Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: 02/16/10
The Ace Attorney series has garnered quite the following ever since the release of the first game on the DS outside of Japan. Of course, the games used to be more commonly referred to as Phoenix Wright, but that had to be changed when Apollo [...]

Imagine Reporter
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Simulation
Release Date: 02/02/10
When I reviewed Imagine Detective back in September, it drew more responses than I expected. So when Imagine Reporter came in, I was deemed the natural choice to cover it. I’m beginning to sense a pattern developing here…
But I digress. Let’s find out how this compares to [...]

There’s no shortage of choices on Nintendo’s download services this week, which would be a good thing, considering how lackluster last week’s batch of releases was. Nintendo seems to like putting people on a proverbial roller coaster, alternating highs with lows to keep people in suspense. First, let’s take a look at the Virtual Console’s [...]

Trauma Team is a departure from the previous Trauma Center series, with less of a focus on performing operations and an introduction of five new specialties. Recently I was given the opportunity to watch a demonstration of the forensics part of the game. Thus far, it looks to be a treat for those who like [...]

Well, here we are with the weekly slew of Nintendo downloads. Only one release for this week on the Virtual Console, and it’s… well, not a very big one, and it may seem like a letdown after last week’s Final Fight 3. But let’s see what the staff has to say about it…
Shanghai® II
Developer: [...]

Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time to Tighten Up Security!
Developer: SCEI/Acquire
Publisher: NIS America, Inc.
Genre: Strategy
Release Date: March 2010
This past July, NIS released Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do To Deserve This?, which charged you with raising an army of monsters to squash any heroes who tried to invade Badman’s lair [...]

Press Your Luck 2010 Edition
Developer: Ludia Inc.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Trivia/Game Show
Release Date: 10/27/09
I’ll kick off this review with an admission: I’ve never seen the original show, due to the fact that I wasn’t even alive for much of its run (and would you look at that, I just dated myself). In fact, the closest brush [...]

Mytran Wars
Developer: Stormregion
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: SRPG
Release Date: 10/26/09
This past August, I attended a Deep Silver press event accompanied by fellow writer and boyfriend Chris Bowen, where we were able to to play preview copies of Mytran Wars and four other titles, including Cursed Mountain. Chris noted that while the game seemed to have potential, [...]

Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island
Developer: Gust
Publisher: NIS America
Genre: SRPG/Simulation
Release Date: 10/27/09
Just about everyone’s familiar with the typical RPG plot: you’re put in the shoes of a chosen one who get swept up in some grand scheme involving the end of the world. So off he (or she, depending on the game) goes to try [...]

A Witch’s Tale
Developer: Hit Maker
Publisher: NIS America
Genre: RPG
Release Date: 10/09/09
Many people have read or seen renditions of such tales as Hansel and Gretel, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz at some point in their lives. Of course, these tales have been recreated into versions of the interactive variety, with results ranging from [...]

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Genre: RPG
Release Date: 09/22/09 (retail), 10/01/09 (PSN)
When Revelations: Persona (known as Megami Ibunroku Persona: Be Your True Mind in Japan) was first released, RPGs hadn’t hit their stride with the mainstream audience, and few were familiar with anything pertaining to Japanese pop culture, especially anime. As a result, Americans [...]

Imagine: Detective
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Simulation
Release Date: 09/08/09
The Imagine series is (in)famous both for the volume of titles under its umbrella and for being criticized as stereotypically girly games that reinforce socially acceptable gender roles. The watermarked speckled cover that adorned the European version of Imagine: Babyz likely also helped the name stick in people’s minds. [...]

Giga Wing 2
Developer: Takumi
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Release Date: 05/06/01
Sequels can either be good or bad for the series in question. A good sequel contains all the aspects that made the first game enjoyable and improve on them. It also contains some new features so that the second game will not feel like a [...]

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days
Developer: Nippon Ichi
Publisher: Nippon Ichi America
Genre: SRPG
Release Date: 09/08/09
The Disgaea series is generally regarded as Nippon Ichi’s flagship franchise and has garnered a dedicated following. The first Disgaea has gotten three different incarnations, the first on the PS2, an enhanced port for the PSP, and finally, another port for the [...]

Giga Wing
Developer: Takumi
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Release Date: 11/11/99 (JP), 07/19/00 (NA)
Giga Wing has the distinction of being the first 2-D shooter released for the Dreamcast. When it came out, it got shredded in the reviews, which I’ve never quite understood. Yes, I realize not everyone’s going to like every game, but I was [...]

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Developer: Level 5
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: 08/24/09

Last week, Deep Silver held a press event in New York City to showcase five of their upcoming games, and fellow staffer Chris Bowen made the trek with me to the event. The featured games were Risen (360, PC), Cursed Mountain (Wii), Mytran Wars (PSP), The Humans (DS, PC), and Fritz Chess (DS). Upon stepping [...]

Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Do To Deserve This?
Developer: SCEI/Acquire
Publisher: NIS America, Inc.
Genre: Strategy
Release Date: 07/16/09
Earlier this year I did the preview for this game. I’ll admit that at first glance, I misread the title as “Holy Invasion of Privacy, BaTman” and wondered why NIS and DC Comics would be [...]

DinerTown Detective Agency
Developer: Absolutist
Publisher: Playfirst
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 06/25/09
The Diner Dash series has spawned many a spin-off, such as the Wedding Dash series, Cooking Dash, Fitness Dash, and Dinertown Tycoon, just to name a few. Those games involve some frenzied clicking and the need to keep track of many things at once. DinerTown Detective Agency [...]

Puzzle Kingdoms
Developer: Infinite Interactive
Publisher: Zoo Games
Genre: Puzzle
Release Date: 05/04/09
When this game came in, a fellow staff member claimed that it left him wanting to yank off a certain part of his anatomy and gouge his eyes out with it. That description of hyperbolic self mutilation left me eying the game with suspicion. But then [...]