Populous for the Nintendo DS

XSEED has released a version of Populous, of all things, for the Nintendo DS. IGN only gives it a so-so review,

Populous certainly has its place in videogame history and it’s probably been a while since many of us have played it. This DS remake accurately reproduces the strategy of the original and adds a few modern graphical flourishes, but it definitely feels dated. The design is pretty simple by today’s standards and we’re used to games packing more, you know, gameplay. It’s fun enough in short bursts, though, and will probably appeal to retro gamers who remember the original fondly.

I remember playing the crap out of Populous back in the day, but I doubt it holds up to contemporary expectations for a strategy game.

Populous for Nintendo DS

Super Mario Nintendo DS Holder

You know, the just the other day I was thinking, “Gee, I don’t really have any sort of large statue to hold my Nintendo DS when I’m not using it.” Lo and behold, Nintendo has answered my prayers with this 12-inch Super Mario Nintendo DS statue holder. And only $29.99. Whew — it’s like they read my mind (they keep pushing back the release date on this thing — it was supposed to be out in March 2008 and now supposedly at the end of September 2008. I’ll believe it when I see it).

Nintendo’s Lawsuit Against Flash Card Adapter Companies

Reuters notes that Nintendo has sued 5 Japanese companies who are importing Flash Card Adapters for the Nintendo DS. These are devices that fit into the Nintendo DS cartridge slot and typically have a slot for a mini-SD card. The user then loads software onto the mini-SD card and the DS executes it from there.

Of course, one of the obvious uses for such devices is for game piracy. Frankly, though, most DS games aren’t worth bothering to pirate. A much more interesting use is to run homebrew software — games and applications that hobbyists and DS fanboys have written that is usually much more interesting and fun than the actual crap pumped out by Nintendo and third party developers.

In fact I bought Nintendo DS a few months ago largely to run homebrew. The same day I bought the DS, I also got an Acekard 2 Slot 1 Adapter and a 4gb mini-SD card. I did buy a couple games as well, butI haven’t played with them nearly as much as I’ve played around with all of the homebrew stuff.

Who wants to spend over $100 on a game console only to have the idiot manufacturer try to dictate what you can and cannot run on it? Freedom to tinker, and all that.