Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Picross DS

Create pixel-perfect images with logical reasoning and a stylus. That's it. By using the numerical clues on the top and side of the grid, players fill in blocks to create pictures.
For example, if you're working on a 5x5 grid of blocks and one of the cues has the 5 number on the side, the entire row of blocks is filled in. From there, look at the top and side numbers to hunt and peck the blocks and fill them in appropriately. Further, if the number on the side is 1 2, that means there's one block filled in on the row followed by a 2-block fill-in elsewhere along the line. By using reasoning and process of elimination, the rest of the blocks are gradually filled in by way of common sense and row/column inspection. «NCS Game Notes»

Taito Memories II Vol. 1 + Bonus

Taito digs deep and unearths 25 games from their esteemed library. The collection of software in Taito Memories II Vol. 1 spans nearly two decades and includes enjoyable shooters such as Scramble Formation, Darius II, and the mighty Rayforce.

01) Space Chaser 1979
02) Grand Champion 1981
03) Time Tunnel 1982
04) The Athlete 1984
05) Ben Bero Bee 1984
06) Return of the Invaders 1985
07) Gladiator 1986
08) Kick And Run 1986
09) Scramble Formation 1986
10) Exzisus 1987
11) Super Qix 1987
12) Rainbow Islands 1987
13) Operation Thunderbolt 1988

14) Continental Circus 1988
15) Chuka Taisen 1988
16) Asuka & Asuka 1989
17) S.C.I. 1989
18) Darius II 1989
19) Champion Wrestler 1989
20) Fighting Hawk 1989
21) Space Gun 1990
22) Ninja Kids 1990
23) Dino Rex 1992
24) Rayforce 1994
25) Bubble Memories 1996


Bonus Item: All orders will include a bonus 28-page booklet which checks out old flyers and historical data on all of the games featured in Taito Memories II.

Lost Regnum

When monsters and other ungainly creatures invade the holy city of Antinopolis in the year 165, the Roman Emperor Hadrian calls upon heroes to cleanse it of the unwanted invaders. Venture deep into the catacombs and dungeons beneath Antinopolis and use slashing action to dispatch the beasts.

At the outset of the adventure, players may select a hero from four archetypes (as shown on the game cover) and edit colors accordingly. There's a character called High Lander who's muscular and carries a magnificent sword, a red-headed Amazoness who hefts bow and arrow, a Gladiator who looks like an Onimusha hero, and an almost naked and full-bosomed Dark Sercher who fights with a sword and carries a big shield. Once the character choice has been selected and given a name, head over to the dungeon to the southwest of your current position and battle rodents who bite and leap like Mexican jumping beans... with teeth.

The action runs fast and vicious with enemies approaching in steady waves and collaborating with each other to gang up on the player. When attacking a group of monsters that attempt a swarming tactic, the hero can move around like a whirling dervish swinging a weapon. Low-to-the-ground creatures which look like rodents are called Chumps, muscle-bound bruisers are called Skull Maniacs, insect-like creatures are Dark Rustle, zombie look-alikes are Residents (interesting), and there's a red-skinned fighter called a Minotaur which is exactly that - a minotaur. «NCS Game Notes»

Mahjong Taikai Wii

NCS' first exposure to Koei's Mahjong Taikai series was a JPY10,800 Super Famicom cartridge dubbed "Super Mahjong Taikai" way back in 1992. Prior to that, Koei debuted the very first Mahjong Taikai game on the 8-bit Famicom in 1989. Through the ensuing years, incarnations and updates of the game have been released on the Saturn, Playstation, Dreamcast, and the PSP. A Playstation 3 version was released last year and it's only fair that Koei show love to the Wii as well.
Mahjong pits four players against each other in their respective bids to build hands of three matching or sequential tiles. At the start of the game, an invisible dealer doles out 13 tiles to each player which are automatically assembled in rows. From there, each player takes a turn taking a new tile per round and then keeping it to build a hand or throwing it back out into the communal pile for anyone to take to complete their own hand.
The Wii version of Mahjong Taikai features one-handed gameplay where the Wiimote is used to control the entire function of MJ-playing. The opponents in the game consist of 23 hard-edged professional players who all wear poker faces. In this crowd, a smile is difficult to find. Players may set the rules of the game and also enjoy a Free Mode.

Wild Arms Vth Pinky Street

The PS2 Wild Arms Vth Vanguard game shipped on December 14, 2006 and Vance Project involves themselves by shipping a set of Pinky Street figures based on the lead heroines from the game.

On the left, Rebecca Streisand sports a pair of ruddy pigtails tied together with yellow ribbons and wears a pink/white ensemble. Rebecca has what we have come to know as "crazy eyes" which are generally signs of insanity. On the right, Avalil Van Freul keeps her wheat-colored locks in place with a hair-braid and dresses up in a fancy schmancy green-blue-yellow outfit with matching boots. She hefts a sword in her right hand and peers at the world with a pair of sedate eyes. Less crazy. The two figures are bundled together in the Wild Arms Vth Vanguard Pinky Street set which includes the weapons shown and display discs for each figure.

Neo Geo Battle Coliseum [Best]

Tussle with famous and a few forgotten Neo Geo fighters in tag-team action where two combatants face off against another duo. Famous and familiar fighters include Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami from King of Fighters while we throw Kisarah Westfield from Toukai Gan Gan and Cyber Woo from King of the Monsters in the forgotten pile. We still remember Fuuma and Hanzo from the World Heroes games but that's because NCS staffers still plug in the World Heroes Perfect MVS every once in a while. A total of 40 fighters from many SNK games are featured and we're thankful that no one from Ragnagard made the roster to stink up the joint. «NCS Game Notes»

Samurai Spirits Tenkaichi [Best]

Debuting in Japanese arcades on September 15, 2005, the latest and purportedly last Samurai Spirits game rushes to a home console in record time - a mere 4 months. Are Japanese arcade operators with costly Atomiswave investments angry and peeved at the potential loss of revenue? You bet, especially since the PS2 conversion quality is very good and satisfying. Speedy, responsive, and full of samurai slashing action, SSTK is best played with a joystick but the Dual Shock joypad is acceptable as well.

In addition to all of the fighters from the Atomiswave coin-op original, hidden characters in the PS2 conversion game include Champuru (Mina Majikina's pet critter), Paku Paku (Cham Cham's simian friend), a coiffed version of Gaira aka Kim Ung Che, Shikuru & Mamahaha (Nakoruru's pet wolf and hawk), Rasetsu Galford, Poppy, and EX versions of Mina, Kusaregedo, Yoshi, and Yunfei. The referee with red and white flags returns to the background, watching the action like a hawk. The running courier also reprises his role and throws goodies onto the battlefield. Along with the selectable fighting styles from the Atomiswave source game, the PS2 version also includes three new fighting styles - Beast style for all the pets in the game, Fiesta Style, and Evil Style.
«NCS Game Notes»

Naruto Narutimett Portable [Best]

Naruto and friends dash into battle where they pummel each other and perform chakra attacks in free flowing motion. Along with the foreground which serves as a battlefield, the background may be leapt into for avoidance or for tactical maneuvering to mount a new attack. Along with fists and feet of fury, weaponry such as shuriken, bombs, and more may be picked up on the battlefield and then thrown by the fighters to spice up the attack repertoire. Naruto kicks and punches up a storm as he leaps, jumps, rallies, and runs through the varied levels which are inspired by key locations from the wildly popular animation series. The cast members include Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, Gaara, Rock Lee, and more for a total of 14 characters at the outset and unlockables as objectives are achieved.

The characters that are fought and usable in the first few levels of the adventure portion of the game are as follows below. Once they are beaten, they join your ranks. All of the fighters listed below are usable at the outset in the fighting portion of the game:

Chouji Akimichi, Gaara of the Desert, Gai Maito, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Kakashi Hatake, Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga,
Rock Lee, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, and Tenten.

Bonus Item: All orders will include a black Naruto pouch.