Oh yeah. I did it! I totally played on the fact that my name happens to be a musical term. My tattoo is all about music too. This theme was inevitable. Roll that beautiful bean footage!

The Voice Machine:
Publisher: PROD4ever
Genre: Vocal App
Rating: 4+

This app is simple and right to the point. Record, play, manipulate; rinse and repeat. The graphics look like the old school mini recorders, reminiscent of the original Home Alone. Now you, too, can thwart incredibly inept thieves from your shower! Make your voice slower or faster depending on where you slide the red button. Not only is it easy, but you’ll sound like a chipmunk in no time. Though, Justin Long may have crushed your dreams of stardom already. ALVIN!!

Pros: entertaining and useful
Cons: length of record time isn’t excessive
Verdict: It’s free, and it can make you sound like you’re on helium, without the nasty side effects. WIN!

Lyric Mix:
Publisher: Hot Potato
Genre: Quiz
Rating:4+

Love quizzes? If you’re like millions of MySpace and Facebook fans, you do. This, however, is more of a trivia quiz kind of game. Ralph Fiennes, eat your heart out! Lyric Mix gives you a few lines from a popular song, a time limit, and 4 options. As the time ticks away, you start losing options, and points. Get speed bonuses and multipliers. The number of questions you’ve correctly answered in a row, determines what your rank is. You could be Lyric Student, Lyric Master, etc. The colors are bright and cheerful, and though it’s a little buggy, it’s worth it.

Did I mention it’s free until SUNDAY?! THIS Sunday the game will start to cost you real life money, so get it now! It’s a good game, especially if you like music from every genre and era.

Pros: Wide variety, simple concept, music related
Cons: a little buggy, and only free until Sunday
Verdict: If you like music, and you like looking smart in front of your friends, GET THIS GAME! It’s not spectacularly incredible, but it’s good and it’s free at the moment.

Bayou Beats:
Publisher: Disney
Genre: Music
Rating: 4+

First, let me begin by saying how great the graphics look in this game. Of course, if the graphics weren’t good on a Disney game, I suppose I would feel rather dejected. Bayou Beats is a Tap Tap type of game themed after, what else; The Princess and the Frog. I was a big fan of this movie, so being able to unlock little goodies like character cards, and having the option to watch the Ne-yo video without having to leave the game, really appealed to me. There are tons of extras, from ordering the soundtrack, to seeing little character clips, and more. The sound is great, as expected. I will say that the only thing I’m not a fan of is the game play itself. It’s simple: When the crown lights up the circle, you tap the circle. It’s not perfectly on beat, but it’s slow enough that it doesn’t matter. You can choose from the instrumental version of several songs from the movie. I wanted to spend more time looking at all the other goodies though. The motivation for playing the game, is getting to unlock the cards. This game is perfect for the kids it’s aimed at, as far as playability, but a parent might need to be on hand to help with the myriad of other options. Oh, and one of my favorite things about the game play, is that there is a pause button on the screen. Thank god, cause when I got a twitter push notification, I lost serious points! The horror!

Pros: Great graphics, lots of stuff to keep you interested.
Cons: Maybe overwhelming, and, well, it is Disney.
Verdict: If you like Disney, this is a great game for you. If your kids like Disney (wink, wink), this is a great game for you to have on your phone, for them to play.

BONUS!

Remember Battle Bears Free: Bear Naked from the Fr’EE’day segment on The Portable Podcast? The full edition is available for free on Friday only! Go get it now!

Coming in Q1 for the DS/DSi, from Sabarasa: Save the Turtles. A puzzle game that utilizes several modes of gameplay all in order to steer those poor, defenseless, freshly hatched baby sea turtles to safety. Work your way though humid sun, oil spills, crabs, seagulls, and more. This game is definitely for the humanitarian in all of us. Check out the trailer, and enjoy the screens.

Capcom is compiling all four Mega Man ZERO games in one DS cartridge entitled Mega Man ZERO Collection. Bringing back the popular character Zero, first introduced in Mega Man X series, has proven to be a stroke of franchising genius for Capcom, with the series also getting its own ZX spinoff on the DS. Bringing back the classic GBA games seems like a great return to the series. Expect Mega Man ZERO Collection to release this summer on the DS.

Marching into stores on March 2nd, the third in the DECA SPORTS series is exclusively for the DS. So far, we’re impressed. Check these out, and you’ll see why.

While it launched last Monday, Nintendo decided we needed more goodies to wet our whistles. As such, they’ve released more screens. And yes, we have them. Can you make it all the way to Mount Olympus? Will the Hydra take you out? I’m sure you’ll be just fine, especially with this sneak peak at the enemy.

Hey. It was worth a shot, right?

Natsume announces today, their Spring line up for 2010. Squishy Tank and Cheer We Go! Cheer We Go starts off with a lack of the ever necessary team spirit. So lacking, in fact, that you’re the only cheerleader left! It’s up to you to get the squad, the team, and eventually the town back in the spirit. This is a rhythm based game, and mini games resound. Squishy Tank is a match game with silly power-ups, and an easy to learn game play. Both games are going on sale in March for $19.99 and are rated E (for Even the little ones can play..) Check out these screens of Squishy Tank.

Veterans of a thousand psychic wars, 2 late-night TV wars, and a few progressive rock albums, The Portable Podcast saunters on. Even if we forget how to count sometimes.

Who Are We:

• Carter Dotson, Managing Editor – Napoleon of the Mall
• Rob LeFebvre, Executive Editor – Wearing Bacon Pants
• Melody Stotler, DS Editor – Mistress of Awesome

On This Week’s Show:

• Carter and Rob discuss Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars’ recent iPhone release, and what its success or failure at the $9.99 price point could mean for the App Store
• Four Door Lemon donating all QuizQuizQuiz revenue until the 24th to Haitian relief, and taking part in Indie Relief
• Melody brings you a special edition of the Fr’EE’day column, talking about iDragPaper Free, Falling Balls, and Battle Bears Free: Bear Nakedi.
• Carter and Melody review Hook Champ (iPhone), Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes (DS), and Compression (iPhone)

Comments? Questions? Marriage Proposals? Want to submit a mini review you’ve recorded to us? Email us at tpg@theportablegamer.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

For a game that’s been on PC for a while now, getting a DS  version might seems kinda silly, but the game looks awesome. The DS release, scheduled for March 3rd,  will obviously provide touch and drag aspect that the PC can’t provide. You can bet we’ll get the more info as it becomes available.  In the meantime, here’s the gameplay trailer!

Scheduled to release March 23rd, with a “strange” website making its appearance on the 6th (that’s 8 days ago), Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) is all the talk of late. Of course, what has Atlus touched that hasn’t been? Check out the Production Journal, and the Website here. Don’t pass out; we know you’re excited. It’s okay. Take a deep breath and fix your peepers on these screens in the meantime. We love you Atlus.

Though fans of the DS/DSi game Style Savvy are likely aware of the clothing line Deréon, created by Beyoncé and Tina Knowles, what they may not know is that the fashionista has partnered with Nintendo to bring 5 new styles to the game’s line up. Gamers with broadband connectivity will be able to download the content, though Nintendo doesn’t say exactly when. Meanwhile, enjoy this quote, and pictures Mrs. Jay-Z.

“Style Savvy is all about creativity and fashion, both of which are really important to me,” says Beyoncé.“I love that I get to become a stylist and take over my own boutique, and it’s so much fun to see some of my Deréon designs added to the mix.”