Don’t forget, you have a chance to win your very own copy of the amazing Soul Bubbles on DS! Only two more days to go to get your pictures in! Bubble gum bubbles, soap bubbles, some other type of bubbles that I can’t think of! The sky’s the limit! Don’t have any bubbles available? Check after the break for a quick and easy bubble formula! Bend a small piece of wire into a loop, dunk it in, and blow! Blow like there’s no tomorrow! Just watch out that your bubbles don’t pop on all these exclamation points! Email your pictures of you or someone you know and/or love blowing bubbles to sbgiveaway@gmail.com for your chance to win. See the original contest post for rules. Open to everyone around the world! You don’t see that often.

More…

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a game that I’ve been looking forward to since I saw the first trailer. It actually made me less interested in the real Bionic Commando sequel, because this one just looked so much better. So after about half a year of waiting, and a couple months of delays, it was finally released yesterday on XBLA (today on PSN), and it was well worth the wait.

More…

If you live in or around Hollywood (and really, who doesn’t?) be sure to check out the Fourth Annual i am 8-bit event. The whole thing kicks off tonight at 8 pm and will feature performances from Computer Jay and DJ R-Rated. Can’t make it tonight? Not to worry. The exhibit runs till Sunday, September 7, which should give you non-Hollywood types plenty of time to plan a trip to visit it.

Link: http://www.iam8bit.net/

I’ve been playing Guitar Hero: On Tour since it was released and it’s about time I write something on it. If you’re a GH fan, you’ll probably want to add this one to your library.

So the big question is, how do you play Guitar Hero on the DS? The game comes packaged with a special attachment that you connect in your GBA slot on your DS (it also has an attachment for people with the old DS models)

More…

Phantasy Star Online is what many would call “an oldie, but a goodie.” While I played the GameCube version, PSO was originally released in 2000 for the Dreamcast, and was later made available to the Xbox and PC. Developed by Sonic Team at SEGA and coupled with poor advertising, it became known as one of those stellar games that did not receive nearly as much recognition as it deserves.

You begin the game on the colony Pioneer 2, and as part of the Hunter’s Guild, you are given a mission to investigate an explosion on the planet Ragol. Your goal then is to follow the footsteps of a mysterious Rico Tyrell and exterminate any hostile native creatures — only to realize once you’ve landed that everything wants to taste your blood. And that’s OK. It’s time to grab your trusty lightsaber and call up your friends as you plow through the depths of the planet.

Hit the jump to find out more.

More…

I just got this in my emails today, it’s not for a Nintendo system, but heads up to everyone with a PS3 or PS2.

Peak Products is releasing a full size wooden guitar that’s compatible with Guitar Hero and Rock band. It doesn’t come cheap though, MSRP of $179.95 and a release window of late August.

Full Press Release after the break.

More…

Are you an attractive person? If so (and even if not), Telltale has a new game for you! The first episodic adventure for the Wii kicks off today with Homestar Ruiner, the first episode of (deep breath) Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. Adventure games on consoles are hit or miss, but Telltale has taken the time to design the entire experience around the Wii.

Is Strong Bad a hit or a miss? Read on and find out.

More…

Wii
August 12 - Line Rider 2: Unbound (GameStats)
August 12 - Madden NFL 09 All-Play (GameStats)

Virtual Console / WiiWare
Strong Bad Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner (Telltale Games, 1 player, 1000 Wii Pts) [4cr-review]
Break In (TGx16, 1-4 players, 700 Wii Pts)
Star Parodier (TGx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 900 Wii Pts)

DS
August 12 - Bangai-O Spirits (GameStats)
August 12 - Imagine Teacher
August 12 - Line Rider 2: Unbound (GameStats)
August 12 - Madden NFL 09 (GameStats)
August 12 - The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom

Madden 09 week! Don’t forget Bionic Commando:Rearmed on XBLA (Wed.) and PSN (Thu.). It looks line Line Rider 2 is finally getting released. Almost forgot, every Strong Bad fan should get the first episode today!

No, I’m not talking about LEGO Star Wars or the multiplayer chaos that was LEGO Indiana Jones, and although I’m excited, I don’t even mean LEGO Batman which arrives on September 23rd. No folks, what we have here is a solid work of genius by LEGO architect Dan Kressin. It’s not something you’ll be able to play, but if you have any appreciation for LEGO bricks, it sure is amazing to watch. Wow!

You can find out more about LEGO Donkey Kong on his website, or hit the jump for some scandalous rear footage!*

More…

You’ve read our impressions, now win a copy of Soul Bubbles for yourself! All you have to do is take a picture of yourself or someone else blowing bubbles and email it to sbgiveaway@gmail.com. One lucky winner will win a copy of the game, autographed by Omar Cornut, one of the heads behind the fantastic game. The contest is open to readers across the globe (none of that United States only stuff here!)

You only have until next Sunday (August 17, 2008) to get your entries in, so don’t wait! Now’s your chance to own one of the very best games on the Nintendo DS.

See after the break for rules and a picture of exactly what you can win!

More…

Soul Bubbles is a DS puzzle-platformer by French developer Mekensleep. Take a dash of Lost Winds, a pinch of Loco Roco, and a helluva lot of awesome, and what you end up with is Soul Bubbles. This game is absolutely fantastic. It’s one of those games that when you hear about it at first, it sounds too simple. Once you get into the meat of the game however, you end up finding that beneath it’s simple appearance, fantastic level design and playability await.

More…

Pixeljunk Eden came out last week, Bionic Commando comes out this week, both Wario Land Shake It and Megaman 9 come out in September, and then in October we get a double-whammy with Castlevania OoE and LittleBigPlanet. So I thought, with all the awesome 2D platformers that are coming out in the next few months, now would be a great time to talk about all the old ones that we love.

Everyone loves the older Megaman games and all Super Mario games, but two of my other favorites are Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers and Castlevania 3. Chip and Dale has some of the best co-op of all time, plus you can pick up your teammate and throw them over the edge to their doom. Castlevania 3 is pretty much the epitome (in my opinion) of oldschool Castlevania games. The level design is fantastic, the enemies and bosses are cool, the music and graphics are great, and there are four very unique characters to use.

So 4cr readers, I ask you: what are some of your favorite platformers?

With the launch of the iPhone Apps store I’ve heard people all around the industry talking about the iPhone as the new gaming portable that will be the one to beat. Personally, I find that hard to believe and have no doubt that the DS will continue to sell hand over foot and the PSP will exist somewhere out there. However, the iPhone is a viable gaming platform and with more developers jumping on board it seems like my dream of having an all in one phone / organizer / computer / gaming device are that much closer.

Let’s take a look at EA’s iPhone offerings; Tetris, Sudoku and Scrabble.

More…

Any gamer who was into puzzle games back in 1989 has probably spent a pretty huge chunk of time with Pipemania. The original, released under a couple of different names (Pipe Dreams) on more platforms than you have fingers, has sold over four million copies. Empire Interactive is now putting the finishing touches on their remake, set to be released in mid-September. Why remake it now? Why not? Like many puzzle games, Pipemania’s gameplay has stood the test of time.

We got to sit in on a recent developer Q&A where we got the scoop on the upcoming title. Read on for all of the info that we could scoop out of their pipes.

More…

Ever since the announcement of the App Store, the iPhone has been getting a lot of attention as the next big gaming platform. It seems like every major upcoming game has a special iPhone spinoff. I’ll be honest, I have my doubts about the iPhone as some sort of gaming messiah. There is only so much that you can do without buttons. Very few DS games have managed to pull off touchscreen-only controls, and I suspect the same will be true of the iPhone. That said, there are still some incredible gaming efforts coming to the platform. My current favorite game on the phone also happens to be free – Aurora Feint.

More…