Another Gaming Blog

This is unusual. Why? Because E3 has just gone by, and Viva Pinata was announced for the PC, and Viva Pinata: Party Animals was unveiled for the 360. You wouldn't expect anymore titles in the series to be revealed - especially the oft-requested DS version. But San Diego's Comic Con happily stepped up to the plate to show off more candy-filled outings - and show off it did.

It was announced that the team behind the 360's original Viva Pinata are developing a DS port. The game will remain mostly the same - you'll get yourself a worn down garden, and will need to fix it up to attract varying species of Pinata.

When one Rare employee was asked about the graphical power of the DS and how the handheld will cope with all of the data, they commented that "it's basically the same game, same principles as the 360 version except it has to take into account the hardware i.e. you haven't got the graphics power of the 360, but you have got the touch screen to do cool things with. I'm not sure if we can say at the moment which pinatas and plants will be in the game.

"The DS team have done and amazing job at getting most of the features from the original into the DS version."

So there you have it. More details are expected soon.

First Star Wars, then a Batman announcement, and now Indiana Jones. Traveller’s Tales track record is so far no bad thing – mixing excellent, simple, and fun gameplay with iconic movies made funny through LEGO characters’ bumbling ways.

And of course, now we have the Indiana Jones trilogy being given the works – and yes the bit where Indy legs it from a rolling boulder has made the cut. It’s even shown in the trailer, which is viewable after the jump.

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POKÉMON! Gotta catch 'em aaaaaaaall! It's you and me, I know it's my des-tin-y!

POKÉMON! Oh, you're my best friend, in a world we must defend!

POKÉMON, gotta catch 'em aaaaaaaall! A heart so true - our courage will pull us through! You teach me and I'll teach you! POOOOKÉEEEMON! GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL! POKÉMON!

Buy Pokémon Diamond and/or Pearl for the DS this week. Excellent 'mon-age.

Hit the jump to see the full list of games that will be gracing us with their presence this week.

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As promised back at E3, an extended Resident Evil 5 trailer has been released onto the Live Marketplace for free download.

We’ve been treated to a little more atmosphere this time around, with plenty more shuffling and groaning from things that are apparently neither zombies or Las Plagas. Either way, it’s left to Chris Redfield to sort ‘em all out, in a style that thankfully seems extremely close to that of Resident Evil 4’s – right down to shooting thrown sickles out the sky.

Hit the jump to take in the trailer in full, and then head over to the Live Marketplace to download the gorgeous HD version.

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Ah, Mario Party 8. Will it ever see release?

Originally planed for release on 22 June, it was delayed due to production issues. Then, upon its next release, it was allowed a day on sale before being recalled because Magikoopa spurted out the word “spastic” in some versions of the game.

But now! Oh, now, it will be released on 3 August. Perhaps.

Nintendo might decide to release number 9 before this one.

It’s Metal Gear’s 20th Anniversary! What better way to celebrate than to crack open some champers, and watch Hideo Kojima demo a plentiful amount of MGS4 gameplay?

Ready to greet you after the jump is a two-part demo, featuring the new octo-camo, CQC (that’s close-quarters combat) system, and mini-Metal-Gear gadgetry. Put succinctly: it’s all gravy, baby.

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Army Of Two, the promising-looking co-op game has been dated for 15 November.

Unsurprisingly, you’ll be playing as one of two, and it’s your job to turn the tides of war. It’ll be like Medal of Honor, only Army Of Two realises how unlikely and gung-ho players will have to be to win by themselves.

Guns at the ready, then.

I don't know. That's my answer to your question after you look at this week's release list - "where are all the games?" Unless, of course, you're the world's biggest Transformers fan, in which case you're right at home.

The only game worth your money this week is the 360 Arcade's sublime Bomberman Live download. It's classic multiplayer Bomberman, and the obligatory Xbox Live support means you'll be able to experience one of the best examples of friendly competition ever created.

Hit the jump to see the full list of games that will be gracing us with their presence this week.

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It's time for a round up of the latest and greatest Super Smash Bros: Brawl news from the official website, methinks.

A character announcement that got a bit lost during E3 was that of Donkey Kong - who is now confirmed as a returning "veteran" fighter. It was also revealed that Samus' Final Smash move will be so powerful that it will cause her armour to fall off, making her into Zero Suit Samus. The website details these two characters with separate profiles indicating that the two bounty hunters will fall into the Link and Young Link way of thinking.

These two announcements now bring the character roster to a confirmed fourteen.

Elsewhere on the website, Brawl creator Masahiro Sakurai has decided to let slip some snippets on a new game mode. The announcement mysteriously reads: "in this world, trophies fight. They know nothing but fighting. Fighting is the sole reason for their existence. Being turned back into a trophy, being unable to fight, is much like death. Those are the rules of this world. But... when someone... or something... breaks those rules, the world will pay a terrible price..."

A terrible price that also happens to introduce a new character - a weird, googley-eyed purple thing that comes out of nowhere. You can check out his screenshots after the jump.

So many theories, so little time...

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Welcome to the Namco Bandai factory! We hope you enjoy your stay, and would kindly ask for you to keep your arms and legs inside the ride while you preview the new Tales Of titles.

Our first stop is Tales of Symphonia 2: Knight of Ratatosk - a sequel set two years after the popular GameCube original. It'll be for the Wii, and will feature a new battle system.

Secondly, Tales of Innocence has been announced for the DS, and will see release in Japan in December this year. More is expected on this title soon.

The next two titles you can see will both be remakes of Tales gone by - Tales of Destiny: Director's Cut will be a PS2 remake of the PSOne original, and Tales of Rebirth will go to the PSP from the PS2.

The Destiny Director's Cut will feature a new mode just for Leon Magnus' character, new sub-events, new difficulty levels, and new hints for dungeons. It will also be released in a limited edition, complete with obligatory shiny box, soundtrack, and pretty booklet. On the flipside, Rebirth seems likely to be more of a direct port, rather than a full bells and whistles remake.

This announcement concludes our tour. Thank you for not smoking - please leave the vehicle to your left.

“What’s Bully?” you might ask.

“Bully,” I might say, “is Canis Canem Edit.”

“Oh,” you’d say.

Then I’d go onto explain that Rockstar have announced the popular PS2 school-em-up is coming to the 360 and Wii – both with new content and levels, but the former with new achievements and the latter with obligatory Wii waggling controls.

Canis Canem Edit follows juvenile delinquent Jimmy Hopkins, who is sent to boarding school Bullworth Academy to find that he’s now a small fish in a big pond, full of stereotypical groups that are at war with each other.

Scholarship Edition is due for release this Winter.

Once a 360 exclusive, Rockstar's Table Tennis flavoured offerings have been announced for the Wii, to be released in Q3 of this year.

Coming courtesy of Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar San Diego, Wii gamers will now be able to "feel the unmatched speed and intensity of the real-life sport with an authentic physics engine and intuitive gameplay that mimics the exhilarating experience found in international competition."

Authentic physics engine, you say? Table Tennis never sounded so fun.

From Katamari creator Keita Takahashi comes a new PS3 title - Nobi Nobi Boy.

Announced today during Tokyo's PlayStation Premier event - the only thing press were provided with for the game was some artwork of a worm-like character, the design of which bears a striking similarity to Katamari's Prince.

You can take a look at said artwork after the jump, and then speculate endlessly until more details arrive.

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I'm starting to feel sorry for anyone who buys a Metal Gear Solid title the first time it's released. It's a growing trend now to see each title re-released with new content - beginning with MGS: Twin Snakes, then MGS2: Substance, and recently MGS3: Subsistence. I'm guessing MGS4 will get the same treatment with a Sustenance sub-title. Or something.

As for the actual news meat of this article, well, the trend is continuing for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. Today, the rather uninspired title of Portable Ops + was announced.

Destined for release in Japan on 20 September, the 'new' title will feature more stages and characters for online play, and another single-player storyline entitled "Infinity Mission". No word was given on an American or European release date, but it would be unlikely for the game not to travel west.

It's been all quiet on the Loco Roco front recently - but Sony has finally confirmed that the PSP mega-hit will be coming to the PS3 via the Network.

Titled Buu Buu Cocoreccho! by Loco Roco, the game has been described by Sony as a "peculiar extra chapter" for the series, and will feature over 200 characters in a new world. A world that is tilted through use of the SixAxis' motion-sensing, I might add.

Buu Buu Cocoreccho! is well into development at 95% complete, so expect to be seeing the title available for download very soon indeed.

Check out the first screenshot after the jump.

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Awesome. Nippon Ichi will be continuing their excellent RPG series Disgaea onto the PS3 in 2008, as the third iteration in the series was newly announced for the PS3 today.

No details have surfaced about the title yet unfortunately, but you can take a peek at the very first screenshots after the jump. It's good to see that, even in the next-gen, some companies dare to retain their unique graphical style.

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Got to know everything that happened yesterday, but don't have time to read all of the information? Fear not. Hit the jump, and osmose for the final time. Sniff.

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3

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It's all over. Looks like the new format didn't hurt the show after all - although there were definitely mixed reactions from the media who attended. Hideo Kojima publically expressed his disappointment at the loss of the 'old' E3, and Square Enix packed up their booth in Santa Monica a day early. On the other hand, the new restrictions made queues for games minimal, allowing news to pour in as quickly as possible, and the show in general wasn't such a war on the senses.

Personally, I found it a little odd that some announcements for games had to be actively sought out (Nintendo were especially bad for this - Mario Party DS and Advance Wars DS 2 could very easily have gone totally unnoticed), but the usual sheer influx of new associated with E3 was there, so I can forgive and forget.

Anyway - highlights. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga put in a quick showing, revealing that it'll have about twenty more levels for fans to lap up upon release. Having played and adored the first two titles, I'll be more than happy to go through it again with the extras Travaller's Tales are cooking up.

Trauma Center: New Blood was an interesting announcement - especially when you consider that the game will now offer co-op surgery. Hilarity ensues as player two accidentally nicks an artery that player one has to desperately try and repair.

Another, even more interesting announcement, was that of Blocks for the Wii. Yes, you do 'just' play with blocks, but it looks like it can give players no end of imaginative and creative fun. It's the Wii's answer to LittleBigPlanet, that's for sure.

Finally, to end the show, I'd like to make sure that everybody views this fantastic footage. It's of Burnout Paradise, and the reason I find it so fantastic and promising is because it's from a pre-alpha version of the game. That means it's very early on indeed, and if it already looks that good and already has such a realistic physics engine in place, one can only imagine what the final product will be like.

Trailers like that, combined with so many other things at E3, have confirmed one thing in everybody's mind.

It's good to be a gamer.

Got to know everything that happened yesterday, but don't have time to read all of the information? Fear not. Hit the jump, and osmose. Again.

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3

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It's all starting to calm down now, as E3 slowly draws to a close. Here's what I thought was best from Day 2.

More Super Mario Galaxy footage, and details of the number of levels and stars. For me, it's the game of the show as the new material on offer has provoked an unrivalled level of anticipation within.

Another trailer which has caused a similar reaction, is the jaw-dropping Star Wars: The Force Unleashed trailer. If you're able to be as badass as what this trailer suggests in-game than I am so there.

There are a couple of games that have put on a good show at E3, but the general press and gaming community don't seem to be recognizing. I don't understand this. These games are MySims for the Wii and DS and echochrome for the PS3. The former looks to be the most anally retentive take on Animal Crossing possible - customize everything. And echochrome - blimey. I think I'll be scared to play that title, for the sheer ingenious thinking it will demand of you in every level.

If you've already checked all of that material out - then good on ya. If not, what are you waiting for? For the one-sentence headlines post, you say? Oh, alright then. That'll be along shortly.

This week's release list is bare. Nevertheless, everybody should be buying a copy of Elite Beat Agents (DS). It's the English take on the popular rhythm action series Ouendan and it's absolutely fantastic.

If that doesn't take your fancy (though it should), there are a couple of good downloads out now. Paper Mario (Wii VC) is the loveable N64 RPG that so many missed out on due to the European release co-inciding with the N64's demise. Sonic the Hedgehog (360 Arcade) has also decided to drop in, and to this day it remains a slice of pure speedy fun.

Hit the jump to see the full list of games that will be gracing us with their presence this week.

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Oh dear. This'll be the second time Mario Party 8 will have missed its release date, as all retailers are being asked to pull copies of the game from shelves immediately. Any copies of the game sold won't be recalled, but if you were waiting for the weekend to get your copy, you'll have a hard time in finding one.

So why the recall? Well, some copies of the game contain the word "spastic", a term which Nintendo have rightly realised may cause offence to some players. After the jump you'll find the incident in question preserved in screenshot form.

No date has been given for when Mario Party 8 will return to sale.

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Got to know everything that happened yesterday, but don't have time to read all of the information? Fear not. Hit the jump, and osmose.

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3

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As news starts to come in from Santa Monica for E3's Day 2, I feel now would be the best time to recap. E3 being E3, though, I haven't got a clue where to start.

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony's conferences each went off without a hitch, and plenty of major announcements came out from them.

The most exciting visual treats to come from each of the conferences were trailer glimpses of Resident Evil 5 and Halo 3 from Microsoft, Wii Fit and, later, Super Mario Galaxy from Nintendo, and finally, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2 from Sony. Each of the three giants also had new hardware of sorts for us - Microsoft did European Elite details, Nintendo went for three new Wii peripherals, and Sony detailed a new Slimline PSP.

You've also got to check out the new Gears of War PC footage, and be sure you know exactly when Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros: Brawl will be released in the US. European dates were also let loose for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

Not to put everything else by the wayside, but ladies and gentlemen, that was E3 - Day 1 in a nutshell. Stay tuned for a complete summary of all the headlines that broke yesterday.

Welcome to E3. For Americans, it runs from 10 July to 13 July. For Europeans, it begins tonight, in the very early hours of 11 July. Whenever it begins, though, E3 will always guarantee one thing - a complete media overload.

I'm taking this as a sort of challenge, so for E3's duration Another Gaming Blog will be split. It won't be a kind of awkward parental divorce, oh no, don't worry about that. Another E3 Blog will take care of all of your announcements, screenshots, trailers, arm tattoos, and cosplay costume needs, while ol' AGB here will have a nightly one-sentence headline sum-up and highlights article.

So head on over now - E3 starts tonight with the Microsoft conference, and Another E3 Blog will be providing minute-by-minute feed coverage.

Welcome to E3, I hope you enjoy what you see.

Welcome to Boogie, SingStar's new rival! Being developed by EA exclusively for Wii, Boogie is a karaoke-em-up that will come bundled with a special microphone controller, and will also utilise the Wii's motion-sensing abilities to incorporate dance routines for a true rhythm action game.

Boogie will also take advantage of the extensive EA Trax library to build a long-lasting tracklist (viewable after the jump) for gamers to dance and sing away to over and over again, which is a good thing considering there will be an option to create your own music videos. Just think of all the Britney Spears variations you could come up with...

Boogie is set to be released on 31 August, and will be packaged with a special Wii microphone. The game will not come with inhibition-freeing alcohol however - this is sold separately.

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SEGA has given everyone a pre-E3 treat today, as two brand spankin' new NiGHTS videos have been released onto the net.

The first is a movie-like trailer, complete with a Deepthroat Announcer Guy, and showcases all sorts of snippets from the game. The second video contains a bunch of gameplay clips crammed together, including a boss fight with a clown. Because NiGHTS is still early on in development, there's no background music in the latter, but you can still get an idea for the type of jingles there'll be from the trailer.

Hit the jump to make your eyes happy.

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Worrying internet rumblings have recently suggested that the PS3 version of Beautiful Katamari was in a spot of trouble, and the latest issue of popular Japanese videogame magazine Famitsu seems to confirm this.

In their release list table, Beautiful Katamari is still listed for Q3 on the 360, while the PS3's version is suspiciously absent. At the bottom of the PS3's section is a small footnote, which explains that the development has been halted.

While this doesn't necessarily mean the title has been canned for PS3, it doesn't seem to bode well for a beautiful PS3 future. Thankfully though, no problems have been reported on the Microsoft front, so there will at least be some Katamari to go around.

Yup. That's effective immediately everyone. The 60GB model of the PS3 has had $100 stripped from it's RRP, now making it $499.99.

If you're an American early adopter of the PS3 - here's some more bad news for you. For the previous price of the 60GB model (that's $599.99 for the mathematically impaired), you can now purchase a brand new 80GB bundle deal. It's similar to the Korean model, except buying the new bundle will also net you a copy of MotorStorm.

Jack Tretton, president and CEO of SCEA thinks that "the introduction of the 80GB PS3, the new pricing for the current 60GB model, the availability of more than 100 new software titles this fiscal year and, finally, the expansion of services for PlayStation Network, will provide even more options for users and will help bring new consumers into the PS3 fold."

An announcement regarding the PS3's price and the possibility of an 80GB model release in Japan and Europe is expected at E3. Stay tuned!

Thems Square Enix types are finally going to let the original Final Fantasy Tactics out to play in Europe - and it'll be in October.

Final Fantasy Tactics is widely regarded as one of the finest strategy games ever made, and one of the best entries into the Final Fantasy series. It was, unfortunately, never released outside of Japan and America, but has nevertheless sustained its popularity over the years due to, er, shall we say, 'sharing'?

With The War Of The Lions remake, Squeenix are throwing in a few new bits and bobs, such as a multiplayer mode, updated graphics and audio, and the option to recruit Final Fantasy VII's Cloud and Final Fantasy XII's Balthier into your party.

Roll on October!

Gamers - 0, Church - 1. Well, sort of.

Act 1 of this saga consisted of the Church of England making all sort of demands to Sony, Act 2 had the two sides meeting to discuss matters, and now Act 3 brings this exciting trilogy to a close with Sony issuing an apologetic statement to the Church.

They said: "it is clear to us that the connection between the congregation and the cathedral is a deeply personal and spiritual one. As a result, it is also clear that we have offended some of the congregation by using the cathedral in our science fiction game. It was never our intention to offend anyone in the making of this game, and we would like to apologise unreservedly to them for causing that offence, and to all parts of the community who we might also have offended."

However! The Church responded to this open apology by noting that Sony had not responded to their other demands of; withdrawing Resistance: Fall of Man from sale, making a donation to Manchester Cathedral, and signing up to some digital guidelines thingy. Most of which, to be fair, a corporate giant was never likely to do. The Church of England's final words in this movie were: "we fear that the next buildings to be cloned for virtual desecration could be a mosque, synagogue, temple or other churches." In Resistance: Fall of Man 2, maybe.

Hmph. The Xbox 360 - the worst performing next-gen console in Japan - is getting a Japanese Elite release announcement before Europe is. The indignation! Nevertheless, I will try and spare you from it for the remainder of this article... mumble grumble... rassafrackin'...

Anyway, yes. The HDMI, 120GB hard-drive-clad 360 Elite will hit Japan on 11 October for 47,800 Yen. Otherwise known as £194.

Wait, what? One-hundred and ninety-four pounds? Sorry readers, the currency exchange rate is causing the indignation to come back...

Microsoft have today announced through the medium of Peter Moore that they will be retroactively extending the Xbox 360 console warranty to three years.

The extension comes after it has evidently become too much for Microsoft to ignore the blatant problems with some factory models of the Xbox 360. The move will apply to consoles already sold as well as new purchases, and will also cause Microsoft to reimburse those who had previously paid to have their console repaired after facing the dreaded three red lights with the original warranty expired. All this is expected to dent Microsoft's funds by $1.15 billion, and I can tell you - that's a lotta zeroes.

Peter Moore re-iterated in his open letter that Microsoft will pay to have your console repaired, and also for it to be shipped to and from the necessary locations while the 360 remains in its extended three year warranty.

I have a plea for you all. This week sees the release of what is, essentially, the last GBA game. That game is Final Fantasy VI Advance - a remake of a classic tale. It's most definitely a fitting way to send off the beautiful handheld, and also definitely worth your hard earned cash.

Hit the jump to see the full list of games that will be gracing us with their presence this week.

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Mike check, mike check, one-two, one-two-three. Hello? Am I on? Right, excellent. Hey all you hip youngsters out there, Sony have only gone and announced Singstar 90's! It's promised to be more of the joyous same where you can either soberly hum along, or drunkenly wail your way to the finish line.

It's destined for release on 3 August, and will include 30 class hits from the 1990s, all of the names of which you can see after the jump.

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Oh my, yes. Bungie sure do know how to get the crowd going. What better way to do so than showcasing armour customisation, putting a new vehicle into the showroom, and introducing two new maps?

You can take a peek at an example of different armour in Bungie's news post. Their particular example of extending the eye shield/visor/whatever all the way upwards seems to make Master Chief out to be a bug, though.

The new vehicle - the Brute Chopper - has "four linked, firing auto cannons and a top speed of 75 mph", and roughly resembles a Mongoose with attitude. Running people over with it will be fun.

The real meat on the bones of this update comes from the two new maps. The first map, Last Resort, "is a spirited remake of Halo 2's Zanzibar map", only with a "significantly larger interior with some new entry points." The second map, Epitaph, "is a series of external hallways leading into a multi-level interior with a central theater at the center on the lowest level". It's all neon and grey, and looks very alien.

Halo 3 is very likely to dominate your multiplayer time when it is released on 26 September.

Lookee here. The Brawl website has once again revealed to us the return of a "veteran" Smash Bros fighter. This time, it's Bowser.

"Bowser has a slightly different flavour this time round", says the website, referring to the way Bowser will handle his attack methods rather than the taste of his breast after a quick sauté.

This confirmation brings the character roster up to twelve - that's consisting of Pit, Wario, MetaKnight, Solid Snake, Mario, Kirby, Pikachu, Link, Samus, and Fox. It could be that Samus and Zero Suit Samus are two different entities (akin to Link and Young Link), however, in which case that'll be thirteen characters for you.

Microsoft have today announced in their E3 blog that they once again plan to 'Bring It Home' by providing "a selection of game trailers, themes, gamer pictures and demos" through the Marketplace that will allow gamers to experience what's being revealed at E3. And that can and will include the demos that fancy pants journalists will be playing in an aircraft hangar in Santa Monica.

Most of the content is likely to be free, and Microsoft have promised to bring home content for Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, Assassin’s Creed, BioShock, Blue Dragon, Burnout Paradise, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, FIFA Soccer 08, Guitar Hero III, Lost Odyssey, Madden NFL 08, NCAA Football 08, Need for Speed: ProStreet, Project Gotham Racing 4, The Simpsons Game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008. Whew!

I wouldn't mind a demo of Assassin's Creed, personally. How about you?

Import happy DS gamers - today is your lucky day. Nintendo of America have confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will be going Stateside on 1 October.

The game follows Link and Tetra, who on their sales discover a ghost ship. "Link falls into the ocean when Tetra gets into trouble, and wakes up alone on the shore of a mysterious island. Throughout the game, Link collects sand for his Phantom Hourglass, which allows him to explore deeper and deeper into a time-limited dungeon in his quest to find Tetra."

The game is controlled entirely through use of the stylus, and also comes with a Four Swords-lite Wi-Fi multiplayer option. It's a simple mode where "one player controls Link as he tries to gather as many Force Gems as possible, while the other manages the enemies who pursue Link." Gripping stuff.

If you just can't wait for the PAL release of the game - get importin'. It'll be perfectly compatible with your PAL DS, all dialogue will be in English, and it'll be about £2 cheaper. Two pounds! That's 200 penny sweets.

Rockers! Put away your Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtracks and prepare to get your game on with '80s music for real! Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s will hit your PS2 on 31 August with an impressive library of thirty classics to strum your way through. Hit the jump to see just what that library contains.

Oh, and speaking of the Vice City soundtrack, it's only because of that game that I'm able to recognise some of the tunes on sale here. Kids of today, eh?

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