DS prepped for Inuyasha, a manga-based RPG @ PocketGamer

To the initiated, it's a shonen adventure romantic comedy manga that became a hugely popular 167 episode long anime series. But for us Brits (who haven't been exposed to either), Inuyasha is just another of those weirdly-named Japanese cultural phenomenon we may or may not get a decade after its launch.

That said, Namco Bandai's DS interpretation of Inuyasha – full title Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel – is looking tasty in that touchscreen turn-based battle-way that seems to have become the standard for DS role-playing games.

Graphically, it's also looks quite lush. Thankfully, Namco Bandai has gone for a traditional sprite-based (that is, 2D) approach, which plays well to the DS' technical abilities, as well as to Inuyasha's manga roots.

Checking out the released video (hit the 'Watch It!' button for the 4MB download), you can see clearly see how the battles work, with the five player-controlled characters making up the battle group each having their attack moves selected using touchscreen buttons. The screens then switch, with the enemies moving down to the touchscreen to enable you to select an attack sequence in terms of who to target. Finally, it's cue battle cutscenes, and the bad guys getting it in the neck.

Not shown in the video but highlighted as a key game feature is the ability of the characters to work as a team, using the Cover Fellow System. This seems to be a more advanced version of the simple cover commands used in role-playing games such as Final Fantasy.

As for a bit of background to the game, it includes various main characters such as pretty schoolgirl Kagome Higurashi, who can travel in time, having been pulled down a magical well by a centipede demon. She's joined by another demon, the eponymous Inuyasha, a monk with a black hole in his hand called Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and orphan fox demon Shippo.

A more normal bunch you couldn't hope to meet. As the game's titles suggests, their mission is to unlock the mystery of the Divine Jewel. Could it be any more simple?

Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel will be bringing its comic demon-battling wares to the UK sometime in 2007.

Turn Your Nintendo DS Into A Guitar @ GameBrink

And for the latest innovation to grace the Nintendo DS we have a new title named "M-06" which basically turns your DS into a guitar. There are a couple modes that let both those who known how to play and those who are clueless both riff like professionals. The video below shows off a mode in which the top screen shows you which motions to make kind of like a simulation version of Guitar Hero.

Nintendo DS Lite in the running for TIME's Gadget of the Year 2006

The DS Lite is one of 8 products up for TIME Magazine's Gadget of the Year this year!

This is probably where you are expecting me to rally support and encourage you all to go vote for the DS. Judging from the preliminary results so far, I don't think that will be necessary.

At the time of this writing, the Nintendo DS Lite is leading the competition with an astounding 58% of the overall vote. The next highest device, the Apple MacBook Pro, has only 28% of the vote, a full 30% behind the DS.

So, if you feel so inclined you can head over to TIME's voting page and make your voice heard. No pressure though, cause the DS has this one in the bag.

Getting into DS homebrew @ PocketGamer

It was a wild evening, and one we've been excited about recreating on the DS ever since we got hold of some flashcarts.

Oops! While our sobriety will attest to it not meaning quite what we thought, DS Homebrew is nevertheless an exciting, potent concept – with the right kit, fans at home can now make code that runs on the DS. Including your DS, if you buy the hardware.

The implications are massive. Linux, emulators, mp3 players: the same community who made all those available on PCs are focussing on your console. Games are being made without time or licensing constraints. Obscure Japanese role-playing games on the Game Boy have been hacked and translated.

In fact, the giddy feeling's actually not too dissimilar to the one we had that July evening. And neither is the headache. If an infinite number of monkeys can reproduce the works of Shakespeare, then that leaves a lot of rubbish to wade through. It's no different with homebrew.

But we're tough. We're up to the challenge. Stick with us while we begin to scratch the surface.

NintenDON'T
Nintendo, like all the major console manufacturers, does its best to make sure you can only run the games it approves (and is renumerated for) on your DS. This is done by putting a digital signature into licensed code, which your console then looks for before booting any software. No signature and the machine won't boot.

DS hackers have got round this with various techniques, the most popular of which (though not the easiest to use) is called FlashMe, which enables you to overwrite the machine's firmware with code created by hackers.

With this alternative firmware, you can get rid of the health and safety screen, fade the backlight and run unsigned code – well done, Neo: you made it.

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