Because you, the fans, demanded it, Sega is indeed including some of Sonic's pals in Sonic and the Black Knight. Clearly the best part of any Sonic game is the supporting cast. The latest trailer features an epic battle between Sonic and the fan-favorite Blaze the Cat, one of the more complex, multifaceted characters in the Sonic canon. In this game, Blaze plays the part of Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table. She also fights with Sonic for some reason.The good news is that once you defeat her in the game's story mode, you can unlock Blaze, so you won't have to play through the whole Sonic game as Sonic. Whew.Permalink | Email this | Comments

We've long suffered the blight of the Pokéholic, so we're well aware of the unslakable thirst one can develop for new information as we near the release of another installment in Nintendo's highly lucrative monster indexing franchise. Thankfully, Ninty just released a veritable compendium of Pokéknowledge in the form of the official website for Pokémon Platinum, supporting and elevating our addiction to collectible, pocket-sized animals to extremely dangerous levels.If you've found it hard to follow the slow trickle of news concerning the lustrous revamp of Pearl and Diamond, the site does a good job of clarifying Platinum's updates with a few nifty slideshows. If you want to catch a glimpse of the game's new features, such as the Wi-Fi Plaza, the Battle Frontier, the trippy Distortion World, and the new pokémon forms, we highly suggest checking out the site -- just have a reliable friend at your side to cut you off once you've had enough.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Anxious to secure a Nintendo DSi without having to wait in some crazy line? Online retailers have begun taking pre-orders of the North American version of the system, so you can buy now and not have to worry about stalking Wal-Mart late April 4 to be first in line on April 5 (You are free, as usual, to stalk Wal-Mart for other purposes). You can order your DSi for $169.99 at Amazon or GameStop (in black or blue). If you want extra stuff, you can order a bundle from GameStop (again in black or blue) that contains the system and a "Folio Starter Kit" consisting of a case, screen protectors, a game case, earbuds, and a car adapter.For a better look at the system that you might be buying, check MTV Multiplayer's first-ever images of the English-language DSi menu. As expected, it looks exactly like the menu from the Japanese version with the crucial addition of comprehensible text. It features the same photo manipulation, photo arranging, and sound altering functions from the original suite of DSi software, along with upgradeable firmware and, of course, the DSi Shop.
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Amazon.com has pulled a Deal of the Day out of its hat, in the form of Nintendo's Master of Illusion. The magic trick sim, er, magic training game -- or whatever you want to call this weird software -- has had its price halved today, and today only, to an impulse-level $9.98. That's very cheap for a first-party Nintendo game -- or very expensive for a deck of cards, if you choose to look at it that way!Much like Clubhouse Games and WarioWare: Touched, Nintendo of Japan plans to break out individual tricks from Master of Illusion for sale as DSi downloads. We figure that if you're into e-magic, you might as well grab the whole thing now instead of waiting for the DSiWare version that may not even appear in North America!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments