Monster Tale: hands-on preview (Monster Tale)

If you’ve owned a DS for any period of time, you’re familiar with the concept of two separate things happening on the upper and lower screens. In a lot of games, this translates to having an inventory or a map on the lower screen, and too few games really try to use both screens to their full benefit, presentation-wise. If you played Henry Hatsworth’s Puzzling adventure, however, you know that some developers have a better handle on it than others. Luckily, one of the key leads behind Henry Hatsworth, Peter Ong, is taking another swat at the market, and it looks promising... ...

Pokemon Black and White first hands-on preview with US version (Pokemon Black / White)

Last week, we finally had our first real look at the English-language localization of Pokemon Black and White. We've been playing imported copies for months, so while the US version didn't contain any surprises, it's nice to confirm at last that no major changes have been made in the localization process. Details inside... ...

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded hands-on preview (Kingdom Hearts Re:coded)

A decade ago, the prospect of an unholy union between Final Fantasy and the House of Mouse would have been unbelievable much less the prospect of such a thing bearing several beautiful multi-platinum offspring. But here we are on the cusp of 2011 with another new Kingdom Hearts title looming just around the corner and it’s looking mighty swell... ...

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - hands-on (Golden Sun: Dark Dawn)

With Golden Sun: Dark Dawn's release just over a month away, we got a chance to play through part of it at Nintendo's offices last week. From what we've seen so far, Dark Dawn seems like a nicely upgraded version of the first two games, which is exactly what we've been hoping for in the sequel... ...

If you ignore Okamiden you're a terrible person (hands-on) (Okamiden)

Never got around to playing Okami on PS2 or Wii? You disgust me close this window immediately and repent on your failure as a supporter of beautiful and original games.

Er… wait. You can stay if you promise to give Okamiden a chance this time. And if you're an Okami fan who's worried about the art style suffering on the small DS screen, rest assured that Okamiden definitely pushes the DS hardware impressively, and it still looks and sounds absolutely stunning. The paintbrushy sumi-e art style seems well-suited to the DS too, and the colors are pleasingly vibrant. Of course, Chibiterasu is adorable too... ...

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light hands-on (Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light )

In part, The 4 Heroes of Light is a nostalgic throwback to a time when the words ‘Final’ and ‘Fantasy’ weren’t shorthand for ‘aaaargghh’ and ‘stop talking’, respectively. Contrary to the lengthy, soap opera-like cutscenes that make up Final Fantasy XIII, 4 Heroes doesn’t mess about at all... ...

Super Scribblenauts hands-on (Super Scribblenauts)

Not five minutes into our hands-on Super Scribblenauts preview, Director and Concept Creator Jeremiah Slaczka decided to show off the game's new adjective functionality: “So let’s try this: undead, pregnant, uhh baby. Why not?& And there it was: a small gray, patchworked infant angrily crawling towards Maxwell. A quick tap on the pregnant infant resulted in another, smaller zombie baby appearing from behind; I'd just witnessed the birth of a zombie toddler by a zombie toddler. In most cases, opening with a pregnant zombie baby giving birth is leading with your best material, but in Super Scribblenauts, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. ...

6 reasons why the 3DS is the most impressive piece of kit I’ve seen in 20 years of gaming (Nintendo DS)

Bugger me. The 3DS is genuinely the most exciting bit of technology I’ve seen. Like ever. Honestly, the first time I got my hands on it and saw a certain fat plumber powerslide around a corner while pink petals appeared to fall out of the screen, it left me speechless. Inside, you'll find out why you should sell all non essential body parts to own one. ...

Etrian Odyssey III adds fresh job classes and heads out to and under the sea (Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City)

There’s nothing that gets a true RPG geek all hot and bothered for some hardcore dungeon crawling action quite like having to draw our own map charts on virtual graph paper okay, we’re kidding. But there is a certain hardcore-ness to it, as well as everything else about Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City. This third outing into nigh-endless, dark and dangerous catacombs doesn’t screw around much with the gameplay that made the first two games both brutally challenging and awesomely geeky. But it does offer some fresh goodies that get us good and wet. And not in the way you’re thinking of, pervert (seriously, why go there?)... ...

Ghost Trick hands-on (Ghost Trick)

At first glance, you might not guess that Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was created by the same mastermind behind the Ace Attorney series. Not only is the art style totally different, but the gameplay bears absolutely no resemblance to the text-heavy static screens of his courtroom saga. Ghost Trick's more animated take on the adventure genre definitely feels more active, and while the controls are still very basic, timing and reflexes are often key to solving Ghost Trick's environmental puzzles. Shu Takumi's hand can be seen in the details though Ghost Trick looks to have the same strong personalities and warm humor that hooked us on Phoenix Wright's story... ...

Ivy the Kiwi gameplay shows Sonic's dad still has the touch (Ivy the Kiwi)

Yuji Naka will forever be known as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, regardless of how many other people were on the team and regardless of where the series goes from here. But the man has his own company now (Prope), and is moving on to new projects, such as last year's Let's Tap for Wii. Next up for Prope is Ivy the Kiwi, which trades spiny mammals for spiny birds and speed for… penmanship? It’s a Wii and Nintendo DS platformer that resembles classics such as Kirby's Canvas Curse and “casual& smash hit Line Rider you draw lines on the screen for Ivy to walk on... ...

Okamiden guilt-tripping begins with this interview (Okamiden)

E3 2010 wrapped up exactly one week ago, but we're still charging through our video backlog in order to get all the content up before the week is out. Today's offering: a quick chat about Capcom's Okamiden, the spiritual successor (not sequel!) to Okami, GamesRadar's go-to sob story for games that deserved a better financial fate.

The DS version is nearly upon us, so would you mind if we showed you this video and then ask you to buy Okamiden when it comes out? And to forgive me for any potentially awkward camera presence? Is that so much to ask? ...

E3 2010: A very brief Super Scribblenauts hands-on (Super Scribblenauts)

We had a brief session with Super Scribblenauts today, but didn't see much more than what's described in the press release and shown in the recent trailer. We played with the newly-included adjectives, and though they don't generally seem to affect physical, gameplay-changing properties, they're fun. Not all the adjectives we tried worked, but most of them had some effect. Our crazy elephant did jump around in a very crazy manner, and our gentlemanly microphone sported a monocle and top hat, as anything gentlemanly should... ...

Dragon Quest IX screens, impressions and US/UK release date (Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies)

With Final Fantasy XIII out the door, all of Square-Enix’s marketing muscle will be thrust onto the US launch of Dragon Quest IX, now slated for a July 11 release. The series has always been a monstrous success in Japan, but IX has shattered even its own lofty goals and sold more than four million copies since its 2009 debut. Square-Enix has always wanted DQ to carry its weight a bit more in the US, so between the continued sales of the DS and the overwhelming Japanese response, expect DQIX to receive a very powerful push... ...

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions first look (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions)

Unlike Activision head Bobby Kotick, we don’t think the last five years of Spider-Man games completely sucked, and really enjoyed the last solo Spidey game, 2008’s Web of Shadows. Still, we do think the series could use a real shot in the arm, because as cool as swinging around New York is, we feel like that’s gone as far as it can for the time being. So when we got a peek at the next Spider-Man game, subtitled Shattered Dimensions (for 360, PS3, Wii and DS), we were excited to see that the Wallcrawler leaving New York was just one of the stimulating new ideas this game has in store for us. ...

WarioWare D.I.Y - hands-on (WarioWare D.I.Y.)

The original premise behind the WarioWare games was that the titular Wario wanted to capitalize on his greed by making a bunch of hastily assembled microgames to cash in on videogaming. While it sounds like a recipe for another horrid party game, it was actually great. There were a lot of five- to 15-second microgames, and most were really very fun. ...

Alice in Wonderland: A Disney movie game that's GOOD? (Alice in Wonderland)

Why the upcoming tie-ins might actually do Tim Burton's film justice ...

Ghost Trick dev interview (Ghost Trick)

We could tell you about Capcom’s dazzling new possess-’em-up, or we could leave it to people who are a bit more in the know. Say, writer/director (and Phoenix Wright creator) Shu Takumi and producer Hironobu Takeshita? Go on then, we’ll let them do the talking ...

Five reasons we already love Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver (Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver)

As far as Nintendo is concerned with Pokemon, just let the little critters work their magic. Pokemon has always favored little tweaks instead of major overhauls, and this remake of the original Gold and Silver games continues the tradition. Haters will accuse Nintendo of rehashing previous entries ad nauseum, so what about SS/HG stands out and makes this the Legendary one of the bunch? ...

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Q&A (Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth)

After a string of quirky, well written Ace Attorney games, Capcom is throwing gamers a curveball with Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. The game introduces new gameplay elements and third-person views, and most notably focuses on fan favorite Miles Edgeworth instead of series staple Phoenix Wright. We put the game’s producer, Motohide Eshiro in the hot seat and grilled him for evidence ...