R.I.P Electronic Gaming Monthly?

I was shocked today when the news of Electronic Gaming Monthly(EGM) will be discontinued emerged out from today nowhere. The slumping economy must have helped to quicken the process(rumours of EGM demise have been circulating around for some time). It seems like everything has been finalized and January issue of EGM shall be the last printed issue we could find at book stores...

I may not have been a subscriber of EGM nor I get to read every issue that has been released but somehow I still managed to kill some time by getting some issues occasionally. But when I do have this mag, I will enjoy myself reading every article in the mag as this mag tends to be more"mature" so it does contain some jokes and article that can appeal to adult gamers like me. I would reckon that this mag resonates more with me compared to Nintendo Power and it is so sad to see it leave in this way.

In this new era where we can almost get everything latest related to gaming almost immediately on internet, it is not hard to figure out that printed magazines must have some hard time trying to convince old readers to stay subscribing let alone attract new readers to embrace it. In my opinion a mag can still thrive if it tries to break out the old mold and try to go in a new and radical direction where something available in the mag itself could not be found at internet. Let's see, an exclusive interview with some big people in the industry? How about exclusive games unveiled in the latest issue? I really applaud Nintendo Power decision to dedicate almost one page every month teasing us what great games that are bound to appear in next issue. Next thing I really like about a printed magazine is usually the features presented. I gotta admit here, the time I spend alone in reading features related articles is far huge compared with the time I spend reading reviews and previews of certain games. Since I am only a Nintendo DS player, features can always provide some insights for me in other gaming platforms which is a great welcome as I don't always have the time to keep tabs on all the news related to current gaming platforms.

I guess for those who have ever read EGM before are gonna miss the days without it anymore and everyone will miss its notorious EGM Aprilfool joke(Lego Halo anyone?)

A vending machine.....that you can buy Nintendo DS?

Awesome is it? You maybe fortunate enough to see this if you go to an airport in USA. The best of all is it does sell a Nintendo DS Lite, so if you are in a hurry and forgot to bring along a NDS and you happen to be in an airport, you might wanna try to get it from this machine. After all, you will never manage to experience this back in Malaysia, haha. Besides Nintendo DSL, you can find some DS games inside like Mario Kart DS and Guitar Hero On Tour. They are just waiting for you to pop in the money and bring them back.

Trying to find this in Malaysia is practically impossible I guess seeing the low gaming penetration in our country, not to mention the rampant piracy that has shunned away so many potential gaming companies to promote their games here. We are really a huge step behind compared with Singapore in term of embracing original gaming.

If this machine DOES show up in Malaysia, expect to see it to be broken open soon enough because notorious thieves here will just do anything to get the valuable things inside, which shows how unsafe Malaysia is nowadays.

Games on sale!

It has been sometime since my last post and I am sure someone of you might have missed my updates(please tell me there is AT LEAST one reader who wholeheartedly follows my blog, haha). Time is ticking so fast and I have gotten into a new semester in my university again. I was previously working temporarily hence it explains the long absent of my updates here(haha, some of you may say I am just lazy! I do admit I was lazy to write anything as I didnt have a proper pc and a stable internet line that could enable to update my blog as frequent as I did). Hopefully I will be able to update this site as frequent as possible and bring exciting news for you guys again, haha.

These are some games that I have bumped into when I went to Play Asia just now. They are great games and since the price has dropped, there is no reason why you should'nt get it.

1. Sonic Chronicles Dark Brotherhood-usd29.90
2. Izuna 2-usd24.90
3. Bangai O Spirit-usd24.90
4. Guitar Hero On Tour-usd39.90

Yeah, I love Rosenqueen!

Ok, these games may not be so new but they are still in sealed condition and I have yet to unwrap them due to lack of time to do so(Ok, I was just exaggerating but I really don't have the time to play them), so they are still sitting idly with other games now...

I was really glad that I could preorder these all along with their preorder goodies thanks to rosenqueen which ships anything sold at the site worlwide. And thanks to my online friend, ashchia I have been able to save myself from an exorbitant shipping fee(still expensive though...) Not to forget to thank Corez as well for his cc. Bravo, dude!

What did I buy actually? Take a glimpse at the pics to figure out youself!


Disgaea DS and Rhapsody The Musical Adventure.



The games and preorder goodies.



A musical soundtrack comes with Rhapsody The Musical Adventure. Haven't tried it out and I don't think I will, haha.



A Prinny stylus that comes with Disgaea DS. Looks cute to me.



A cute figure that also comes with Disgae DS. This one should a Mage Knight...I think. Right, ashchia?

Unlike me, ashchia didn't get 2 games like me instead he was just getting Rhapsody and the soundtrack as he has already had the PSP version of Disgaea. For those who are interested in the preorder goodies for Disgaea DS, it is actually still available at Rosenqueen, so if you don't mind the EMS shipping fee or you can just find other friends to share shipping with you(do bear in mind that don't get anything more than rm500 including shipping or else get prepared to fork out extra amount of money for tax.)

Top 25 Worst Nintendo Games

I have been a huge and devoted Nintendo follower as their games are always top notch and their games never let me down in term of quality or sheer excitement and fun. They have also produced so many great games in different genres that you won't have to crack your head just trying to figure out which titles that can cater to your taste. Of course, there are some genres that they are really good at and excel like platformer, cart racing and ARPG. The most beloved series from Nintendo for me is certainly the Legend of Zelda series. Even though the core formula hasn't changed for all these years, the games are still fun with certain additions that Nintendo will surely include with every iteration and I am glad the magic is still there after playing so many Zelda games.

But I guess no matter how good developers they are, it is still inevitable that occasionally they will produce games that are not up to par or simply garbages. Games that have wonky controls, nightmarish collision detections, fraught with unimaginable(and imaginable, pun intended)bugs, you name it. Same thing happens to Nintendo as well but as long as most of their games are exceptionally good and outstanding, we should just get over the bad apples and always long for the better games from Nintendo. So far I am really glad that I haven't really bought any crappy games from Nintendo thanks to several gaming sites out there which can always provide me some insights before getting games I am interested in.

Here is 25 worst Nintendo games by Gamedaily. Do you ever own or you are still having games that in the list? Do you really agree that those games listed are as bad as purported by Gamedaily? Please leave your comments here.

Play-asia Removal Sale is here

Surprisingly, Play-asia is holding another sale before Christmas. I am hoping that it doesn't leave out the possibility that there will be another sale for Christmas where it should have more discount(30% discount sales? keep them coming!). Personally I am not really interested in getting anything currently as those which pique my interest are uneligible for this deal(Castlevania Order of Ecclesia is just released for less than 1 week) but I know there are people out there who can benefit a lot from this deal.

So what are you waiting for? Head here to browse through a huge catalogue of stuffs that are still in stock. Better be quick or you are gonna miss out some games that you have been rooting for to drop in price.

Chrono Trigger and....its preorder goodie?

I have been torn whether I should join the bulk since the price has been bumped up to usd40 and it makes no difference if I purchase this from play-asia. Most importantly is most of time I will holding out for sales just to get it at a cheaper price. Not that I have time for it if I get it earlier as I am currently too preoccupied with study and other sealed games as well.

But oh well, it seems like the particular news is gonna draw me in for the bulk again. As the title suggests, it seems like Amazon will be giving out a soundtrack cd for those who preorder it.(Just check at Gamestop, this deal is available there as well)

This soundtrack seems to be more lacklustre than the Castlevania Order of Ecclesia soundtrack though. It will only feature 2 themes from Chrono Trigger and I am unsure how good they are since I have never played this game before. Nevertheless, it is still a bonus who plan to get it on day one.

PS. If you are interested in preordering it and would like to join the bulk, please head here for more details.

More on Castlevania preorder goodie...

Previously I was having a deliberate discussion with why_79 trying to come up with a conclusion. Are we getting a physical copy of the Castlevania soundtrack or just a couple codes to access to the digital version?

Now that the game is released(have you got your copy?), our question is answered as well. Apparently this is some of the silliest business decisions that is gonna offend some of those who opted to preorder earlier. Instead of deciding whether those soundtracks should be distributed in digital form or physical copy, they have chosen to give away those soundtracks in both forms. Anyway to tell that you are gonna receive which of it? Not until you get either an email of the codes or just the cd itself with the game you order.

Apparently some Gamestop don't have the cd for grabs so if you are really interested in the cd itself, I would really suggest you to head down to a brick and mortar Gamestop now to find out whether they the cd. The cd should still be available at some shops so better be haste if you are really interested in it.

As for me, I am really glad that I didn't go through all the troubles just to discover that I am merely getting some numerical codes later(and not to forget the part where "the supplies last..." That is deplorable and unacceptable!).

For those who are unable to get hold of this cd, you might be tempted to see how the real deal is.

Preorder good of USA version of Castlevania Order of Ecclesia.(finally!!)

Remember when I complained about the lack of preorder goodie for Castlevania Order of Ecclesia unlike its Japan counterpart here? It seems like someone at Konami has heard our rantings and has been kind enough to include something for those who preorder it now at Gamestop. Even though it still pales in comparison with Japan version of preorder goodie, why should you complain when the whole thing is still retailed at normal price while you will be getting a free thing? You shouldn't, really.

Ok, for those who are gonna preorder it at Gamestop, you will be getting yourself a soundtrack cd. It is not gonna include all bgm available in the game(not sure whether the soundtrack included in Japan version is gonna feature all the bgm though), but still this should make a cool addition (and not to mention it is virtually free you know?). The track list could be found below.


The question now is should I even bother to get it? Trying to get something in USA now has been a hassle since my friend in USA has refused to help me anymore with all the purchases there(haha because apparently I have been getting lots of stuffs after she went there to further her study). Should I get it or more accurately how should I get it if I am interested? Why, what will you do?

Upcoming DS software line up.

In the conference, Nintendo has also released a trailer for upcoming DS software release until 2009. There are some interesting new titles like Mario and Luigi 3 where you can control Browser. Do note that those games are Japanese versions, so you might want to check your region release date for certain games that you are interested.

Releasing date for various games found in the trailer. Do note that this list might be incomplete because I will only list out titles that I know. Sorry for all the troubles because I just don't understand Japanese.
1. Kirby Super Star Ultra(nintendo)-6th November 2008.
2. Cooking Guide: Can't Decide to Eat in Japanese?(nintendo)-4th December 2008.
3. Mlb Bros 11(Konami)-4th December 2008.
4. Mega Man Star Force 3(Capcom)-13rd November 2008.
5. Valkyrie Profile(Square Enix)- 1st November 2008.
6. Chrono Trigger(Square Enix)-20th November 2008.
7. Chocobo and the Magic Storybook: The Witch, The Maiden and the Five Heroes(Square Enix)-11th December 2008.
7. Shiren the Wanderer DS2(Sega)-13th November 2008
8. Phantasy Star Zero(Sega)-25th December 2008.
9. Tales of Heart(Bandai Namco)-11th December 2008.
10. Another Harvest Moon(Marvellous Entertainment)-18th December 2008.
11. Avalon Code(Marvellous Entertainment)-1st November 2008.
12. Professor Layton 3(Level 5)-27th November 2008.
13. Mario and Luigi 3(nintendo)-2009
14. Warioware?(nintendo)-2009
15. 3d picross(nintendo)-2009
16. Phoenix Wright Miles Edgeworth Perfect Prosecutor(Capcom)-spring 2009
17. Final Fantasy Chronicles Echoes of Time(Square Enix)-29st January 2009
18. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days(Square Enix)-winter 2009 ?
19. Seventh Dragon(Sega)-spring 2009

Haiz, I was expecting for Dragon Quest IX trailer but it is nowhere to be seen. Hopefully there will be a trailer for it during Tokyo Game Show.