DS Previews

What's the result when you mix a Jerry Bruckheimer live-action extravaganza, a bit of CG magic, and adorable rodents? A bizarre question to be sure, but Disney will answer it this summer with G-Force, a family-friendly action flick starring a series of guinea pig secret agents. Smirk if you'd like, but kids love guinea pigs, and where there's scent of a new franchise that kids might go crazy over, you'd better believe Disney has a video game

Want to make a movie-based game that has a good chance at not sucking? Take a note from publisher Electronic Arts and developer Double Helix Games. Presented with the G.I. Joe license and a chance to make a game tying into the upcoming summer blockbuster movie, they could have attempted to make a brutal war epic, a dark third-person shooter, their version of Gears of War. Instead, they stuck to the spirit of the toys in creating The Rise of Cobra

The other day the folks from Majesco came by and took us through a whirlwind of games in development, mostly aimed at the younger crowd or family-friendly party scene. We’ve got a lot to talk about so let’s get cracking.

We could tell you about Capcom’s dazzling new possess-’em-up, or we could leave it to people who are a bit more in the know. Say, writer/director (and Phoenix Wright creator) Shu Takumi and producer Hironobu Takeshita? Go on then, we’ll let them do the talking

At first glance, you might not guess that Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was created by the same mastermind behind the Ace Attorney series. Not only is the art style totally different, but the gameplay bears absolutely no resemblance to the text-heavy static screens of his courtroom saga. Ghost Trick's more animated take on the adventure genre definitely feels more active, and while the controls are still very basic, timing and reflexes are often key to solving Ghost Trick's environmental puzzles. Shu Takumi's hand can be seen in the details though – Ghost Trick looks to have the same strong personalities and warm humor that hooked us on Phoenix Wright's story...

With Golden Sun: Dark Dawn's release just over a month away, we got a chance to play through part of it at Nintendo's offices last week. From what we've seen so far, Dark Dawn seems like a nicely upgraded version of the first two games, which is exactly what we've been hoping for in the sequel...

Nintendo's family-friendly handheld finally has something 18-rated on it. If ever a game was going to grow your DS a set of man balls, it's this. And here's why