Finding yourself impressed with 3D renditions of game characters but disappointed with how their facial expressions and speech is animated? Don't fret, Sega already came up with a solution: Magical V Engine. Details in the full article!

Fans of the NBC hit television show Heroes would be pleased to know that all current issues of the comic book spin-off of the series are available for the DS in the Moon Books Project.

The Moon Books Project is a website that provides classic literature and films for the Nintendo DS handheld. While Heroes couldn't be put in the same category with the likes of Kafka, The Moon Books Project still went ahead and encoded the Heroes comics to commemorate the start of Heroes' second season.

Of course, you will need the homebrew Comic Book DS in order to read the files using the DS, so make sure that your DS is homebrew-ready first before even thinking of using it as a comic book reader. You can download the application in the link below.


Download: Comic Book DS v2.2

Download all the current Heroes comic issues in the Read link!

Seems like the Nintendo DS is getting around these days. Balance, a downloadable PC puzzle game, offers an option to use the DS for its tilt controls. Balance is mainly a 3D pinball-like game where you tilt the board in order to guide balls to marked targets. While the default control calls for the use of a mouse, KAMPO Interactive also offers the option to use either a Nintendo DS to control the game, or an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad Active Protection System’s motion detection system.

Contrary to what you may think, the DS controls do not use the stylus; Balance uses the DS Motion Card, which is quite appropriate considering its tilt-gameplay. The DS also uses its Wi-Fi connection to send motion, rotation, and orientation data of the handheld to the PC's external controller plugin, making for a seamless control of the game.

Now, this opens up a whole slew of possibilities for the DS being used with the PC. Can the Nintendo DS be used as a graphics tablet? With this development, it looks like the answer's going to be a definitive yes.

Check out the DS Motion Card and the Lenovo Thinkpad in action after the jump.

In the land of the geisha, we can only assume that women and men alike pay attention to the proper way of walking, and to fitness and beauty. And since the DS tops the console sales records in Japan, the DS has been used as a tool to promote the proper way of walking beautifully for a healthier lifestyle.

Duke Saraie, a 50-something former model, is considered as something of a walking royalty in Japan - literally. He has built his empire on teaching the Japanese how to walk beautifully and get into shape in the process. He now promotes a Nintendo DS application, Duke Saraie's Healthy Walking Navi: Let's Become Beautiful. This DS program instructs women on how to walk, well, beautifully, promoting what is known as the "Dukeswalk".

Duke Saraie's Healthy Walking Navi will sell in Japan for the equivalent of US$ 35. It's planned to be released on May 17. The application is encouraged for people of all ages (and gender, we think). There's even a set of items, including clothing, and instructional materials that promote the Dukeswalk, selling for the equivalent of US$ 97.60. There's a DVD version of the Duke's Navi, but the DS is expected to make more sales because, you know, you can walk everywhere with the thing...

More screenshots after the jump.

Action Replay DS users, please pay attention. A new firmware version for your favorite code and cheat program for the DS is now out and about. Firmware version 1.52 brings with it a brand new manual code entry feature that'll work great with the soon-to-be-released Trainer Toolkit DS that lets you crack and share your own codes for Datel's Action Replay.

According to CodeJunkies, another important feature of the v1.52 update is that it includes the DS side of the Action Replay "Trainer" software, which is necessary if you're planning on using your Action Replay DS in conjunction with the imminent Trainer Toolkit hacking suite.

Upgrading the firmware is as easy as falling asleep in the middle of a history class. Just connect it to the Action Replay Code Manager PC application that came with your Action Replay then click the "Software Upgrade" button.

Okay, so people are going gaga over Wii internet surfing. It's a little more button-mashing tedious as compared to the PSP and DS's respective Internet browsing capabilities, but it can be done.

WordPress, which is just one of the many blogging services offered on the Web, is one of those many sites visited around the world on a regular basis. Okay, maybe not for those too busy playing games right now on any of the three mentioned consoles, but for inveterate readers and writers (and those definitely are good skills to have), this might prove useful.

So, put those two together, and David Harper and his Winksite team, who's offered the WordPress Wii plugin for the socially-networked Wii owner, now provides the same benefits to PSP and DS owners. These plugins help to streamline your portable WordPress reading experience - because you really, really have to know what's up with (insert favorite WordPress blogger)'s life in between bouts of PSP or DS games. Instructions are included for each pack, including the one for the Wii which is included here, so it's only a matter of reading a few Readmes.

There's still no mention on whether these plugins work with DS or PSP homebrew Internet browsersm though it should be noted that  the DS version might be designed to work with the DS Opera. Next week: plugins for Wordpress optimized for the iPhone. If you're interested - or you're an inveterate reader - the Via takes you to the source.

   

Recently, the NDS has taken upon a new genre of games for the system - interactive guides/tutorials. This first emerged with the Japanese Cooking "game", teaching one how to create a certain dish from a recipe displayed on the NDS. It has been known that Nintendo wanted to incorporate their system for museum tours, and in Japan, it is doing just that in the Nation Western Fine Arts Museum.

So, no more annoying walkmans to carry around with over-used headphones! Yes, now you can walk around in the Nation Western Fine Arts Museum (only museum at the moment that has this great technology), and read up on the paintings that you are currently viewing. The system takes advantage of numerous NDS's features - the touch-screen, the dual screens and the built-in WiFi. Once in a room (each room has its own wireless access point for detection), you can scroll through the paintings on your NDS to locate the one you are interested in and view information on it; and you can even print out a copy of that painting via a wireless printer if you liked it!

Hopefully we will see more unique usages of the NDS in the future, maybe even an ebook reader for schools or part of a library's card catalogue! The NDS has room for great interaction with the modern world and shows no signs of dying out!

The release of DS Browser in Europe today is a real cause for celebration. It's being sold for £29.99 (about US$ 56) in the UK and across Europe at €39.99 (around US$ 50). The software first hit the shelves in Japan back in July.

The DS Browser has actually transformed the DS into more than just a gaming device. With Nintendo's 6,000 free Wi-Fi Connection hot spots and other public-access hot spots, it's even easier to be connected while on the go. Furthermore, the different viewing modes allow you to stretch the capability of the DS, along with a little stylus help. There's even a different software package for the DS and the DS Lite.

Unfortunately, we haven't heard of plans for US or Australian version from Nintendo. Also, Nintendo warns us that we can't view Flash animations as the browser doesn't support it.  When asked whether Opera actually plans for a US version, they said, "It's just a matter of getting all the hot spots set up and a partner to provide a proxy filter so parents can block content."

Well, that's something to really look forward to. QJ will be watching out for more news so keep reading.

It is easy to tell that Christmas is just around the corner do to the extreme attention that the gaming industry has been receiving.  More games are released in these few months than any other time of the year.  This goes for all systems.  The DS was sure not to be left out in the Christmas rush with these new games to be released. 

Take a look at the list below.

September:
22: FIFA 07
22: Guilty Gear Dust Strikers
25: Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
29: 42 All-Time Classics
29: Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
TBC Tenchu: Dark Secret

October:
6: Open Season
13: Crazy Frog Racer
13: English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills
20: The Sims 2: Pets
27: Actionloop
27: Sudoku Master (tentative title)

November:
3: Need For Speed: Carbon
3: Scooby Doo! Who's Watching Who
3: SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab
10: Mario Slam Basketball
10: Point Blank
10: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
24: Hotel Dusk: Room 215
TBC Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
TBC Crash Boom Bang!
TBC Eragon
TBC Rayman Raving Rabbids
TBC SNK vs. Capcom Card Fighters
TBC The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
TBC The Settlers

A software update is out for the Max Media Player for your Nintendo DS. The Max Media player from Datel serves as an app launcher for homebrew software and as a combined media and mp3 player. This update, v1.2, will allow Max Media Player to support video playback from within Max Media Player.

To use an updated version of MAX Media Player all you have to do is unzip the archive and extract the file bootme.nds. Then just connect the Media Player's Hard drive or Media Dock to your pc and drag the file bootme.nds into the root directory of your device. Plug the Hard Drive or Dock back into the DS and boot the Media Player, the software should automatically load.

Thanks to badam for the tip!

Download: [Max Media Player v1.2]