Renowned among many Game Boy collectors, For The Frog The Bell Tolls is an obscure adventure game created by the same dev team responsible for Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and Metroid II: The Return Of Samus. Regarded by many to be a precursor to Link’s Awakening, the game tells the story of two princes who race to rescue a princess from an evil king – we’re assuming they get transformed into frogs along the way. The game never saw a release outside of Japan and is therefore a relative unknown in the West. However, some passionate fans have recently translated the game into English, meaning you can now experience this little-known Nintendo gem for yourself.

Fans of Prince Of Persia might be interested to hear that it has just been released on the 3DS’ Virtual Console service, as well as the Wii version. 3DS fans are treated to the Game Boy Colour version, which Konami wisely chose over the Game Boy outing, while Wii owners will be able to play the rather excellent SNES conversion. The 3DS version is available for £4.50, while the Wii version costs 800 points (around £5.50). Considering how much an original copy can go for, this represents pretty good value for money. Looks like Nintendo’s recent claims about the Wii Virtual Console getting a second wind were true after all.

Well this is exciting, if not totally unexpected. Capcom has released an awesome new trailer for the sixth installment of its Resident Evil franchise. Capcom has just released an exciting new trailer that reveals that both Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield will be in the same game. Imagine that. Two of the best characters from the franchise, battling together to stop those dangerous zombies (or whatever they’re now being called).

While the action-packed trailer does feature plenty of cut scenes, including the President growing into some creepy looking creature, it also gives a good indication of the number of characters that will be appearing in the game. It looks like it will be adopting a similar co-operative approach as Resident Evil 5 (although this time, with far better AI we hope) although the scenes with Chris suggest he’s part of a larger, more mobile group of heavily armed soldiers.

There are quite a few sections in cities as well, suggesting that Capcom are ignoring the wilderness and returning to the urban landscapes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Combat wise it seems very similar to Resi 4 and 5, although things like sliding to cover and shooting while sliding on your back greatly excite us. It’s also far more epic cinematically, with excellent framing and clever use of freezes, to create some really dynamic imagery. Add in some creepy lighting effects and this is already looking like a remarkable continuation of the classic horror franchise.

Fans of Retro Gamer’s hardware bookazines will be pleased to hear that they are now available to buy for Kindle. The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide is available now for just £5.81 and features in-depth guides to some of the best computers and consoles of all time. The Amiga, Super Nintendo, PC Engine, Atari 2600 and ZX Spectrum are just a few of the machines featured, and all come with the fantastic in-depth information that only Retro Gamer offers.

Editor in Chief Aaron Asadi said: “This eBook is a fantastic resource for all retro videogame fans. Offering in-depth information on some of the iconic consoles from the last 50 years, there are also run-downs of the best games from each piece of hardware, allowing readers to relive the classic videogame moments from days gone by. The is the perfect trip down memory lane, and represents excellent value for money.”

The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide eBook is available now from Amazon for £5.20. Don’t miss it.

Good old Sega. Not content with revealing the next installment of Sonic The Hedgehog 4, it’s also revealed that House Of The Dead will be returning. House Of The Dead 4 has only previously been available in arcades, but will now be heading across to the PlayStation 3. The machine recently had an update of the excellent House Of The Dead: OVERKILL, so it’s great to know that we’ll be able to blast more zombies later in the year.

It’s also revealed that House Of The Dead III will also be appearing on the system. It will be a digital download and should hopefully appear at the beginning of next month. No news on price yet, but judging by recent excellent efforts like Daytona USA, expect it to be around the £6 mark. Both games will be fully compatible with the PlayStation Move.

If you love games, this is the book for you. Packed with all the best games for iOS, iPad & iPhone Games Directory shows you how you can turn your smartphone or tablet into a device to rival home consoles. Covering every gaming category on the App Store, over 300 games are reviewed, highlighting the best apps on offer. From Cut The Rope and Angry Birds to FIFA 12 and Scrabble, you’ll find all the games you’ll ever need in this ultimate guide.

Aaron Asadi, Editor In Chief, stated; “The iPad and iPhone are the ideal devices for gaming. Accessible, portable and reliable, they are certainly giving traditional consoles a run for their money. With the book, you’ll discover the must-own games from every category on the App Store, from quick time-wasters to games that will have you hooked for months. If you own an iDevice and you want to find the best games for it, this is the place to be.”

The iPad & iPhone Games Directory is on sale now (24/11) from the Imaginebookshop priced £9.99.

Like many other gamers, we’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of Street Fighter X Tekken. The reason for this excitement? Well Hugo is in it.

He’s my favourite Street Fighter character, and not just because I’m amazing at pulling off 360s with him whenever I play Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. No I love Hugo, because he reminds me of myself.

He’s constantly misunderstood, as many ignorant gamers think he’s from Capcom’s scrolling fighter Final Fight, he isn’t, but he was inspired by Final Fight’s Andore. He’s also a big overwight man, who can hide this obesity due to his high stature. Ultimately though, I love Hugo because, beneath his unfriendly appearance he has a heart of gold. Just like me.

I once jokeningly told a Capcom PR that if Hugo was a secret character in Street Fighter IV I’d give the game a 100% on principal. I was lying of course, but that doesn’t stop me from getting giddy whenever I see his new 3D form in Street Fighter X Tekken.

I was able to play a few games recently with him, and he plays just as I was hoping he would. Needless to say, the wait for Street Fighter X Tekken can’t come quick enough.

NowGamer has revealed its Top 50 Greatest Gaming Moments. It’s an epic look back at those moments that have really helped define the medium. Memorable scenes, events and moments of games that live on in the memory long after their worlds have been saved, the credits roll and they’ve been traded in.   

We were pleasantly surprised to see how much retro gaming love made it in (admittedly though, it’s mostly console centric). Entries include the first pair of trousers you ruined fighting your first Cyberdemon, zombie dogs providing business for Raccoon City’s double glazing salesman, and (one of Darran’s suggestions) the second stage of Strider.         

Best of all though, accompanying many of the entries are quotes from the developer responsible, with the likes of Naughty Dog, Telltale Games, Epic Games, Sony Santa Monica, Hideo Kojima and Infinity Ward all contributing.

Check out the Top 50 Greatest Gaming Moments now – and have your say in the comments section below. 

Imagine Publishing’s games website breaks records.

NowGamer, Imagine Publishing’s flagship games website, has passed 1 million unique visitors for the first time in its history.

NowGamer reached 1,151,450 unique visitors for the month of November. The figures include 402,309 visitors in the UK and over 2 million page impressions.

More readers than ever before are coming to NowGamer to get their buying advice, gaming news and guides to playing the latest games.

Launched in 2009, NowGamer has attracted a strong, dedicated following of core gamers with high quality, exclusive content.

Nick Jones, NowGamer’s Editor in Chief, commented, “To reach this milestone in such a short period of time is a fantastic achievement for the team and I want to congratulate everyone involved. But this is just the beginning for NowGamer, and I see this as very much just the completion of stage one. We’ve got our sights set higher now, which is ultimately to make NowGamer the best gaming site in the UK.”

See why NowGamer is read by over a million people every month. 

[Source: Google Analytics]

30 years ago today the BBC Micro was first unveiled. The computer became a firm fixture in classrooms across the UK in the Eighties thanks to its tie with the BBC’s Computer Literacy Project, a television show aimed to teach children the basics of computer science.   

Looking for a versatile computer with which to base its project on, the BBC approached a number of British computer manufacturers in its search. But it was Cambridge-based Acorn Computers who won the contract after impressing with a demo of its new machine, the Proton. The Proton was unveiled on December 1st as the BBC Microcomputer System and came in two flavours, Model A (16K) and Model B (32K)

Thanks to the publicity of the show, the BBC Micro became hugely popular on its release, particularly in the education sector. However the arrival of the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 the following year saw these more affordable computers dominate the interest of Britain’s software industry and with it the lion’s share of the market. Having established itself as a bit of a teachers’ pet, the BBC Micro failed to enjoy the same level of success.

It was a real shame too as the BBC Micro was a versatile piece of kit with a library of fantastic games – Frak!, Repton and of course the epic space trading game Elite – that show off its power.

As the Beeb celebrates its 30th birthday today, Elite’s co-creator, David Braben, shares with us his thoughts on the computer.

“The BBC Micro (and the Acorn Atom – which in many ways was very similar), inspired a generation with the accessibility of technology. A great many people, me included, had our eyes opened to how easy it was to get a computer to do amazing things. Through schools, this changed the lives of many people in a good way. Many of those people went on to do great things as a result; just look around places like here on Cambridge’s Science Park to see the results 30 years on!”