First there was LEGO Star Wars, then LEGO Indiana Jones, and just when we thought the LEGO games were running out of steam, LEGO Batman arrives to let us know that Traveller’s Tales still has plenty of tricks left up its sleeves. The core of the game is still the same as LEGO Star Wars or Indiana Jones, but LEGO Batman shakes things up with the best character variety and puzzle design yet. The difficulty level has been ramped up a bit, which isn’t so good for younger fans, but overall LEGO Batman is a fun game…

Unlike the past LEGO games, LEGO Batman doesn’t have a story based on movies. Instead, it tells three original stories created for the game. This, in theory is better, because you don’t know what is going to happen, but then, it also seems as if it doesn’t have as much depth as the previous games. Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals have busted out of Arkham Asylum and are wreaking havoc in the city, and the three stories focus on The Riddler, The Penguin, and The Joker, and each also features plenty of other famous villains from Batman’s rich universe. In an absolutely brilliant move, you actually play through the stories twice each. First as Batman and Robin, and then again from the perspective of the villains! The hero levels have you sort of bursting in through the front door to save the day while the villain levels see you sneaking in the back and working behind the scenes on your master plan. Some aspects of levels are reused for both versions, but for the most part each version offers up different stuff. It is interesting to see both sides of each scenario and is really a while lot of fun. In total there are 30 story levels along with a couple of bonus levels. And, of course, each level has hidden canisters and red bricks to find in order to get 100% completion so there is plenty to do here.

The only major downside I saw is that there isn’t any online co-op. Local co-op is available, but being able to play online would have been nice.

The core of the game is pretty much exactly like every other LEGO game. You run around levels breaking stuff, beating up other LEGO figures, and building stuff to help you progress. What sets LEGO Batman apart is the overall solid design of the levels as well as the surprising variety in how all of the characters play. Batman and Robin each have a number of different suits that allow them to do specific things such as set bombs, glide over long distances, break glass, use computers, or walk on vertical walkways with magnetic boots among other things. The villains, on the other hand, all have different powers. Some have super strength. Some can double jump. Some can walk through toxic waste. Mr. Freeze can freeze enemies. The Riddler, The Scarecow, and The Mad Hatter can use mind control. The Penguin has bombs. Etc. All of these different character types and suits mean that there is also a great variety in the puzzle designs. Puzzles are multi-layered requiring many different characters or suits and are just plain fun to figure out. This is easily the deepest LEGO game yet in terms of the sheer variety of stuff you have to do.There is one slight hiccup here, however. The game is quite a bit more difficult than previous LEGO games. The puzzles aren’t quite as obvious, and some of them are downright obscure. Also, similar to LEGO Indiana Jones, bringing a melee character to a gun fight leads to a lot of frustration. In a series that has always been about accessibility and kids in particular, the challenge level in LEGO Batman is a bit over the top.

Another issue is that the friendly A.I. is dumber than a box of rocks. They stand in your way when you are trying to solve puzzles. They follow you around instead of staying in one place to activate a necessary switch. Or in vehicle levels they offer zero help, even when their help is required to beat a level such as one boss where you have to grapple them while your partner shoots them. You thought they were idiots in Indiana Jones? You’ve seen nothing yet. Playing co-op makes these things a lot easier.

Overall, though, LEGO Batman is a blast to play. And it must be noted that playing as the villains is easily the best part of the game. Graphically, LEGO Batman is a decent looking game. It looks kind of strange to see plastic characters and pieces inhabiting a realistic themed world, but you get over it pretty quickly. The sound is also pretty solid. Decent music. Decent sound effects. And the same mumbling “Simlish” dialogue as previous games. All in all, LEGO Batman is a solid entry in the series. It doesn’t change the core foundations of the gameplay, so don’t expect drastic differences from the Star Wars or Indiana Jones LEGO games, but it features some of the best character variety and level design in the series so far which more than makes up for it. It is fun and funny and challenging and tells a pretty interesting story that you actually get to see from both the hero and villain perspective. It is also a decently long game with easily 25-30+ hours of gameplay. The only real complaints we have are that the friendly A.I. is terrible and the difficulty level of the game might make it a little harder for younger players to get through. But these issues aren’t nearly enough that you should turn away from the game. LEGO Batman is an enjoyable game worthy of a purchase due to its sheer depth and size and endless replayability.

RATING: 89%

Enter the folowing during the game – but dont save afterwards, as they may mess up your overall score.

ACQUIRE WEAPON SET 1 – left, right, up, up, down, square, left, right

ACQUIRE WEAPON SET 2 – left, right, square, up, down, triangle, left, right

ACQUIRE WEAPON SET 3 – left, right, triangle, up, down, circle, left, right

CARS AVOID YOU – up, up, right, left, triangle, circle, circle, square

DESTROY CARS NEAR YOU – L1, R1, R1, left, right, square, down, R1

FULL ARMOR – up, down, left, right, square, square, L1, R1

FULL HEALTH – up, down, left, right, circle, circle, L1, R1

GAIN $250,000 – up, down, left, right, X, X, L1, R1

GUY MAGNET – right, L1, down, L1, circle, up, L1, square

LOWER WANTED LEVEL – up, right, triangle, triangle, down, right, X, X

NO TRACTION – down, down, up, L1, R1, triangle, , circle, X

OVERCAST WEATHER – left, down, L1, R1, right, up, left, square

RAINY WEATHER – left, down, L1, R1, right, up, left

RAISE WANTED LEVEL – up, right, square, square, down, left, circle, circle

SLOW DOWN GAME – left, left, circle, circle, down, up, triangle, X

SPAWN RHINO TANK – up, L1, down, R1, left, L1, right, R1

SPEED UP GAME – R1, L1, L1, down, up, X, down, L1

Today, I thought I would review a great game that has been out for a long time but has maybe been missed because of newer versions….

Mario Kart: Double Dash is ANOTHER version of the classic Mario Kart. The only differences to this one is that it’s got two characters playing on one kart: one driving, one attacking. Sounds familiar….

Yes, the concept does sound alot like Crash Tag Team Racing, but this is one key difference. In Tag Team Racing, the second character has a unique weapon that fires whenever you want. You can even spin the weapon round 360 degrees and fire at people behind you. On Double Dash, there is no point in even having the second characters, as the game is focused, like all the others, on the driving. The second character just throws those same weapons you get in all the other games at the other players.  In the same way as you do on every other Mario Kart game.

However, in Multiplayer, the concept becomes to shine through. In Double Dash, two players can play in one kart to bring the others down together, OR play versus. Battle matches are brilliant fun here, with the fact that you can team up making it that much better. This is great for people with a few mates around.

 

The tracks are very great fun, with good graphics. However, even this is flawed. Firstly, there are only twelve tracks and 3 Grand Pix’s. Even Crash Team Racing on PS1 Has more than that! Secondly, Half the tracks can be played on the newer Mario Kart Ds and Wii versions! But this ga,e does have more characters to play as than Ds. A good compramise? I think not.

All in all, Double Dash is small comarfed to the other versions of Mario Kart, but has some good points. I would buy this if I was dying to play a Mario Kart game but didn’t have enough cash for the Wii version. Or you wanted a change and play as a tag team. Double Dash is a bit of a disapointment…

RATING: 74%

It’s been a long time since I last swung my Nintendogs puppy around by it’s teeth with a pull rope, or watched with a sense of pride as he held the beg position for 10 seconds in the masterclass obedience trial. So a different version of Nintendogs is a welcome excuse to spend another few months throwing discs in the park and sawing ‘awww’ alot.

Nintendogs: Dalmation and friends isn’t a remake or update, just another version to add to the already available bredds. Obviously, it stars some lovely spotty dalmation puppies (although they’re bot that spotty because they develop they’re spots later on in life, don’t you know) and also five other breeds of dog already found in Nintendogs, like Terriers and Golden Retreivers.

Dalmation and Friends, then, might not be of that much interest to anyone who’s already been through the phenomenon of Nintendogs and come out the other side understanding the importance of scooping the poop that little better. Especially since the Dalmation pup is already in other versions as an unlockable secret.

But for newcomers, it means even more choice in a game that’s as essential as Metroid and Mario, even if it’s just because it’s cute puppy based genius that has you training you training your pups, entering competitions and cooing at their cuteness. Lovely.

All in all, the gameplay does get a little samey after a while, just like the other versions, but at least the graphics and visuals are great.

RATING: 88%

Star Wars Battlefront II Is a brilliant game that just gives you the urge to wonder what Battlefront III would be like IF it were ever made…. Heres a compilation of what I would want…

Right,

• Firstly, more areas, like Industrial coruscant or tatooine dunes
• More Jedi Like Plo Koon, Kit FIsto, Oppo Ranicis, Yaddle etc, As number II has aayla secura when shes in for 30 seconds in all of them and Kit Fistos in about 10 mins in number 3 alone!
• Heroes in Space Battles. As that would be awsome.
• More realistic force powers, and a wider selection of weapons, like an electro staff.
• More factions, such as Jabbas warriors or Wampas, possibly even the bounty hunter guild.
• More heroes in general, like, Zam Wessel or Commander Cody.
• Jedi and sith should be able to withdraw their lightsabers.
• Hero battles on EVERY map instead of just Mos Eisly. Going round Hoth as General Grevious tryng to hunt down Princess Leia or Yoda would be brilliant fun!

Comment if you can think of any more!!

Taken and modified from a comment on the ‘Your Cheats, Guides and Reviews’ Page. Thanks to Peanut for this.

Here’s an online game to make you giggle…

Smily Wars is a hilarious game- but it isn’t like Runescape or Hobo Wars….

You are basically a smiley which kills everything that moves. It sounds fun already! There are different modes such as Rambo, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. It is hilarious because you are jumping about manically shooting at some homicidal/suicidal smileies firing rockets at you!!!!

This game is hilariously great, but is only single player (no real players to play with), which is a downer. But you can make your own maps, so you can be killing another smiley with a grenade with the cosy feeling that you built a death trap up ahead….

RATING: 64%

Hilarious but not a ‘game’, more of a means to stop yourself being bored. But that is the definition of a game, you say. Screw you, if you said that. 😀

Here is a preview of the next handheld console to watch. Nintendo has just fired the latest salvo in the portable gaming wars.

Although the company’s Nintendo DS Lite is still selling like gangbusters, even setting sales records, Nintendo said at a press conference Thursday that it will not wait for its popularity to wane. The Kyoto company will introduce a new model of its two-screened handheld, called Nintendo DSi, this November in Japan.

It’s got bigger screens. It comes equipped with a small camera to take pictures. It can play music files. It can store all that content on an SD memory card. But most importantly, it’s fully equipped for the digital distribution revolution. Just as Nintendo sells Wii games through its own direct-download store, so too will it begin selling Nintendo DS titles directly to consumers.

Some downloadable DSi software will be free, and some will be priced from $2 to $10, Nintendo said. The company is pursuing a gung-ho strategy to get DSi purchasers online with their handhelds and buying games — it said it would give a free 1000 Nintendo Points (about $10 in online currency) to each DSi owner through the spring of 2010.

One of the first free applications that users can download from the DSi Shop is a web browser.

What the DSi is not is a brand-new gaming platform. It’s a Nintendo DS with significant feature upgrades. While Nintendo has said that it will release software that is only playable on the DSi, it mostly just plays the same games as the current DS Lite.

So if you’re not into the upgrades, you don’t need to buy one.

There are actually two cameras on the device, one that faces outward (shown right) and one that faces inward, like a MacBook’s camera. Nintendo says that the images the cameras snap are 300,000 pixels large, which works out to 640X480 resolution.

DSi can also play back audio, and you can alter the pitch and playback speed of the sound files you’re playing.

The DSi brings Nintendo’s product offering closer to what rival Sony has with its PSP portable system, which has an optional camera attachment, robust media playback functionality, and can download games to Memory Stick media.

What it lacks is a Game Boy Advance game slot. So if you still want to play your old Pokemon games, you’ll want to stick with the current DS Lite.

DSi will cost more than the DS Lite — 18,900 yen, or about $185 — and debut in Japan on November 1. Nintendo will release it outside Japan in 2009.

Personally, I think Nintendo has just taken some of the ideas the PSP has, and compiled them into theirown design. Maybe this is just a step too far for the DS. Maybe it’s time to leave the console and move on. What do you think?

Behavior

PORYGON-Z

Porygon-Z appears similar to Porygon2, albeit darker in color. Most notably, its head is detached from the body, much like Porygon’s legs, with no visible neck and yellow eyes with a bull’s-eye shaped pattern. Its bill is more round, and doesn’t curve down as it did in its Porygon2 stage. On its head is a small, horn-like structure, which is the least-rounded appendage on its body. Its legs are now wing-like, and its posture resembles that of a hummingbird. The tail is a little pumper, with the blue pattern on it’s chest no longer being isolated and now connecting to its legs/wings.

Gender differences

Porygon-Z is genderless.

Special abilities

Porygon-Z, and its pre-evolved forms, Porygon, and Porygon2, are the only known Pokémon that learn Conversion, Conversion 2, and Sharpen.

Being a cybernetic Pokémon, it exhibits the behavior that was programmed into it as a Porygon. However, it may also display emotions and some erratic behavior that was not a part of its programming. Porygon-Z can sometimes be seen shaking rapidly for a short time. Whether this is intentional or a glitch is unknown.

 

Porygon-Z normally live in cyberspace, but they can live practically anywhere due to the lack of the need to breathe.

In the anime

As with Porygon2, it is currently believed that Porygon-Z will not appear in the anime as a result of the Electric Soldier Porygon incident, except possibly as a brief cameo.

This Post is taken from a comment on the ‘Your Cheats, Reviews and Guides Page’. Thanks to Peanut for it.

5 WAYS TO SURVIVE WAR GAMES

1. DONT BE ARROGANT!!!!

Yes, war games are supposed to make you feel unstoppable but know your limits. Its no good charging at a tank without even an anti-tank weapon so even if you do reach the tank all your gonna get is that sense of dread as you get blatted by a shell. Just take cover and wait till the tank is occupied with some other poor sap.

2. YOU DIE, YOU LOSE THE LEVEL

Let the other AI guys do the hard work and it doesn’t really matter if they die ‘cos some lacky will replace them, but if you die you’ll have to start all over again!!!

3. DO NOT GO GUN CRAZY.

Ok, just picture this….you have just wasted all you anti-tank weapons on one soldier in a building just because he killed you last time round. So after that little victory, you start to hear a rumble and 3 TIGER TANKS come rolling in killing most of your men so fast they die as soon as they respawn! So now you’re holed up in a building with what’s left of your men being constantly hit by shells and the building is falling apart while you chuck some poxy grenades at the tiger tanks. This is one senario, but it could happen. And it will if you’re not careful or basically, game over.

So conserve your ammo.

4. GO CAREFULLY IN BUILDINGS

Here is another little story for you.. I was playing Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 one day, when I aked my men to go down a corridor without opening every door. As soon as they passed the first window a terrorist popped out, wounded one man with a shotgun shell and then when I finally reached my buddy we were surrounded by terrorists and a sniper shooting through the window… Oh No. Luckily I manage to chuck a few grenades and absail down the window.

but usually you arn’t so lucky. So go carefully.

5. LOOK AT ALL ASPECTS TO SURVIVE

sometimes you’ll be told to charge a machine gun post and ‘cos everyone else is doing it you follow… Dead. Check for a cover or possibly an alley way you can slip through to get behind the enemy (this is a very good technique to use good on tanks).

This year has seen loads of great games arise, like LEGO Indiana Jones, Spore, Patapon, Star Wars: Force Unleashed, Soul Calibur IV and of course Grand Theft Auto IV. But this year, we want YOUR opinion on the best games.

This is your mission: Tell us which games are your all time favourites, so we can compile our results for the biggest Games Countdown Peanutmaster has done. Ever!! You can tell us your favourite games through the comments box below or email us at peanut.master@hotmail.co.uk ! WE await your verdict! 😀

PROBOPASS

Type: Rock/Steel

Compass Pokemon

Probopass has small round eyes, in contrast to Nosepass’s perpetually closed ones. Its nose is much bigger in proportion to its body and has a bushy “mustache.” The “mustache” appears to be iron filings caught by its magnetic nose. It has three small objects on its sides and back that look like Nosepass; they are called “Mini-Noses” by the Pokédex. These “Mini-Noses” can be detached and form a new Nosepass. It also has a big hat-like magnet on top of its head.

IN THE ANIME:

Probopass appeared in Nosing ‘Round The Mountain!, under Alan’s ownership. It reappeared in a flashback in DP093 where it was shown to have defeated Fantina’s Gengar.

In DP062 Professor Oak’s Lecture was on Probopass.

ThrillVille. Own a park. Create a coaster. Get Bored.

That pretty much sums up this game completely. Thrilleville is great at the start, but  after a few hours, you’ll have built some coasters, made some money and got bored.

Lucas Arts really could have made a better job here. Those guys made the brilliant Star Wars: Battlefront 2, and LEGO Indiana Jones! Alright, the visuals are good and SOME of the minigames are great, but the overall game isn’t up to scratch.

Some of the minigames, as I said, are great, and they do play a major part in the whole game. There are platformer games, like Sparkle Island, shooters and even racing. But the aircraft flying is absolutley awesome.

Nothing much is wrong with Thrillville: Off The Rails. Except the facts that the mssions are easy, the game gets boring and tedious and it’s all so samey, It is a good game. Building rollercoasters is brilliant fun, and the visuals are great.

But overall, there is that key thing missing. That key thing that every great game has. That key thing called long life.

RATING: 69%

Today, a few major updates have been made to Peanutmaster. Firstly two new categories have been made: Simply Nerd And Pokemon Of The Week.

 The Pokemon Of The Week category is filled with exactly what it says. Every week, I will pick a different Pokemon to look at in detail. This week’s is Dusknoir. Simply Nerd is just a compilation of the weirdest and frankly nerdiest stuff I am allowed to show on this site. I hope you enjoy!

Also, my videos on the side of the site have, after a long while (I lost my vodpod password) been updated. These will now be updated regularly.

Everybody likes to chat online, wether to mates, collegues or the pedo down the road… Anyways, not even the best nerd knows exactly what all the online shortenings and word changings mean. So here’s a compilation of the best and hardest to understand. If you know any more, please leave them in the coments box below!

COMMON SHORTENINGS:

BRB = Be Right Back

OMG = Oh My God/ Gosh (from what I gather, pink chavs use the latter option more)

TMI = Too Much Information

ILY = I Love You

LOL = Laugh Out Loud/ Lots Of Love (dont say one when you meant the other – you could change a romantic convo ito somethink different if the other person doesn’t understand..)

LMSO = Laugh My Socks Off

LMAO = Laugh My Arse Off

LMFAO = Laugh My f*****g Arse Off

GAL = Get A Life

ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing

OX = Hugs And Kisses

DP = Display Picture

IDC = I Dont Care

BMFL = Best Mates For Life

LUAAM = Love You As A Mate

DUSKNOIR

Dusknoir is this week’s Pokemon Of The Week. Here’s a little at about it:

Type – ghost

Gripper Pokemon

Dusknoir’s body is mostly black, with two almond shaped eye-like markings and a yellow horizontal zigzag line on this Pokémon’s torso which can open like a mouth (creating the illusion of a face) and fire powerful attacks. Dusknoir has now developed arms. Two yellow bands are near its black wrists and its gray hands are similar to Dusclops’s. Dusknoir has a gray, cylinder-shaped head with another yellow band near the top and a single black eye with a yellow iris and a red pupil. Dusknoir has a ghostly tail instead of feet like Dusclops, resembling the stereotypical depiction of a genie. Dusknoir has a yellow antenna on top of its head in which allows this Pokémon to receive transmissions from the spirit world which tell it to bring people there. In addition, it may have ties to the Grim Reaper, as the player needs a Reaper Cloth in order for it to evolve.

It uses it’s antenna on its head to contact the sprit world.

Gender differences

None.

Dusknoir in the Anime

If you want any more information, please just leave a comment!

Full Ammo

Entry Location:
Restroom near bandages

When you need to find a bandage to stop the bleeding of a cut, to the right of the first aid kit is a locker. Inside that locker is a bottle, cloth, and ammo. Pick up all the stuff then drop it, then pick up the ammo until you reach x85 rounds (maximum).

Hint: Time Manipulation & Money

Locate the Traveler’s Ship (the guy who gives you all of the treasure). Kill all of the enemies on board his ship, and then talk to him. After receiving the treasure, exit his ship and save your game. Turn off your DS, turn it back on, and head into the DS settings. Adjust the time and date (moving it forward one day, for instance), and restart your game. Return to the Traveler’s Ship, repeat the same process as before, and you’ll receive more treasure. Stock up using this method, and then go sell all of your goods. You can get 9,999 Rupees easily in about twenty minutes doing this.

Hint: Infinite Rupees

Here’s an easy way to get as many rupees as you desire. While sailing the seas, you may from time to time encounter jellyfish-like creatures. When these are encountered, the ship should be stopped (though they will follow the ship even if you don’t stop). Shoot these foes with the cannon (the cheapest cannon for your craft will only cost 50 rupees). When they are killed, they will drop a green rupee. Since they split apart when shot, you will be able to get multiple rupees per creature. Keep riding your ship around finding more of these creatures, and you can accumulate a good amount of rupees, as many as you’d like.

Hint: Fast Rupees

If you haven’t yet challenged Jolene to a final duel, go and find her. Battle her a couple of times. You will be rewarded with a large red rupee (worth 200 rupees) each time you do. This is especially useful for buying all of the 1,000 rupee items at Beedle’s and the Island Shops.

Hint: Acquire Fire Sword

To acquire the Fire Sword, get ten Fairies. Then, head to the Fairy Princess near the Sun Temple, where you will receive the sword.

Hint: Your Doppelganger

Climb aboard the ship called The Prince of the Red Lion, where a character suspiciously similar to Link can be found. You can fight him if you want, over and over again. Earning a certain amount of hits on him will net you new items. For instance, scoring under 100 hits in the time allotted will net you an item like a Pearl Necklace, or a Princess Crown. More than 100 hits will get you a better item, like a Heart Container.

Hint: Ship Parts

To grab new parts for your ship, you must fight the character on the ship The Prince of the Red Lion. If in the time given you manage to get 200 or more hits on the foe, he will give you a ship part. You can do this over and over again for new parts.

Hint: Acquire Hurricane Spin

Do the following series of fetch-quests to get the Hurricane Spin ability:

1.) Go to the traveler’s ship in the northeast section of the sea. Defeat the monsters you find there, and you will receive New Hero’s Clothes, as well as a Treasure Map.

2.) Take the clothes to another traveler’s ship, this one in the northwest section of the sea, and give them to the man there. He will give you the Kaleidoscope in return.

3.) Take your newfound Kaleidoscope to the traveler’s ship in the southeast section of the sea and give it to the man in want of a telescope. He will give you the Guard’s Notebook in return.

4.) Take this notebook to the traveler’s ship in the southwest section of the sea and give it to the man you find there to acquire the Wood Heart.

5.) Finally, take the Wood Heart to the Old Wayfarer’s Ship, and he will give you the scroll which will allow you to learn this technique!

Hint: Efficient Rupee Accumulation

A great way to accumulate rupees fairly quickly is to head to the Dee Ess Isle (which is an island on the map suspiciously shaped like a Nintendo DS Lite) once the Goron Game is available. Winning this game is easy once you’ve done it enough times, and going through the course given in thirty-five seconds will net you all sorts of goodies. Sometimes, you’ll get 200 rupees as a reward, which is good enough, but you’ll also sometimes get items, such as Zora’s Scales (which you can sell for 800 rupees), or Coral (which you can sell for a whopping 1,500 rupees). Easy money!

Hint: Ocean King Temple Cash

After obtaining the Phantom Sword, head to the Ocean King Temple. If you head to the middle area of the temple, you can fight Phantoms, destroying them by targeting their weak points with your sword. In room B7-9, after all of the Phantoms are defeated, a chest will appear with a ship part within. You can then go up the next three floors to get 100, 200, and 300 rupees. You can sell the part you got for more rupees if you desire. You can then be done over and over again, as needed.

Hint: Beedle’s Masked Ship

To find Beedle’s “Masked Ship”, which sells special inventory, you must visit the ship’s location between 10pm and midnight on weekdays and between 10am and noon on weekends (depending on your Nintendo DS’ internal clock settings). There’s valuable items on board, so be sure to find it!

Hint: 1,000 Rupees

After unlocking Spirit Island and acquire the shovel, try this to get 1,000 rupees easily. First, head to the Spirit Island, where you can destroy all boulders. Then, defeat all of the enemies, and cut down all of the grass. Then, dig around. And finally, enter the cave, break all of the vases, leave the cave, and repeat the steps. Doing this will net you all of the rupees you want… if you’re patient.

Hint: The Chicken Jump

If you’re having difficulty jumping to certain areas and need a little extra boost, try jumping with a chicken in Link’s hands. This will further your jump ability, allowing you to travel further than you otherwise would.

Hint: Salvaging Ship Parts

To attempt this, you must have a Cannon and a Salvage Arm on your ship. Head to the southwest section of the map, near Mercay Island. From here, you’ll want to head towards Goron Island, where the pirates seem to congregate. You can destroy the pirate vessels with your Cannon, and then use your Salvage Arm to take random parts from their sinking ship. You can do this over and over again, grabbing parts like this instead of purchasing them with your hard-earned Rupees.

Hint: Golden Ship Parts

If you manage to become a VIP Member of Beedle’s Shop, you will get 40% off of all of his merchandise. Occasionally, he’ll have golden ship parts available, which will be much more affordable than usual with a 40% discount.

Easter Egg: Animal Crossing Reference

If you’ve played Animal Crossing: Wild World, then you’ll recognize a reference in Phantom Hourglass. When you first meet the Postman, you and he will talk for a moment. He’ll ask you that you try not to shoot him with the slingshot out of the air. This is in reference to Pete the Postman in AC:WW, who suffers a similar fate that the Postman in PH is trying to avoid!

 

September is a great time  for Club Penguin (not just for the fact that it’s snowing all the time there, whilst were stuck with scummy Autumn weather). The CP News came out today, and  here’s the main events.

On September 12th: The theme for the Stage is a “mystery”. You have to search around for clues and use the script to help you! Also a new pin will be hidden.

On September 19th: A new Igloo Catolog will come out! Be sure to earn coins when it arrives.

On September 26th: One of Club Penguin’s favourite parties will return! The Fall Fair will have lots of games,prizes, and more!

On October 3rd: The Penguin Style Catolog will come out and be sure to get prepared for Halloween!

There are 3 major parties happening in the next few weeks.

The 2nd Fall Fair makes a return to Club Penguin! It’ll be similiar like last year. Here’s a sneak peek:

 

I can’t be too sure, but this sneak peek looks like a rainbow thing, cotton candy or ice cream with sprinkles, and gumballs. or a ball playpen?

October 24th: Club Penguin will be celebrating it’s 3rd Birthday! Be sure not to miss out as this event last for 1 day only!

The Halloween party makes another return to Club Penguin, and it’s spookier then ever!

 

Spore; an amazing feat but not such an amazing game…

There’s a strong case to be made that Maxis excels at making software toys rather than games. And there’s a not so insignificant difference there, because a toy is something that you tinker with, whereas a game is something with a narrative, goals, or a way to win. That may be why Maxis titles have so much appeal. SimCity lets you indulge your inner mayor. Meanwhile, The Sims is the ultimate virtual dollhouse, letting you create your dream house and, by extension, your dream family. But now we come to Spore, the most ambitious Maxis product to date, and one that’s as much as a game as it is a toy. Sure, you can tinker with Spore, but there’s also a game here, one that involves the long struggle of life as it evolves and advances from a tiny cellular organism to intergalactic space travel. In fact, Spore is essentially five distinct games woven together. And here, Maxis demonstrates a weakness, as a number of these games come off as lightweight or limited. However, Spore is a prime example of something that is much more than the sum of its many parts…

I like to think of Spore as astrobiology in a box. Astrobiology is the field of science dedicated to thinking about what life on other planets might look like. To do that, it has to draw upon a wide range of scientific fields. Astronomy helps ascertain what sort of galactic conditions are needed to find a planet that will support life. Chemistry helps figure out where that life might have come from, while biology helps explain how it might evolve. Even societal studies, such as civics, might explain how advanced life might organize. Like classic Maxis games such as SimCity and SimEarth, Spore tackles complex subjects and makes them relatable to the player in an engaging way. Basically, Will Wright is the science teacher you wish you had in school.

The easiest way to look at Spore is take it apart stage by stage. So we kick off with the Cell Stage. Spore begins with a comet crashing to a planet’s surface, seeding it with bacteria that evolve to become tiny cellular organisms, and you are one of them. This is an old fashioned, top-down arcade game, but one with bright, eye-catching graphics. You swim about the primordial oceans, eating as a carnivore, herbivore, or ominvore. Eating gives you DNA points that you can use to evolve your creature in the cell editor. There are also six different “parts” that you can discover, and these parts can give you different abilities. Water jets let you squirt faster through the water, fins let you maneuver better, spikes give you armor against predators, and so on. This stage seems to me like a more advanced version of tht downloadable game ‘Flow’, available at www.store.playstation.com .

Life in the primitive oceans.

There’s something to be said about life in the ooze; it’s easy, you swim around trying to eat but not be eaten. It’s saying something of the game’s design that even these tiny creatures are capable of conveying so much expression, particularly in their eyes. You see them panic and flee when chased, or a slight gleam when they see something they want to eat. Even the little chirps and noises they utter are grin inducing. Alas, all good things must come to an end, because as you eat and evolve, your creature becomes larger and larger until you finally fill up the evolution meter at the bottom of the screen, meaning that you’re ready to sprout legs and move on to the next stage of Spore. Unfortunately, I found myself wanting to stay a bit longer in the ooze to evolve even further. There are bigger, meaner creatures to be found, and it’d be great if you could evolve to take them down.
Consider that Spore features more than a dozen editors that let you create buildings, land vehicles, naval vessels, aircraft, and spacecraft. If you love creating things, then Spore is going to provide an incredible amount of joy. I, on the other hand, suck at making things. While I had fun creating my mosquito-like humanoid creatures, I lack the patience and the skill to really go wild. Some users can take the creature editor and make Viking longboats with oars. I’m nowhere near that good, so I accessed the built-in Sporepedia to select buildings and vehicles others made that I liked. Since you can access the Sporepedia at any moment in the game, it’s easy to do. I could then tweak their color patterns and import them into my game. And, for the most part, I had the pick of mainly Maxis-made content since we’ll need weeks and months for Spore users create millions of pieces of content.

You’re going to do a lot of singing or fighting.

Now onto Creature Stage, which is the “action” stage of Spore. You’re now on land but you’re still evolving. However, you’re also learning how to interact with your own species and others. These interactions can either be friendly or hostile, and they generally consist of doing a social minigame or getting in a fight. However, you end repeating the same social interaction or attacks dozens of times, and it’s a very simple system so it feels a bit like a chore after a while. And you have to do it, because allying with or exterminating other creatures gives you points that you can use toward evolving, as well as valuable parts that you can evolve your creature with.

The Tribal Stage plays out like a real-time strategy game, albeit a basic one. There’s only one resource that your tribe members gather (food), and that’s used to support a larger population as well as construct buildings that offer various upgrades. Like in Creature Stage, there are only two options: be nice with neighboring tribes and ally with them or crush them. To be nice, you have to serenade them; this time by playing one of four instruments when the tribal members request it. The war route means outfitting your tribe with weapons like stone axes that let you take down the opposition easier. Each tribe you eliminate adds a totem head to the totem poll; once there are five heads on the poll, you’ve done enough to advance to Civilization Stage. There’s not a lot of challenge here for an experienced RTS gamer, and it doesn’t take long to get through it at all. It doesn’t help that this stage doesn’t allow you to create anything in an editor, though you can outfit your creatures with accessories that can boost their social or combat abilities.

You can be designing creatures, buildings, spacecraft, and more.

Next is Civilization Stage, which feels a bit like a scaled-up version of the Tribal Stage. This time you’re struggling for domination of an entire planet, and the key is to capture cities through force, conversion, or buying them. You start with a single city and a single land unit, and you capture spice nodes to generate revenue that’s used to purchase more units and upgrade cities with defenses and different building types. Housing boosts population, which supports a larger military; factories generate revenue but also cause unhappiness; and entertainment complexes boost happiness. Capture a city, and you can have it specialize in military units, religious units, or economic units. However, all you pretty much have to do is crank out units and swamp the enemy; the AI will send units your way, but not enough to mount a major push. Any real-time strategy vet won’t be too hard pressed here.

And then there’s Space Stage, which is by far the largest stage in the game, and the stage that is the widest open in terms of gameplay. Space is, as crazy as it sounds, a single-player massively multiplayer game. You can start flying around the galaxy, visiting a crazy number of stars and planets, some of which are barren but others supporting life in different stages. You can establish colonies on other worlds, extending the size of your empire. You can terraform planets to support life, or mold them like a giant piece of clay. You can get missions to pursue from neighboring empires. You can get into space battles, or you can crush a primitive species. You can abduct creatures from one planet and transplant them to another. In other words, you can basically play as a god, and that’s always a nice rush. The space stage is the deepest part of Spore, which makes sense considering that it’s also longer than all the other stages combined.

The entire campaign makes for a dizzying trip through millions of years of evolution. Thankfully, once you play through the game you can start on a new planet at any stage that you wish, so if you liked the Space Stage, just go ahead and start there. What you will miss is the timeline of your creature’s evolution, as well as the ability to mold and shape your creature through the decisions that you make. Whether you choose a peaceful or a warlike path, the game rewards you with special abilities that you can use. Playing through the game does give you a sense of working your way through the ages. I got a thrill watching my little Poker creatures (named for their primitive, mosquito-like snout) crush their opposition and launch into the stars after a long struggle out of the muck.

The timeline charts your progress.

It’s worth noting just how easy it is to play Spore. Save for using the keyboard to type in the names of the things that you build in the many editors or searching for content in the Sporepedia, you can play almost the entirety of Spore just using the mouse. It’s an incredibly accessible game to pick up and play, and the hefty manual that comes in the box as well as the helpful hints will get even a novice up and running quickly.

Like all Maxis games, Spore is infused with charm. The colors in the game are vibrant and warm, and even the most sinister monster ends up looking a bit cute thanks to the art design. The game ran smoothly on my admittedly high-end system, and it was rock-solid stable, never crashing. I can’t even think of a single bug. Meanwhile, humor and wit are deeply embedded in Maxis’ DNA, and it shows. I stumbled upon two tribe members having a Sims-style discussion, with thought bubbles over their heads and icons representing what they were talking about. They seemed intent on discussing the universe and god, and in this case, god is apparently Will Wright’s head. Another hilarious and surreal moment came during the Creature Stage, when in the midst of doing the friendly dance a UFO appeared overhead and began kidnapping the panicked creatures below with its abduction beam. The sounds and music are also classic Maxis. Every chirp and warble that your creatures make seems authentic, and the dialogue sounds like alien versions of the Simlish that we’ve come to love. The music seems minimalist at times. When combat kicks in, the drums pound and get your blood pressure up. Yet at other times, the music takes a back seat to the sounds of your creatures’ feet pounding on fresh grass and other sounds of nature.

The Sporepedia lets you access an entire galaxy of content.

I think that Maxis has made an impressive product that does so many incredible things. Spore will serve as an introduction to gaming for many; it’s clear that many nontraditional gamers will check it out. As such, this feels sort of like a sampler plate to gaming, introducing newcomers to the different types of gameplay out there. But much more than that, Spore will make you think about science, and when was the last time you could say that about a game? It’ll inspire people to learn more about the universe and imagine what’s possible out there. Spore also pushes the idea of user-generated content to incredible new heights; this is a game where users will make the vast majority of things that you encounter, and this creation and sharing is done seamlessly.

Yet, while Spore is an amazing product, it’s just not quite an amazing game. I can’t help but feel that Spore is ambitious and memorable, but I also admit that, save for the cool Space Stage, there’s not a lot of depth here. Rookie gamers are going to feel at home here, but veteran gamers may feel like they need more. Still, Spore proves to be one of the most unique products in recent memory, one that reaches for the stars and ends up giving us a universe in a box.

RATING: 74%