ZDnet News Blog

EA has lifted the lid on the latest game in the long-running SimCity franchise: SimCity Creator for Wii and DS, out here on September 22 (and Sept 19 in UK).

“SimCity Creator is an open-ended, highly creative game with a sense of humour that allows players to utilize the distinctive gameplay aspects of the Wii and Nintendo DS to create, enjoy and destroy epic cities,” describes EA.

So, pretty much like previous SimCity games then, only in keeping with the mainstream appeal of Nintendo’s latest hardware, EA promises this to be “the most accessible and light-hearted game from the SimCity franchise,” designed for “families and players of all ages”.

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Not content with the cross-media juggernaut that is The Force Unleashed, LucasArts is tapping up this year’s other Star Wars event for a videogame tie-in, bringing a game based on the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars to Wii and DS.

The game will presumably follow the movie plot of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they fight in the Clone Wars that take place between Episodes II and III.

LucasArts has yet to confirm the game or release any details, but IGN says it features as an advertisement in the LEGO Indiana Jones instruction booklet.

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Activision has put together a short trailer showing you how the hell Guitar Hero will work on the DS. And it’s a strange one…

We can’t figure out what’s odder. The peripheral that allows you to rock out with your DS or the bloke that does the singing? See for yourself below.

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Codemasters has released a new video for GRID (Race Driver: GRID in the UK) that shows off a mode reminiscent of the rewind mode in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

The feature, dubbed ‘Flashback,’ allows players to inspect the detail of any crash using a rotating camera and go through the carnage frame-by-frame.

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If LEGO games had voiceovers, we’d be too afraid of hearing Schwarzenegger’s brutally awful dialogue to actually play LEGO Batman after seeing these new screens.

And if it were any other game, we’d be complaining about the lack of real-time lighting and bump-mapped textures, but the LEGO games are so charming that it doesn’t matter.

LEGO Indiana Jones is the game everyone’s talking about at the moment because it’s hitting the shelves on June 3 (June 6 in the UK). LEGO Batman is a little further off (no official date yet), but Travellers Tales looks to be working the same comical flair into the Batman universe, so it’ll be worth the wait.

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Majesco has revealed that a companion game to upcoming Wii title Wonder World Amusement Park will be released next year on DS.

The handheld version lets players indulge in more than two dozen mini-games that you’re likely to find at a fairground. Using the touch screen, players will toss, drive, shoot, whack, fish and spin until they feel violently sick or dizzy.

To give you an idea of how the title will play, check out the Wii screenshots. While we don’t think the images are representative of the graphical prowess we’ll see in the DS version, we do think they highlight exactly what you can expect in terms of gameplay.

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After the relative success of its WiiWare game, Pop, developer Nnooo has listed a number of ideas it’s pitching to developers. At least one of which involves Nintendo and a Pokemon MMO.

“We have a concept for a cool Pokemon MMORPG,” the development company has posted on its website.

While it’s highly doubtful such a small company could develop the product, there is the possibility that Nintendo will buy it out and supplement its workforce.

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Square-Enix has confirmed that Dragon Quest IV, V and VI will be on their way to USA for DS. The first US screens of IV are here.

Known as the Zenithia Trilogy, the games were originally released for the NES and SNES back in the early nineties. The new titles will have 3D graphics, newly animated monsters and dual screen presentation.

Dragon Quest IV (its full name being Dragon Quest: Chapters of the Chosen) will be released first in September, with The Hand of the Heavenly Bride (DQ V) and Realms of Reverie (DQ VI) following after.

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Rare has admitted that it almost made DS title Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise compatible with its older sibling Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise on Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

As we discussed in our preview last week, the forthcoming 360 game supports the Xbox Live Vision camera by allowing players to scan barcodes that will unlock additional pinatas in the game.

This feature will also work with digital screens such as those found built into iPods or Zunes. And portable games consoles, like the Nintendo DS. So - hypothetically speaking - a Viva Pinata DS game *could* contain codes that would unlock stuff in the game on the 360.

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Tekken and Castlevania movie production company Crystal Sky Pictures has secured $200 million dollars in financing money, in part to green light a Castlevania movie.

According to Variety, the movie will be written by Paul ‘Resident Evil’ Anderson and directed by Sylvain White. Who made ‘I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer.’ Nice to see Crystal Sky is investing its money wisely, there.

Crystal Sky Pictures is also responsible for the new Tekken movie, which we posted costume photos from yesterday.

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