Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Pre-Order Bonus

 

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Castlevania franchise, Konami offered a bonus to those who pre-ordered Portrait of Ruin, the second DS installment of the now 20 year old series.
Included in the cardboard box (which comes complete with a faux wax seal) are a soundtrack CD that spans most of the core Castlevania games as well as some of the now more obscure Game Boy titles. Castlevania has always been noted for its excellent compositions, and it's a treat to be able to hear some of these songs as they were originally played in their respective games. Interestingly enough, some of the tracks are labeled as coming from an incorrect game. Bloody Tears, for example, is listed as being a cut from the original NES game, when it is actually from Simon's Quest.

Also included is an art book featuring cover and character art for again, most of more popular games in the series. A combination Portrait of Ruin poster / Castlevania timeline rounds out the printed bonuses, though this is also interesting for its inclusion of games that are generally considered non-canon. Lastly, the package also includes a Castlevania branded, extending DS stylus and a double DS pak carrying case.

All in all, this is one of the better pre-order bonuses out there and is a must-have for long time Castlevania fans. While it's likely too late to get through online stores, plenty of them have cropped up on eBay.

Source: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Pre-Order Bonus
Originally published on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:44:00 GMT by SMM

Record-breaking week for Nintendo DS

 

It's not just the Wii which has been performing wellrecently - Nintendo's handheld has also been breaking some records of its own.

Source: Record-breaking week for Nintendo DS
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:28:00 GMT

When porn stars and pool collide

Oh no. It's yet another one of those NSFW PSP games. You know what I'm talking about: games that seem to offer no benefit other than displaying gratuitous amounts of T&A. Considering the older demographic of the PSP, and the relative privacy one has while using it, it's unsurprising that publishers are trying to take advantage with more "adult" skewed games. Pocket Pool rewards players with photos and videos of a questionable nature for playing a round of billiards. However, is taunting realistic "ball control" a good thing in a game like this?
Potentially NSFW video embedded after the cut.
For equally NSFW images, visit SPOnG.
See also:
Confirmed: Porn stars love the PSP
Soft Skin English School Little Sexy Girl
Finding love with Finder Love

Source: When porn stars and pool collide
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:55:00 GMT by Andrew Yoon

Apple might make foray into gaming

Apple might make foray into gaming
from Game Addicts by Edwin
When both the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS were released a couple of years ago, most people thought that the former would trample all over the latter since the PSP boasts vastly superior hardware, amazing graphics, and various multimedia capabilities whereas the dual screened DS could just…well, play games. Things have turned out totally different with the DS trouncing the PSP in terms of hardware sales and even more when it comes to software. Since then, Sony has distanced itself from the DS, ensuring that potential customers see the PSP as an all rounder portable media player that plays games. Unfortunately, the iPod is also another portable media player that comes with some simple games, and word on the street is Apple might want to make an attempt at the mobile gaming market which has seen all competitors swept aside by Nintendo ever since the first Game Boy was released in 1989.

Since the iPod has successfully usurped Sony’s position in the world of portable music players, Apple thinks it will have an equally good chance at causing a stir in the mobile gaming market as well. Since video games are already readily available for the iPod via the iTunes store, that possibility is not exactly a pipe dream as the infrastructure to take off on a huge scale is already in place.
I think Apple does have a few issues to contend against before they can truly make a mark in the gaming scene. Firstly, the current iPod’s display is just way to small to carry out any serious gaming decently, and using the Click Wheel as a control scheme will just not do. Maybe this will change with the release of the rumored widescreen video iPod, but that still doesn’t answer the question regarding controls. Would a new Apple iPod with more serious gaming capabilities be a threat to Sony’s floundering PSP?
Source: PSP Fanboy