This is more of a recommended reading post than anything, so if you want to cut to the chase, just click ye link. If you’re wondering why I’m bouncing you elsewhere today, it’s because Jeremy Parish (1up editor and GIA alum) recently posted a bloggish article describing his new bootleg DS. I know there’s real [...]

Blizzard’s success with games bearing the suffix “-craft” has had some unintended consequences outside the occasional dead man in an internet cafe. Among them is the onset of genre myopia. Take strategy as an example: list off all the strategy games you can think of off the top of your head. You certainly listed off Warcraft and Starcraft, but how far down the list did you get before you reached a tower defense game? Blizzard’s runaway success redefined not only what strategy games are, but what they can be. So you mightn’t necessarily think of other takes on the genre like Dyson, Pikmin, or 5th Cell’s most recent title, Lock’s Quest. Here’s what it is and why you should.

The latest in a long stream of Symphony of the Night clones, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia transplants the core gameplay tenets of that venerable PS1 game without rocking the boat too hard. Unfortunately, the sense of place that used to reward exploration gameplay has been replaced with a more homogeneous world, so there isn’t as much to see, even if there is plenty to do.

Tired of lugging a 7 pound board game or a 15 pound Xbox just so you can crush your friends with your spatial reasoning and financial acumen? 1up is reporting that Catan will be hitting the DS.

Details are virtually nonexistent at this point, but the game’s title will be Catan: The First Island. Nintendo’s little handheld hasn’t really been noted for its voice chat functionality, so you’re probably still safe from accidentally shouting about your wood for sheep on the bus. Still, try to be careful as details emerge.

Nintendo’s Tokyo press conference revealed quite a bit of news from the usually tight-lipped company, but the DS hardware update, the DSi, has dominated the industry chatter. Unfortunately for Nintendo, not much of it has been positive.

The new device will feature a 0.3 megapixel camera, a bigger screen, the ability to play AAC files, and a new SD slot to load those files up. The SD card will also function as a storage device for a new download service that will bring digital distribution to the handheld. Heck, slap telecommunications in there and it’s a cheap iPhone.

All the new functionality occupies space, though, and the GBA slot has been removed to make room. Fans of Guitar Hero: On Tour and backwards-compatible gaming at large will be disappointed by the loss. The price of entry has risen as well, and the whole package is being promised to Japan at the equivalent of $180, just $70 cheaper than a Wii.

Investors were not impressed by Nintendo’s announcement, and the company’s stock dropped by nearly 9% after the announcement. Adding to these troubles, developer Martyn Brown criticized the SD slot, warning that it would make the device more susceptible to piracy.

The handheld is scheduled to appear sometime in late 2009. With all the criticism flying around, Nintendo will be burdened with either changing the handheld or trying to demonstrate its worth.

The Shack is reporting that SquareEnix’s next entry into the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series is picking up the ball that the first game dropped.

Fans of the original game (and bitter near-fans who never got to play) will recall that Crystal Chronicles was a part of the Gamecube’s big push for inter-system connectivity. The game could support up to four players, each connecting a Game Boy Advance to the Gamecube as a controller. The small screen provided unique information to each player as a means of facilitating social interaction while gaming. Unfortunately, the combined price of four handhelds, a console, the necessary cables, and the game ultimately represented an insurmountable barrier for many gamers, Crystal Chronicles was less than a stellar hit.

The new Crystal Chronicles, Echoes of time, will be released as identical games both for the Wii and DS. So, instead of requiring a handheld to control the game in multiplayer mode, players will have the option of playing the full game with whatever platform is available. Since the Wii’s gestural controls are analogous to the DS’s touch controls, the two versions of the game are expected to control similarly. Detractors who have historically said that the Wii is little more than two Gamecubes taped together will probably take the DS-limited graphics as free ammunition, but everyone who doesn’t have a heart of flint should appreciate the flexibility afforded to players.

Now if only they’d figured this out an entire console generation ago.

From the “it’s about time” files, PopCap Games has announced that it will be porting Peggle to the DS. They’ll be doing this with Q Entertainment (Lumines, Meteos), a development house already experienced with the unique demands of handheld gaming devices. Touch interactivity seems well suited to PopCap’s precision aiming game, and Peggle’s short play sessions seem like a good fit for portable gaming. That in addition to Peggle’s uncommon appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers makes this a game to keep an eye on.

The new iPhone application store will launch with well over 100 games, according to Steve Jobs. The device’s considerable screen resolution, sophisticated touchscreen technology, and developer-friendly profit sharing position the iPhone to take a bite out of Nintendo’s DS. While games have never been breakout successes on phones, the technology may finally be converging.