You may remember some time ago the news that the controversial R4 card, a cartridge that enables people to run homebrew and illegally-downloaded games on the DS had ruled as being perfectly lawful in France .  Well, bad news for anyone looking to buy one over here – the card has been declared illegal in the UK.

The card is often hailed for its usefulness in allowing users to play and design their own games for the machine.  Indeed, this ability is what swayed the Paris courts, with the judges ruling that Nintendo “should be more like Windows where anyone can develop any application if they wish to.”  However, the majority of users prefer it for its other, more well-known feature, that of being able to play downloaded games from rom sites and torrent trackers.

In a statement, Nintendo assured that it “initiates these actions not only on its own behalf, but also on behalf of over 1,400 video game-development companies that depend on legitimate sales of games for their survival”.

While this is obviously a great blow for the company against piracy, the DS is nearing the end of its lifespan.  Add to that the fact that most people who want a flash card have, more than likely already bought one, and the effect is not unlike bolting the gates of Hell long after all the demons have run out.  And while it’s illegal to advertise or sell the R4, easily the most high-profile card on the market, it remains to be seen if this will effect any of the myriad copies and clones of the card still out there.

Nintendo victory as R4 emulator is outlawed [Develop]

Way back in the day, when I first got into RPGs, Japan was almost like the Promised Land. While we were lucky to see more than a copy of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, they had games to spare.  They loved them so much, legend stated that no RPG could be released on a weekday, essentially elevating release day to a holiday or borderline religious festival!  The really weird thing?  While the majority of that might be… arguable, that last bit is actually true. Back in 1988, a game came out for the NES that convinced great swathes of the population to pull a sickie and wait in line outside their local game shop.  You read that right: not football, not tennis, a game.  The Japanese government stepped in and politely suggested that Enix, the game’s producers and publishers, try to avoid bringing the country’s workforce to a screeching halt in future.  That game was Dragon Quest III, part of a series that soundly beats the Final Fantasy juggernaut into second place in Japan with the back of its hand.  Yet, strangely, the series is almost unheard of amongst the general populace in the West, while even your Grandmother probably knows that Aeris dies in FF7.  Well, Square Enix are looking to change that with their latest magnum opus – Dragon Quest IX: Sentinal of the Starry Skies.

You start off by creating your character, choosing their gender, hairstyle and colour and so on.  As the game opens, you are an angel charged with protecting a nearby village.  The angels are trying to help the World Tree, Yggdrasil, grow, and the only way to do that is by collecting benevolessence, a force created by helping others.  Just as it seems like they’re about to achieve their goal, the angels are attacked and scattered.  When the player finally reawakens, it’s back in the village they were protecting earlier but, more importantly, it’s without their wings and halo.  And so, you go forward, helping people while trying to figure out what’s causing the recent disasters on the mortal plane.

First things first, Dragon Quest is as Old School as it gets.  If you like Final Fantasy’s endless attempts at reinventing the RPG wheel, you may be put off at first glance.  The Dragon Quest series has always been about refinement rather than reinvention, and while it does make a few concessions to modern preferences (being able to see enemies on the world map rather than random encounters, for example), there’s a lot you’ll already have seen a dozen times or more by now.  Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  That sense of immediately knowing what to do and how everything works is certainly welcome, especially in an age where every game feels the need to walk you through an hour’s worth of tutorial stages.

Combat is spruced up from previous installments.  Rather than everything taking place on a static screen as viewed through your character’s eyes, the battles are played out for you, as you get to see your character run up and smack your foes in the face.  Other than that, there are few surprises: you select your attacks, spells and skills, you and the enemy trade hits until one of you falls over, you walk away with the spoils, assuming you’re still capable of walking.

The really big change, however, is the focus on multiplayer.  You can invite other players into your game to allow you all to team up and fight bosses, help out friends and so on.  Every player controls their own character in combat, so be sure everyone knows what they’re doing before you start.  The problem is, only the host can continue their storyline, everyone is a visitor to their game.  So if you think you can coast by on another player’s game as they rip up everything while you sit back and suck up the XP, think again.  Similarly, you can’t just start up a team game and play through as a group, a painfully wasted opportunity and an addition that could’ve made this one of the absolute must-have games on the DS.

Probably the one place they could’ve definitely updated things is with te story.  Your character, well, doesn’t have any.  DQ determinedly sticks with the Silent Protagonist, so anyone looking for their new favourite tortured hero with a dark past is going to have to look elsewhere.  It’s the people around you who get the depth and advancement, and while helping out NPCs is nice and all, you don’t exactly feel like the star of the show.  Similarly, the story isn’t a huge departure from anything seen in the past.  There’s a few twists along the way, but again, nothing massively shocking is likely to happen.  You’ll enjoy the story, but in a way, it’s not really the driving force behind the game.  You’ll be compelled to continue because you enjoy the game, rather than uncovering the terrible secret behind the events of X years previous.

Dragon Quest IX is as traditional and as uncomplicated as it gets.  And in a way, it’s almost refreshing.  RPGs today have this schizophrenic relationship with their past, simultaneously ashamed of what they used to be while, distancing themselves as much as possible while at the same time, referring to it with obsessive attention to detail.  It’s almost a joy to see a game embrace its heritage, rather than pretending it never used to be something so base and loathesome.  If, like me, you’re a long-time RPG fan, you’ll want to pick this up to remind yourself of the days when you could spend countless hours talking to every villager, grinding levels and punching adorable monsters in the face.  And if you’re looking for something different from the current crop of games, ironically, this will probably be exactly the sort of thing you’re looking for.  They don’t make them like this too often these days and it’s a shame.  The genre needs to stop looking forward so much and take a moment to look at what it already has and what can be done with it.  Dragon Quest IX is a perfect example that you don’t have to push forward boundaries in order to make the best game you can.

Now, where the hell can I find a Slime plush around here…

+ A classic slice of RPG gameplay
+ Not a game you’re likely to finish any time soon

- Multiplayer, while a nice idea, seems unfinished
- Possibly a litle too retro for some tastes

Score : 8/10

Andy  Murray has turned to the Nintendo DS to solve his gaming addiction.

Due to a seven hour a day PS3 addiction, Murray was dumped by his girlfriend but it seems the DS has solved that. Murray and his forgiving girlfriend Kim Sears were spotted by a pool. Sears was reading a book whilst the tennis star was playing on his DS. The two were said to have looked very relaxed. Sears is not the only person complaining about Murray’s habits. His coach also complained about the gaming habits.

Andy Murray Solves Gaming ‘Obssession’… with DS [CVG]

Julian Widdows the executive producer of the new Goldeneye remake has stressed that the game will be for the Wii only and no other console.

Widdows reason for this was based on an air of nostalgia. The original Goldeneye was an exclusive for the Nintendo 64 and it is because of this, he feels that Goldeneye should be a Wii exclusive calling it the ‘mother console.’ He also believes that the Wii is an under rated and under used console and the inclusion of the new bond game will change that due to the graphic and production values.

The original Goldeneye was a massive hit scoring near perfect to perfect scores from many video game critics. It is namedby many, including this reviewer, as one of the best games ever.

Goldeneye Wii dev has ’something to prove. [CVG]

The new video highlights many new features of the game.

A new video of Pokemon Black and White shows some of the new features that the games are going to feature. Previously different versions of Pokemon only had the selection of Pokemon as the main difference. However, as well as possibly including this difference, another difference will be the look of the environments where one game features a science fiction futuristic town whilst the other features more of an old fashioned setting. A final new major feature shown in the video seems to be animated screens of talking NPC’s. Perhaps Pokemon will take a more tv show related approach?

Other new features that the video shows include the new battle system where Pokemon will be shown in their full size and it also showcased the new three on three system whereas in previous games, you could only have two on two battles. New pokemon were also featured towards the end of the video.

New Pokemon Black/White Footage [CVG]

Shigeru Miyamoto has stressed that Nintendo’s next big console step won’t be into 3d territory.

He argues that not enough people own 3D tv’s to be able to justify the move. He claims the reasoning behind the Wii’s large success which outdid the PS3 and 360 sales was due to the lack of HD TV owners and that they appreciate more of what the Wii offers due to this. Miyamoto says that the 3DS is succesful because it does not need any extra expensive hardware, just the hardware that is built in.

For those waiting for another big Nintendo console, you may have to wait a long time as Nintendo feels that there isn’t a need for one anytime soon. Miyamoto believes that due to the Wii’s current success with its array of good games, there isn’t a need to make a newer console yet.

Wii 3D ‘ not out next step. [CVG]

The 3DS could be capable of console level technology.

JC Connors, the head of Griptonite Games believes that this is ‘an opportunity to bring something special to gamers. Third party publishers are taking this alot more seriously.’

He believes that the new joystick and the 3D technology will allow this new level of gaming on a handheld and that it wasn’t possible on the previous DS because of hardware limits.

Many developers are looking forward to what they can produce for the 3DS and this claim is most likely a feasible one due to the port of the very popular Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater which was a console title for the PS2.

3DS Capable of ‘console – level games’ [CVG]

Nintendo claim to have found the answer to video game piracy through the 3DS

According to THQ’s Ian Curran, the 3DS has technology able to combat piracy. Piracy had stopped THQ’s production of games for the DS Lite.

When asked to explain the technology, Nintendo said that it was difficult to explain due to it’s sophistication and they believe that piracy hasn’t been 100 percent conquered yet. Curran also believes that the technology will bring more expensive development costs for games.

Piracy has been a big problem especially for the DS as it has killed any incoming revenue for them.

3DS Fixes Nintendo’s Piracy Problem – THQ [CVG]

An updated level for the upcoming remake of the Nintendo 64 hit Goldeneye has been said to be ‘epic’ according to Activision.

The updated video will be the tank level and it will also feature helicopter combat and various levels of destructable terrain. The destructable terrain also proves that staying in one area of cover might not help in the game.

The original Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 was a smash hit scoring very high scores, even full scores from several critics.

Not only has the tank level been re imagined but also several others that have made the game iconic.

Goldeneye Wii tank level is ‘epic’ [CVG]

As with any new piece of technology, there’s a lot of speculation flying around and the latest for the 3DS is a new price.

BartSmit.com, a Dutch retailing site, has priced the 3DS at 169.95 EUR (approx. 140 GBP) alongside publishing the release date as March 15th 2011.

The release date could be a certainty as Nintendo have set the handhelds release date at around March. Regarding the price though, I wouldn’t put my total faith around it as several sites have been juggling around with the cost, some speculating it at over 200 GBP!