Playing on the Go

Your PSP can’t repel firepower of that magnitude!

Oh. Um. Maybe it can. Just when we all thought that the Battlefront series was over with until another developer picks it up down the line, Lucas Arts makes a surprise announcement.

Starwars.com offers us the following details:

“Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron is the previously untold story of a ragtag ensemble of battle-hardened rogues and scoundrels assembled by Han Solo. Gathered to execute some of the most secretive operations in the Rebel Alliance’s war against the Galactic Empire, the Renegade Squadron participates in battles spanning the galaxy. From the Valley of the Sith on Korriban to a dogfight in space through the remains of Alderaan, Solo directs the team on missions of sabotage, rescue and retrieval.”

So pretty much, what Liberty City Stories is to GTA, this is to Battlefront. Nevertheless, it’s great to see the franchise alive in some shape or form. Personally, I enjoy the Battlefront series more so that it’s blueprint counterpart in the Battlefield series. If you’d like to know more about the game, there’s a pretty cool teaser site already up.

On a related note, Star Wars Celebration IV takes place in Los Angeles over the next weekend. If there are any new announcements to be made concerning the rest of the Star Wars universe, whether it be in the form of a game or the upcoming television series, it’s likely to be made there.

starwars, psp

A while back, IGN had a really nice feature about the future of Wii Channels. One of the things that they mentioned was the possibility of a DS Download Channel. That article was published back in January, and here it is the latter part of May and we’ve yet to hear anything about such a feature.

In fact, we’ve yet to hear anything about any connectivity between the Wii and the DS aside from a few features in Pokemon Battle Revolution. In theory, there should be a lot going on. Both the Wii and the DS are WiFi compatible. And we do know for a fact that they can easily communicate with each other because of the fact that the upcoming Pokemon game is able to do it. Communication transmission can actually run both ways. Players of the new Pokemon games for DS will be able to upload their Pokemon to the DS and be able to use them within the new Wii game.

That capability is out there… But where’s the beef? Surely Nintendo knows that a lot of Wii owners also happen to be DS owners. And I’m sure they’d like to get some demos of DS games in the hands of end users. They’ve already been doing it with DS Download Stations in a ton of stores pretty much everywhere.

It’s probably coming, but it’s more than likely going to be a while. The Gamecube and GBA connectivity didn’t come around until the last third of the life of the Gamecube. Hopefully, with the wireless capabilities and the lessons learned from last time, that connectivity for this generation will come around a little sooner. At least I hope it’s a little sooner. That’s an itch Nintendo needs to scratch pretty soon.

wii, ds, connectivity, wifi

Are you sitting down for this one?

Blizzard, the company that happily takes fifteen bucks a month from many of us, is definitely going mobile in some shape or form.

The company currently has a number of job listings open in that respective section of Blizzard.com that point towards future mobile offerings from the company. Those positions are for a Mobile Producer, a Lead Mobile Software Engineer, and a Lead Mobile UI Designer. Granted, those are only three positions. So it’s probably only likely that Blizzard is in the beginning stages of mobile development. This also doesn’t necessarily indicate that Blizzard is developing for the traditional DS or PSP platforms. It’s entirely possible that it could be for a cheapie cell phone mini-game or something for the upcoming iPhone from Apple.

However, there is hope. Historically, when Blizzard has developed for non-PC platforms, it’s been one with a Nintendo logo on it. Granted, that has only applied to a few comic side scrollers and the long lost Starcraft: Ghost. But hopefully it is an indication that a franchise such as Starcraft or Warcraft may soon appear on the DS. Or the PSP, if you’d like.

Considering how many Final Fantasy games are out there, and there’s a bunch, it’s easy to confuse them.

But anyways, those of you who love to get your RPG on in a portable way will be happy to know that Final Fantasy IV will be hitting the DS pretty soon. Now technically, you could have already played FFIV on your DS in the form of a GBA cart. However, this version will be different in that it will take a “remake” approach, similar to that of FFIII last year. So it’s the sequel to that iteration of the franchise. A sequel of a remake of a sequel. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be tons of fun. Aside from the new/old school graphics, it’s said to feature new gameplay elements, a new battle system, and tons of new cutscenes.

This info was released at the 2007 Square Enix Party, however they’ve not released a date yet. I imagine that it would be before all of the multi-layered FFXIII hoopla begins on PS3 and PSP. So it shouldn’t be too long before you can level up once again. And again and again.

finalfantasy, ds, psp

[Via Gamestop]

By the way, as you guys may have guessed, I am certainly DS equipped and playing over WiFi quite a bit. As such, I’d love to kick ‘yer a… I mean, um, play you anytime.

Mario Kart DS: 472543-512935
Metroid Prime Hunters: 3436-9392-0354
Tony Hawk’s American Skateland: 2234-3483-5601

Add your codes in the comments and I’ll be tickled pink to add you back. Should this become successful, I’d love to see a weekly game night spawn out of it. Perhaps even a contest or two?

nintendods, friendcodes, nintendowifi

Some may find funny comparisons in the PSP to such systems as the Atari 2600 in terms of relevance, but Sony isn’t laughing. The company with enough bank to back a system isn’t ready to let the DS take over the portable market just yet.

Reports have circulated for what seems like forever that the PSP may see a redesign in the not so distant future, both for aesthetics and hardware capability. The light at the end of the tunnel may be approaching even sooner for Sony fanboys of the handheld variety, as that day may be coming even sooner.

At a recent Gamers Day in San Diego, Sony officials hinted that a PSP “refresh” is on the way. Sony also indicated that at least 140 titles will soon launch for the system. Not only that, but the company is investigating a PSP video download service, likely replacing the failed UMD video format as a venue of choice for video content on the system. No indication was made as to what this would entail, or if a PS3 would be required for such a service (odds are that it would).

psp, redesign, ps3, sony

[via gamasutra]

Training and Coaching games are all the rage in Japan. Don’t ask me why, they just are. And when it comes to Japan, they know their DS. So what is all the rage there should be here, right?

Ubisoft hopes so. They will be importing and localizing that bottled magic later this year in hopes that American audiences will bite. Here, we’ll be learning Spanish and French from, appropriately, My Spanish Coach and My French Coach. No word yet on an official date, but Gamefly lists the games as releasing around mid October. Also, no word yet on whether or not they’ll coach you to ask phrases such as “where is the bathroom” or “hey big man, let me hold a twenty”.

nintendods, training, coaching

[via siliconera]

Do you remember that floating head taunting you at night? You know, the one that would scold you for not seeing him often enough? He’s going to be back to haunt you again very soon.

The Brain Age series, also known in some countries as Brain Training, is partially responsible for every man, woman and child owning a Nintendo DS in Japan. Not one to miss a trick, Nintendo will be releasing the previously Japan only sequel here in the states and the rest of the North American market later this year. Expect the new game to follow pretty much the same format as the first, as it utilizes the touch screen and microphone to the max. Consequently, everyone will once again look at you like you are a total idiot as you yell “GREEEEEN” at the good doctor.

nintendods, brainage

[Via Gamasutra]

Welcome back to Playing on the Go! While the site may have been as down as the quasi famous war damaged Game Boy as seen above, it’s certainly not out. My name is Daniel Horton, and I’ll be along with you from here on out. I’ve been a “gamer” since, well, forever. And I’ve owned a portable console in some shape or form since the original Game Boy way back when. I’ll be honest with you and tell you upfront that I’m the type of guy that leans towards Nintendo and their respective DS. But don’t worry Sony and PSP fanboys, I’m here for you guys as well.

There’s a lot of catch up to do that the site has missed out on since you last heard from it. The biggest of which is the announcement of a new God of War title for PSP. It’s subtitled Chains of Olympus, and if it isn’t too late you can actually order a free demo UMD from Sony.

The other big title on the horizon is of course The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. It will be a while before it hits, probably around the Holiday shopping season later this year. But as you drool over both of these games, make sure to check back with us at Playing on the Go!

playingonthego, portablegaming, nintendods, sonypsp