Nintendo has started to put DS download stations in stores everywhere. Basically you just walk into a store that has one, turn on your DS and use the built in download option to download demos of games just like you would from your friend’s DS.

To find out if there’s one near you check out this store locator which lets you find all locations within 50 miles. Here in Canada it would seem that EB has cornered the market though in the US they seem to be primarily at Best Buys.

I dropped by my local EB and tried it out. Apparently the station had been there for 3 weeks which I found pretty annoying considering I’ve been to EBs a bunch of times since then without noticing. My DS saw the station as “volume 1” insinuating there would naturally be more demos to come as new games neared release. I spoke with a friendly EB employee who explained that it was just a DS sitting there with a cartridge that provided this functionality. He said their Nintendo rep would eventually come by to switch the cartridge when new demos are available. A pretty simple but engenious gimmick.

Nintendo’s customer service FAQ boasts that these stations will work within 65 feet of the source. The guy at EB said they kept it behind the cash and it worked at about a 15 foot raduis from there. Some pretty conflicting opinions there. I didn’t try to log on from the parking lot but I’d be more inclined to believe the 15 feet story as it’s just a DS sitting there. When I’d go to Best Buy to set up the display DS with the chat and hide behind the aisles sending pictures of penises to it with my DS while looking for people’s reaction I noticed that the range was in the wearabouts of 15 feet. Maybe a bit more but not 65 to be sure.

These games will stay on your DS as long as you can keep it powered. This means no turning it off and no switching to another game you’ve got in there without losing your download. Luckily it will still retain the game in sleep mode so, as long as you don’t leave it unplugged for days at a time, you should have no real problem keeping a game for long periods with a little common sense.

So go and steal games as sales people look at you hoping you’ll actually buy something for a change.

An inventive homebrew app writer has created the first online cross platform portable game.
TIC-TAC-TOE!
Ok, so the game in question ain’t exactly that exciting, but the implications of common code and compatibility for future homebrew applications are grand!
Thanks Caliongeo!

digg?

We’ve all heard about this nasty CDi games. EGM seems obsessed with bringing them up in nearly every issue. Well now some kindly soul has uploaded videos of the introduction and ending cutscenes from both games. Watch if you dare…
Wand Of Gamelon Intro, Ending
Faces Of Evil Intro, Ending
I can’t wait to bomb some Dodongos!

Major Leage Gaming has landed a major deal with the USA Network to broadcast its 2006 Championship Season in 7 hour-long installments.
See the MLG coverage blitz in action.
Two games definitely on the roster this year are long-time favorites Super Smash Brothers Melee on Gamecube and Halo 2 on Xbox. New games may be added later, but these 2 titles will be present at every event.
This should be a heck of a show. I don’t know how well it will play to non-gamers, but Halo and SSBM players shouldn’t miss this.

The first revealed Nintendo Revolution title Red Steel has its official site up. Not that there is anything there. Even with a UbiSoft login in, clicking past the splash page just redirects you to their main site.
Some real news has trickled out though:

“Despite the influences and the apparent change in opinion towards more mature content by Nintendo, TVG has learnt that the game will not feature gratuitous violence and is unlikely to feature blood as a result.”

Thats from Totalvideogames via 4CR.
Should we even get worked up about no blood? I don’t think so. Anyone play Black? Fantastic gunplay, lots of explosions, guys dying every 3 or 4 seconds the entire legnth of the game, and not a DROP of blood. Most critics didn’t mention this because it was a lot less important than the game itself, which i hope Red Steel will be as well.

All the info from this month’s GameInformer after the jump
[Read the rest of this entry…]

If you like your monkeys in a ball, then 4CR has some news for you!
Sega’s high-flyin’ and fast rollin’ primates will hit the PS2 and Gamecube once again later this year. Its an all out action adventure game this time, but monkey flight is still in the cards. Wonder if we’ll still have all those oddball minigames? Monkey golf was the cause of much anger and cursing on a game night not to long ago…

The first big hit for Xbox Live was FASA studios console adaptation of their hugely successful MechWarrior PC titles. Now dubbed MechAssault, it helped define the kind of gameplay Xbox Live became known for.

I see Majesco has a title called “MechAssault: Shadow War” coming to the DS. Now before I get too far ahead of myself, Rare has licensed some of their owned titles to THQ for publication on GBA, so its not without precedent. I just find the timing a little odd. Microsoft has denied up and down they’re doing a portable system, and the development in Oragami helps prove that. MechAssault 2 also kinda tanked, but that doesn’t mean Microsoft should be giving up one of its best franchises exclusivity.

Release date is set for late June 2006, but a quick google search shows no results for screenshots, announcements, etc… just pre-order pages at a dozen retailers. Is this title dead or alive? Hard to say, but if MA:SW makes it to DS, it’ll make a dandy title for online support.

L… R… L… R…
(explitive deleted)
L… R… L… R… L+R
Stupid (explitive deleted) Monkey!
L… R… L+R… L… R… L… R…

This game is worse than bad. Its BORING. High marks for graphics, as its the first time I’ve seen the Donkey Kong Country characters done as proper sprites instead of 3D models, and it looks really nice.
Main game starts out kind of good, but gets old fast. The bonus games aren’t even bonuses. One is simple called “Battle Attack!” And no matter what, they all involve racing around 3 other monkeys faster than you are.