Bokura no Taiyou: Django and Sabata

When a world is plunged into darkness and beset by vampires, two heroes rise up with the power of the Sun and the Moon to bring light back into the world. On one side is Sabata, purple haired warrior with a penchant for melee weapons who travels with a vampiric feline named Nero. From time to time, Nero meows like a man and offers advice. On the other side is Django who carries the Gun de Sol and uses projectile weapons to do his dirty work. Both vampire hunters travel in a game world that's reminiscent of the earlier GBA Boktai games but there's a new shooting sequence where the heroes get into a Casket Rocket and blasts vampires in the stratosphere for stylus tapping action. «NCS G-Notes»

Jump! Ultimate Stars

A diverse gathering of heroes from the Shonen Jump weekly magazine join together once again for a battle royale of epic proportions. Whereas the original Jump! Super Stars featured a total of 27 series, Ultimate Stars goes for the gold with a total of 41 series in attendance. Along with renowned properties such as Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece which are popular around the world, there's lesser known franchises in the game as well. The action hews close to the style and convention of Jump! Super Stars where manga panels (Koma) on the touch screen are tapped to activate characters. The fighting action takes place on the top screen where fast-paced fisticuffs are in play. «NCS Game-Notes»

Minna no Curling DS

The "sport" of Curling may be compared to bowling but instead of a ball and nine pins, the thrower shoves a flat-bottomed stone across a field of ice towards the vicinity of a target. Once thrown, teammates vigorously brush the path in front of the stone to guide it into the house. The intention is to affect the movement and spin of the stone by polishing the ice so that the stone glides into the intended area. Virtual curling follows the basic procedures of real curling and NDS gamers get to control everything from the launch of the stone to the brushing of the ice. A Training Mode gives players a chance to learn the steps of curling while an Information section gives up the rules and strategy. «NCS Game-Notes»

Galaxy Angel: Moonlit Lovers BEST

The girls of Galaxy Angel find themselves in yet another exciting adventure which spans the cosmos. Milfeulle Sakuraba serves as the leader the effervescent Galaxy Angel Squadron but players may choose any member of the Squad as a partner at the outset of the game.

Once your little duo has been set up, the game establishes a unique storyline for each particular Angel. Engage in galactic interaction with your new cohort and the other members of the Galaxy Angel Squad while adventuring across the Milky Way. Treat your partners well and their affinity towards you will increase which helps to enhance battle performance and team cohesiveness. Botch the relationship and the team suffers for your folly. Broccoli hired the voice actors from the animation to give life, emotion and speech to the characters and created a new animated intro especially for the game.
Galaxy Angel: Moonlit Lovers was originally released in February 2006 at full price and the BEST version is the same game except that it's a reissue with a new cover and a lower price point.

Guitar Freaks V2 & DrumMania V2

Prior to 2006, there was a drought in the world of homeward GuitarFreaks games since 2002. As of today, there's been three new GF games released this year and we're looking forward to a regular schedule of releases henceforth. A total of 68 songs are featured in the game including "Blood And Thunder" from Mastodon, "Metal Queen" by Vanilla Ninja, "Saccharine Smile" per Donots, "Burnt" by Brad Holmes, "Day Dream" courtesy of Mutshiko Izumi, and many more. Gracious tracks from GFDMV3 include "Micro Fin" by Rotten Blotch, "Ring" by Kozo Nakamura, and "Guitar Drive" by Handsome Jet.

The interface is taken from the arcade version of GuitarFreaks with sweet and shiny bars, buttons, and sliders. The game is broken up into sections for GuitarFreaksV2, DrumManiaV2, and SessionV2 where up to three gamers may jam together. New entrants to the GuitarFreaks fold may hone their skills in the Training Mode which notches down the difficulty level while hardened axe handlers can test themselves in the Practice Mode. Once assured of your ability, head on over to the Arcade Mode and do your best to hit the cues with precision and dexterity. «NCS Game-Notes»

J-League Winning Eleven 10 + Europe League

Konami released the 10th Winning Eleven game earlier this year and the company rehashes the game with the addition of more European league teams. Updated data for J-League squads and previously included European clubs is also included in the game to keep fans up to speed on the 2006-2007 season. A new World Tour mode allows a player controlled team to travel across the globe to challenge teams from many countries and dominate them all.

Twinkle Star Sprites BEST

A new assortment of pastel colored munchkins take to the skies and shoot for their lives. The shiny cast of playable characters differ in speed and firepower but they pretty much have the same general appearance. Starting the game will divide the screen into two portions and the heroes and heroines spin downwards onto the playfield. Twinkle Star resembles Galaga... except it scrolls vertically and there's a competitive element where one attempts to create chain combinations to send fireballs to attack the opponent.

Foes flying in from the top of the screen include colorful clams with eyes and shells that open and eyes, lemon-like ovals with eyes, mecha teddy bears, floppy eared puppies, flying pigs, and a motley assortment of other attackers. The creatures move in ordered lines where they fly in formation. The target of the shooting action is to destroy a lead object so that it explodes and ignites a chain reaction that blows up all of the followers behind it. Some waves will fly in with orderly downward motion but others will criss-cross the screen which makes the chain reaction destruction somewhat more tricky although destroying a central target will normally cause everyone else to rush into the explosion and destroy themselves.

Mahjong Kakutou Club

When NCS plunked down roughly $1000 for our own PS3, we wanted to make sure that there was a mahjong game coming out. No mahjong = no PS3. That was the deal breaker. With Konami's Mahjong Fighting Club in stock today, we are now whole with our PS3 and that money has now been considered well spent. Resistance and Ridge 7 were fun but there's nothing like a good game of mahjong to get the blood burning and the spirit soaring. Whenever the PS4 ships to market, there better be mahjong or we ain't buying.

Mahjong tiles viewed on a HDTV have never looked so realistic or crisp. Konami's PS3 mahjong game follows the conventions and design of the PSP version of MKC and allows for network play and connectivity with the portable version of the game. Once connected, data may be shared and both PS3 and PSP players may oppose each other online. Please note that a JPY420 monthly charge has been instituted for online play

Jeanne D'Arc

In Domremy, France, a village is burning and blue orcs are on the attack. All that stands before them is a blonde maiden in haus frau clothing who's capable of laying down some serious damage. In the early goings in the mission, brilliant fireflies flit upwards from the flames in the village and course through the air in straight trajectories. Battles are fought on 3D tactical arenas where players move three characters at the outset and attack the orcs and their leader. The game is based on the legend of Joan of Arc and mixes fact and fiction for an engaging experience with crystalline graphics and brilliant visual effects.

When its time for action, players highlight the active character with a blue square and tap the O button once. A menu appears with movement and attack options. To move, press O on the top option and lighted blue grids overlay the countryside or town which shows the range of movement. Sidle up next to an enemy and attack with the usual tactical conventions where your attack is more effective from the side or behind the target than if you face it head-on.

When attacking, the camera zooms in on the blow being meted out and the enemy is given a chance to automatically counterattack. If he misses, an animation will show Jeanne or another character leaning back and swerving to avoid the blow. Attacking from behind will avoid a counterblow. Once killed, the orc seemingly gives up its last breath and heaves forward before collapsing into a clump on the ground. «NCS Game-Notes»

Riviera: Yakusoku no Chi

In Ragnarok, gods and demons fought and tore the world apart. In a last ditch effort, the gods sacrifice themselves to create the Grim Angels who put an end to the war and locked the demons away. After the carnage, the power of the gods remained in the holy isle of Riviera. A thousand years pass and the memories of the great war have faded. However, there are signs that the demons are slowly infiltrating the world once more.

To counter the impending threat, heroes Ecthel and Ledah venture off in an adventure to prevent the potential destruction of Riviera, aka the Paradise Land. The game is broken up into simple movement, quest, and attack phases. Choose to move by pressing the "B" button and the heroes will automatically move as if the page were being flipped. Arrows delineate where the heroes may move and generally only one path is available per screen. If a treasure chest is encountered in an new area that the heroes have walked into, the Quest mode can be triggered by pressing "A" which allows one of the heroes to open up to chest and plunder its contents.

When an enemy is met, a profile of the creature pops up and it's onto a fairly static adventure-based fight where players choose to attack or use magic/items if applicable. The PSP version of Riviera features voice acting and new graphics and scenes which bolster the overall adventure.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 Faceplate

The first batch of DOAX2 Faceplates arrived today and NCS will fill preorders in order of customer submission. The remainder is expected on Friday but note that there is a shortage of this product. We'll post another update once we confirm the quantity that we'll receive on Friday.