Well, to my great surprise, it appeals to me quite a bit. While Nostalgia is a new IP, its level design and programming were done by Matrix, the same development team responsible for Final Fantasy III and IV on the Nintendo DS. The game runs quite smoothly, but don’t expect anything in the graphics and sound to leap out at you as groundbreaking. The perspective remains in top down, and since the game is in 3D, this limits the area you can see by quite a bit.

Of course, we don’t play turn-based RPGs for graphics, so let’s talk gameplay. Much like Final Fantasy IX, you’ll control up to four characters in your party, and you’ll keep the same characters for the entire game. Each character has a specific weapon, so the decision of who gets what items is always fairly straightforward.

You’ll travel an alternate past, circa the late 19th century. As Eddie, the son of famed adventurer Gilbert Brown, you’ll take up the mantle of adventurer when your father disappears. Whether completing quests for the Adventurer’s Guild, or following the trail or your father, you’ll travel the world in an airship outfitted with guns, a cannon, and an enormous blade on the prow to visit cities and dungeons throughout the world. Beginning in London, you’ll visit Cairo, Cape Town, and a host of other real world cities.

Combat is exactly as you’d expect, with random battles popping up as you walk through dungeons. Something new is the random battles that pop up while you are flying your airship. These airship battles are interesting, requiring you to compensate for weather, as well as rewarding you for using the proper weapon for each way you are facing. A number of special attacks and spells are available, with some characters focusing on magic, and others on melee.

Overall, Nostalgia is simply fun. I enjoyed getting back to the roots of a classic turn-based RPG, and there is a ton of content to explore. Along with the main quest, you can revisit old dungeons to complete quests and seek out world treasures that can be turned in for gadgets to arm your characters.

If you’re a fan of turn-based RPG’s, you should definitely check Nostalgia out. It’s worth your time, and a worthy successor to the lineage of the classic turn-based RPG’s of the past. One thing is for sure, it definitely lives up to its name.

Gaming Today gives Nostalgia an 8.5/10.

In this dev diary, developers go in depth about the sequel with the changes made, the differences in the character, and the setting.

Get it at FileFront!

The Mini Ninjas -
Where have the animals gone?
September comes soon…

Mini Ninjas will sneaking up on the PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 and the DS September 8, 2009.

“Command & Conquer is a powerful franchise with an amazing 15-year legacy. We are thrilled to bring the dramatic Tiberium saga to a conclusion in Command & Conquer 4. This game is designed to give fans all the answers they’ve been looking for,” said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer of Command & Conquer 4 at EA Los Angeles. “With its objective-based multiplayer mode, persistent player progression and all-in-one mobile base, players will experience Command & Conquer like never before.”

Much of the information on C&C4 is being kept under wraps and doled out as exclusive content. For more details on Command & Conquer 4 make sure to catch BattleCast PrimeTime on the July 24th episode. They’ll be revealing exclusive information C&C4. The first glimpse of the game will be the premier cinematic trailer aired exclusively on the July 23rd episode of Gametrailers TV on SPIKE TV. The ETA for Command & Conquer 4 is sometime in 2010.

Behold disciples of Nod, the end is soon upon us. Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that, after almost 15 years and 30 million games sold, EALA is bringing the award-winning Tiberium series to an epic conclusion with Command & Conquer™ 4. Shipping in 2010, Command & Conquer 4 will introduce a multitude of innovations to the to the classic fast and fluid Command & Conquer gameplay while retaining the core compulsions that fans have come to love over the series’ history. Introducing new class-based gameplay, mobile bases and persistent player progression throughout all game modes, Command & Conquer 4 offers players new, innovative and compelling strategic depth. The story of Command & Conquer 4 takes place after the events of the critically acclaimed Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars™. The year is 2062 and humanity is at the brink of extinction. With only six years left until the mysterious crystalline structure Tiberium renders the earth entirely uninhabitable, the two opposing factions – Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod – inevitably find themselves in desperation for the same cause: to stop Tiberium from extinguishing mankind. The unthinkable becomes reality and Nod’s enigmatic leader Kane takes off for GDI headquarters. What is Kane planning in the heart of his enemies’ base? Command & Conquer 4 draws the epic conclusion to the beloved Tiberium universe, where fans will learn the fate of Earth, Nod, Tiberium, GDI and most importantly, Kane’s motivations behind his decade-long plan. In addition to the two campaigns on the epic battles of GDI and Nod, which players will get to conquer alone or in a cooperative mode, Command & Conquer 4 will also feature a new 5v5 objective-based multiplayer mode, promoting teamwork and cooperation and delivering a social real-time-strategy experience never seen before in a Command & Conquer game. Command & Conquer 4 is being developed at EA Los Angeles and will ship to retailers in 2010 for the PC. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI. For more information about the game, please visit www.commandandconquer.com or follow the community and development team on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ea_apoc.

Tracks:

Dixie Chicks                                           “Sin Wagon”
GLaDOS and Jonathan Coulton                  “Still Alive”
The Pixies                                             “Here Comes Your Man”
R.E.M.                                                 “Losing My Religion”
Stevie Ray Vaughan                               “Pride and Joy”

All tracks, except for “Still Alive” which is free, are available for purchase for $1.99 each on the in-game Rock Band Unplugged music store.

As an aside, if you like “Still Alive” I highly recommend checking out Jonathan Coulton’s website. He specializes in comedic songs based on videogames and gaming culture. Some of our family favorite are “Re: Your Brains“, “Creepy Doll” and “Code Monkey“. A dedicated fan and World of Warcraft player, Mike Spiff Booth has made a whole series of very funny and well done WoW machinima to Coulton’s songs.

Although I may not always agree with his opinion, I always enjoy it. Yahtzee isn’t afraid to cut anyone down to size including himself.

You can view the Zero punctuation videogame review archives on The Escapist.

John Harris, a writer over on the industry news site/blog Gamasutra,  writes a regular series of articles entitled Game Design Essentials. These long and exhaustively researched story discusses his position on many topics important to modern game design and the lessons learned along the way.

His latest installment discusses 20 RPGs that all designers should be familiar with and why. The feature article is interesting from the perspective of someone who has studied game design and as someone who has been using RPGs for storytelling and  enjoyment over the years. Aspiring designers could do far worse than to dig through this fairly dense statement of information covering RPGs from the classic pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons through the evolution of Wizardry, Ultima, Wasteland and more contemporary games like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy and the Elder Scrolls titles.

You can check out the entire article here.

Beginning this week (July 8th) in Japan the software giant will be releasing 4 of the available creatures/levels at a bargain price of 200 Nintendo DSi points. The plan reportedly is to expand the offering to include all 10 creatures, which even at 2000 points is a bit of a bargain since the game, now out of print in the US, Europe and Japan is going for a fairly high price on eBay. No word on if the downloads are guaranteed for the US DSiWare store yet.

One complaint I always had during the limited time I spent playing the game before the next shiny bauble or explosion caught my jaded eye was that I could not save the music I created while “playing” with my plankton. I’ve been unable to confirm if this feature is included in the new download capable handheld.

You can find team roster ratings and over all team ratings for the Cowboys, Eagles, Giants and Redskins online at the Madden NFL 10 Season Preview website.

AFC North will be the next division rated leading up to the Madden NFL 10 predictions for the 2009 NFL division winners, season MVP, and more August 3rd. Madden NFL series has been uncannily accurate at predicting the Superbowl winners for 6 years running. It predicted Pittsburgh Steelers’ win over the Arizona Cardinals this years at Pitt 28, Cards 24. The actual score was Pitt 27, Cards 23. I wouldn’t bet against  Madden NFL 10’s prediction that’s for sure.

Look for Madden NFL 10 on the Xbox 360, PS2,PS3, PSP and the Wii.

MapleStory is wooing main stream American youth with videos to air on television networks and as previews for the latest Harry Potter movie this summer. This brings MapleStory into the American public eye, the realm only pierced by  Halo 3 and World of Warcraft so far. The 2D side-scrolling MMORPG is already pretty popular enjoying a 6 million strong player base in North America alone. It’s aimed at kids 10 and up, but has a very wide age range of players, most of whom seem to take their cute super-deformed characters pretty seriously.

MapleStory is a free to play MMO with a cash shop that allows players to purchase Nexon Cash to trade for premium items. MapleStory Nexon Cash cards have been available at local retailers like Target, CVS and Best Buy for a few years. The MMO has also spawned the MapleStory card game and videogames for the Wii and DS. Still MapleStory seems to be simmering just below the surface of casual gaming culture. Perhaps these new videos can tip MapleStory into the mainstream spotlight. Look for the video shorts to start appearing on tv and in theaters later this month. Until then, you can check it out for yourself at http://maplestory.nexon.net.

There are a plethora of applications for this portable Pandora’s Box. Adam Sessler has taken it upon himself to look at the extremely varied apps labeled as games. Considering that both iShoot, the miniaturized Scorched Earth, and the infamous Baby Shaker apps are both classified as games, what comes to mind for each user can be vastly different. Sessler describes the phenomena best noting, “Distinction is not an American trait.”

For those of you who want a play by play but can’t attend, keep tabs on the events on the THE BIGS 2 forums. The full details on how to get signed up for these THE BIGS 2 party events follow the jump.
Gamers can pre-order THE BIGS 2 for Xbox 360, Wii Ps2, PS3 and PSP. The game launches July 7th.

On June 30th and July 1st, from 6-8 PM local standard time, we’re giving you guys a chance to try the game for yourself, free of charge, before it’s released to the general public. Check out when and where you can see The BIGS 2 for yourself:

The BIGS 2 fans over the age of 18 (or over the age of 13 if they will be accompanied by a parent or guardian) can sign up to participate by doing one of the following:

1) Follow our Community Manager Ronnie on Twitter and send him a direct message about your interest in coming to an event:http://www.twitter.com/Ronnie2K

2) Respond to the thread about it on our online forums: http://2ksports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221305

3) Post a wall message on The BIGS 2 fan page letting us know you want to attend: http://www.facebook.com/BIGS2

4) E-mail us at contests@2ksports.com letting us know you are interested.

Please let us know which city you are planning on attending to see The BIGS 2 before it becomes the video game sensation of the year. We will get back to you immediately with follow-up steps . We are excited to meet our most loyal fans and hook you up with the total 2K Sports VIP experience. Do you have what it takes to step up to the plate and come check out
The BIGS 2? We accept any challengers!

For those of you who cannot attend, please check out our online forums for ongoing fan reports and see what your fellow gamer community is thinking about The BIGS 2: http://2ksports.com/forums/.

For more information on The BIGS 2, please visit the official website at http://2ksports.com/games/thebigs2.

- 2K Sports

Space may be limited, and will be made available to eligible participants on a first-come, first-serve basis.  2K Sports reserves the right to reschedule or cancel the above-referenced events at its sole discretion.

All information collected in connection with the above-referenced events is subject to, and will be handled in compliance with, 2K Sports Privacy (http://www.2ksports.com/info/privacy).

Gamers and Harry Potter fans should watch the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Quidditch Preview for four minutes of gameplay footage. The new motion capture setup for quidditch is really great. It’s more believable than ever before.

Check out the star studded Making of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer as well.

You’ll hear from EA developers Kevin Tuite, Art Director, and Chris Roberts, Lead Designer, of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game as well as Executive Producer Jonathan Bunney as they talk about the new virtual Hogwarts built from all the information from the books and films. Gamers will be able to fully explore the castle and the grounds for the first time. You also play seeker, mix potions, and duel other students in addition to completing the storyline.

As usual, there’s a lot of other stuff in the update. Some of it is interesting, like Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter for the PSP. Some of it is mindless, like Qore (Seriously, does anyone actually watch that?).

You can also choose the demo for EA Sports’ NCAA Football 10, as well as the usual weekly song downloads for Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Rock Band gets Spinal Tap this week, something guaranteed to make people my age smile with nostalgia.

If you want to see a full list of what’s available this week, it’s available after the break.

PS3 Content:

• Metal Gear Solid PS1 game ($9.99)
• Qore yearly subscription ($24.99)
• Qore episode 13 ($2.99)
• NCAA Football 10 demo (free)

Add-on Content:

• MotorStorm Pacific Rift Jester Signature Livery pack (free)
• 3x Cross Edge packs (free)
• Guitar Hero World Tour DLC
• Rock Band DLC

Guitar Hero World Tour DLC

• Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits Theme – S.U.P.R.A.H.U.M.A.N (free)

Ben Harper and Relentless7 Track Pack ($5.49)

• Fly One Time by Ben Harper and Relentless7 ($1.99)
• Number With No Name by Ben Harper and Relentless7 ($1.99)
• Shimmer & Shine by Ben Harper and Relentless7 ($1.99)

Rock Band DLC

Spinal Tap Pack 1 ($6.99)

• Back From the Dead – Spinal Tap ($1.99)
• Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare – Spinal Tap ($1.99)
• Saucy Jack – Spinal Tap ($1.99)
• Warmer Than Hell – Spinal Tap ($1.99)

Evanescence Pack 1 ($5.49)

• Bring Me to Life – Evanescence ($1.99)
• Call Me When You’re Sober – Evanescence ($1.99)
• Weight of the World – Evanescence ($1.99)

Video

• Mini Ninjas E3 trailer

Themes

• American Pride theme ($1.49)
• Jungle Jane theme ($1.99)
• Warrior Girls theme ($1.49)
• Azmodeus Dark Angels theme 3 ($1.49)
• 4th of July Pinups theme ($1.49)

PSP Content

• Metal Gear Solid PS1 game ($9.99)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 full game ($19.99)
• American Pride theme ($1.49)
• Jungle Jane theme ($1.49)
• Warrior Girls theme ($1.49)
• Azmodeus Dark Angels theme 3 ($0.99)
• 4th of July Pinups theme ($0.99)