Polish video game developer/publisher Teyon along with Japanese developer AMZY have announced that the fruit of their collaboration will be out for both the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo DSi. The game, titled Clash of Elementalists will be out for Europe and US based gamers this Thursday, April the 11th. The title will be available on the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system in the Nintendo eShop for €4.99/$4.99 respectively and on Nintendo DSiWare™ for 500 Nintendo DSi Points.

Battling it out in a fight to prove their superiority, players select from four distinct Elementalists, each representing one of the four planetary elements; earth, fire, water and air. Each character’s fighting style and weaponry reflects their element creating engaging and explosive rounds of powerful and fast action.

There are a total of four modes of game play available and depending on which mode is chosen, the fighting conditions such as the amount of rounds per battle, the battlefield and length of each round are adjustable. Clash of Elementalists also includes the DS Wireless feature, enabling two player matches between two Nintendo DSi™ or Nintendo 3DS systems via a local wireless connection. Here players will be able to battle against their friends in customized battle conditions or for more variety, at random

Did you know that today is the 25th anniversary of Mega Man? Yup, and Capcom has a whole slew of events for a year starting from now onwards to celebrate the iconic hero in blue. To kickstart the celebrations, Capcom has released a new free Mega Man game for the PC, titled Street Fighter X Mega Man. This game was created by indie dev Seow Zong Hui (a.k.a Sonic) from Singapore, and Capcom, in a true collaboration between a company and its fans, is supporting and publishing the game.

The game stars Mega Man and features eight brand-new Street Fighter-themed levels and bosses inspired by the legendary fighting game series. Each boss character will utilize their individual strategies and special moves against Mega Man, as players attempt to mega blast their way through each uniquely charming 8-bit world. Head over to http://capcom-unity.com/mega_man  to download Street Fighter X Mega Man now!

Throughout the year, Capcom also plans to release the side-scrolling classics Mega Man to Mega Man 6 as downloads for Nintendo 3DS. Beginning December 27 with the original Mega Man, these 8-bit classics will be available in a staggered schedule into 2013.  Check Capcom-Unity frequently for updates on the remaining titles as well as information on other Mega Man 25th Anniversary events, including new licensed products available from the Capcom Store in 2013.

Austin, Texas-based game development studio Renegade Kid, the makers of games such as Dementium: The Ward and Moon for the Nintendo DS has just released their latest game Planet Crashers for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is a playful, story-driven RPG which makes use of the 3DS’ unique properties and boasts a colourful range of characters along with a massive universe to explore.

In Planet Crashers, players take on the role of one of the youngest and brightest cadets to graduate from the esteemed Planet Crashers Academy. Your first assignment, should you choose to accept it, would be to destroy the unknown evil which has emerged from a dark corner of the galaxy and it’s out to destroy the sun. That sounds like a regular Star Trek episode…

Anyways, this quest will have you venturing across the galaxy in abit to avert this catastrophe. Players get to battle in dungeons to gain experience points and level up weapons as well as advance to nearby planets. The fully customizable main character will proof him/herself useful in the turn-based combat. The game also features an offline single player mode and an online multiplayer mode.

Planet Crashers is available for download from the Nintendo eShop at a price of USD 9.99. Check it out now.

Will you be in London in October 2012? If that’s a yes, you are in luck as the 2012 London Games Festival will be held from the 27th September to 28th October. For those who are not familiar with this month long event, it’s a celebration of gaming culture, not surprising given that the UK is home to some of the best development houses (both big ones and indies) for video games.

Last year’s celebration drew a whopping 85,000 visitors and this year there’s a wide range of events to cater for even more people. Check out what’s in store for this year’s London Games Festival:

• The Eurogamer Expo 2012 once again kicks off London Games Festival. The UK’s biggest dedicated public gaming event takes place at Earl’s Court on September 27^th, 28^th, and 29^th – and will be the public’s first opportunity to get their hands on the industry’s key releases . Tickets for the event are available now at: http://www.eurogamer.net/expo/
• A Gala event hosted by Ukie will close the first day of the event, also on September 27^th. As part of the event, GamesAid, the industry charity, will hand out cheques to the its chosen charities.
• The Games Media Awards, hosted by Russell Kane, take place on Thursday October 18th at Vinopolis.  Now including the prestigious Games Writer of the Year Award, the event offers the games industry the opportunity to celebrate the finest writers in the business .
• Future Publishing’s Golden Joystick Awards return on October 26^th. The longest-running games awards in the world continue to grow in popularity, with over 2 million votes last year.
• The MCM London Comic Con will return to ExCeL between October 26^th and 28^th, bringing the Festival to a close. The twice-yearly Modern Pop Culture event, bringing games together with movies and comics, and will be the public’s first opportunity to get their hands on some Christmas’s must-play games at the UK’s biggest event  of its type. http://www.londoncomiccon.net

“There is no better way to bookend the London Games  Festival 2012 than with two high-profile consumer events,” says Kirsty Payne, Festival director. “These are just the start – we have some wonderful activities planned, each of which will celebrate the culture of gaming in a unique way. We’ll be launching the full website soon where people will be able to begin planning their London Games Festival. With more to do than ever before, we’re sure it’s going to be a tremendous success.”

Head over to http://www.ukie.info/ for more details.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the action adventure title Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate will be available this Fall exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS™system. The first hands-on demo for the next iteration in the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow universe will debut today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event in Los Angeles.

Developed by Mercury Steam, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate takes place 25 years after the events of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and is a precursor to the highly anticipated and recently announced Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.  Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate reveals the story of Gabriel Belmont’s descendants, Simon and Trevor Belmont, as they battle their own destiny only to discover their true, shocking fate.

“With the enormous success of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, we wanted to provide fans with the next installment in the Lords of Shadow universe, utilizing all the capabilities that the new Nintendo 3DS platform has to offer,” said Dave Cox, Producer on the title and Head of Product Planning and Development for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “Two years later, we are proud to announce the highly anticipated Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, a stunning 3D action adventure title that will give players an unrivaled, intense handheld gaming experience, while shedding light on the lineage and true destiny of the Belmont family.”

Trevor Belmont, a knight of the Brotherhood of Light, sets out to avenge the death of his mother, at the hands of his own father, who has returned from years of exile to take up residence in a mysterious castle.  What was once Gabriel Belmont now stands Dracula, a powerful vampire. Dracula has declared war upon the Brotherhood and thus the scene is set for a cataclysmic showdown between Father and Son.

In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, players take on the role of multiple characters, each with unique abilities and skills across different eras. Featuring a huge array of combos and a deep strategic combat system, players can use their characters’ weapons and magical abilities to take down their evil foes. Fans will traverse through immensely detailed levels and encounter enormous boss fights, all within a unique Nintendo 3DS setting that features high resolution 3D polygon graphics, and side scrolling areas with full 3D battles combined.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate will be available on Nintendo 3DS™ this Fall.

Since it was the first day of Chinese New Year (yesterday), I was pretty much stuck in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. But this year, I decided to have some fun with the Nintendo 3DS’ camera. For those of you who are not in the know, it actually shoots 3D pictures in the form of MPO files. You can actually view these files using certain viewing software, or through a browser that supports this kind of files.

So if you are viewing this on a 3DS, try tapping on the image of the pork roast below (yup, I roasted that, and made the apple sauce as well), to view the 3D version of the image

I downloaded the demo for Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS on a lark, knowing full well that me and horror (be it movies or games), don’t actually go well together…in fact, I can’t go through a horror movie without an extended amount of cringing. It turned out to be one of the best looking games I’ve ever seen on a Nintendo portable platform.

If you have not checked out the demo yet, head over to the eShop and start downloading now. I’ve still haven’t gotten used to the game yet, having made it only to the part where the character I was playing found the hidden object scanner. The enemy creatures look absolutely scary and you’ll need to be prepared to expend plenty of bullets to take each of them down.

There’s only one difficult mode for the demo and there’s no ability to save as well, but yes, the game seems to be a good sampler for the real thing that is scheduled to be released early next month. Will I be getting the game? Maybe not (the reason is in the first paragraph), but if you enjoy the series or the genre of games, feel free to check it out!

Long time readers would know that Nine Over Ten 9/10 started on the basis of reviewing Nintendo DS games, and you guys would’ve probably known that it was a matter of time before I start reviewing Nintendo 3DS games. Well, the time is now and the game having the distinction of the first 3DS title to be reviewed on this site is WayFoward’s Mighty Switch Force.

This puzzle action-platformer is something that wouldn’t look out of place on the iPhone, but it does make use of the 3D in 3DS (sounds a little lame, but I’m just starting out here, so bear with me please). In each level, you are supposed to go about running, and gunning and capturing all the female convicts that seem content enough to be hanging around.

The first two things, running and gunning are pretty run of the mill, and basically makes up two thirds of the genre mashup: “action” + “platforming”. However, it’s the puzzle part that gets the cake. In order to make your way to each of the female convicts, you will need to go through several obstacles which also double up as puzzles. Your space-cop character is equipped with the ability to phase in (and out) stuff, mainly blocks.

By doing so, you can create steps to reach hard to get places, crush enemies (by phasing in blocks on them, pinning them onto the screen (so much for the fourth wall eh), trapping enemies….you get the idea. And to me, it’s totally fun! There’s a par time in each level that you can strive to beat, but I think that’s for those who had tons of practice and crazy reflexes.

Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Mighty Switch Force at a 4.5 out of 5. The game is available on Nintendo’s eShop for just USD 5.99.

Christmas has always been known as a time for giving and we would like to kickstart this year’s Nine Over Ten 9/10 Christmas 2011 Gift Guide with a question: why not gift a gift and do your bid for charity as well? The Humble Indie Bundle 4 is the perfect avenue for this. Not only can you purchase this bundle which consists of amazing indie games such as Gratuitous Space Battles, Super Meat Boy, Bit.Trip Runner and many more, as a gift, part of the purchase goes to American Red Cross and Child’s Play Charity. Check it out over here.

If you are feeling a little more generous, you can always head over to the nearest NGO or Charity out there and donate. Here are some organizations that are closer to home in my case:

• National Cancer Council of Malaysia: http://www.makna.org.my/
• National Council for the Blind: http://www.ncbm.org.my/
• National Kidney Foundation: http://www.nkf.org.my/

OK, with that charity bit out of the way here’s our annual gift guide for Christmas 2011, this time it has something for everyone, I think, ranging for the bookworms to tech heads (I’m actually adapting my Amazon wish list for this year’s Christmas guide):

Books

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Hardcover)
2. Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil, the First Five-Times Winner of the Tour de France by Paul Howard (Paperback)

Electronic Devices and Gadgets

1. Apple iPad 2
2. Kindle Fire
3. Arduino UNO Board
4. Grado iGi In-Ear Headphones

Video Games

1. Nintendo 3DS
2. Batman Arkham City Collectors Edition
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collectors Edition

Movies

1. Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]
2. Harry Potter: The Complete 8 Film Collection [Blu-ray]

Music

1. Torches (Music CD) by Foster the People
2. Pickin’ Up The Pieces (Music CD) by Fitz & the Tantrums.

If you need more gift ideas, check out our super popular guide articles:

• Ultimate Guide to Getting the PlayStation Vita (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Nintendo 3DS Accessories (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Nintendo DSi LL/XL Accessories (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Sony PSP Go Accessories (click here)
• Nintendo DSi Accessories Guide (click here)

Life must be hard for those who get pwned by the Apple juggernaut. Lets do quick check: Google buys Motorola Mobility, not so much for the handsets, but for the patents to shore up itself against Apple, and HP shutdowns WebOS and its Touchpad line, after failing to make headway in the tablet market.

Now Nintendo is rumoured to be coming out with a new redesign of the 3DS and distancing itself from the 3D functionality of their…well…not so well received handheld gaming device (apparently Apple is to be blamed). If these rumours are true, then my earlier conversation with my pal this morning pretty much sums it up:

Gan (G): Pffft no money. Me saving for 3DS! I heard they going to release new version.

Jason (J): I’m going to SG (Singapore) this weekend!

G: zzzzzzzzzzz

J: ya with LESS 3D, more buttons (actually it’s an add-on thingamajig)!

G: lol. NINTENDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!1

J: u going all khan on them?

G: i hate those f*ckers.

IMHO, they should have just made a smartphone in the first place.