Thursday, July 08, 2010

NDS Bokujou Monogatari: Futago no Mura - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The simple life simulator continues onwards with yet another game where virtual farmers grow crops and raise animals. Players have the choice of going to Bluebell Village which specializes in animal husbandry or Konohana Village where the main vocation is farming. The mayors of the two villages are at odds with each other which leads to strife and ill will. The protagonist in Futago no Mura goes to either Bluebell or Konohana to make a living and perhaps bring the two towns together.

New to the game is the availability of alpacas for their wool, keeping honeybees, and the opportunity to bring home a pet owl. Love interests abound in the two villages and protagonists may go on dates to fetter out that special someone to spend some virtual quality time with.

PS3 Shirokishi Monogatari Hikari to Yami no Kakusei - New

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» One year after the events in the first White Knight Chronicles, the lad named Leonard is still alive and preoccupied with a new adventure that lures him and his allies to brave new lands. The duchy of Foria supplies two new members to Leonard's party - a young girl named Miu whose grandfather was Duke and a military commander named Scardyne who protects Miu from danger. The sequel introduces a fifth Knight named "Lunar Princess" who carries a bow for projectile attacks. All reservations will include a bonus DLC card which allows gamers to download special equipment for use in the adventure.

The new Shirokishi Monogatari Blu-Ray disc includes the original Shirokishi Monogatari game which has been revamped with WKC2's game systems as a bonus. Please note that a Japanese Playstation Network account is required in order to login to the Geonet community where players post messages, join cooperative quests, and read game logs. Save data from the original Japanese WKC game may be used in WKC2.

PSP The Conveni Portable - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Know this, all ye patrons of establishments that peddle corn chips, instant sandwiches, cigarettes, and soda pop: Purveying to the likes of you ain't easy. Long store hours, keeping salty snacks in stock, and watching out for shoplifters all conspire to rob convenience store proprietors of profit, hair and patience. Those who are successful in running a 7-11 or a mom 'n pop deli enjoy elusive profits but the struggle goes on day after day.

Returning to the market for another round, The Conveni Portable is based on The Conveni 3 which was released on the PS2 nearly 7 years ago. In the game, players navigate the woolly waters of convenience store economics where players attempt to balance the books by keeping customers happy with deft pricing strategy, proper product mix and sensible store decor. An advertising budget may help attract night crawlers to your domain but getting the word out is costly and takes away from the bottom line. To add to the strife, rival convenience chains and shops jockey for potential customers with marketing tactics of their own.

Seasonal changes also require product overhauls as winter turns into summer and back again. New shopkeepers unschooled in the art of sales may engage the training mode which teaches Convenience Store 101. A licensing tie-in with the Lawson chain store franchise in Japan also allows players the option of managing of an actual Lawson store with trademark store designs, employee uniforms, and the big Lawson signage out in front.

PSP Zikande Fantasia - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Step into the shoes of a hero named Kotaro or a heroine named Canna who has been summoned into a world in need of their help. In the land of Zikande, the denizens are not bound by the strictures of time and they do as they please without minding the minutes. However, one day the oppression of time drops on Zikande and everyone falls under its unyielding influence. Due to the sudden appearance of time, the people of Zikande are now literally restricted and they call for a hero from elsewhere to help in their hour of need.

Zikande Fantasia
was developed by the crew that brought Yuusha 30 to the world in 2009 and the game plays in bite-sized increments. The developer touts the ability to set your time limit for playing the game along with other parameters such as enemy boss HP, treasure chest volume, and more - for example, if your daily commute is about 10 minutes, you can set the time parameter for the game to 10 minutes and expect to conclude the adventure within that frame. Similar to Yuusha 30, the game takes place on a 2D world built with graphics that hearken back to the days of 8-bit consoles. The controls are simple and the questing won't tax the mental prowess of most gamers. The world of Zikande is viewed from a side perspective where the hero moves from left to right while scaling obstacles and smacking enemies with a broadsword. The remaining amount of time for every game counts down from the upper left corner of the screen so that players are cognizant of when the adventure ends. All reservations will ship with a bonus circular strap imprinted with the image of the heroes.

Wii Wii Party - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Mario Party is apparently dead. Done. In its place, Nintendo presents Wii Party which uses the same winning formula as Mario Party but features the Mii Army as protagonists instead of Mario characters. A simple board game format encapsulates the mini-games which include:

» Helicopter Pickup - Hover a helicopter over waiting passengers
» Marble Bash - Maneuver a marble and smack other marbles into pockets
» Boat Balance - Keep a pirate ship loaded with Miis on an even keel
» Fruit Fall - Guide falling fruit from branches into waiting produce bins
» Can Shoot - Fire away at airborne cans and keep them in the air
» Pass the Bomb - Hand a bomb over to other players without jostling the Wii Remote too much lest it explode and send the avatar sky high
» Horse Racing - Whip a horse in a 4-person race towards the finish line
» Kill a Tree - Hack away at the trunk of a tree and topple it over
» Ski Jump - Hurtle down a snowy ramp and thrust into a jump
» Vine Hurl - Swing on a vine and gain enough momentum to launch Mii
» Sheep Race - Race on a track filled with meandering sheep

Along with the aforementioned games, a many other interactions may be opened up as players ramble across the board game playfield.