The DS isn’t known for its incredible ability to process physics, so why LucasArts thought it would be a good idea to port a physics heavy title like The Force Unleashed to the hardware is anyone’s guess. The game isn’t unplayable, but it’s lacking in numerous areas that sap away any chance of it being fun.

The game follows the same story path as its console brothers. You start as Vader, and then take over as the Jedi apprentice, Starkiller. The levels have the same purpose, but are designed in a tighter, more linear, and unrecognizable form. You could say it’s an entirely new game in that sense, even if the story is the same.

Aside from moving around, all of your attacks and jumping are handled with the touch screen. Not only is it cumbersome to hold the DS with this configuration, it seems rather pointless since the DS has enough buttons to handle all of the same tasks (with the exception of block).

All destruction feels canned or the same. Obviously, the DS won’t deliver in this area as well other consoles, but the feeling of breaking debris simply isn’t there. Special moments where you can do something cool (like pull a tie fighter down on someone) are done via cinematics. It’s not very interactive or enthralling. Top that off with lackluster visuals and you’re not left with much of anything.

A few mini-games exist, such as saber duels. You use the touch screen to move a saber around to block attacks, and then strike back. This is a decent use of the touch screen; something that would have separated this from other versions in which you just hack away at foes. Sadly, it’s about the only decent use of the controls to be had.

While the usual array of Star Wars themes are here, they bring back rather awful memories of Shadows of the Empire on the N64. They’re few in number, heavily compressed, and repeat constantly. Things don’t get any better with the two mutli-player modes, including a simple deathmatch and less than intriguing one-on-one mode called Force Battle. Both modes are local only.

Why the developers felt the need to make this completely 3-D is baffling. Putting this in a setting like Episode III on the DS, in classic beat-em-up form with additional force powers, would have been great. Instead, this is a clunky, hard to control title that’s not even a shadow of what it was elsewhere.

Given that the last time gamers saw Tecmo Bowl was back on the PlayStation (and it was absolutely terrible), most probably lost hope for a new edition. Tecmo obviously realized there’s a rabid fanbase out there since mods are available for the classic editions on the NES with updated rosters. Enter Tecmo Bowl Kick-Off, a game that tries to rekindle some of the magic… and does, for the most part.

If you’ve never played Tecmo Bowl before, but instead grew up on Madden or 2K Sports, leave now. This is not a game for you. Given the purely old school design with no modifications, many gamers not familiar with this “ancient” type of game will be immediately turned off. True Tecmo Bowl fans will dive right in.

This is based on Super Tecmo Bowl on the SNES which is obvious from a gameplay perspective and visuals. Nothing has changed on the field. You still have eight plays to choose from, you still need to cycle through your receivers, and you can only view 30 yards downfield. The defense is basically at the will of the offense, with a blitz coming only when you’ve called the offense’s bluff.

In a sense, this keeps the game exactly as fans remember it. On the other hand, to see no changes it also disheartening. Why not at least include an option for a different passing system? There are no difficulty settings, so single player games are a blow out. The season play offers no challenge.

Taking a piece from Tecmo Bowl III, the brief player editor lets you change the name, stats, and skin color of each player on your team. Each game you play in a season lets you level up your players, though since the game is overwhelmingly easy, this only serves to make it easier yet. Team editing is minor, selecting the team name and finding a predefined logo. Yes, you can rename each squad into the NFL teams since the license is gone, but the logos remain generic.

On the naming front, Tecmo has enabled one of the worst language censors ever. Any word that even contains a nasty word could be censored. Think of “grass.” Yes, that’s offensive because of the last three letters. On the ironic side, one of the standard teams is named the “Supercocks.” No, really. Apparently, the censor wasn’t in place when that one went into effect.

Certain players carry with them specific powers, which appear randomly. Receivers have a DB juke, QBs have a rocket arm, etc. These plays can make a play into something spectacular, complete with the classicly styled cinematics that made Tecmo Bowl stand out.

The only changes to the core formula changes are due to technology. Touch screen play is a feature, though it’s hardly accurate or worth your time. A change that’s worthwhile is online play. For the first time, players can hop online to challenge friends and random people to games, and that’s where all the difficultly complaints stop. Real players can provide the proper challenge, and while the lack of any communication between users is a downer, it at least replicates a part of playing against friends.

Tecmo Bowl is purely a game for the fans. Anyone less than 20 years old probably has no recollection of this series, and hence no reason to play this. While it’s hard to go back to such a rigid football title after years of Madden, there’s still something special about Tecmo Bowl’s simplicity that makes it stand out.

The latest DS revision, already out in Japan, is going to take some time making its way into stores elsewhere. Sometime in the summer of 2009, DS fans in other countries will be able to take part in digital photography of the lowest level, and stop playing their GBA games forever. Oh, and you pay more for that privilege, assuming the price stays the same. In Japan, you’ll pay about $189 for a DSi. There’s no reason to assume it will be any less come 2009.

Japanese and European gamers have been enjoying Club Nintendo for a ridiculously long period. US gamers could only froth at the mouth at some of the bonuses those countries have received, including a number of rarities. The loyalty program lets players prove their worth to Nintendo buy buying lots of their crap in exchange for freebies.

This is all well and good, but given the current state of Nintendo and their strained relationship with the hardcore audience, is this enough to pull them back in? Count me out. Push more than cheap shovelware like Wii Music into the market and more stuff like Wario Land Shake It and we’ll talk.

Back on the NES, Technos released a string of classic titles, beginning with River City Ransom. The distinctive art style carried over into a series of sports games, one being the classic Super Dodgeball. Sadly, the game never had a sequel at least until this year. Aksys steps up to take on the herculean task of resurrecting a classic, and updating it as Super Dodgeball Brawlers.

First, yes the art style is intact. The updated sprites maintain their retro style, and now loaded with finer color and detail. The animation, down the facial expressions, remain intact.

This all leads to the same familiar gameplay as players pick a squad (or this time out, create their own) and challenge a bunch of international teams to a tournament. Things have gotten a little more complex since the days of the NES. Characters now have multiple statistical categories, which means selecting which players to put into play as opposed to the defensive side actually means something.

Winning earns money and experience. Money is used for (what else?) purchasing items to increase your stats. Leveling up slowly creeps the stats up for everyone, as opposed to items which can only be placed on a single character.

All of that is nice, but what’s important is that it plays properly. Thanks to the upgraded hardware, there’s no flickering or slowdown. The game moves smoother, although it does feel slower. All of the special throws are here including some new ones, and they’re just as hard to pull off as they were prior. That’s not a complaint however. Some are excessively powerful, and if you can time the amount of steps needed to pull them off, you’re deserving.

Two new additions happen on the court. One is objects, which fall from the sky to give the losing team an advantage. It’s a nice touch, but feel like a cheap way to get someone back into the game. Also, some of the objects like giant statues, are ridiculous despite fitting in with the game’s quirky nature.

Secondly, punching and kicking has been added in the classic Technos fashion, but is easily abused. With the ball just barely over the line, you can stand and punch every time the brain dead AI walks up to get it. It’s a little different in multi-player (up to eight players) when an entire team is controlled by humans. Granted, both of the above can be turned off, but their inclusion is rather strange way to mix things up.

The tournament mode is the meat of the game, and you can continually beef up your team until you’re sick of the game. Sadly, one play through only takes about 20 minutes, and you’ll see everything you need to. The additional modes, including the brawl (everyone for themselves in a school yard), don’t add much life to the overall product. Also, it’s a shame some of the music doesn’t return in remixed fashion.

For players of the classic game, you already know whether or not this is for you. Players weened on more modern titles will find the lack of depth a turn-off, but the gameplay a keeper. Rest assured blasting your rivals feels every bit as satisfying as it used to, even of if the new additions don’t quite make it to the big time.

Contrary to what we’ve expected from the DS, the DSi will actually be partially region locked. Software exclusive to the DSi, stuff one would assume such as camera programs or anything that uses the hardware’s SD Card slot, will only work on the appropriate hardware. It’s important to note that if you’re planning an upgrade, all of your import games (assuming you have any) will still work just fine, as will any future releases.

The last time we saw Tecmo Bowl, it was an unplayable mess on the PlayStation. Still hard to figure out what exactly happened with that one, although collector’s should note it’s hard to find since anyone who played it likely smashed their discs in frustration over what Tecmo had done to their beloved franchise.

Well, now is the time for the company to wipe the slate clean after an extended hiatus. Tecmo Bowl Kickoff for the DS, while lacking Bo Jackson in any form (or the NFL for that matter), actually looks like a true revival. No 3-D, no touch screen junk, and loads of utterly pointless (yet cool looking) cinematics. No release date yet, but as long as it’s not too far off, it’s acceptable.

Actually, cancel that. Get this thing out now. Right now.

Rumors sometimes prove to be true, such as the rumblings of a new DS model coming down the pipe. That turned out to be the DSi, a new version of the hardware with internal storage, a SD card slot, and incredibly crappy 0.3 megapixel camera. Users of the DSi will be able to access an exclusive online store available only to them, and viewable on a slightly larger screen than the previous model.

The new version will run $180 when it lands in Japan November 1st, with a US release date set for sometime in “late 2009.”

Oh, and by the way, it doesn’t sport the Game Boy Advance port. Yeah, no Guitar Hero, no Arkanoid, and no GBA games. Ouch.

Image via Wikipedia

During E3 one of the big rumors surrounding Nintendo was the pending redesign of the best selling DS lite. Those rumors proved to be untrue for E3 but it looks as if they could have been pointing to the 08 holiday season instead. DS Fanboy is reporting a  Japanese newspaper with an article describing the new machine. Unfortunately as of yet, there aren’t any pictures. However we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as any new details or pictures arise!

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A longtime franchise that has finally made its way to US, MLB Power Pros is probably the best baseball game to grace the DS yet. Given the dubious quality of the majority of them, that’s not saying much. Also, that’s only referring to gameplay, not the featureless product as a whole.

In fact, this could have been one of the better arcade-style baseball games in some time if it offered anything to do. Instead, the menu greets you with a playoff system, single game, hoe run derby, and generic team editor. That’s it. No season play, none of the RPG elements that make the console versions unique, and no Wi-Fi play.

Multi-player fans can partake in download play or wireless connection play. However, they won’t be doing much. It’s a shame too, because as its core, this is a fine example of how bring retro style baseball games into the present.

Batting is a simple cursor system, but it works well. There are standard and power swings, the latter giving you a small dot to make contact. The d-pad provides responsive controls, and there are no motion controls to clog things up. Pitching works in the same manner, with a cursor selecting where you’ll throw. The d-pad selects which pitch to throw prior to the toss.

The annoying and robotic PA announcer can go at anytime, but the pleasant, catchy music is enough to give the game some atmosphere. AI tends to go on hitting binges. After countless pitches where it doesn’t even think to swing and strikes out, it suddenly realizes it’s playing and swings at everything.

Fielding is touchy, mostly due to the automatic player swapping. You’ll control an infielder who is near the ball, and then suddenly, you’re control is swapped to an outfielder. It’s annoying and hard to adjust to. Running the bases offers simple touch screen controls, including the option to tap the lower right to help the base runner gain speed.

From a gameplay standpoint, this is an enjoyable baseball romp. It’s simple enough to perfect on-the-go, and the games go by quickly. However, playing single games is far too retro even for something like this, and it’s a shame we can’t take this big-headed players into something more.

It’s been a while since gamers were able to throw 110 yard passes for a touchdown in video game football. Leave it to Tecmo Bowl to resurrect that style of play. The last time the franchise saw daylight was on the PlayStation in a mess of a game that barely resembled the title gamers know and love.

If this Joystiq preview has anything to say, the golden days are back. From the music, to play selection, to the ease of running down field diagonally to deke out would be defenders, Tecmo Bowl is back… at least without a NFL license. Hey, we can’t have everything.

Enjoy snaking around courses while competing online in Mario Kart DS while downing a Big Mac? Not anymore you don’t. The deal with the company providing the Internet service, Wayport, ended their contract with Nintendo back in November of 2007. However, the service was still running.

On the positive side, many McDonald’s still offer Wi-Fi, just not for specific DS access. You’ll have to work a little harder or make your DS less portable. You can check out your options at Knowzy.