Arnieboy

$598? 10char

Obviously not but it's still a bit gimmicky. It obviously will work, but what i mean is that this will probably be a thing where people will use the 3D initially and then find it annoying having it on for long periods of time therefore making it rather pointless. And i agree that there is no gameplay innovation really associated with 3D.

I'm really quite surprised at this announcement. It seems like a solid machine that brings a bit more to the table. Not really sure what i think on the looks though, i personally think the 3DS is more aesthetically pleasing. To the whole 'the 3DS is doing nothing new, 3D is a gimmick', wasn't the touchscreen just a gimmick? Look how that turned out. 3D will either work, or it won't, it's a chance Nintendo are taking. Also, i'm thinking of the 3DS as more of a Gameboy Advance type of system. The Gameboy went through different sizes, then added colour and then they released the more powerful GBA. The 3DS isn't really the DS' successor, it's just an upgrade, a 'DS Advance.' Nintendo will only make a completely new handheld when the DS' popularity declines enough to do so. The PSP2 looks good though with the interesting back touch pad, the dual analogue sticks and PS3 graphics. Oh and it looks like they finally realised that putting the charger slot right underneath the buttons on the right-hand side is a bad idea, thank god. I won't be holding my breath for the price point though, it ain't gonna be cheap. Either way, i'll probably be getting both, though i still think the 3DS has the potential to sell more (prove me wrong sony). I just hope the PSP2 has a better games library than it's predecessor.

Not to offend, but to put it bluntly: Kotaku is a gaming site, so of course they're going to put a story up about destroyed game collections. BBC, sky news etc all cover the tragic loss of life enough. Obviously material items are nothing compared to the loss of human life, but you can understand why they put it up, though too soon maybe? The last news story i saw on it was about how a mother tried to run to a fire engine with her 2 daughters to try and escape it... they didn't make it. And the cruel thing was that the news reporter stood in front of that woman's home, which was still standing.

I'm guessing by the look of that gameplay montage video Caris posted that it is.

Second to 9, yes.

Loved ff13, not sure how the sequel will work, especially if Sazch isn't in it, his presence will be missed if he is absent. Definately will be picking that up though. What i really want is more solid Versus details other than pretty trailers that show no or next to no gameplay. To be honest though, i'd much rather they just skip all this sequel malarkey and just announce that they're working on FF15.

Yeah i read that yesterday, i'd be gutted if that happened. Thousands of dollars worth there and some rare bits like the cards and the neo geo stuff, all reduced to a washed mess.

We always get the short end of the stick, even if the developer is based here! Oh well.

We also get the game last. Isn't the developer for LBP based in the UK?

2) Gran Turismo 2?

Bit late on seeing this, but where i work we test New Covent Garden soups and i wouldn't eat them. They always have something the matter with them those soups...for that matter don't eat McDonald's Apple pies either, 99% of those have listeria. But that's just McDonalds for you.

It's a common interest, if someone is posting in the gaming section then it's far easier to have a conversation about it. You also have to remember that some of us aren't as good at socialising as others, I'd rate myself pretty bad at that. But with the gaming forums everyone is there for the same reason so it's easy, if you get my drift.

Unless i'm level grinding or i've been stuck looking for something with repetitive music for ages, I have to play RPGs with the sound on. Music makes an rpg, if an rpg has crap music it can ruin the experience. Saying that i play most games with the music on, mario games like Galaxy have that extra wow factor with the music on. Thinking about it, the only times i don't always listen to the music is if i'm playing an MMORPG, soo yeah VERY important to me. Best example: Could you play the Bramble Blast level on Donkey Kong Country 2 with the sound off?

Region locking is a bummer. It's hard being an RPG fan when everything only gets released in the US or Japan and when the DS comes to the rescue they go and region lock it. I still try to avoid importing when i can but some of the releases Europe misses are awful. As for the price speculation, i honestly expect it to be £200+

Glad to hear you beat it I used Sazch, Lightning and Vanille pretty much the whole way through up until the final boss where Sazch became totally useless forcing me to add Fang. Poor Sazch

If that's the battle i'm thinking of, then use Poison It makes it a lot easier.

I'm still pondering over whether i should preorder when it becomes available or if i should chance going to a shop to get one. Oh and as for Tales, even if it does get a US release the carts are region locked, pretty sure i read that somewhere.

The battery life is slightly disappointing. I'm guessing the 'Lite' version will solve that? :p

I know this is really really late but i finally decided to get a DS Lite, i never did upgrade from my old fat DS. Finding a new one was one hell of a challenge though, ever since the DSi XL came in you can't get new ones anywhere. But i found one! White and packaged with brain training (which i'll never play). Turned the lights off to do a screen comparison to see if the difference really was as great as they said it was and bloody hell, the DS Lite must be 3 times lighter. Old news i know, but i was still impressed.

Nothing beats going into HMV and going to the rock section and picking up something that you'd never be able to get in any supermarket or even Woolworths when it was around. The only other place i've been to that could match it was MVC and well, they died 4 or so years ago. Record shops have pretty much all died out now and HMV is pretty much the only shop where i can buy the music i love and not all the current crap from Tescos. Even places like Great Yarmouth where 5 years ago there was something along the lines of 5 or 6 record shops down Regent Road, only 2 are left and i doubt they'll be there for much longer. Obviously you can buy pretty much anything online but it's not the same as going into a record shop and you also have the added risk of it getting lost in the post and that agonising wait for it to arrive. HMV isn't too great on getting things to you quick in that regard, i ordered 4 CDs a week ago and only one has turned up so far (all ordered at the same time). If HMV dies i will have to do all my music shopping online and my christmas shopping too as i get loads out of there each year.

I was going to post something really constructive on this but Tapedeck has pretty much summed it up there. I haven't played DKCR since the day i got it as I haven't really felt like it. Something just doesn't seem right when i'm playing it and it's a shame as it's a good game. I can't get into the flow of the game either for some reason, too much of an emphasis on collecting things that slow you down and waggle controls. I mean finding the DK coins in DKC2 was fun but having to duck and shake the wii remote until DK blows a flower to find a single banana or having him hit everything to unlock secret rooms..just doesn't flow. Also the secret rooms seem less special and the worst thing is that they don't react to you losing anymore it seems. I want diddy stamping on his hat in frustration and DK shaking his head. I will go back and complete this though, i must.

You mean 2 right? I jest. Also to whoever mentioned realism, i'd rather have fun gameplay over realism anyday. If i wanted realism i'd go to the zoo and jump on a turtle or something, and then promptly get arrested. Realism hardly ever makes for a good game, which is one of the reasons why mario is so successful.

This came through today and i played it all the way to world 6. Difficulty wise i was wondering what everyone was on about, as the first 3 worlds were stupid mistakes and not difficult at all really. Then came world 4 and that bomb blast mine cart level.... So far it's the only time the super guide option has popped up to annoy me, took around a dozen lives to get it right. The level after was no walk through either. Funny thing is though, i went and bought the key and took the locked route and both of those levels i did first or second try o.O I'm liking it, but the motion controls are meh and it definately doesn't feel like a DKC game, rather something different.

That's the one i listened to the other day as well, brilliant commentary. You find out bits of information from cast commentaries that you won't find anywhere else easily, which is a bonus and interests me.