The upcoming CG kiddie movie, Cars, is about to race towards your Nintendo DS. "Cars" is the story of Lightning McQueen, an animated stock-car voiced by Owen Wilson (I-Spy, Shanghai Knights, etc.). As the movie progresses he will find the true meaning of friendship and family (sounds familiar?). Disney ported it in the DS because of it's touchpen and microphone capabilities. As expected, the main theme is the racing game but there are mini-games worth spending time on. The great thing about Cars DS is that there are certain mini games that lets you use the touchpen or microphone, so this is perfect for those fingers that are really tired from playing other games.

One of the mini game's goal, for example, is to reach the moon by using the touchpen; the winner is then determined by the height of the jump. Just like any other racing game, all the racing statistics are saved including the minigames to promote competition. The game will be released July 6 of 2006.

The ever popular Zoids had an anime way back that boosted the popularity of this toy line and now they have arrived at the Nintendo DS. Play your favorite zoid and customize it for own preferences. The single player campaign will brief you on missions that needs to be accomplished. The good part about this is that you can fight your friend's zoid with your own and battle it out to know who's zoid is the best. Exclusively for Japan, Zoids Dash is set to be released on June 15, 2006.

Kaiketsu Zorori, a very popular anime in Japan especially for kids, has a Nintendo DS game now. Zorori, the protagonist, wishes to have his own kingdom and become this evil ruler but every time he tries to do a bad thing, he ends up doing a good deed. Traveling with his companions Ishishi and Noshishi, he always stay positive and looks forward to his next adventure. In this game, you play as Zorori as you try to help him to find seven treasures. Using the touch pen, you can inspect the environment if the treasure can be found of that particular area. This action/adventure game will be available in the Japanese market at August 2006.

Idaten Jump, a mountain bike racing anime, has come up with a Nintendo DS game. Following the plot of the anime itself, you play as Sho Yamato, an expert mountain biker who got transported in a strange world. To be able to return to his home world, Sho must collect 10 emblems that can only be attained through winning mountain bike races. You'll encounter various courses throughout the game like volcanoes, ruins, desert and snow. Of course, you'll get to meet and interact with the other characters of the anime. Availability of Idaten Jump DS is on summer of 2006 in Japan only. I believe this is one of the animes that will soon get a license for US TV viewing, but I doubt they'll include this game.

Shonen Jump Magazine just showed some screenshots of the upcoming Naruto game in the Nintendo DS, Naruto Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 4. Like most Naruto games, this is also a fighting game but this time you and 3 of your friends can battle it out. Unleash your character's jutsus (techniques), using the DS' touch screen. Over 30 playable characters, it will be one full action pack ninja Naruto action. This will be available in Japan in April 27, so it's time to visit your nearest importer.

Wow, the Japanese must be stepping it up a notch. There is another educational game for the Nintendo DS: Minna no DS Seminar: Kanji Power! Now, this teaches the use of the Kanji characters properly from writing it to learning the Kanji counterpart of a particular Japanese word. Like English Power!, this game saves your learning progress throughout the game and also the release date is the same (July 6). This is really good practice to those studying Japanese so when this game is released, it's time to talk to your nearest importer.

Finally, I see an educational game for the Nintendo DS entitled Minna no DS Seminar: Perfect English Power! As the title suggests, it is a Japanese game that teaches you the English language. Your role here is to help the protagonist, the blonde guy you see in the picture, learn English because a witch has put a curse on the king and queen and that curse will only be lifted after you mastered English (I can't figure the connection between curses and English...). Using the DS capabilities, there are mini games that require you to write on the touchpad the corresponding letter or word for your answer. Judging from the screenshots, the English tests include questions on proper tenses, subject-verb agreement, and other important lessons. This game saves your progress and gets you one step closer in saving the kingdom, but like any other game it gets harder as you go further. This will be available in Japan July 6 and I doubt there would be any US version.

Ahh, billiards...one of the favorite pastimes in mankind's history. Not only has this game been played a lot in actuality, but it has  had many virtual counterparts as well, and the Nintendo DS is no exception, The Billiards is the title of that DS game (Lame title I know). This pool simulator has the typical games commonly played: 9-Ball, 8-Ball and Rotation. If you don't know how to play either one of those games then it means you should get out more. The great thing about this game is that you only need one copy of the game for three of your friends to enjoy the traditional game of billiards. Using the DS capabilities, a player can use a touchpen to write trash talk or cheering messages to other players. Unfortunately, this game is only available in Japan so time to check on eBay, call for an import or get some of your friends and play some real billiards.

As you've read my from my previous article, Nintendo has released more details particularly on the game system together with screenshots about the new Mario Brothers that is coming out in the DS.

The first screenshot reminds me of the old Super Mario in the SNES and even Mario 3 in the NES where Mario walks around and you get to select which stage to tackle first; only this time in the DS version, they've included a minimap that shows the whole layout of the current world Mario is in enabling the gamer to easily plan his/her route towards the castle - being one step closer in saving the princess...again.

The second screenshot shows a giant mario (no, that was not photoshopped). I've discussed this before but I forgot to mention that Mario can destroy tubes now as you can see above. The third screenshot shows a very interesting mode that Nintendo has included, the opposition mode. Mario and Luigi can now battle for acquisition of the big stars that are scattered within the stage. You can distract your enemy by using the flower power when he/she attempts to get the star before you do (or you can just simply blast 'em just because).

Another feature that I will surely take full advantage of is the mini-games' mode that can support three of your friends; be ready to have a slugfest. Mario DS will be out in Japan by the 24th of May and basing it on this article, North America and Europe shall have Mario DS on the 15th of May and June 30th respectively.

To be released at May 25th 2006, Daisenryaku for the Nintendo DS has finally opened it's main site. Ever since the word about it coming to DS got out, a lot of improvements has been done to this version compared to the previous Daisenryaku. Of couse one of them would be the full use of DS' touch screen features, a list of new commands exclusive to DS is said to be in the works. It will also have a renovated UI for easier understanding, fully detailed models, and will consist of 7 nations, 350 types of units all fighting each other to prove who has the "Daisenryaku" (great strategy). The official site is in Japanese but it contains information about the units, strategy tips, and scenario objectives.