Nintendo,Nintendo DS,Pokemon 28 May 2010, Charis Erin

When picking my version of Pokemon, the legend on the front is the main factor. Usually there is one that I like much better than the other (Dialga over Palkia, Lugia over Ho-oh), but this one is tough. Pokemon Black’s legend Zekrom looks incredibly badass, while White’s Reshiram has the same sort of elegance that Lugia possesses. Thank god I have until Spring 2010 to make up my mind!

 Game Announcements,Nintendo DS 27 May 2010, Shawn

I, for one, am an absolute HUGE fan of the Fire Emblem franchise. Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones is easily one of my favorite games of all times, with the first Fire Emblem on Game Boy Advance not far behind it.

However, I considered the first DS iteration of the series, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, to be incredibly mediocre with an ugly art style. For those who don’t know, Shadow Dragon is actually a remake of the original Fire Emblem, and this new entry is a remake of Fire Emblem 3. Fire Emblem 3 is actually a remake of the original with a second story, and this remake of 3 just focuses on the second story.

Did you get that? Me either, but I hope it made sense.

Luckily, it’s rumored there will be quite a bit of new content, because it picked up a second subtitle. All I can hope is that they ditch the gross art style for something more along the lines of the GBA versions.

 Game Announcements 27 May 2010, Shawn

Normally I wouldn’t post something without a legitimate video, but the concept behind Sonic Colors is intriguing enough to talk about, so I figured why not?

Sonic Colors will be releasing on the Wii and DS sometime this Fall and it centers around the concept of, you guessed it… color powers! It takes place in theme park inspired worlds and you must free the color wisps from Dr. Robotnik (Eggman, ugh) to have the ability to use their powers. Freeing yellow will allow Sonic to use a drill technique, and Cyan will allow him to run through levels as a laser. Stringing different colors together will create power combinations for Sonic to use. The Wii and DS version will each have powers that are exclusive to the version as well.

The best news about this is that it will take place in 2D and 3D. I absolutely love the idea they’ve presented, I suppose it comes down to Sega’s ability to actually follow through with the gameplay mechanics so that Sonic doesn’t feel so broken anymore.

This also raises questions regarding Sonic 4. Why would they release Sonic Colors so closely to it? With the recent delay of Sonic 4, and the announcement of this, it has me questioning the quality we may see from the already announced downloadable title.

So does this concept sound interesting to anyone else?

For the full post directly from Sega click here: Sonic Colors Details (includes a quick teaser video)

 Site Update 25 May 2010, Powrdup Staff

Last week we updated you all with a bunch of changes that we had added to the site. Well, get ready for more.

As things are now, it’s basically impossible to manage. Buying all the new games that come out and playing them in a somewhat timely manner, all while balancing regular content, isn’t as simple as it may seem while the site is experiencing smooth sailing. However, time and money are becoming an ever growing issue between the two of us.

We’ve found a solution, though. One of our biggest pet peeves about the industry is the fact that it moves a bit too fast. The spotlight on most games only lasts for a few days after it releases, and so many excellent titles get looked over due to this. Those that have been following us from the beginning may remember when our info page stated that we would talk about old and new games all in one, because some games deserve a place to shine, even if it’s a few months or years after it came out. We think it’s time we honor that to show it really is the best approach to what we want to accomplish.

While you’ll still be seeing updates and reviews on newer games, expect to see less of them. We don’t need to hype things like Halo: Reach or Starcraft 2. On the flip side, games like Lost in Shadow and Bit.Trip Runner deserve all the attention they can get. We’re sick of games relying too much on the set-pieces within and ignoring the true meaning of gaming: FUN. We’ll be reviewing and talking about games from ALL systems now, because the past is just as important as the future in this industry. So, what if we feel like reviewing something like Secret of Mana? We’re going to. It’s time to really put our foot down and strive for what we wanted.

Expect the following:
- Coverage of older games as well as newer games. We’ll still cover newer games… just less often and less of them.
- More editorials on the industry. The best debates are always had from these, like topics concerning used games and game value.
- Art. Finally. No, really this time.
- Podcasts that are reflective of us. ALSO, we’ll be accepting user questions!
- Our huge E3 stuff is still happening.
- A change from WordPress. We absolutely hate WordPress, so we’ll be making a change from it.
- Random Stuff. We have so many ideas that some of them are bound to work.

Don’t get this wrong, we are NOT shutting down in the mean time. We will still continue here on WordPress in our new direction until we can finally make the full switch over.

Thank you all for being super patient. This isn’t as easy as it seemed at first, but we’re determined to stick with it .

 DLC,Nintendo DS,Nintendo Wii,WiiWare/DSiWare 24 May 2010, Charis Erin

Here are the Nintendo downloads for the week!

Nintendo Wii/DS

Virtual Console
-Nothing

WiiWare
- ArtStyle: light trax (600 Wii points)
- Manic Monkey Mayhem! (800 Wii points)
- Viral Survival (500 Wii points)

DsiWare
- Advanced Circuits (200 points)
- Metal Torrent (500 points)
- Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper (800 points)
- World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em (500 points)

 Night/Morning Thoughts 22 May 2010, Shawn

I’m incredibly surprised with the results we’ve gotten in our poll so far. Going Nintendo only seems to be the popular choice, which is what I figured would come in last but it’s leading. Obviously the amount of votes isn’t enormous, but it’s still enough to give us an idea of what people are interested in.

Before making a complete shift, we’re going to slow the news and just go with more features, editorials, and general thoughts on games we’re playing. That means don’t expect a bunch of posts every day. I mean, we’ll still be posting the news that we think some people may miss out on, but for the most part, the news aspect is going to slow quite a bit. Expect a bunch of features to start early next week to give this new direction a try.

 Cool Stuff 20 May 2010, Shawn

A new interview with Cliffy B was posted over at Game Informer and it has to do with his rise to game development. It’s not incredibly long at only 8 minutes, but it gives a lot of insight on the ideas he works off of in the industry.

I personally think Cliffy B is extremely talented and under-appreciated. A lot of people have some not kind words for him sometimes, but I think he seems like a great person with a passion for what he does. He has my respect.

You can find the video below.

Cliffy B Interview with Game Informer.

 Game Trailers,PC,PS3,Xbox 360 20 May 2010, Charis Erin

I haven’t played any of the F.E.A.R. games, but I have watched enough of them to know that the gameplay in the trailer looks good. Too bad there wasn’t more of it. Instead, we have some wonderful “college film student” worthy live action screens that no one wants to see, even if it shows a little of co-op that was mentioned earlier last month. This makes me question Warner Bros. Interactive, especially when trailers for their other games like Batman: Arkham Asylum are wonderfully done.

Either way, F.E.A.R. 3, or F.3.A.R., will be released for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC sometime in the third quarter of 2010.

 Nintendo,Nintendo DS,Release Dates 20 May 2010, Charis Erin

Exactly one year after its release in Japan, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies will finally be making it’s way to North America. Due out on July 11th (and July 23rd in Europe), Square Enix’s widely popular game will see how it does in Western markets. Each addition to the series sells about 4-5 million copies in Japan, and IX was rumored to have shipped 2.3 million copies within the first two days. While it may not get the same attention here as it does in Japan, it should be a great summer title nonetheless.

 Night/Morning Thoughts 20 May 2010, Charis Erin

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it hits hard. For some unknown reason this past week or so, have barely put down a controller. Whether it be for some easy achievements in Pirates of the Caribbean (hey, it was actually better than expected), some I-can’t-sleep-at-night action in Dead Space, running at high speeds in Bit. Trip Runner, flying my way through Mario Galaxy in anticipation for this Sunday, or shooting bandits in Red Dead Redemption, if I can play it, I will. It may be the cold rainy weather we’ve had, but I’m not going to question it!

By the way, it’s good to be back. I missed you all.

As for tonight’s music, let’s go with something cheery. The INCREDIBLE Chiptune band Anamanaguchi provides some music for Bit. Trip Runner including the song Blackout City for the menu screen. Enjoy!