<div align="center"><img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/TTP.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /></div>
<div align="center"><b>April 20th - April 26th (2008)</b></div>
Hello, and welcome to the third issue of the <b>Temper Post</b> !
A weekly recap of all that's been going on on the GBAtemp Network.
<b>Contents & Index:</b><ul><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#a">GBAtemp & Scene News</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#b">Official GBAtemp Weekly Game Reviews</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#c">Featured Homebrew Release of the Week</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#d">Interesting Gaming News This Week</a></li><li><a style="text-decoration: none;" href="#e">Community</a></li></ul>
Have a nice read!
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="a"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/mascot.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> GBAtemp & Scene News</div>
<b>Sunday 20th</b><ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83427" target="_blank">iTouchDS first impressions</a></li></ul><b>Tuesday 22th</b><ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83484" target="_blank">New Staff</a></li></ul><b>Thursday 24th</b><ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83725" target="_blank">R4 DS kernel v1.18 </a></li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83727" target="_blank">M3 DS Simply Kernel v1.14</a></li></ul><b>Friday 25th</b><ul><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83860" target="_blank">Acekard 2 v4.07a12 Loader</a></li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83903" target="_blank">M3 DS Real System v3.5</a></li></ul>
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="b"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/review.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Official GBAtemp Weekly Game Reviews</div>
<b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c27.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> DS Game Reviews of the Week by <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Talaria' target=_blank title='View profile for member Talaria'}>Talaria</a></b> and <b><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Another World' target=_blank title='View profile for member Another World'}>Another World</a></b>.</span>
This week, the Temper Post will feature two DS game reviews.
Talaria wrote the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness review; Another World wrote the Rondo of Swords review. Enjoy.
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/img/nds-boxart/static/gt3165.png" target="_blank">Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/img/nds-boxart/static/gt3165.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Once upon a time, a Squirtle happily swam around the Pallet Town pond and playing with a Goldeen. But one day a travelling business spotted a talent in the Squirtle and recruited him for their Pokemon Video Games. Squirtle enjoyed the rich life starring in acclaimed games such as Pokemon Blue, Pokemon Red and Pokemon Fire Red, to name a few. The money coming off from the franchise slowly turned the greedy company Nintendo evil. Squirtle soon appeared in lack lustre spin off’s and the fun and enjoyment he had starring in these games slowly disappeared in the spin off gloom. Days later Squirtle was found sprawled and shell-less on the ground. The autopsy confirmed he died of drug overdose via sleeping pills after being overworked by Nintendo. And they all lived happily ever after,
The End
But will the newly recruited Piplup incur the same fate?
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness emoted fear into my heart from the daunting title. I was sceptical at first as I never really got into the previous versions of the game. So I loaded up this game with an optimistic attitude and away I went.
In this game, your personality reflects what Pokemon you'll turn out to be. You answer questions about yourself, and what Pokemon you play the story with depends on how you answer the questions.
After answering some questions I discovered I was Piplup and was expecting to be landed in some dungeon immediately. But no, …no….no. Instead I see a gripping cutscene of swirling seas which was pretty cool but soon fell short after it cut to a scene about my soon to be friend who is too scared to walk over a metal grate. Oh noes the metal plate is going to eat me Mummy! He then saunters off, am I going to do something now? No, instead my friend sits and watches a bubble show by the Krabby trio. Finally after several more minutes of dialogue I cut to the gameplay. The gameplay is similar to other mystery dungeons but slightly tweaked to Pokemon specifications as a real time turn based system. You slowly make your way down to a specific location to find an item or go bounty hunting. This system can easily get repetitive especially if you don’t like the gameplay and the text can soon become nightmare.
The graphics in the game haven’t had a major overhaul. Still retains its GBA cuteness with noticeable smoother animations. Other than that no changes - which is kind of disappointing, but I think the cuteness helps the game out a lot and anything else might ruin the vibe from it. The game also has some pretty cool cut-scenes e.g. big stream of water hitting your pokemon and washing them away looks spectacular. Overall the graphic’s are nothing new compared to other versions.
The thing that hit me during the game was that I hadn’t turned the sound off. The majority of Pokemon games I have played I turning the sound off was the first thing I did. The music is nothing special but has a mind numbing effect to help you not notice the constant grinding and going down a dungeon with 20 floors.
I did have some irks with this game. My main one annoyance was because I was a water-based pokemon I could walk through water while my fire counterpart couldn’t. Now when I try to leave the water, my partner is blocking the way so it asks me to swap positions. Then the partner is teleported to the opposite end of the map because he/she can’t stand in water. This then resulted in some unnecessary faints. Another thing that annoyed me was the story and dialogue. The game is heavy with it. When I started it, it took about 5 minutes before I actually got to do anything apart from pressing A. The dialogue also is frustrating as they try and tie a storyline to the game. This caused similar results of reading through pages of text which seemed bland and unoriginal.
Overall the game is pretty weak. It’s playable and can be enjoyable but only really a must have for fans of the mystery dungeon series and Pokemon. Some missions at the guildhall can be fun while others are very repetitive. The long dialogue scene’s can be annoying and slow down the gameplay and/or put you off from playing it. The game is a big improvement (excluding graphics, but the graphics still look nice) on the previous games (Mystery Dungeon: Blue/Red Rescue Team) as the gameplay is sought of more varied. I wouldn’t recommend this game but I think the makers of the game have made it more enjoyable so fans of Blue/Red rescue team will lap it up. As for Piplup’s fate - he’s just entered himself into rehab and should make a full recovery.
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Final score: <b>6.5</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=82885" target="_blank">Rondo of Swords</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/img/nds-boxart/static/gt3156.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Rondo of Swords takes place in the Kingdom of Bretwalde, a land of dense forests, rich ports, deserts, bandits, castles and usurped kings. Playing as a team of surviving warriors, headed by Prince Serdic, the player makes strategic movements on grid overlaid combat arenas while attempting to reclaim the throne.
While the enemy AI continually overwhelms with large forces, players make decisions to cast spells, use skills, attack, or move. Each option ends the turn resulting in wasted healing items or quickly thrown spells as the enemy pounces on your location. A slow leveling system means it takes more hits to take out a single enemy character until close to half way through the game. Meanwhile the enemy obliterates and decimates your teams with 4 to 5 successful hits per movement. Thus leaving the player with two strategies, one is to attempt to line up the enemy for a possible pass-through multi-hit maneuver attack, and the other is the understanding that the separation of the team means death. Once you have these two ideas down the strategy behind this game is mastered. Constant trial and error then completes frustrating attempts to clear levels and move on with the story.
Automatically computer controlled RPG like elements allow sidelined characters to quest, train, shop, or upgrade. Considering the repetitiveness of each combat scenario it would have been nice to allow players to pursue these elements manually for their own enjoyment.
The menu system is flawed by assuming each DS owner solely relies on the stylus. New menu options are never pre-selected, forcing you to hit “Down” each time you enter a menu or submenu. Saving time and repetitive menu selecting was obviously not the goal of the programmers who pirated the “IM received” sound effect from AOL’s AIM 95. The controls are accessible from the stylus or through button combinations, yet the stylus feels more cumbersome. In-game decision making and attack routines simply unfold easier using the polished controller scheme.
The top screen of the DS contains the most basic and useless information about each character. Important combat facts such as available spells or skills are missing, forcing the player to spend time digging a few menus deep per character before planning “strategies.” The bottom screen contains a playing field much too large for its size, leading to confusing map comprehension while the player waits up to a minute for the enemy to finish moving its troops. During attack sequences the top screen displays animated kid friendly violence which will have you looking for the skip button after the fourth or fifth time.
The pass-through maneuvers allow for friendly forces to gain additional stats per battle. While good in concept, it rarely aids in favorable outcomes during fight sequences. Magic users can obtain powerful spells but begin the game as feeble defenseless pawns that are quickly sacrificed when spell hurling ends the characters turn and with it the ability to move. Archers can attack after movements but never yield to the cheapness of the whole concept.
Besides the overly womanizing remarks of the character named Margus, this game has nothing entertaining going for it. The “pounce on you” enemy AI, very little actual strategy, computer controlled RPG elements, cumbersome navigation that always requires a confirmation, difficult leveling, a too large for the small screen playing field, repetitive character models, a handful of sound effects and musical tracks, GBA era graphics, simplistic combat choices, long winded enemy decision making, and lack of important character statistics will leave you wishing for a port of Final Fantasy Tactics.
This game is for the strategy purists, and as soon as I find one I’ll ask how they cope with this piece of NDS shovelware.
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Final Score: <b>5.0</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c108.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Wii Game Review of the Week by <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Jackreyes' target=_blank title='View profile for member Jackreyes'}>Jackreyes</a></b></span>
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83010" target="_blank">Namco Museum Remix</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/wii/787.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
First impressions:
Well my first impression was that it looked pretty cool and I thought I should go out and buy it. So I did. It says on the box… 14 Games in All! It looked like something I would want to play. I got it home and put it in and started it up to find myself selecting which game I wanted to play by rolling Pacman around with the analogue stick. I was pleased to see Pacman though this selecting is not good. It’s just wasting time trying to roll Pacman close enough to the different game ‘areas’ just so you can see what the games are. The music is annoying and repetitive.
Gameplay:
14 classic Namco games with some that have been ‘remix’ed. Sounds pretty cool. After rolling around the menu for a while, I realised there were only 7 different areas to go to. It turns out there is a ‘carnival arcade’ which houses 8 of the games in retro styled arcade machines. Still sounding cool? Well don’t let it fool you, this isn’t a very fun game. The retro games are awful… and to my knowledge you can’t actually play the original Pacman. I find this stupid. The retro games you can find include:
Cutie Q, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Gaplus, Mappy, Pac & Pal, Pac-Mania, Super Pac-Man and Xevious.
Admittedly I didn’t waste my time playing all of these, but from what I saw… they didn’t look good.
But I guess that’s fair enough with the 6 new remixes they’re giving us… 6 remixes that aren’t at all good. I’d like to say that they were amazing and a nice new spin on Namco’s retro games. They felt pretty much the same to me but with some Wii controls (which I’ll talk about next). Sure they might look a little bit better than the originals but even the graphics aren’t that smooth.
Controls:
Wow… these controls are superb… is what I should be saying after complete disappointment with this game so far, however I won’t be saying this because it would be a lie. I’m going to give one example of TERRIBLE controls and that is Rally-X. I used to love this game, I can’t stand this version. The controls are perhaps the worst I’ve experienced on the Wii. There are two methods of control. The default is nunchuks analogue stick. The controls DON’T WORK using either method! You try to turn left and it either goes straight on or you turn 180 degrees.
This game is messy and broken. Don’t buy it unless you are a huge Namco fan. Even then, be a little cautious and really think about whether you want to waste £40 (However much it is in US).
<i>This review was written for GBAtemp.net and <a href="http://jackreyes.wordpress.com" target="_blank">Jackreyes' Blog</a> only.</i>
<!--sizeo:5--><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->Final score: <b>5.5</b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="c"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/homebrew.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Featured Homebrew Release of the Week</div>
OpenTyrianDS Review by <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Urza' target=_blank title='View profile for member Urza'}>Urza</a>
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Poster-child for PC shootan games of the 90s, Tyrian was a fast-paced vertical shmup released by Epic MegaGames in '95. It has since been rereleased as freeware, and then again as open source. The open source release was picked up by a group of developers and relabeled "OpenTyrian." This is Dopefish's port of that OpenTyrian to the DS.
Tyrian plays similarly to your standard vertical shmup. Fly around, shoot things, collect powerups (in arcade mode), etc. One of the first things you'll notice about Tyrian (compared to most other shmups) is that touching a bullet doesn't automatically destroy your ship. The blue bar on the bottom screen represents your "shield", which depletes as you're being hit, regenerates slowly while you're not. The gray bar next to it is your "armour" (your "health", so to speak), and only goes down if you're hit while the shield is gone.
Tyrian is also known for its single-player campaign mode. Here you start out with a baseline ship, and purchase upgrades through the shop using points that are accumulated by downing enemy units. The way the currency system works is another welcome change this game brings to the table. Upgrades and weapons can be bought and sold at no loss, essentially promoting you to experiment with different parts, and build the best ship for your money. Available parts include forward gun (your main weapon), rear gun (another part of your main weapon), left and rear sidekicks (additional weapons that fly along side you, usually with limited ammo), shield upgrades, and more powerful generators (which decrease shield recharge time, in addition to increasing the firing rate). Actual plot and dialogue <i>are </i>present in campaign mode, acquired through "data cubes" dropped by specific enemy craft, but is sub-par and really not worth going out of your way for.
You can play the game on 5 difficulty levels, ranging from "Easy" to "Lord of the Game." There are also several levels of graphical quality, although even on "Low" the port runs a tad slower than in its original PC form. The button controls are completely configurable. The default controls are Y to fire, B to switch between firing modes (if your rear weapon has multiple modes), L/R to activate their respective sidekicks, Select to open the menu, and d-pad for movement. Ship movement can also be controlled via the touch screen, but I found that to be fairly iffy. Two additional modes of play are available in the "OpenTyrian" menu on the main screen, including Super Arcade Mode --where you can run through arcade mode with one of 7 supercharged specialty craft, and Destruct --a Scorched Earth clone.
Overall, Tyrian was/is an example of great vertical shmup action, and this port remains true to the source. Fans of the genre will pick up and instantly love this game, although everyone should give it a shot.
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/download.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?download=2329" target="_blank">Download</a>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/style_images/1/folder_post_icons/icon11.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /><a href="http://vespenegas.com/tyrian.html" target="_blank">Project Homepage</a>
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="d"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/essentialgames.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Interesting Gaming News This Week</div>
<ul><li><a href="http://kotaku.com/382246/guitar-hero-iv-to-feature-a-slew-of-instruments" target="_blank">Guitar Hero IV To Feature A Slew Of Instruments</a>. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has revealed that Guitar Hero IV won't just be focusing on guitars, but other instruments and vocals as well.
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83244" target="_blank">SNES Emulation now with Classic Controller and 2 Player support</a>. RobertFC & Lopst now have Classic Controller support going for two players on the Nintendo Wii.
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83458&pid=1102922&st=0?entry1102922" target="_blank">More Download-able Content for Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - My Life as a King</a> is now available. The package is 300 Wii points and includes eleven new dungeons. Read the topic post for more information.
</li><li><a href="http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/869/869445p1.html" target="_blank">Line Rider DS Considered A Sequel</a>.There have been rumors in the past that the popular flash game, Line Rider, would be ported to the Nintendo DS.
That rumor is true! Make sure to check out the images of the game, that are on the web page that the link above takes you to.
</li><li><a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83950" target="_blank">C.O.R.E. to be the next DS Online FPS</a>. A new online FPS headed for the Nintendo DS! Make sure to check out the <a href="http://www.corethegame.com/" target="_blank">official C.O.R.E. website</a>.</li></ul>
<div class="reviewbreak"><a name="e"><img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/forum.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> Community</div>
<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/Topic-1.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Topic of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=-x1_0_nt- ' target=_blank title='View profile for member -x1_0_nt- '}>-x1_0_nt- </a> and his <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83479" target="_blank">How To Get Homebrew up and running using the Twilight Hack topic</a> in the
<a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showforum=108" target="_blank">Wii Hacking Forum</a>.
A nice guide that shows you how to get homebrew to run on your Wii, as well as getting the Twilight Hack to work. Includes a lot of images, which are helpful. Thanks -x1_0_nt-!
<img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/Reply.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Post of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=ScuberSteve' target=_blank title='View profile for member ScuberSteve'}>ScuberSteve</a> in the <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=84092&st=30&p=1112117&#entry1112117" target="_blank">I AM YOUR OVERLORD, BITCHES! thread</a>. C'mon, you know it's funny! (Even if the Photoshopping is a bit sloppy)
<!--QuoteBegin-ScuberSteve+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ScuberSteve)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin--><div align="center"><a href="http://i32.tinypic.com/2zqdbw1.jpg" title="Click to view full size" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.tinypic.com/2zqdbw1.jpg" alt="User posted image" height="100" border="0" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c171.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Blog of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href="http://gbatemp.net/?act=module&module=blogs&member=Costello" target="_blank">Costello's Blog</a>.
Did you know that two of the GBAtemp admins (Costello and shaunj66) are currently on vacation in the United States?
Keep up with his blog for their adventures in the United States, pictures, and their schedule.
Also, Costello usually updates his blog when a new feature is added to GBAtemp.
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c23.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /><b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Avatar of the Week</b></span> goes to <a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=awdofgum' target=_blank title='View profile for member awdofgum'}>awdofgum</a> and <a href="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/jph11200/awdofgumjw63955028lw0.gif" target="_blank">his bubble-gum-chewer avatar</a>.
A GIF of a kid chewing bubble gum. The character blows a bubble...he rises up...and up...then <i>pop!</i> and the bubble gum bubble bursts.Cool avatar. And your custom member profile "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum" goes along with it perfectly!
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c3.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">KYT Sessions This Week:</b></span><ul><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=slvrdragon123' target=_blank title='View profile for member slvrdragon123'}>slvrdragon123</a> - <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83383" target="_blank">Session</a></li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=pikadude1006' target=_blank title='View profile for member pikadude1006'}>pikadude1006</a> - <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83614" target="_blank">Session</a></li></ul><img src="http://gbatemp.net/html/lp/c7.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Birthdays This Week:</b></span><ul><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Dirtie' target=_blank title='View profile for member Dirtie'}>Dirtie</a> (21)</li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=awdofgum' target=_blank title='View profile for member awdofgum'}>awdofgum</a> (16)</li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=Orc' target=_blank title='View profile for member Orc'}>Orc</a> (24)</li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=TheStump' target=_blank title='View profile for member TheStump'}>TheStump</a> (21)</li><li><a href='http://gbatemp.net/member.php?name=moozxy' target=_blank title='View profile for member moozxy'}>moozxy</a> (18)</li></ul>
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/faq.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Temper Tips:</b></span>
Did you know that GBAtemp had a <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showforum=157" target="_blank">Trading Forum</a>? Well, it does! In the Trading Forum, you can sell your stuff, buy stuff, trade stuff, and give stuff away! Make sure to head on over there when you're cleaning your old box of video games out - and make sure to read the rules!
<img src="http://gbatemp.net/images/icons/index/goty.png" border="0" class="linked-image" /> <b>NDS and Wii Releases of the week, by Hadrian</b>: See what DS & Wii games are coming out next week <a href="http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=83698" target="_blank">here</a>.
See you next week for another issue of the Temper Post!
JPH.
