Crispy Gamer News

Dragon Ball: Origins for Nintendo DS is in stores today, giving DBZ fans a portable fix of the popular fighting game franchise based on the equally popular animated series. Developed by NAMCO BANDAI Games, Dragon Ball: Origins takes players back to the original Dragon Ball series and around the world for an action-adventure game with stylus controls. The game also marks the first time Goku and Bulma are portrayed as kids, and offers a bunch of new gameplay elements including puzzle solving, fighting action, and mazes. Rated T for Teen, Dragon Ball: Origins is now available for the suggested price of $29.99.

Also hitting retail today is Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World for PS2. Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World brings several new features to the series including “Dragon Missions”, new battle types, and new cut scenes that enable fans to delve into the Dragon Ball Z universe. The new “Dragon Missions” will include scenes from the Dragon Ball Z series never before seen in a video game. Other features include over 40 characters, new fighting techniques and battle stages, and lots of other bells and whistles.
Look for both games in stores now.

THQ and JAKKS Pacific announced details on the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 collector’s edition, which just happens to be a PS3 exclusive. No worries for fans of the series on the Xbox 360 and other platforms - the extent of the SE contents is a bonus disc with some multimedia extras. Before we get into that it should be pointed out that publishers like THQ need to put a lot more thought into what collector’s edition of a game should contain besides behind the scenes stuff; we are in an age where it is easy to distribute extra contents like arenas, wrestlers and move sets, so why doesn’t THQ offer these kinds of incentives to gamers willing to fork out an additional $10 - $20? Maybe I just don’t get it.

PS3 owners that buy the collector’s edition of the game will get a bonus Blu-Ray disc containing behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the videogame, as well as more than two hours of WWE footage from a variety of popular SmackDown vs. Raw cross-brand matches from 2008. The content is delivered in a steel cage package for North America, while fans in Europe and Asia Pacific regions will see their items encased within a miniature ring. The SE edition is available at most major retailers for pre-order right now.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is slated for release on the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2. PSP, Wii, Nintendo DS and mobile devices on November 9.

Atlus USA’s Dokapon Kingdom is in stores for the PS2 and Wii this week, offering gamers a party game that focuses on fun, role-playing, and lots of friendship ruining mischief. The game lets up to four players take on a character class (Ninja, Thief, Mage, Warrior, etc.) build themselves up, collect the best items, and make the most money. In addition to doing cruel things to your friends and family, you can also invest in towns, complete mini-quests, and explore a vast realm with multiple continents and dungeons.

Look for the game in stores this week. Check out the official commercial after the jump.

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Between now and Persona 4’s release on December 9th, Atlus will release a series of short video clips called webisodes detailing gameplay and the new story that you can expect from the North American release of this popular Japanese RPG series. Check out the first batch of videos below after the jump:
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Mortal Kombat: Kollection, a 3-game Mortal Kombat compilation pack from Midway, is in stores today. The package includes Mortal Kombat: Deception, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (an action-adventure game that takes the franchise in a different direction), and the popular Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The package is only available for the PS2, but if you have an older unit you can play it on the PS3 as well. If this is your cup of tea, you can pick it up today for $29.99.

The next big Mortal Kombat game will be Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe,  which hits the ground running on Nov. 3.

Yesterday KOEI announced the release of Warriors Orochi 2 for the PS2 and Xbox 360 - and shortly thereafter announced that an update to the game was on the way. The company found out after the game had shipped that - under certain conditions - unusual slow-down may occur during battle scenes in the Xbox 360 version of the game. A release date for the patch will revealed shortly, according to KOEI. Full statement after the jump.

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Electronic Arts announced that its interpretation of the popular Trivial Pursuit board game. Trivial Pursuit will be released on multiple digital platforms including online at Pogo.com, across several consoles and on mobile phones. The first version released is Trivial Pursuit Daily 20 on Pogo.com. Players will get a daily dose of interactive online trivia. Answering the questions correctly will earn the player points toward acquiring wedges in pursuit of collecting all the pie pieces by the end of the week.

The console version of Trivial Pursuit brings the board game experience back to the living room in a whole new venue. Players can connect with friends in classic Trivial Pursuit mode, hone their knowledge with the single player mode, and gather their friends and bet with the high stakes mode where every answer counts. Trivial Pursuit will release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PLAYSTATION 3 and Wii in early spring 2009.

Finally, EA is bringing Trivial Pursuit to mobile phones via its EA Mobile label. Trivial Pursuit from EA Mobile will be available for purchase in North America, Europe and Asia this winter.

To try out Pogo.com’s game visit pogo.com/games/trivial.