It seems that the port of PS2 game Dokapon Kingdom was a success for the Wii, because Atlus has announced that they’re now bringing the game to the Nintendo DS. Beginning April 14th you’ll be able to whittle away at boring hours on the bus, train or whatever transportation method you favor by battling against up to three friends or the game’s AI characters.

If you’ve unfamiliar with the game, it takes place in the magical Dokapon Kingdom where the King has offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to anyone who can purge the horde of monsters that has overrun the kingdom. It’s a mix between board game randomness and RPG strategy.

You can not only attack the monsters and save infested towns, but you can turn your swords and spells against your friends, stealing items or humiliating them when you defeat them in duels.

Tired of Nintendo’s weekly Wii updates yet? No? Me neither. This week we see Sonic make another appereance on the Virtual Console and 2 games hit WiiWare:

WiiWare
Snowboard Riot (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): This snowboard racing and battle game can be enjoyed by multiple players and is compatible with the Wii Balance Board accessory. In an intense scramble for first place, guide your character down the slopes while snatching up items to attack and defend against rivals along the way. Up to four players can battle and participate in various ranking modes via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
LONPOS (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Looking for a puzzle game that anyone can play, but still offers plenty to master? Look no further than LONPOS, with its straightforward premise and large variety of puzzles to solve. Each puzzle revolves around a rectangular playing field of 55 spaces. Using a set of 12 pieces, the goal is to place every piece into the playing field, filling it completely. The higher the level, the more pieces you’ll need to fit correctly into the playing field. Challenge yourself with two single-player modes or bring a friend to compete against or cooperate with. When you think your skills are worthy, use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to check out how you compare with other LONPOS players or download additional puzzles and backgrounds. (Router and broadband access required for online play. For more info, go to www.nintendo.com.)

Virtual Console
Sonic Chaos(SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Play as Sonic or Tails in Sonic Chaos, which was originally made for the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM. Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik) has stolen the Red Chaos Emerald to create nuclear weapons. This has thrown the remaining Chaos Emeralds off balance, causing them to transport to a parallel universe. As a result, Sonic’s home, South Island, is sinking into the ocean. Speed through various levels in your crusade for the six Chaos Emeralds. Perform Strike Dashes and Super-Peel Outs as Sonic, or Spin Dash and Fly as Tails, and restore order in Sonic Chaos.

Read (Nintendo)

It seems a 29-year-old Japanese man by the name of Takao Ike recently threatened to blow up Hudson Soft’s studios. You know, the developers of the popular Bomberman franchise.

Well Hudson Soft was none too please with this and after recieving 11 threatening emails, decided to call the police which resulted in the mans arrest.

But why did he threaten to bomb the studio? He said he wasn’t happy with the games they were putting out, stating that he “post his demands for the games, but the games didn’t improve.”

Read (MercuryNews)

While it was already known that those who pre-ordered Killzone 2 would get access to the demo early, and that the public demo release would come Feburary 26th, it was unknown exactly when the early access would be.

Well, it was recently announced that all who pre-ordered the game from GameStop will get access to the demo on Feburary 5th, 21 days before those who didn’t pre-order would get to play the demo.

So, if you plan on buying Killzone 2 (and what PS3 owner wouldn’t be?) you should definitely head over to your local GameStop and slap down 5-bucks just so you can brag to your friends that you played the demo earlier than them.

Read (ThatVideoGameBlog)

To all you Xbox Live subscribers out there, did you download the Resident Evil 5 demo? According to Capcom and Microsoft’s recent announcement, chances are you did.

Just about a week after it’s January 26th release, the demo for Capcom’s forthcoming Resident Evil 5 has been download 1.8 million times. 1.3 million of those downloads were in the first 3 days of the demos release. Pretty crazy, huh?

Resident Evil 5 is currently in the last stages of development over at Capcom and is set for a March 13th release date for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Read (Press)

Say goodbye to the days of monotone computerised voices and hello to the future. IBM has recently announced that they have succeeded in developing the most realistic computerised voice in existence. But how?

Well, the voice is said to utilize subtle jestures like pauses, coughs, and even appropriate “ums” and “ers” to make for a more realistic experience.

I bet you are saying to yourself, “what does this have to do with gaming?”. Well, when I was younger and played wrestling games for the N64 I always wished the announcer said whatever obsence name I had for my custom wrestler when he entered the ring. After this announcement, that wish is one step closer to becoming a reality.

Read (TeleGraph.co.uk)

Now here’s something you don’t see every day. Apparently, one of GoNintendo’s readers was plagued with an unfortunate house fire that destroyed pretty much all of his personal possesions. But here is the real bummer; his entire Nintendo game collection of more than 250 games, not to mention his Wii and DS SP, were literally melted in the fire.

So what did he do? Well, he sent Nintendo a nice letter explaining the situation, wondering if he could transfer the Wiiware account of his now demolished Wii to a new one. And how did Nintendo respond? Well with a brand new Wii and DS of course. 

Oh yeah and we could now safely say, after posting this story, if your house happens to burn down and you have evidence of a melted game console, chances are not only Nintendo but Sony and Microsoft as well will replace your console.

Read (GoNintendo)

Last year saw the release of a whole bevvy of highly anticipated titles including Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Gears of War 2, GTA IV and many others. With the incredible sales of the Nintendo Wii it’s no surprise that the best-selling game of the year was one for Nintendo’s slim, white console. Many would guess that Wii Fit is the top seller, given that the accessory has been difficult to find since its launch, and with 8.31 million units sold it’s got the number two spot.

Number one was held by what is undoubtedly one of the most successful franchises in Nintendo’s stable: Mario Kart Wii. The racing game sold 8.94 million units in the major three territories: five million in the USA, two million in Japan and 1.94 in the UK. Not only does this show that Mario and company are still a powerhouse for moving games, it shows just how big a market the UK has become, with enough consoles for the vast majority of households there.

There’s nothing more disappointing than when a video game series after many successful titles puts out a game that simply drops the ball. Resident Evil has been around for so long it’s only a matter of time before someone slips up and produces a completely abysmal game. Luckily the Official Playstation Magazine confirms that we’re not in any danger quite yet.

The review score is an exciting 5/5 with particular attention paid to how well crafted the gameplay is in terms of pacing and variety, with the co-op mode being hailed as ‘distinguished’ and ‘revolutionary’: “One moment you’ll be blasting and hacking away at zombie mobs and face off against some seemingly invincible mini-boss in the midst of town, or you’ll be systematically exploring working your way through the dark, claustrophobic confines of a mine of the labyrinth corridors of a secret research complex, experience a brief but hair-raising quick-time event and be back to fighting zombies – but this time racing across the Savannah manning the chain gun on the back of a humvee.”

Sounds exciting doesn’t it? The reviewer goes on to say that “This is like playing an Indiana Jones movie. And not the crappy ones.”

Discussions of literary merit aside there’s no doubt that Robert Ludlum writes action packed, exciting novels. Some of the most popular concerned the government-trained assassin Jason Bourne, played in the films by Matt Damon. Last year Vivendi and High Moon Studios took a stab at making a Bourne game. It received mixed reviews and underperformed commercially.

Now Electronic Arts is picking up the license for not only the Bourne but for the entirety of the Robert Ludlum books. The first game they’ll be developing will feature Jason Bourne and will be handing the reigns to Starbreeze Studios, the developer who made the Chronicles of Riddick games. Given the success of the game which will likely have a similar style of gameplay to the Bourne games, a mix of stealth, gunplay and hand-to-hand combat the first title at least sounds like it has a lot of promise.

This announcement finally lays to rest the speculation surrounding Project Redlime, a previously announced collaboration between EA and Starbreeze that came up around a year ago.