| GBA
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel
Monsters 5 Expert 1 |
Scans |
| Yugi
Mutoh, main character of the Yu-Gi-Oh phenomenon, is a wimp.
The other kids at Domino High School beat him down often and
he's the archetypal weakling. All this changes when gramps
hands him the Millennium Puzzle, which transforms Yugi from
smack-down fodder to the mighty Game King. GK bests all
opponents in a popular card game called Magic and Wizards (aka
Duel Monsters) and rules the roost . Basically, he wields
ultimate skills. Herein lies his latest story. |
| Expert
1 includes a bonus in the form of a foil wrapped pack of
cards. Three out of five cards are included in each game as
follows: Angel's Dice, Big Shield
Guarder, Black Robed Sage, Demon's Dice, or Exchange. |
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Yu-Gi-Oh
US$53 |
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| PS2
Bokujou Monogatari 3 |
Scans |
| Virtual
country bumpkins living amidst natural
settings enjoy the "life". A rooster crows farmers
awake and arduous chores await as the sun breaks over the
horizon. Eggs must be collected from the chickens, cows need
milking, and crops must be tended in order to keep the farm
running in tip-top shape. Live as one with the land and you
might turn a profit, expand your kingdom, and repeat the cycle
of farm living. That was then. The latest Bokujou Monogatari
(Harvest Moon in the USA) still goads players on with general
farm living but it also introduces a overriding goal to the
game. Big city folk are encroaching on your quaint farming
community and the "life" is threatened. As lead
protagonist of the village, you are charged with find a way to
keep the good times rolling. Hints may be procured from fellow
villagers on how to save the homeland and Harvest Sprites
return to help with chores and menial tasks. |
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Graphically, Bokujou Monogatari 3 enchants gamers with
beautiful artwork and cel-shade-like style. Cows, chickens,
and your faithful dog are rendered eye candy and mesh
perfectly with the lush backgrounds. |
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Bokujou
Story 3 US$63 |
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| PS2
Piposaru 2001 |
Scans |
When
errant and excitable
monkeys run about the landscape, soiled drawers on their
posteriors, they need a little help. A good cleansing would
solve the problem and you're the laundry man who must do the
dirty deed. Since simians are never so inclined to give up
their drawers easily, a fight of sorts ensues. As spiky-haired
boy wonder Kakeru, you traipse the terrain and use forceful suction
to tear dirty underpants from apes and tow them to the cleaners.
As mentioned earlier, none of drawers will come to you easily
and the player will need guile, dexterity, and Dual Shock
mashing madness to capture a line of underpants. To keep the
cleaners busy, 2001 underpants on 2001 monkeys rage across the
levels which range from expansive cultivated green fields to
surreal seascapes. Little monkeys wearing snorkels underwater
dive and thrust away from you like trained seals. Their water
antics make your job a little harder but it's all good and
adds depth to the chase.
The first couple of levels play it straight and
no little gadgets or special devices available. Apparently, it
gets more interesting in later levels and we'll update our
impressions once more play time is invested in Piposaru. |
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Piposaru
2001 US$58 |
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| PS2
Tetsu-One Train Battle |
Scans |
Handling a Densha de Go! class passenger train ain't easy but
amateurs may find piloting a single train unit much easier. Tetsu-One
grants control of a locomotive engine car to the player and
challenges him to a race. Upon starting the competition,
trains rumble out and steadily gain speed. Once peak velocity
is attained, the landscape hurtles past with exhilarating
realism and motion. At this juncture, you'll have to guide
your train by banking and matching the curve of the track.
Take a swerve too fast without compensating for the bend and
you'll topple over. Better players may be able to balance the
car on one side without toppling but running off of the track
seems to be a common occurrence. Thankfully, it's a simple
task to groove back onto the rails and continue on your way.
Competing trains race ahead and alongside you on parallel
tracks which makes for thrilling bumps and chases. In the
two-player mode, warning arrows run down the side of your
viewing screen and flash when trains are nearby.
NCS didn't expect much out of Tetsu when we first
viewed vendor demos but the game plays very well and the
racing execution runs surprisingly sweet. |
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Tetsu-One
US$58 |
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| Frequently
Asked Questions |
Protocol |
|
Common
questions, rotated on a weekly basis, are now posted online
for perusal. Please check the FAQ before sending an
e-mail message
that may already be answered on the page. It's not that we
mind (well, maybe sometimes we do) the voluminous daily e-mail
queries but very common questions come up very often. It's our
way of addressing redundancy and consequent inefficiency. Thank
you. |
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Questions received henceforth already answered in
the FAQ
won't be ignored. You'll
still receive a reply within 48 hours. |
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