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Courtesy ofJeux France, we bring you a gallery containing the first 7 screens from the upcoming DS titleFire Emblem DS, a remake of the original Japanese Famicom classic SRPG. The screens demonstrate a gorgeous art style whose only apparent flaw is seemingly miniscule character sprites. I’m sure the title will live up to its series’ pedigree, but seeing yet another title in the recent resurgence of jSRPGs only makes me misty for the bygone days of Sega’sShining Forceseries....

When games made the jump from 2D to 3D in the latter half of the nineties, we were still very much in the “mascot” mentality that helped to define the libraries of the Sega Genesis and SNES. Games likeGex,Crash Bandicoot,Banjo-Kazooie,SpyroandCrocwere a huge part of the PlayStation era, but it seems like a genre almost entirely forgotten these days.Flip’s Twisted World, by Frozen North Productions, aims to change that. “That was most definitely our goal,” Frozen North CEO Julian Spillane tells me....

One of the most excruciating moments in the life of any gamer is handing the controller to a friend, your face swollen with the joy of pure playfulness, and having your entire life ruined as your buddy clamps down on the controls, scowls, and starts spewing obscenities. If you’re anything like me, you’ve rebuked more than one person to just relax, have fun, it’s really not that hard, you’ll get it … only to have your heart broken as they try to use their entire body (instead of a button) to jump a cliff, turn a spaceship, or fire a gun....

Earlier this week, wrestling legend and actor “Captain” Lou Albano passed away at the age of 76. In the late ’80s, Albano portrayed Nintendo’s Mario on the short-lived television seriesThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. During a roundtable discussion with Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, formerNewsweektech/videogame writer N’Gai Croal took the opportunity to ask the legendary game designer the question that was on everyone’s mind. “Where were you when you heard that Captain Lou Albano passed away, and what was your reaction?...

Super Mega Wormmay have come out first, butDeath Wormis easily the best. This is the official version of the original game, in which players take on the role of a giant subterranean worm. Basically, it’sTremors, from the perspective of the good guy. Featuring cooler graphics, a badass soundtrack, and customizable upgrades,Death Wormis the superior choice for giant invertebrate carnage on iOS. It’s totally free today and I think you should get it....

It’s one of the slowest news days I’ve ever experienced, but fortunately I’ve got a quality freebie for your mobile gaming pleasure. At least something good has happened! Overkill(iOS) is a cool little shooting gallery game in which you must kill masked baddies before they kill you. Simple controls and surprisingly tight action accompany some decent production values and a great depth of weaponry, upgrades and in-game bonuses. Definitely a fun distraction, and something you ought to pick up....

Tor Books has announced moreHalonovels. Yay reading! Karen Traviss will be penning the new adventures in a multi-book deal that will explore the events of theHalouniverse afterHalo 3starting with the aftermath of the events that took place inHalo: Ghosts of Onyx. Karen is no stranger to theHalobooks as she wrote the short story “Human Weakness” forHalo: Evolutions. Plus she’s also responsible for writing bestselling novels set in theStar WarsandGears of Waruniverses....

I was looking forward to the discussion that theprevious debatewould spawn, and it didn’t disappoint!Falloutis one of those series that has a huge amount of new and old fans, and witnessing them clash in the comments made tallying the votes even more exciting. Here are the results: Just likerecentdebateswithGolden SunandMass Effect, we’ve got another debate this week that’s between a “series” of just two games. Before there wasMass Effect, BioWare was proving their worth withStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic....

DMV:Picked upArcana Heartand have been alternating between that andGod of War, a game which I am not at all enthralled with. But, I’m sure I’ll playGod of War IIanyways. Hamza:You got any change? Nick:I popped inUnreal Tournament IIIfor the Xbox 360 and am not at all surprised that it’s just likeUnreal Tournament IIIon the PlayStation 3, sans mods. I beatParappa the Rapperon the PSP in less than a half an hour, and totally forgot how not-so-great that game actually is....

By all accounts, the PSPgo was a pretty magnificent failure for Sony. Its release was quiet and sombre like the funeral of a man that nobody could really remember, and it’s been surrounded by nothing butbad newsandretailer cynicism. GameStop, however, is optimistic about the digital-only PSP, believing that the system’s lack of traction is all part of some brilliant plan on the part of Sony. “I think that, by Sony’s admission, you may tell by the small marketing that was done for this, that their mentality was more of a slow roll than a major launch....

What’s the deal withFrogger? It’s an interactive recreation of a tragic daily occurrence in which frogs become roadkill. Also, it faithfully reproduces how frogs often jump from turtles to logs to crocodiles in order to reach their destination and die upon contact with water. Weirdest game concept ever? Nah. I don’t even want to begin making that list. What is pretty weird, however, is that Twin Galaxieshas been offeringa cash prize to the first person who could best George Costanza’s “high score” inFroggerfrom that one episode ofSeinfeld....

In our continued effort to bring you HARD-HITTING, unbiased journalism, FOXTOID recommends the new book by Geraldo Beedog:Surely you would never spy me doing that bad thing you just did. Geraldo Beedog says on the book jacket: “It is my hope that every person who considers himself a true American will buy my book. It is rich with wisdom and guidance in a world decayed by modern videogame culture. In it, I recount my service in the US Armed Forces during the marshmallow peeps war, as well as my hard-hitting work concerning the Joseph Leray scandal....

The newHalo WarsDLCis out today. The add-on pack is called “Strategic Options” and brings three additional game modes: The DLC also brings with it four new Achievements worth 100 points in total: All this is going for800 Microsoft Points. That’s right! For just $10, you’re going to get three new game modes and four Achievements! Yeah, so this is a horrible deal. $10 is just overkill. I would never pay more than $5 for just three new game modes....