411mania gives a rundown on this week's game releases. Highlights include Phantasy Star Portable, The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match, and Sukashishipanman DS: Shokotak Koto Nakagawa Shouko Produce!

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Phantasy Star Portable (PSP)
With Phantasy Star Portable, Sega basically took Phantasy Star Universe, fixed a lot of the problems people had with it, tweaked it to be more single-player friendly, and added more story elements. Some of those who hated PSU are actually saying that they like this version of the game. I find that hard to believe, but it's possible. If anything, this will at least give us something to do while waiting for Phantasy Star Zero.

Here is what you can expect from PSP:

- New story missions that take place between the original Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
In Phantasy Star Portable you will team up with a Cast named Vivienne as she investigates recent terrorist attacks on the colony as well as animal outbreaks on the surface of some of the planets. Space adventure and mayhem follow. I thought that PSU's story was ok; it wasn't groundbreaking or very memorable but it was still decent. So, if Sega was able to craft a story that is at least on par with the first game's, these missions could be worth plaything through at least once.

- Local as well as online play (with the help of a PS3 or your PC)
As expected, you can play with three other friends locally using the PSP's ad hoc mode. Those wishing to play over the Internet have two options - one that requires a PS3 and another that requires a computer. To use your PS3 you have to download the Ad-Hoc Party application from the Japanese PSN store and do a little tinkering. You can find instructions on how to do this at the PSO-World forums here. If you want to use your PC there's XLink Kai. Note that these two options work for the Japanese and English dem...
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411mania gives a rundown on this week's game releases. Highlights include Legacy of Ys: Books I & II, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, Stoked, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.

Legacy of Ys: Books I & II (DS)
Ys I and II have seen many ports and remakes since the first one came out in 1987; they've seen the light of day on such systems as the PC-8801, Famicom, Master System, DOS, Apple II, Saturn, and PS2 to name a few. The most widely-known versions are contained in the TurboGrafx-CD compilation, and for years that release was considered the best. It's place at the top was eventually challenged by Ys Eternal as it sported upgraded graphics, effects, and artwork as well as extras like new characters and scenarios. Unfortunately, Eternal didn't include voiceovers and some say that the remixed music was not as good. Apparently, enough people weren't satisfied so another update known as Ys Complete, which is said to have better graphics but an inferior soundtrack, was unleashed. Despite my best efforts, I could not find any agreement amongst Ys fans as to which official release is the definitive version since each of the three does at least one thing better than the others.

Preferences aside, there is one thing that fans of the first two Ys games can agree on no matter which version they've played - Ys I and II have some of the best music you will find in a video game. Every place I visited for info makes note of how awesome the soundtrack is. Knowing this, I questioned whether or not it was a good idea to play the games on the DS for the first time when I could just as easily track down the PC version and patch it or download the Wii VC one. Granted, Legacy of Ys comes with a free soundtrack if you preorder and it is portable. Maybe it would be easier to just flip a coin...

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Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii) ...
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The tentatively titled Kirby Adventure was originally announced back in November 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube. The game last showed up as a Wii port in a Nintendo of Japan release schedule that noted the game has been delayed into 2008.

VGB looks at what to expect from the Kirby game if it's revealed for Wii at E3 2008 in mid-July.
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Nintendo's recent financial reports didn't contain much in the way of surprise game announcements, as leaks are not the company's style. Documents did re-confirm, however, that the former GameCube platformer known simply as Kirby is still on track for a 2008 release in Japan. Shown at E3 2005, the game's continued development had doubt cast upon it by the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, but it appears that HAL Laboratory is still hard at work on the next console Kirby.
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You hear that? That's the sound of Wii owners rejoicing. Nintendo has done all of us a huge solid, by putting together an extremely solid lineup for today's Virtual Console update.

Kirby's Adventure (NES, 500 Wii Points)
Ice Climber (NES, 500 Wii Points)
Kid Icarus (NES, 500 Wii Points)
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411mania talks about this week's game releases. Highlights include Raiden Fighters Aces, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon, and Help Wanted.
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April was a slow month for big blockbuster titles. Fortunately, May is looking like it will pick up the slab with several promising games. Here are the top five new video games to look forward to this month.
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It's a light new video game release week, but most of the games won't break the bank. In fact, most of these games are all under $30 price point. Patapon 2 is available at retail stores for the PSP (includes downloadable code, not UMD) and from the PlayStation Network. Klonoa debuts on Wii, back from the PSone days. The new Nintendo DS Lite Green bundle with Personal Trainer: Cooking and a unique carrying case is available starting Sunday, May 3rd as well.

This week's new releases:
(subject to change)

Xbox 360
no new releases

PLAYSTATION 3
Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust

Wii
Destiny Of Zorro
Klonoa
New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

DS & DSi
Nintendo DS Lite Green, Personal Trainer: Cooking Bundle
Jagged Alliance
Magician's Quest: Mysterious Times
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Puzzle Kingdoms

PSP
Patapon 2
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Namco Bandai today announced Klonoa is coming to Wii this year in Europe, with a remake of the original game.
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See what's coming in the week ahead for the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and DS. New hardware too: red God of War PSP and Metal Gear branded bluetooth headset.
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