Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (NDS)

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo

Category: Role-Playing

Release Dates

N Amer - 03/14/2010

Pokémon HeartGold Version and SoulSilver Version (ポケットモンスター ハートゴールド・ソウルシルバーPoketto Monsutā Hātogōrudo Sōrushirubā^?, "Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver) are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games, Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are members of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. First released in Japan on September 12, 2009, the games were later released to North America, Australia, and Europe during March 2010.

HeartGold and SoulSilver were commercially successful in Japan, selling over 2 million units within the first six weeks of their release. Initial reception to the game has been positive.

Gameplay

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver are role-playing video games withadventure elements. The basic mechanics of the games are largely the same as their predecessors'. As with all Pokémon games for hand-held consoles, gameplay is in third-person overhead perspective, and consists of three basic screens: a field map, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures his party, items, or gameplay settings. The player begins the game with one Pokémon, and can capture more using Poké Balls. The player can also use his or her Pokémon to battle other Pokémon.

When the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer to a battle, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen where the Pokémon fight. During battle, the player may fight, use an item, switch the active Pokémon, or flee (the last is not an option in battles against trainers). All Pokémon have hit points (HP); when a Pokémon's HP is reduced to zero, it faints and cannot battle unless taken to a Pokémon Center and healed or revived with a Pokémon skill or item. If the player's Pokémon defeats the opposing Pokémon (causes it to faint), it receives experience points. After accumulating enough experience points, it may level up; most Pokémon evolve into a new species of Pokémon when they reach a certain level, or when certain conditions are met (commonly, how much a Pokémon statistically 'likes' its trainer).

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How to Train Your Dragon

source by: gamezone.com

Publisher: Activision Inc.

Developer: Griptonite Games

Category: Action

Release Dates

N Amer - 03/23/2010

Based on the upcoming film from DreamWorks Animation, the How to Train Your Dragon™ video game launches gamers into a third-person action-adventure as a Viking hero where they must embark upon an epic quest to become the ultimate dragon trainer. Gamers can play as characters “Hiccup” or Astrid” on the vast Island of Berk, which features expanded locales from the film including Vikings’ Village, Wild Zone, Training Zone and Fight Arena. In this truly larger-than-life adventure, players will train dragons, explore environments and battle in prestigious dragon tournaments as they battle for Viking victory. Plus, gamers can become the Dragon hero of their living room as they square-off with friends and family in endless head-to-head multi-player combat.

• Create Your Very Own Dragon – The “Create Your Dragon” feature allows players to customize six different types of dragons, providing virtually unending combinations of ways to modify your dragon’s appearance.
• Train your Dragon for Battle – “Level Up” your dragon’s speed, power, fire and other abilities through intense training to face the critical Viking challenge of becoming the ultimate dragon trainer. Then use your arsenal of trained dragons to battle friends in a variety of unique environments.
• Pick up Where the Movie Left Off – Players enjoy an all-new post-movie adventure as they jump into battle as their favorite characters. Explore the picturesque Island of Berk as Hiccup or Astrid in Adventure Mode or experience fierce battle action in Arena Mode as you fight for your crown as ultimate dragon warrior.
• Head-to-Head Multiplayer Mode – Arcade mode allows friends to select their dream team of four individually customized dragons or dragons chosen from the arcade roster, then jump in and battle against each other. In addition to Astrid and Hiccup, additional characters are playable in Multiplayer Mode including Tuffnut T., Ruffnut T., Fishlegs, and Snotlout.
• Mini-Games – Mini games include Ice Sculpting, Looping Race, Flying Sheppard, Memory Torch, and Puzzle Dragon. Excelling in Mini-Games earns players experience points toward leveling up your dragon, winning gold and other items to help care for dragons

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Metal Slug XX (PSP)

source by: psp.gamezone.com & wikipedia

Publisher: XS Games

Category: Action

Release Dates

Playstation Network - 03/22/2010

Metal Slug 7​ (メタルスラッグ 7) is a run and gun video game developed by SNK Playmore for the Nintendo DS andPlayStation Portable. It is the eighth title in the main Metal Slug series. It was announced in the September 2007 issue of Famitsu and marks the first game in the main series that will be released without an arcade version. The game was released in Japan on July 22, 2008 and North America on November 28, 2008 by Ignition Entertainment.

A PlayStation Portable version titled Metal Slug XX​ (メタルスラッグ XX^?), also known as Metal Slug Double X, was released on December 23, 2009 in Japan and North America on February 23, 2010 by Atlus. The PSP version features additional content, including co-op multiplayer and downloadable content.

If you’ve never heard of Metal Slug (which would mean a) you don’t like pizza b) are new to gaming or c) have been living under a rock for the past 14 years), the series is a run and gun shooter in the vein of Contra. You take on herds of enemies with a variety of weapons and several vehicles sprinkled in like tanks, planes, and the occasional bipedal mech, rescue POWs, and blow gigantic bosses to kingdom come. The action unfolds exclusively on a 2D plane, and you’ll run from one end of the stage to the other laying waste to anything that gets into your path. Your character isn’t terribly strong and the game works on a one-hit-kill mechanic, meaning that you’ll die. A lot. There is certainly no shortage of action in the Metal Slug franchise, which has always been its main appeal.

Gameplay

There are seven levels and three difficulties: Beginner, Normal and Hard. Metal Slug 7 uses the Nintendo DS' touchscreen as a map of the level, making it easier for the player to look at the level and where to get power ups or captured prisoners. The usual weapons makes it's return from the series including a new weapon called "Thunder Shot", which could fire a homing electric blast to the enemy. New to Metal Slug XX is the downloadable content and the choice to play as Leona Heiderm from the King of Fighters series.

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Alice in Wonderland (NDS, MB, PC, Wii)

Publisher: Disney Interactive

Developer: Etranges Libellules

Category: Action

Release Dates

N Amer - 03/02/2010

Official Game Website

Also available on:
• GBC
• MB
• PC
• WII

Alice in Wonderland allows players to guide, protect and aid Alice as she journeys through the world of Underland while unraveling the game’s many twisted mysteries. Along the way, players call on a diverse and unique cast of characters such as the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat who each have unique abilities to help evade traps and solve challenging puzzles. The Mad Hatter can help Alice alter her perception of Underland and take advantage of optical illusions to open up places in the world the player alone would not have noticed. Meanwhile, the Cheshire Cat can use his ability to make himself and objects appear and disappear helping Alice through this strange world. Players must choose wisely when using each of the characters’ powers and combine the abilities to solve more complex puzzles.

The Nintendo DS version will introduce a new twist as players guide Alice alongside her diverse and enduring friends to combat the legions of the Red Queen’s Army. Creating their own path through Underland using an oracle, players lead, protect and help Alice on her quest. The DS version features an innovative art style unique to the platform, a playable character not seen on the home console version, and unique character abilities similar to those of the Wii and PC versions. DSi players will use the system’s camera to detect colours mapped to unlockable content when tasks are completed.

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Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2010: Reverse of Arcadia (NDS)

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Konami

Category: Classics/Puzzles

Release Dates

N Amer - 03/01/2010

Intl - 03/01/2010

Designed as the ultimate incarnation of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME for Nintendo DS, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2010: Reverse of Arcadia marries intricate storylines and new gameplay features making for the most detailed and exhaustive Yu-Gi-Oh! experience on this platform to date.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2010: Reverse of Arcadia’s story mode continues a story arch from the animated series detailing the reprise of the Dark Signers and their quest for supremacy over New Domino City. Following their banishment to the Underworld, these Earthbound Immortals will stop at nothing to overthrow the rule of New Domino City and destroy its neighboring Satellite. Thus, in a quest to defeat them, players can enlist the help of some of their favorite characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe.

The DS game game spans a number of strong game modes, inviting users to compete in story mode or enjoy a free duel mode against Jack, Yusei or any of 20 new characters as players take on the Dark Signers in an epic battle to settle the score between light and dark.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s World Championship 2010: Reverse of Arcadia expands on gameplay features to make this the biggest Yu-Gi-Oh! game with the most robust feature set imaginable. Players now have access to 3,500 cards – including cards from the Absolute Powerforce series – to compete against friends with or players worldwide via Wi-Fi. A new Rating System which shows the strength of the players can be viewed via the Wi-Fi Connection. When the Rating Number becomes a certain number, challenges like ‘Win Three times in a row” arise, making the battles even hotter. The new Wi-Fi ranking system tracks the win percentages against other duelists worldwide by elevating and decreasing their ranking based on the strength of opponents.

In addition for Turbo Dueling, a new rule – ‘Speed World 2’ – a wealth of SP-Magic cards have also been added. In ‘Race’ games, the race mechanics have been enhanced to include obstacles, hidden pathways, and collection points. In Story Mode, puzzles that use gimmicks related to the maps have been implemented. Using the Duelist calculator, players of the Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME can quickly and accurately calculate life points, judge dice, and coins while battling opponents!

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Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (PC, DS, PS3, XBOX 360, Wii)

Release Date: 2/23/2010
Platforms:
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Gamesite: Click here
Genres: Racing
ESRB: E

Character racers have been a staple of the videogame industry ever since Nintendo pretty much created the genre with Super Mario Kart. Many publishers and developers have attempted to imagine the kart racing design with their own style and intellectual properties, but to this day Nintendo continues to hold the crown. But Sonic & SEGA All-Stars racing gives Mario Kart a run for its money with a design that has a lot of depth and tons of single and multiplayer features.

There's absolutely no question that Sumo Digital looked at Mario Kart Wii, as nearly every part of All-Stars Racing is nicked from Nintendo's design. I say that with all respect: if you're put to the task of building a racing game that revolves around a company's franchises, you're going to benefit from looking at the one game that's considered the best in its class. While SEGA's game may not have too much it can claim as "original" to the franchise, what the developer does in All-Stars Racing it does very well, turning a "me-too" project into a tightly developed racer with a lot of charm and character of its own.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing has no back-story nor does it put into context why characters from all walks of SEGA life – from Sonic the Hedgehog to Shenmue to Chu Chu Rocket – decided to have a race through environments based around the games they star in. It doesn't need it. Just like Nintendo's Super Smash Bros., All-Stars Racing is a celebration of all things the company represents. There are very, very few publishers in the videogame industry that can get away with designing a game around a legacy of recognizable franchises and characters across multiple decades. And it never feels like egotistical back-patting here, either.

Gameplay

The game is a mascot kart racing game, very similar to other games in its genre like Mario Kart, Konami Krazy Racers and Crash Team Racing. Characters race through various race circuits themed on different Sega franchises and collect power-ups to boost their speed or hamper their opponents. Additional boost can be earned by successfully executing drifts (with longer drifts earning more boost), or performing tricks while in midair. Like Sumo's previous Sega game, Sega Superstars Tennis, each character has a special ability (called an "All-Star Move") unique to them that they may use to their advantage (such as Sonic transforming into Super Sonic and AiAi riding in marbles), which they can obtain if they are running behind in the race. How long each All-Star move lasts depends on the character's current position.

Vehicles are separated into four different categories: racing, off-road, bike and hovercraft. As the terrain on the tracks will vary, vehicles can be either assisted or hindered by the surfaces they drive upon. For example, racing-type vehicles perform best on hard surfaces such aswood or concrete, but are hampered by soft terrain such as mud, sand or snow. The opposite is true for off-road type vehicles. Hovercrafts are not affected by any terrain and are able to perform multiple boosts after a jump, but they are unable to drift and have low acceleration. All of the vehicles also have their own specific engine sounds.

By playing through the game, players can earn Sega Miles that can be spent in the in-game shop to unlock additional content such as characters, tracks, art and songs.^[6] The game features a total of 24 tracks based on locations from Sonic Heroes, Super Monkey Ball,Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, Jet Set Radio Future, Samba de Amigo, and The House of the Dead

The game will have customizable multiplayer options for up to four players on split-screen and eight players online (four players on DS version, no online support for PC version), including Free Race, Arena, Knockout and Capture the Chao modes. There will also be Grand Prix, Time Trials and Mission modes for single player.

The soundtrack for the game will consist of various old and new tracks from the various Sonic and Sega franchises, though it will also feature original songs by various artists includingRichard Jacques. Each course will start with one track, with more being unlocked as players earn Sega Miles. The Nintendo DS version of the game will feature MIDI versions of the tracks composed by Allister Brimble and Anthony Putson of Orchestral Media Developments. The main theme song of the game will be So Much More... by singer Bentley Jones.

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