Ninja Gaiden DS Trailer Shows Off Some Sweet Stylus Controls

I wasn't all that interested in Ninja Gaiden DS before I saw this trailer, but it shows off some great-for-DS 3D graphics and interesting controls. It appears that it is entirely controlled with the stylus, which is impressive for an action title like this. The trailer also reveals that you'll be holding your two-screened moneymaker sideways, ala Brain Age and Hotel Dusk, and the game will continue the graphic novel style storytelling that it pioneered way back on the NES. I get the feeling that this is a very early trailer because they use the same environments over and over again, which makes it even more impressive that things look so together.

Jam Sessions Comes With an Amp!

You now how I've been telling you that maybe you should care more than you do about Jam Sessions for the DS? Well, allow me to present Exhibit C: The Jam Sessions Performance Bundle which comes with a cute little amp for your strummaliscious pleasures! It will no doubt use a standard headphone jack, so you'll also be getting a nice little portable speaker out of the deal.

Via Go Nintendo.

Don't Care About a Jam Sessions Track List? Well Maybe You Should.

If you missed the videos we posted from this game a while back, Jam Sessions is a guitar simulator for your Nintendo DS. I thought that was that, but apparently it will also be a Guitar Hero style experience where you'll be required to strum your way through specific songs. Ubisoft has released the track list so far, and I have to say... as far as these things go, it's a pretty awesome track list. While Guitar Hero leans towards metal and virtually ignores pop and country, and Elite Beat Agents is almost all trash, this game has a great mix of tunes that cover a lot of genres. They've got everything from Amy Winehouse to f-ing Janis Joplin! I may actually be excited about this game now. Hit the jump for the list so far...

Amy Winehouse – “You know I’m no good”
Avril Lavigne – “I’m With You”
Beck – “Jackass”
Blind Melon – “No rain”
Bob Marley – “No woman no cry”
Bob Dylan – “Like a rolling stone”
Cheap Trick – “Surrender”
Coldplay – “Yellow”
Death Cab for Cutie – “I will follow you into the dark”
Jackson 5 – “Never can say goodbye”
James Taylor – “How sweet it is to be loved by you”
Janis Joplin – “Me and Bobby McGee”
Johnny Cash – “I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know”
Marvin Gaye – “What’s going on?”
Nirvana – “The man who sold the world”
Rascal Flatts – “Life is a Highway”
The Fray – “Over my head”

Via Infendo.

Ubisoft Wants To Come Over to Your Place, Smoke a Bowl, and Strum Your DS

Ubisoft Game Producer Carlo DeLallana wants to play you a song. He wrote it last night when he couldn't get to sleep (he never can), and it really expresses how... how... fucked up the world can be sometimes. You know? It's like... He just wants to say something without the filter of society bearing down on every word, but words ARE society, you know? Like Frege said, right? It's like the only thing that makes any sense at all is to eschew words altogether and just speak with his heart, his guitar[-simulating DS game]. Anyway, just listen...



You found the bonus jam!

Video of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Geometry Wars, and Contra 4

I've always been a big fan of the casual, let's sit around and talk about video games format of the 1Up Show, and this is a particularly juicy episode. It's got a lot of great stuff about Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass for the DS (shit looks goooood), a bit on the meh-ish Geometry Wars for DS and Wii, and it finishes off with a look at the defiantly retro Contra 4 for the DS. This is the first I've seen of Contra 4 in motion, and it's clear that it's the exact same game you either loved or hated when you first played it on NES.

In Other More Important DS News...

...apparently megastar Nicole Kidman is all about playing Brain Age in her spacious, sun-lit living room.



At first, I was sure this was one of those awesome Japanese commerials that celebrities pound out for extra yacht money. But no, the British voice-over at the end would indeed imply this is commercial is intended for those in English speaking countries. So what is with the anime-esque faical expression at :04? Strange choices abound. But I have to say I love the genuine, slightly-cautious delivery of the advert's closing line:

"...Pa-per.."

Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Intro

A 360 degree turn from the "dark" Twilight Princess, the upcoming Zelda game for the DS introduces its story (ie recaps The Windwaker) through some ultra-adorable, really well done storybook-esque cutouts. I wish they were somewhat animated, but the design is still undeniably great.