Do you know what you should get a epicurean/gourmet/foodie who owns a Nintendo DS? Not a food game like Diner Dash, but a cook book software called Personal Trainer: Cooking.

Essentially a cook book with a heck more stuff thrown in, including step-by-step guides with voice overs, cooking tips, creating shopping lists, recipe search, and even voice command support (to go back and forth through the step-by-step guides), Personal Trainer: Cooking takes the cake as the most useful non-game Nintendo DS software ever created.

Tell you what, I’m gonna use the recipes for pizza dough and tomato sauce (both from Personal Trainer: Cooking) to try and create a Chicago style deep-dish pizza. Let’s see how that goes.

In the mean time, you can purchase Personal Trainer: Cooking, at Play-Asia, and at just USD 24.90, it’s a bargain of a Christmas stocking stuffer.

I think I broke my platform game jinx this year not only by finishing Metal Slug 7, but also the recently released The Tale of Despereaux, both of which are on the Nintendo DS.

While the Metal Slug games have their own distinctive flair (and fan base), The Tale of Despereaux surprised me by being a book (and movie) tie-in which didn’t suck at all. The Tale of Despereaux is about a mouse named, if you have not guessed it already, Despereaux, who must save a princess held captive by a bunch of really bad rats.

The story is told in a very nice picture (medieval-style) story book form along with in-game cutscenes, usually at the start of the level. But if you are looking for a complete retelling of the story, you’ll be hard pressed to follow the narrative from the game as it is only bits and pieces. Best get the book as a companion as well.

Two Dee Smoo Dee

The game has quite a bit in common with earlier releases on the DS such as Tomb Raider and Journey to the Center of the Earth. While all these games are 2D platformers, a judicious amount of 3D textures and 3D backgrounds are used to flesh out the level environment. The art direction on TToD however, brings things up a notch.

I was pleasantly surprised with the opening levels, with beautifully rendered graphics, not to mention varied 3D backgrounds. The same thing can be said when I encountered the dungeon levels. However, things get a sloppy towards the end with some repetition and boring levels. It is a bit disappointing to note that the drop is quite evident.

Jump In

The level designs, while not similar to say, Super Mario Bros, are bound to give you quite a challenge. This is partially due to several gameplay mechanics introduced by TToD that set it apart from being a run-of-the-mill platformer.

For starters, Despereaux is equipped with a whole bunch of abilities that can rival even Lara Croft, e.g. crawling up walls to a certain extent, wall-jumping, grappling, use a needle as a sword etc, pull items with needle and thread. Besides using those abilities, the player will also have to manipulate the level environment in order for Desperaux to pass in one piece.

This include lighting candles with the stylus to scare rats. The same goes for Despereaux’s lantern when he passes through the dark parts of the dungeon levels, unless you want him to be literally pounced on by rats.

Cons

In here lies another gripe I have on the game. While it is clearly obvious that it is a kid’s game, several aspects of the game are not really suitable for the target audience. One example is the moment Despereaux gets pounced on by rats, it is a straight kill and it happens very suddenly (the rat comes from who-knows-where-off-screen before setting on the poor mouse in a back-breaking scene).

Drop the mouse into a pit of water and you can actually here the drowning gurgles. These two alone are, in my humble opinion, the stuff of nightmares and are not necessary to be added to the game. The only good thing out of this is that Despereaux has an unlimited number of lives and dying will result him being respawned at the nearest checkpoint in the particular level.

Jail Bait

Back to the game. Aside from rats, Despereaux will have to contend with bugs, frogs, scorpions, sparrows and bats. Despite that, the game has only 2 boss battles, the first one will have you fighting the pet cat of the leader of the rats (weird), and then the rat himself.

Here’s a tip for the cat battle, you are supposed to grapple its tail using the pull item button and then whacking his face. Repeat three times. As for the final boss battle, once you have him in the sun light, you’ll have a limited time to knock him off the platform.

The Bottom Line

I managed to finish the game in just over 3 hours. And while there is nothing much in the way of replay value, there are some unlockables in form of outfits.

I believe that kids would certainly enjoy a game featuring an intrepid mouse hero, but parents will need to be aware on how “suprising” the game can be. In any case, the game is available at Play-Asia, click here for purchase information.

I just realized that good old nineoverten.blogspot.com had surpassed the 150,000 hits mark a couple of days ago. The old site to nineoverten.com (think of it as an archive) has been attracting a lot of organic traffic despite the lack of updates since March 08. Anyways, do check it out as it contains a lot of posts, many of them are not in nineoverten.com (not that I want to port them over).

I don’t know why people collect/ogle over these type of figurines, after all, they are merely physical representations of virtual buxom women found only in video games and anime. But hey, since the following figurines (two different versions of Kasumi from the Dead or Alive video games) are selling for a discount and since some of my readers are of the same inclination mentioned in the previous statement, enjoy:

Both figures are from the Mon-Sieur Bome Collection of figurines produced by Kaiyodo, a company well known for their Revoltech figurines. The two Kasumis are approximately 200mm in height. The best part is that both are now at half price! What was previously being sold at USD 49.90 is now available at USD 24.90!

For further details, check out the links below:

• Mon-Sieur Bome Collection Vol.15 Dead or Alive Pre-Painted Figure: Kasumi (Blue Version)
• Mon-Sieur Bome Collection Vol.14 Dead or Alive Pre-Painted Figure: Kasumi (White Version)

While Soldner-X, a shmup deemed as a throwback to old-school shoot ‘em up action, sees its release this week on the Playstation Network for USD 9.99, I’ve got a better deal for you.

Add 10 bucks to that to the price tag mentioned above, and you’ll get the limited edition PC version of the game (which comes in a CD-ROM, not downloaded), a limited edition Slip Case, the original Soundtrack CD, a Tactical Reference Book (Hard Cover), a 16-page manual and an online key used for high score uploads.

All these for just USD 19.99 and you don’t get all these stuff with the PSN version of the game! What are you waiting for, click here for details.

Looking for Playstation Network Cards for your US PSN account and Playstation Store? Well, they are now in-stock at Play-Asia.com. Check out the various denominations below:

• USD 20 Playstation Network Card ~ USD 27.90. Click here for details.
• USD 50 Playstation Network Card ~ USD 62.90. Click here for details.

For an entire range of PSN Cards (US, Hong Kong and Japan), click here for details.

I can’t believe it. In just one night, I’ve been transformed into a 14-match winning pugilist with, guess what, 14 KOs. Yup, Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! DS does have a way in making you feel like a boxing champ. The game feels like a cross between Rocky and The Karate Kid, with reasons explained soon enough.

Bring ‘Em On

For starters, the game is divided into several modes, with the main one being the Challenge Mode. Here you fight a plethora of opponents in one-on-one matches. Each matches are interspersed with training sessions which take the form in mini games, which include catching leaves with the stylus and dodging rocks thrown by your trainer (who looks like a hard-ass, treats you like he is one and is quite hard to please..cue The Karate Kid reference).

The training sessions serve a dual purpose, not only improving your reflexes but also serving bonuses in your next match (e.g. a fully charged special move bar at the onset of the match). You play as Ippo, the titular character, in the Challenge Mode and having gone through 14 rounds with him, I found that he’s good with both arms and can take quite a beating, ala Rocky.

Pick Your Fights

Characters defeated in the Challenge Mode (it will take sometime to go through the ENTIRE roster), will be unlocked for the Free Match Mode. Here, you are accorded a whole bunch of options on customizing your match.

You’ll get to choose which fighter to fight as, and the fighter to fight against as well as the arena, background music, the number of rounds a match, the duration a match, as well as tweak both fighter’s attributes prior to a match.

Fight Night

Having said that, the matches in both Challenge and Free Match Mode are something to talk about. Fights take place in full 3D with the camera being directly behind the semi-transparent protagonist. Despite the DS’ known graphical limitations, you’ll still be treated to a visual feast in this game.

You get to see bruises and cuts appear as you continue to pummel your opponent’s face. Land a super move and you’ll find his mouth guard flying out rather realistically (trajectory and all). Opponents (and even you) might flail once the going gets tough and sometimes the opponent can be seen grovelling on the floor in pain after a TKO.

The action is shown entirely on the touch screen whereas the top screen plays hosts to the health bars and pugilist profiles. There was once my fighter got pummeled and the top half of the touch screen turned black! It turned out that it was an effect employed by the game to indicate the poor/blurry vision suffered after too many blows to the head!

Cutman!

After each round (in a match), you are given the choice to treat your boxer’s injuries or motivate him. In my case, treatment solved the black screen problem.

Going for the KO

Gameplay is entirely stylus driven; it is used to move the player, land hooks, uppercuts, midsection blows, jabs and even to dodge blows. The objective is pretty simple, just knock the opponent’s health bar down to nothing. He might get up the first couple of times (with the health bar restored to about half and then 1/3), but he’ll usually stay down after the third time. Some opponents, however, can take quite a beating, so it’s best to try and land Super Moves to the face.

The sound effects are a little let down, especially when compared to the animation/graphics, but they do their job.

If you get tired of getting punched in the face (happens at higher frequencies at higher difficulty levels), check out the Mini Games mode. Here, you get to replace the training mini games found in the Challenge Mode. You can also view your wins and your match and mini game records.

Connectivity wise, Hajime no Ippo doesn’t have WFC online gameplay but does feature local area WiFI matches.

The Knock Out Punch

The game is in Japanese but the menus don’t really pose problem after a bit of trial and error. The gameplay aspects are explained in a graphical manner and through the mini games, so no problem in picking the game up. More importantly, I had fun playing this brawler. I’m a bit surprised though, that the game has a Cero A rating (equivalent to the ESRB’s E rating), despite the on-screen violence.

Here’s a bit of trivia, Hajime no Ippo is based on a boxing manga of the same title? It is at present, one of the longest running manga ever (Wikipedia article)! Interested in getting the game? Click here for further information.

Hitch a ride with the Brothers in Arms on Hells Highway for just USD 17.90. That’s just me trying a little bit of word play, but hey, as the title says Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway for the Xbox 360 is now available at the bargain price of USD 17.90.

The game has no region protection and runs on Xbox 360s belonging to any region. Click here to take advantage of this time limited offer now.

Fancy owning a piece of the Game Center CX show? You can actually purchase the box sets listed below:

• Game Center CX DVD Box 3 (Click here for details)
• Game Center CX DVD Box 2 (Click here for details)
• Game Center CX DVD Box 1 (Click here for details)

Do note that these DVDs are Region-2 DVDs. Depending on where you are, you might need a multi-region DVD player to play these discs.

I’ve got an offer that you probably won’t refuse, or maybe you might want to give some thought to it before refusing. Want to get a cheap, but original copy of GTA IV for the PC, but don’t want to rob the bank like its main protagonist? Go get the Simplified Chinese, read: Asian version.

I’m not kidding. Play-Asia is selling this particular version of the game at a price of just USD 29.90. No worries of about the language though as even if the menus and manuals are in Chinese, the in-game voices are all in English!

So save your trouble looking for a GTA IV deal. Click here to buy the game, like now?