“Mushroom Men” may very well have the strangest setting of any Nintendo DS game I’ve played. I have to give Red Fly Studio credit for that.

A comet flies over the Earth, dropping bits of alien mist all over the world. The mist doesn’t affect the humans, so everyone goes on as if nothing happened. But in the world of the mushrooms, everything’s changed. They’ve all come to life, and now it’s war.

“Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi” acts as a prequel to the upcoming Wii version, “Mushroom Men: Spore Wars.” While I haven’t seen that one yet, now I want to.

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When “Myst” came out in the ’90s, it was the best-selling PC title of its time.

So introducing the game to a whole new generation of gamers on a popular handheld platform would be a no-brainer, right?

Not exactly.

When industry veteran Manny Granillo decided to acquire the license and make a DS port of the game, he had trouble finding a publisher. “You’d be surprised,” Granillo told Multiplayer at a demo of the game last month. “The problem is you get doors closed from publishers because they’re so focused on ‘What’s my next quarter? Where’s my sequel to whatever game?’ They’re not seeing the bigger picture.”

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Will Nintendo release any new games for the DS or Wii in the U.S in June?

I think they will. But the company isn’t saying.

I recently wrote about how Nintendo has no game release dates announced past the May 19’s “Wii Fit.” I wrote that in April.

Now it’s May. And still… nothing.

It’s not like they ever skip releasing games in a month: January had “Endless Ocean” and “Advance Wars,” February had “Layton,” March had “Smash Bros.” April had “Mario Kart” and some “Pokemon“s. June? I don’t know.

Over at Wired, Chris Kohler points out that Nintendo isn’t even spilling the beans on which games will launch the Wii’s downloadable games service next week.

I dropped a line to Nintendo PR on Friday to ask if Nintendo was going to release any games in June or July, and, if so, how they would be announced. As far as I know there are no Nintendo press events before E3 in mid-July. The answer I got was that there’s nothing new to announce about the company’s first-party line-up.

Very Apple like, indeed. Maybe it’s the right strategy, given events like yesterday’s delay of the much-covered assumedly-2008-slated “Prototype” until 2009.

Any guesses as to what Nintendo will have for us in June on the DS or Wii?

How do you follow a week of “GTA IV“?

By releasing games with impossible-to-miss box art, that’s how.

Taking a break from wreaking havoc in Liberty City, we check out the new releases this week to judge them solely by their cover art. In this weekly feature, we try to help game publishers make their titles stand out on the retail shelves.

First up: “Boom Blox,” which I have trouble saying just once really fast…

“Boom Blox” (Wii)
What the Box Tells Us: Violence against cute animal block thingies + Steven Spielberg = This game. Do I trust the man who made such thrill rides as Indiana Jones, Jaws and Jurassic Park to make my Wii game? I’d like to think I could.
Love It or Leave It: Love It.

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Yesterday’s announcement of the return of “Tecmo Super Bowl” in the form of “Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff” for the DS was a long time coming. And it sparked several questions that a Tecmo spokesperson answered for me overnight.

First of all, I’m told that this game isn’t a new 3D re-invention. It’s a classic 2D game.

I’ve also learned that the game won’t include any NFL teams or players, due to EA having the licenses locked up. It won’t include retired players either, and that includes “Tecmo Super Bowl” icon Bo Jackson.

The teams in the new DS game will be aligned with the cities from the original “Tecmo Bowl,” with a few added to bring the team count to 32. “Although the team names are not NFL, we picked names that fit with the original spirit of ‘Tecmo Bowl,’” the company rep told me. Customization features will let players change the team names.

So what should gamers make of this new game? Is it a port? A sequel? Something else?

Take it away, Tecmo rep:

“‘Kickoff’ is based on the most popular (and everyone’s favorite) ‘Tecmo Super Bowl’ and is not a completely original, new game. However, there are a host of new features in this upcoming version that were not included or were not possible in the earlier versions of ‘Tecmo Bowl,’ such as customization, stylus control, super-abilities, Wi-Fi and wireless multiplayer. For those who remember and have been itching to play ‘Tecmo Super Bowl,’ there is no need to bring out the old home consoles – this game is the one you want to play with friends and with your kids.”

***

I never even played “Tecmo Super Bowl.” (Sorry James!) So tell me, long-time fans, do you like what you’re reading here?

After more than a year of teasing, Tecmo has finally confirmed that “Tecmo Super Bowl” is coming back as “Tecmo Super Bowl: Kickoff” for the Nintendo DS this fall.

[Correction: The game does not include the word “super” in the title. My mistake.]

The announcement of this game has already caused one yell of excitement elsewhere in the MTV News newsroom, which is part of the reason I’m blogging about it now.

Here are some of the official press release details on the game, which is said to be based on “the most popular Tecmo Super Bowl”:

“Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff” brings a host of new features that will further enhance the gameplay experience, including:

· Customizable Teams: Choose team colors, emblems, player names, team cities and abilities.

· Super Abilities: Tactically use over-the-top plays to take over a game.

· Wi-Fi and Wireless Multiplayer: Play against friends across the country or across the room.

· Stylus Control: Feel the action by using the stylus to control your player.

· Variety of Teams: Choose from 32 different teams.

· Cut-Scenes: All-new cut-scenes showing off the dramatic presentation of various plays.

· Customizable Playbook: Prepare for gridiron greatness by customizing your playbook.

· Music and Sound Effects: Turn up the heat on your opponent as you play the game to rock ‘n’ roll remixes of the most memorable tunes in football gaming history!

There are Achievements, Entitlements, eventually trophies, and now there are Honors, courtesy of Disney’s upcoming DGamer social network for the Nintendo DS.

DGamer comes first attached to “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” As the first title coming out of Disney’s newly formed Fall Line Studios, a group focused exclusively on Wii and DS development, there’s quite a bit riding on the reaction to this initial outing.

Disney’s hopes are pinned to the younger crowd flocking towards DGamer, Disney’s gaming take on the Facebook/Xbox Live/MySpace phenomenon, an extension of what the company has already been toying with on Disney.com.

I decided to give it a whirl yesterday. Unfortunately, Disney rejected my screen name!

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If you loved the subtle, psychedelic twists made to classic “Pac Man” in the Xbox Live Arcade version, you’re quickly going to fall in love with “Space Invaders Extreme,” too.

Square Enix was showing off the Nintendo DS version of “Space Invaders Extreme” (there’s also a PSP version coming, too) at Nintendo’s Spring Media Summit, and I quickly became obsessed with the frantic new take on the classic shooter.

After my hands-on session, I was tempted to jump on Play Asia and purchase the expensive import version, but a Square Enix representative calmed me down.

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For the first six months they were making it, the creators of “Guitar Hero” for the DS weren’t sure their game was going to work.

Then things got better.

And from what I saw and heard when the game was demoed for me in New York City a few weeks ago, the DS experts at Activision’s Vicarious Visions studio have solved most — maybe even all — the challenges they faced.

Here are the obstacles this game faced en-route to its eventual release in June and what I learned about them during the demo I got of the game:

Challenge #1: The DS Is Not Shaped Like A Guitar

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I still don’t know what to think about BioWare’s attempt to re-legitimize Sega’s blue creature. Sonic has struggled for relevancy in a post-“Sonic Adventure” world, and while I’m more than confident in BioWare’s ability to make an RPG, the game is so…dark.

It didn’t work for “Shadow the Hedgehog,” of which I played a good amount. At Nintendo’s Media Summit late last week, however, I spent a little more than 15 minutes checking out — and playing — early bits from “Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.”

While the characters are rendered in 3D, the environments are made up of sprawling, beautiful bits of hand-drawn artwork. I’m told the BioWare offices are filled with gigantic versions of these Sonic worlds. I recommend they release some as desktop wallpapers.

With any luck, they will, but let me tell about how the game actually plays.

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