” by Flobots (PS3/$1.99)

Rock Band Unplugged bonus content:

• “Know Your Enemy” by Green Day (PSP/$1.99)
• “Red Barchetta” by Rush (PSP/$1.99)

Free Game Videos:

• Pulse 10/8 Edition (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Gran Turismo PSP Launch Trailer (PS3/PSP/Free)
• Gran Turismo PSP Producer Interview 2 (PS3/Free)
• Need For Speed: Shift Driver Film Andrea Bertolini Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Need For Speed: Shift Track Film Willow Springs Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Burn Zombie Burn – In Space Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 Momentus Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 Signature Play Trailer (PS3/Free)
• NBA 2K10 Gameplay Trailer (PS3/Free)
• Summer Dew Tour 09 Portland (8 Videos) (PS3/Free)

Wallpapers and Themes:

• Fate/Unlimited Codes Wallpaper 3 (PS3/Free)
• Halloween Vampires Theme 1 (PSP/99 cents)
• Halloween Vampires Theme 2 ((PSP/99 cents)
• Light and Shadows Theme – Light (PSP/99 cents)
• Light and Shadows Theme – Shadows (PSP/99 cents)
• Pirates Booty Theme – Dopey Dick (PSP/99 cents)
• Pirates Booty Theme – Captain Blue Beard (PSP/99 cents)
• Ele’ gals – Green (PSP/99 cents)
• Ele’ gals – Orange (PSP/99 cents)
• Dark Elves Theme 1 (PSP/$1.49)
• Dark Elves Theme 2 (PSP/$1.49)
• Dark Elves Theme (PS3/$1.49)
• Halloween Vampires Theme (PS3/$1.49)
• Creature Creations Theme (PS3/$1.99)

Read [PlayStation Store Blog] Site [PlayStation] Site [NBA Player Stats for Brandon Roy]

Full Story » | Written by Lucy Newman for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

On November 1, 2009, Hello Kitty celebrates her 35th birthday. Funny, she doesn’t look that old. It’s also her twin sister Mimmy’s birthday too, but she’s not the famous one so nobody really cares about her. She’s just part of the entourage.

In honor of Hello Kitty’s 35th, Important Importables has put together a list of 35 video and board games with Hello Kitty themes or where Hello Kitty is the star. This way, if there’s a game that looks or sounds interesting, you have enough time to get the games before the first. There are games for US and Japanese systems, old and new, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding something to suit you. In fact, there are two free computer games on our list, and some very affordable iPhone/iPod Touch titles.

Without any further ado, here’s Important Importables Hello Kitty game list!

35 Games to Play in Honor of Hello Kitty’s 35th Birthday:

1. Hello Kitty no Hanabatake (NES): NES systems weren’t region free, so don’t import unless you own a Famicom.
2. Hello Kitty World (NES): Again, NES units weren’t region free.
3. Hello Kitty Yume no Kuni no Daibouken (Playdia): If you’re one of the few who actually owns a Playdia, there’s a Hello Kitty game for kids out there to play on it.
4. Hello Kitty Asobi no Mochabako (3DO): Likewise, if you’re a fan of old systems and Japanese games, there’s a 3DO Hello Kitty game waiting for your time and attention.
5. Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy (PS1): It’s sort of a puzzle, action game where you have to create chains of similarly colored cubes and also have Hello Kitty walk on all cubes on the field.
6. Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy (GBC): Don’t have a PS1, don’t worry! The preceding puzzle game had a Game Boy Color adaptation as well. Be forewarned, the PS1 version is much better than the GBC one.
7. Hello Kitty: Lovely Fruit Park (Dreamcast): Sega released a puzzle game starring Hello Kitty for the Dreamcast in 1999. It’s a Japan exclusive, but if you have the right boot disk you can play it on your Dreamcast.
8. Hello Kitty no Magical Block (Dreamcast): It’s a puzzle game from Sega with a Hello Kitty theme released in 2000. Again, this is a Japan exclusive.
9. Hello Kitty no Waku Waku Quiz (Dreamcast): Another Japanese Hello Kitty game from Sega that was also released in 2000. This time, it’s a quiz game where you answer various trivia questions to succeed.
10. Hello Kitty no Onnaru Mail (Dreamcast): One more Japanese Dreamcast Hello Kitty game! Well, application. It’s a combination email program and web browser, starring Hello Kitty. Hurray!
11. Hello Kitty Bowling (PS1): Spend the day bowling with Hello Kitty. This was a Japan exclusive, and due to region locking isn’t playable on US PlayStations.

12. Hello Kitty Collection: Miracle Fashion Maker (GBA): Help make Hello Kitty even more stylish by designing new cloths and playing dress up.
13. Hello Kitty to Dear Daniel no Dream Adventure (GBC): Platformers are always fun. This portable one sends Hello Kitty on an adventure to reunite with her boyfriend, Dear Daniel. Once again, region-free means anyone can enjoy this action-packed adventure.
14. Hello Kitty no Happy House (GBC): If you’re looking to relax with an older system, get out your Game Boy Color and pop in this Japan exclusive.
15. Hello Kitty Boogie Woogie! (cell phone): This is an older game, so your cell phone may not be able to get and play it. It’s a dancing game where you use the keypad to make Hello Kitty dance to a few songs.
16. Hello Kitty: Dream Carnival (PC): You could always pick up an this carnival themed action game starring Hello Kitty for your PC.
17. Hello Kitty: Cutie World (PC): Or, you could always play some casual puzzle games, like Mah-Jong or matching, with Hello Kitty.
18. Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals (GBA): Hello Kitty wants to throw parties for her Sanrio friends, but she needs your help! You have to deliver invitations, organize the event and make sure everything goes well for her.
19. Hello Kitty: Bubblegum Girlfriends (PC): Another collection of Hello Kitty themed, casual mini-games for your computer.
20. Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue (GC): You can always pull out your GameCube, or your Wii, and take off with Hello Kitty as she skates off to rescue her friends.
21. Hello Kitty Daily (DS): Need help organizing your life? Pick up Aspyr’s Hello Kitty themed day planner.
22. Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (DS): Hello Kitty has moved to the city. You can help her make friends with other Sanrio characters and hopefully, one day, move into the penthouse of her dreams.

23. Hello Kitty no Panda Sport Stadium (DS): What’s cuter than Hello Kitty? Hello Kitty dressed as a panda! This is a Japanese-exclusive sports game that lets Hello Kitty participate in a variety of sports events. The DS is region-free, so you can enjoy this game no matter where you live.
24. Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise (iPhone/iPod Touch): For $4.99, you can play an action/puzzle game where you guide Hello Kitty on a parachute jump.
25. Hello Kitty Camera (iPhone/iPod Touch): Add a little extra cuteness to your pictures with this $2.99 program.
26. iHelloKitty Tokyo (iPhone/iPod Touch): Hello Kitty loves to dress up, and you can help her do so in this $2.99 application.
27. Hello Kitty Online (PC): Its in the closed beta phase right now, but Aeria Games is bringing the free Hello Kitty MMO to the states. You may not be able to play immediately, but you can sign up and wait for the betas!
28. Hello Kitty’s Sunny Day http://www.sanrio.com/fun_and_games/arcade (Browser-based): You could always sample Sanrio’s free, online action game starring Hello Kitty as she tries to keep it from raining.
29. Happy Party with Hello Kitty & Friends (DS): The latest Hello Kitty release just came out in Europe, so if you’re in Europe and reading this, you can celebrate Hello Kitty’s birthday with a party on your DS!
30. Hello Kitty Flip ‘n’ Match (board game): Improve your memory and beat your friends with the help of Hello Kitty.
31. Hello Kitty Chess Game (board game): Of course, Hello Kitty is queen and Dear Daniel is king.
32. Which Hello Kitty Are You? (board game): Haven’t you always wondered whether you identify more with the classic Hello Kitty or one of the newer iterations (like punk Hello Kitty)?
33. Hello Kitty Toss Across (board game): If you’re not a big fan of Hello Kitty, you may get some enjoyment from tossing beanbags at blocks with her face on them.
34. Hello Kitty Monopoly Junior (board game): With all of the various, special editions of Monopoly, you couldn’t honestly think there wasn’t a Hello Kitty one.
35. Hello Kitty Big Roll Bingo (board game): I can’t help but thing it should be K-I-T-T-Y instead of B-I-N-G-O.

Important Importables is coming up on its 100th column! If you have any suggestions as to what you’d like to see the 100th column cover, let me know in the comments!

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables talks about the Haruhi Suzumiya phenomenon, and the games that go with it.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed the Subarashiki Kono Sekai: It’s a Wonderful World (The World Ends with You) Original Soundtrack.

Read [Gamertell] Site [Sanrio.com] Site [35th Anniversary Hello Kitty Colors (English)] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »

One of the most popular varieties of Facebook game applications at the moment is the farming simulation. What started innocently enough with Slashkey’s Farm Town exploded the second that game found fame. Now, there’s a wide variety of other farm game spin-offs. They tend to fall into two groups, ones that focus on a multiplayer experience and ones that focus on a single player experience.

To help keep things organized, Gamertell’s done some rudimentary research on the six most popular farming applications on Facebook. We give you the essential information - the basic premise, focus, maker, number of people player and cash shop information. Then, you can check out each one on your own to see which ones your friends are playing and are the best fit for you.

So, let’s get farming!

Name: FarmVille
Maker: Zynga
Average number of monthly users as of September 27, 2009: 50,813,894
Premise: A massive farming game where you create a farm by placing farmland, raising animals and planting trees. You can also own vehicles to make farming easier. As you level up, you can buy more items and do more things. Though Farm Town came first, FarmVille has proved more successful.
Focus: Farming and expanding your land, while also interacting with friends.
Cash shop: Sort-of. You can buy Farm Cash to purchase special decorations for your farms. However, you can also earn Farm Cash while playing the game by leveling up.

Name: Farm Town
Maker: Slashkey
Average number of monthly users as of September 27, 2009: 18,842,468
Premise: You are able to create a plot of land. You put down buildings, plant flowers, grow crops, visit friends’ farms, expand your territory and interact with other Farm Town users by either going to work for them or hiring them to work for you. Animals here are just a decoration. As you level up, you gain access to more decorations and crops.
Focus: Working with other Farm Town players to get the most money and experience so you can improve your own plot.
Cash shop: Sort-of. Like FarmVille, you can use real money to buy coins and FarmCash that you can use to buy items in the shop. However, you don’t have to. Every time you level up, you get one FarmCash, and coins can be earned during normal play.

Name: Barn Buddy
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 7,016,151
Premise: You plant and take care of crops. You can use fertilizer to improve them. You also have to handle bug infestations and deal with weeds. You’re also able to steal crops from friends who don’t own dogs.
Focus: Crop maintenance.
Cash shop: Sort-of. You can purchase credits to buy fertilizer and such.

Name: Country Story
Maker: PlayFish
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 6,778,917
Premise: You are a farmer who’s developing a small area. You are limited in what you can do each day, as your farmer has only so much stamina. There’s a small town you can visit, where locals will give you quests to fulfill. As you level up, you can grow new crops and plow more land. You can own dogs, chickens, cows and sheep, and the latter three provide goods you can sell. You can have your friends help if your friend points are high enough.
Focus: It’s more of a single player experience where the focus is on taking care of your farm and completing missions.
Cash shop: Yup. There are a selection of items you can only purchase with PlayFish Cash, like certain decorations or animals. You can only get these items with real cash.

Name: (Lil) Farm Life
Maker: Greenpatch Inc
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 3,851,406
Premise: It’s pretty much identical to the FarmVille and Farm Town experiences. You tend a small area of farmland, level up by performing tasks and so on.
Focus: Farming your area of land and working with friends to earn more money.
Cash shop: Sort-of. You can purchase additional coins, like in FarmVille and Farm Town, with cash to make the game easier. It isn’t required though.

Name: Happy Farm
Maker: Five Minutes
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 2,074,444
Premise: Manage a farm and complete missions to make it successful. You can send gifts to friends, among them customizable bouquets. You also need to use pesticides and weed killers on crops from time to time. There isn’t much customization available for farms, compared to the more popular applications. Originally gained popularity in China.
Focus: Single player experience where you complete set missions.
Cash shop: Nope

Name: Island Paradise
Maker: Meteor Games
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 1,984,495
Premise: A farming sim with a tropical approach. You’re developing a farm on an island. You can work with or steal from your friends. Also, salvage items occasionally wind up on your farm, which you can collect and eventually use to upgrade your tropical farm. Crops, animals and trees are all ones you’d expect to see on an island setting.
Focus: Developing and upgrading your deserted island.
Cash shop: Yes. Certain animals and items can only be purchased with real money.

Site [FarmVille] Site [Farm Town] Site [Country Story] Site [Barn Buddy] Site [(Lil) Farm Life] Site [Happy Farm] Site [Island Paradise]

Full Story » | Written by Jenni Lada for Gamertell. | Comment on this Article »