Sunday Supplement – 4th March

Comic courtesy of Fat Gamers.

Cashing in

This week saw the Nintendo DS Lite go on sale in Japan. It’s certainly an attractive looking handheld, with two superbly bright screens, sleek casing and a lovely glossy finish, but all that aside, it’s still just a Nintendo DS. Going by the queues outside game stores, though, you’d think this was a brand new console. Now, I’m sure a few of these people who queued for hours don’t already own a DS, but I’m guessing that the majority do. It’s this repeat buying that I just don’t understand.

What is it about Nintendo fans that make them so willing to fork out cash, again and again, for what is essentially the same system they already own? The DS certainly isn’t the first Nintendo handheld to have gone through a few changes. Take the GBA for example; we had the original GBA, the GPA SP, The Game Boy Micro and the GBA SP with an improved screen – and that isn’t even including the special edition units that have been released. Nintendo seemingly know all about their fans’ willingness to repeatedly buy their hardware, or at least it would seem that they do.

The DS Lite was intended to launch in three colours, but as the release date drew near Nintendo announced that only the white version would be released on launch day. Who knows the exact reason why this happened, but am I the only person who thinks that it’s simply a way to make fans buy yet another version of the same hardware? Eager to get their hands on the DS Lite they’ll happily buy a white unit and come back to get a blue version later on. I might be reading too much into it, and a few hardcore fans will want my head for merely suggesting Nintendo is in the business for anything other than bringing enjoyment to its fans, but they sure know how to milk a handheld for all it’s worth.

This week on Pro-G

We took at look at two high profile releases this week, with neither living up to expectations. Black from EA provides plenty of explosive first-person action, but shiny visuals can’t disguise a number of design problems. Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure from Atari tries hard, but fails on most counts: the combat is clumsy, the platforming is stiff, and the game’s overall tone is rather unpleasant.

While racing games are two a penny these days, Evolution GT from Black Bean came as rather a surprise. The relatively low profile racing title from Milestone (the people behind PC racer Screamer) certainly has what it takes to raise a few eyebrows when it’s released on PlayStation 2 and PC later in the year.

Reviews

Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (PS2, Xbox and PC)

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2 and Xbox)

ATV Offroad Fury 3 (PS2)

Trapt (PS2)

Black (PS2 and Xbox)

Preview

Evolution GT (PS2)

This week’s new releases

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that EA are going to dominate next week’s sales chart. The most probable number one is FIFA Street 2, which was released on five platforms on Friday. While the game still bears little resemblance to actual football, it should perform as well, if not better than the original. Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II on PC should also be a big seller. The EA RTS takes inspiration from the Peter Jackson movies and seems to be an improvement over the first game. Lord of the Rings fans will also appreciate the bonus DVD included in the Collector’s Edition.

PSP owners could do far worse than Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, which has been well received by the US press. It’s hard to pick a dud, but World Series of Poker on the PSP can only really be recommended for hardcore Poker fans.

• Tak: The Great JuJu Challenge (PS2)
• Drakengard 2 (PS2)
• SpongeBob SquarePants and Friends: Unite! (PS2, Cube and DS)
• FIFA Street 2 (PS2, Xbox, Cube, DS and PSP)
• The Sims 2 Open for Business Expansion Pack (PC)
• Galactic Civilizations 2 (PC)
• Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II (PC)
• Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II Collector’s Edition (PC)
• Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach (PC)
• C-130 Hercules (PC)
• Armored Core: Formula Front – Extreme Battle (PSP)
• Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (PSP)
• Koloomn (PSP)
• World Series of Poker (PSP)

Time for a change

The Sunday Supplement has been running for almost exactly one year, but it’s time for something new. This is the last time you’ll see our regular look at the week’s most interesting stories, but our weekend content will come back with a vengeance in April, but before then there’s a whole lot to look forward to.

Look for a brand new redesigned Pro-G appearing very soon. As well as a sleek new look, it’ll make interacting with the Pro-G community far easier and more fun. Also keep your eyes peeled for an incredible re-launch competition with over £1000 worth of video game prizes.