If you we’re gushing at the spy shots of the “Zune X” a couple of weeks back, you probably need to go for a psychiatric evaluation. Not only did the device look like complete trash, but the specs were borderline ridiculous. Well, to finally dispell all of the Zune X rumors, out comes the Zune HD. What some thought to be an artist’s rendition a couple of months back, turned out to be actual images of the device. The official site has gone up with specs galore. The highlight for me being “a 3.3 inch screen and vivid 16:9 OLED display (480×272 resolution)” if you guys don’t know what OLED is, you need check out Sony’s XEl-1 prototype. Only 2 words can be used to describe the colors produced by an OLED screen and they are: Fucking and Sexy.
Another detail is the ability to “Watch supported 720p HD movies, TV shows and videos in high definition on your HDTV through the Zune HD” oh and that’s done with the device’s HDMI out (take that PSP with your silly 480i component cables), so you can hook this bad boy up to pretty much any HD Set. Now, the question is will that work for games? Early rumors are suggesting XBOX Live and XBL Arcade game intergration, and ever since J. Allard left Microsoft’s game division for the entertainment division there has always been chatter about the Zune and the 360 coming together at some point. Now I believe that time is finally upon us. We’ll just have to wait and see if Microsoft brings this baby up at it’s E3 press conference, on Monday June 1st. Stay Tuned.
With E3 just a couple of weeks away, the game related rumors online are spreading faster than swine flu at a taco stand. We still have about 2 weeks to go, and I’m sure between now and then we’ll see rumors about Halo 4 on the PSP; but let’s focus on the topic at hand, shall we? A couple of nights ago, a blog by the name of MIMBEE.TV leaked a shot from a secret conference where this mysterious Microsoft handheld was shown off. For a second I was surprised, considering Microsoft has stated publicly many times that they want no part of the portable market and actually ridiculed Sony for jumping into that death dance with Nintendo way back in 2005. If the “leaked” photo wasn’t enough, it was followed up by the way of a full specification sheet the very next day. Hit the jump to check out the specs.
Watch this Phantasy Star Zero video and get a good feel for what the game has to offer, unfortunately it is in Japanese, but the overall feel of the game shines through nicely. This DS title looks to offer a lot on a small hand held system, while also offering something different than it’s PSP counterpart Phantasy Star Portable. I am no expert in Japanese, but I am sure that unique weapons and guns will be a plenty and this will shape up to be a must have for any DS owner.
Phantasy Star Portable will be coming to the North American market this March. I am excited to play this title in English and will be able to understand the story and buttons, although I didn’t let that stop me before. Unfortunately, there will not be any online gameplay, but will support Ad-hoc 4 player action.
What you haven’t played enough Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords you say? Well looks like the folks over at D3Publisher think so as well and are releasing it for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I used to play this game for hours on end, not sure my iPhone battery will survive this kind of usage although it will be nice to possibly listen to my own music while playing. Look for some Puzzle Quest action on your iPhone and iTouch this fall in the applications section.
During an interview with Satoshi Sakai the producer of Phantasy Star Universe and also the new Phantasy Star Zero he discussed some of the details behind the new Nintendo DS RPG. This looks like another title I will be importing over to play on the go. This one will be in a new world but will be modeled after Phantasy Star Online (PSO) and will give you the opportunity to play online.
The ability to draw and chat online will lead to some interesting illustrations I can imagine, you just took my super rare dagger you get “C======3”. I am all about nostalgia so bring on some classic PSO action for me to enjoy along with my Phantasy Star Portable for my PSP.
· Phantasy Star Zero is a completely new title set in a brand new world.
· Zero’s gameplay mechanics will be based heavily around PSO’s. But despite this, the developers hope that the unique style will attract more fans to the series, even those who have never touched a previous Phantasy Star title.
· The Nintendo DS was selected as the platform for this title to help broaden the age range of players.
· Zero was selected as part of the title to invoke thoughts of a new beginning for the series.
· You will be able to play with people you’ve never met over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. No details were given on if or how Friend Codes will be used, however.
· PS0 will not support voice chat or vibration functions.
· PSO’s word select system is a possibility, but has not been confirmed.
· PSO’s symbol chat will not return for this game. It is being replaced by visual chat, allowing users to draw their own pictures using the stylus.
· Many common item and technique names will return from PSO.
· The developers hope that, despite this game taking place in a completely new world, it will still bring out feelings of nostalgia and other fond memories.
We talked a bit about the new Phantasy Star Portable that recently released in Japan for the Sony PSP and now we have confirmation that a DS version entitled Phantasy Star Zero will come to the Nintendo DS on December 25th of this year. The announce and release of the DS title is much more accelerated than any other title in the franchises history.
Seems like Phantasy Star is getting some handheld love and fast, this title is only scheduled to release in Japan but as with the success of the PSP version I would not be surprised if this comes stateside as well.
The DS version looks a bit more cartoonish in nature but still seems to retain the overall charm of Phantasy Star. One advantage off the bat that the DS version will have aside from stylus chat capabilities will by online play via wifi, which is awesome! Unfortunately the PSP version only has an Ad-Hoc capability that just isn’t the same.
Nostars brought us some of his thoughts on Phantasy Star Portable so I thought we would share them with everyone. Thanks bud!
First, the basic controls are very similar to those of the prior Phantasy Star online titles.
D-Pad – Controls Camera/toggles through menus
Analog Stick – Moves character/Aims weapon in first person mode
X – Switch weapons/cancel in menus
Square – Main Attack
Triangle – Secondary Attack
Circle – Interact/pick-up/accept in menus
Left Bumper – Centers Camera/Strafe if held
Right Bumper – Alternate commands/weapons
Select – Switches to first person mode, handy for using the rifle.
Start – Brings up menus
Graphically, I am impressed. They were able to retain the artform of prior Phantasy Star titles, while translating it well to the PSP’s graphical capabilities. The beasts are different from the prior games, so that’s a plus. The bosses do bare a striking resemblance to creatures from the previous games, as do the lesser beasts and bots, which to me is ok, since I’ve been removed from Phantasy Star for a while. Hit the jump for more »
I just got my imported version of Phantasy Star Portable for the PSP from Japan. (Special thanks to my bro for hooking that up) The game is completely in Japanese and so far has no option to convert to English in any way so you either have to find a Japanese friend or tough it out. Luckily the game itself is very easy to follow and if you played enough Phantasy Star Universe like I did you will be able to pick out the symbols on screen and figure out what is what.
The game itself runs smoothly and pretty much is a scaled down version of Phantasy Star Universe for your PSP. Many of the same items, mobs and planets make another appearance in this version and one huge difference is the rate at which you gain experience, which is much faster in the PSP version. I played for about an hour in order to figure out the layout to create a character and navigate around the menus (agian these are all in Japanese) and managed to get my character to level 10 fairly easily. Hit the jump for more »
This is one of the coolest and possibly the most unnecessary mods I have ever scene. This guy took his Nintendo DS version of Guitar Hero: On Tour and integrated it into a full sized guitar to make playing it easier, it also transmits the music to his entertainment center. I agree that the DS version hand grip is borderline horrible because it will cause you major uncomfort after a couple of songs, but this mod makes the game huge, which defeats the purpose of a portable game. I guess unless you don’t mind walking round the streets with a guitar and headphones you will be fine.
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