• Originally Released: March 17th, 2009 (US)
  
• Developer/Publisher: Firebrand/Atlus
  
• Genre: Arcade Racing
  
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1. Valykrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume | Square-Enix: The third installment in the critically acclaimed Valkyrie Profile series follows Wylfred in a darker-than-usual storyline as he seeks revenge on Lenneth Valkyrie.
   
2. Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars | Rockstar Leeds: What’s left to say about this? Plenty. Not only do you forget you’re playing this on a DS, but it packs as much gameplay punch as its console rivals, and utilizes every unique aspect of the handheld perfectly. We dare say it breathes fresh and funky life into the aging Nintendo DS. This one is a must-buy, but we can promise a review in about a week, for those of you still on the fence.
   
3. Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure | EA: Is ole’ Henry a walking contradiction? Can he handle the blend of puzzler and action/platformer? Can he in fact defeat world-ending bosses while stunning us with his quirky demeanor? Can he discover the 12 secret levels? Can he compete with Grand Theft Auto? Well….
   
4. Suikoden Tierkreis | Konami: This RPG franchise was introduced over 12 years ago, but this release marks its debut on the DS, and it’s an exclusive! Konami has even tapped the Nintendo WiFi connection for some truly innovate community features involving parallel worlds.
   
5. TrackMania DS | Atlus: The popular build-a-track PC racer finally lands on the DS in the careful and loving hands of Atlus.
   
6. Scrabble | EA/Hasbro: Available for both the PSP and DS today, we prefer the stylus control over the cleaner PSP graphics. This iteration of Scrabble should make wordsmiths happy, with the opportunity to hone their skills, build their pattern recognition skills, then thwomp all over friends, family, and an adaptable computer AI opponent.
   

Portable Offerings Pick of the Week? Without question, it’s ChinaTown Wars. How about you? Snagging any of these new releases?

Many Nintendo DS owners (myself included) have been disappointed time and time again with the racing games that have been released for the beloved dual-screened handheld. With the exception of a certain kart game released by Nintendo, many of the published racing games have been mediocre at best. The announcement that TrackMania would make it to the DS courtesy of Atlus brought a flicker of hope to those owners yearning for a racer that would be awesome enough to make even PSP fanboys jealous. The fact that the game is published by Atlus should be incentive enough, given their splendid track record (oh the puns! They burn!)

To tempt us into pre-ordering the game (on Amazon.com), Atlus has announced that they will throw in a FREE 3 month trial for TrackMania United Forever, the original PC version currently available on Steam. A few of us PC holdouts have played United Forever, and it rules.

Here’s the official verbage:

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — MARCH 12, 2009 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc. and Focus Home Interactive today unveiled a special, limited pre-order bonus for TrackMania DS, available exclusively at Amazon.com.  Fans who choose to reserve their copy prior to the game’s March 17th release will be provided with a free 3-month trial for TrackMania United Forever, the fully-loaded PC version of the long-running racing series.  Join over three million users worldwide in the most exciting and creative PC online racing community.

“One of the most critically-acclaimed racing series in the world, TrackMania has consistently delivered an exhilarating racing experience,” said Tim Pivnicny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Atlus.  “Regardless of whether it’s on the PC or Nintendo DS, the name of the game is high-flying stunts, fast-paced racing action, and the unique ability to create, share, and race on custom race tracks.  We’re happy to be able to spread the appeal and awareness of this franchise by offering customers who pre-order a copy of TrackMania DS at Amazon.com the ability to play the worldwide hit TrackMania United Forever free for three months.

Excited? We are, and you can count on your Portable Gamers for a full review soonish!

To whet your appetite here are some of our favorite screenies: