Category Archives: ds lite

ds lite

New features and some other changes

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Well, anyone who’s been to the site in the past couple of days has probably noticed some changes. First of all, I changed the top of the site, mostly because the theme I started with in WordPress was well designed and coded, but hideously misshapen (the top part of the site was seriously like 30% of the screen, and there wasn’t even anything up there). I whipped together that little EyesLikeOurs logo that you see now, but I’m not sure I’m sold on it. It would look better on a white background, so that may be the direction I take it from here. Hopefully, at least, the site looks a bit more roomy.

Second, and most importantly, I’d like to announce a new feature of the site. It’s something I worked on for a surprising number of hours last week and have finally got in a condition where I don’t feel bad showing it off. It’s the MMO Breakdown, a meta-database of all the information you could ever want to know about any of the most popular MMO games, at-a-glance. It’s by no means complete yet, but I’ve got what I consider the major players in the industry on there right now, and I’m working on getting all of the data up in the near future. After that, more games will be added, and after enough games are added, more features will be added.

It seems like there is some demand in this niche for a way to compare games more easily, and that’s one of the goals of this system. The main feature I’m working toward is the ability to quickly select two or more games, click “compare” and get a readout of the strengths and weaknesses of each system. This could be for the sake of discussion (black and white comparison of given game features), as well as a helpful guide for someone looking for a different game to play.

So, I’d be honored if you took a look at the new MMO Breakdown section of the site, and suggested any changes or additions you would like to see!

Lastly, I’ve rearranged and reformatted some of the ads, as well as added a new EVE online affiliate ad on the right side of the page. I’m trying to keep the ads as transparent as possible, but still in relatively good positions just to keep google happy. On a sad note, the addition of the MMO breakdown and my use of wordpress templates therewith has apparently broken the wordpress.com stats package that I loved so much. It says that there are no views to the site for every day that I’ve had the MMO breakdown there. Also, my blogtopsites counter reset to 0 inexplicably, which is extremely annoying.

Famitsu loves Phantom Hourglass, and so should you

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Japan’s premier source for insider gaming information and reviews, Famitsu, has reportedly given the upcoming Zelda game for the Nintendo DS, The Phantom Hourglass, nearly perfect scores. The score is out of 40 points, judged by 4 reviews who each have 10 points to allocate. Three of the judges reportedly gave the game 10/10, while the fourth judge awarded 9/10, resulting in a composite score of 39. According to wikipedia, only 15 other games in the history of the publication have received such a score. More importantly, though, only 7 games have ever gotten 40, and one of them in Ocarina of Time. Everyone knows that Ocarina of Time is the yardstick to which every new Zelda game is measured, but Famitsu’s attempt is still relatively cute.

According to 1up.com:

Famitsu seemed fairly satisfied with the stylus controls. “It is so easy to pick up! There have been many games using the stylus, but this one didn’t feel frustrating for the most part,” said one. However, another was concerned about “parts where you may mistakenly perform a different move.”

The dungeons and puzzles are getting praises, though: “The way it allows players to use the unique features of the DS is quite natural. Particularly puzzles where you draw directly on the map are brilliant. It feels like you really are physically solving the puzzles.”

The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass is set to release this weekend in Japan (Saturday, June 23), and is further schedule for a worldwide release during the holiday season 2007 (some sources say mid- to late-november). Personally, I will crushing small children under my bootheel to get this game as soon as it releases, and then playing it continuously until I pass out from sleep deprivation. I fully expect to fail college during the 2007 holday season.

The game is reportedly using near-3D quality graphics, utilizing cel-shading technology, since the DS is capable of supporting it more easily than a true 3D system. It’s also heavily utilizing the DS’s extensive stylus features, making it the first game since the game that came out just before it to do so.