You may remember we previously said that Contact will come to DS in North American territories on October 19. Well, it appears that Kyle Mann, the Assistant Manager of Marketing & Public Relations of Atlus, was wrong; and the new release date for Contact on the U.S. is October 24th, so get your pre-order in now! However, until now we had no word of a European release date, that is until Martin Defries, COO, Rising Star Games got in contact with us.

Defries confirmed that Contact would be hitting the European continent in February 2007, so if you live in Europe you can put that credit card away. Defies said, “Contact is an amazing title for the DS and we’re hopeful that the extra stock we’ll have available will address the demand for such a unique game. My advice to gamers? Save your money and make contact with Contact just after Christmas.”

Contact for DS is a new style RPG game which features some amazing action scenes and a worthwhile plot. The DS is the perfect console for a portable role playing title, with touchscreen controls that blend with extensive equipment making everything easy to use. Contact also features a leisurely Wi-Fi island dedicated to multiplayer adventuring so you'll never get bored.

Remember U.S. gamers, order your copy before it hits the shelves tomorrow to avoid disappointment!

Pre-order: [Contact]

Kyle Mann, the Assistant Manager of Marketing & Public Relations of Atlus, sent us an e-mail confirming that Contact will finally be released October 19 after a brief delay.

Contact, is an Action RPG but without the usual heavy drama associated with the genre. As a matter of fact, it features wacky humor and a graphical design that goes with it. In Contact, gamers must guide Terry. His mission: to rescue the somewhat nutty Professor whose spaceship crashed on planet filled with venomous snakes, freaky aliens, and a naked chef! We thought we got it wrong, too but there is indeed a naked chef in there somewhere. Can't wait to see what this chef has up his...uh, whatever.

Pre-order: [Contact]

Atlus opened up its Contact website and a piece of bad news is there to greet you. The game's new release date is October 2006. We previously reported that the game's release date was supposed to be the end of the summer. Contact is a crazy game that looks very similar to the Mother (or Earthbound) series. The localization team at Atlus has put a lot of work in bringing it over to our shores.

The website is filled with a lot of stuff about the game including info on the story and characters like Terry, the Professor and Nadia, among others. Like any official site, it's also filled with tons of artwork and screenshots of the game (most of which have been featured here).  So check out the game's official site, but be sure not to be saddened with the "Release Date: October 2006" stamped all over the front page.

Our hoard of Contact screens have been updated with 16 quirky looking screens.

To refresh your memory, Contactis a game that has a simple, pixelated style on the top screen, which reminds us of the Commodore 64 and the Mother series of role-playing games (RPGs). The game was first released in Japan on the 30th of March this year by Marvelous Entertainment and was localized for North America by Altus.

The game revolves around making "contact" with the Professor and a young boy named Terry. Players gets to control Terry. The Professor talk directly to the player, giving hints on how to control Terry. Terry and the player must set out to find the mysterious set of Decals for the Professor so Terry can get back home.

Here are the screens. Click on the images for a larger view. Enjoy!

We've seen the videos and we've had a mighty generous serving of screenshots. And it seems there's no sign of letting up as Atlus bombards us again with Contact artworks. Don't get us wrong, we're not complaining! In fact, we're starting to fall in love with this game, and why not, the worldwide connectivity feature alone will surely get us all hooked.

Contact features character art from designer Atsuko Fukushima, the same guy who brought us PoPoLoCrois (now you know why the artworks look so familiar). Some gamers might prefer to look at in-game screens, but some of us appreciate sketches and artworks more, if only to get a glimpse of what the game or the characters look like when they were still in development. It's like a pathway to the artist's mind.

In the game, you make contact (hence, the name) with The Professor and young boy named Terry as you go on a mission to retrieve power sources known as Cells, that were scattered across the surface of a mysterious planet.  The game features an abundance of gameplay, including animal-training, item-collecting, monster-hunting, and old-school style mini-games.

   
       

As Atlus' cute little RPG for the DS comes closer and closer to release, GameInformer has come up with even 5 videos of the quirky RPG. While it doesn't show us a lot about how to play the game or all the things we have to do in it, you can't deny that Contact looks good, and since it's Atlus, chances are it's going to be addicting as heck.

Contact pits you against the entire planet, going all over the world to retrieve power sources known as Cells for the Professor, a poor soul whose ship crash-landed there. As usual, you have swords and monsters and a lot of battles to go through, but for once, the characters in the game talk to the player directly, instead of the character he's playing in-game. Definitely a quirky Japanese touch right there.

Anyway, have fun watching these videos, and keep your eyes on QJ for more Contact goodies.


Download: [Contact Intro Video 1]
Download: [Contact Intro Video 2]
Download: [Contact Gameplay Video 1]
Download: [Contact Gameplay Video 2]
Download: [Contact Gameplay Video 3]

Atlus has released new screenshots for Contact, the upcoming DS RPG by Marvelous Interactive. Contact is a very quirky, unique game where the main characters will regularly address you, the player, directly! Contact contains abundant gameplay activities including animal-training, item-collecting, monster-hunting, and old-school mini-games. Dual-screen functionality features mission maps, interior/exterior viewpoints, and more.

Contact will be released in fall.

TotalGamerZone today published an interview with Atlus USA PR Manager Zach Meston. The biggest part of the interview is about the upcoming DS RPG, Contact. Developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Marvelous Interactive, Contact is one of the most unique games you will find on the Nintendo DS.

The said title follows the character of Terry, who finds out that a spaceship has crashed on his planet. The spaceship is owned by a crazy professor, and Terry gets asked to find the Cells that power the Prof’s spaceship. But here's what sets Contact apart: The professor is aware of the fact that he's a character in a video game. He will often break the fourth wall and speak directly to the player. Terry, however, doesn't know of this.

Over the course of the interview, Meston mentions a few interesting facts about the game. Its unique gameplay originates in the idea of combining typical MMO combat with the visuals and atmosphere of a Harvest Moon game. For the combat, this means that if you want Terry to attack something, you simply select the target and Terry will fight his opponent until one of them flees or gets knocked out. It was also revealed that the game will contain a region in the game called WifiIsland. By collecting friend codes, the Island will become more and more populated and grant you cool new items or abilities in the regular game mode.

Another interesting snippet from the interview concerns Atlus' PSP efforts. Meston mysteriously commented, "we’re certainly not intentionally shunning the PSP, so don’t be surprised when we announce our first PSP title. Heck, it might be sooner than you think…"

And what's in store for Atlus fans regarding the Wii? Aside from Trauma Center: Second Opinion, nothing much so far. Since it's the first launch title for Atlus, they are apparently completely focusing on getting that one done right.

If you want the full scoop, click "Read" below.

Prepare to make Contact with The Professor and a brave young boy named Terry as you embark on a mission to retrieve the power sources, known as Cells, that have been scattered across the surface of a mysterious planet, in the aftermath of The Professor's crash landing.

The Professor's chance to return to outer space and the future of an entire world have been placed in your hands. It's up to you to live up to the challenge.

Contact for the Nintendo DS will be available on July 25 for $39.90.

 

We have official artwork and screenshots from the upcoming Contact game. It looks a lot like Earthbound, but has no connections at all. It will be about a boy and a professor on an island. The game focuses heavily one exploration. You will not actually be the boy, but play the role of yourself - communicating with the boy through the DS. Check out our previous coverage.