2010 was a great year for DS games, with many anticipated games being released. Plus, it wasn’t just a good year for one kind of gamer. All genres were pretty equally represented so everyone had something to look forward to and play. It also wasn’t a year completely dominated by big name developers and publishers, like Square Enix, and a number of smaller developers and publishers’ games really stood out.

Join Gamertell as we reminisce about some of this year’s best DS releases. Let’s briefly remember 10 games that were an absolute joy to play…

There are times where a game is released where you really want to know what happened but you either can’t or don’t want to buy or play it. To help you out, Gamertell offers Spoiler Alert. We’ll play the games and tell you what happened so you don’t have to spend, or waste, your time on it. This week, we’re looking at SMT: Strange Journey, the DS RPG from Atlus that was released in March, 2010. Prepare to be spoiled…

If you’ve got a copy of Atlus’ latest DS game, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, chances are you’ve discovered the bonus CD soundtrack has some issues. Or, you could be like me and dove right into the game, not realizing anything was wrong with the soundtrack until you started hearing murmurs online about a CD that won’t play. Atlus has acknowledged that some of the SMT: Strange Journey CDs aren’t right and is stepping up to make things right.

The problem (which I’ve encountered firsthand) is that the CDs will not play in standard CD players. If you put it into, say, your car’s stereo, it will state that there is only a single, long track instead of the 10 that are actually there. If you put it into a computer, however, you are able to open the CD and play the tracks in a program like Windows Media Player…

Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for the DS could be at your local game store, waiting for you today! Part of this dungeon crawling RPG’s charm is that you can share the demons you find or fuse in the game with others, thanks to a password system. You simply select Demon Data from the main menu, head to the Compendium, view your demons and output a password. This password can be then shared online and used multiple times, by different SMT: Strange Journey owners.

It’s no secret to anyone that I’ve been playing and loving the game over the past week, and I’ve amassed a collection of demons that I’m quite proud of. And, thanks to the password system, I can share some of my most successful fusions with Gamertell’s readers. So, here are a few demons you can check out and consider adding to your own games. To make things easier for SMT: Strange Journey players who are also visiting Atlus’ Forums for passwords, I’ll use the same format for my selections. Be advised – your main character is probably going to have to be at the same level as or higher to summon the demons below…

The world is overpopulated, and people have been abusing their environment. This has led to the development of a strange dark spot in Antarctica. It’s gradually expanding, and destroying or absorbing everything it comes in contact with. The governments of the world aren’t quite sure what to do, and have created the Joint Project to send the best soldiers and scientists from many nations into the anomaly, dubbed the Schwarzwelt. Four teams have been outfitted with Demountable Next Integrated Capability Armor (Demonica), loaded into special vehicles and sent over the plasma wall into the Schwarzwelt. Your character is an elite soldier assigned to the Strike Force on board the Red Sprite…

Gamertell had the opportunity to take a quick look at how Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, the latest portable entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series plays. It’s a dark, mature and futuristic tale with a collecting element that requires players to make honest decisions on how to act and react to people and team up with demons to survive.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey begins with an explanation that the Earth has become too populated. There are over seven billion people inhabiting it, and it’s having a detrimental effect on the planet. Because of this, a strange effect that’s being called the Schwarzwelt has appeared in Antarctica, directly over the South Pole. It started as a small disturbance that extended from the ground to the sky, and has grown to several kilometers in size.

After this disturbance grows large enough to destroy and absorb numerous bases from many nations that were around, the world’s governments have taken action by developing a crew of elite individuals called The Joint Project to send into the Schwarzwelt. The rest of the world is told that there’s an unsual arctic storm going on at the South Pole to cover up what’s really going on…

Atlus has just announced that there will be an exclusive Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey preorder offer available if you decide to get the game through GameStop. In addition to getting a launch copy that will have special packaging and a SMT: Strange Journey CD soundtrack, you will also get a mini-poster. I know, the already included soundtrack is the best part of the deal, but still. The DS game is priced at $34.99 everywhere, so may as well get it from GameStop and get a poster too when it comes out March 23, 2010.

SMT: Strange Journey blends staples from the beloved Shin Megami Tensei series with elements from Atlus’ cult classic Etrian Odyssey series. Like in all Shin Megami Tensei games, SMT: Strange Journey features a supernatural story set in modern times, with the ability to recruit, fuse and fight battles against an assortment of demons…

It looks like Atlus is adding Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, the forthcoming DS RPG, to the Atlus Spoils program. When you purchase the $34.99 game you will not only get the game, you’ll also get a soundtrack CD featuring music from it. Since the Shin Megami Tensei series tends to have pretty good music, it’s great news.

Sadly, there will be a slight delay concerning SMT: Strange Journey‘s release. Don’t fret, it’ll still be out in March, 2010. Only now it’ll be out on March 23, 2010, instead of March 10, 2010. A two week delay is easy to accept and live with, especially since the game’s now coming with a bonus soundtrack.

The official SMT: Strange Journey website will also be opening soon, to hype everyone up for the game. It’ll feature standard information about Strange Journey, as well as some wallpapers and avatars and a section discussing the history of Shin Megami Tensei. Of course, if you don’t want to wait, you can always read Important Importable’s article…

Atlus recently revealed some more information about its latest Shin Megami Tensei game, Strange Journey. Information that makes the game sound like a lot more fun, and much more user friendly. Unlike many other Shin Megami Tensei games, where you had to rely on your own demon fusing and negotiating skills to create the ultimate team of demons to fight alongside, Strange Journey allows you to enlist the help of your friends.

It works like this – you raise and create demons like you would in any other Shin Megami Tensei game. But, if it turns out you need a certain kind of demon you don’t have, or a friend of yours could really use one of your demons, you just create a password for the required demon and share it. Once the password is entered into a game, that demon will be available to create from the demon compendium.

In Strange Journey an unusual black spot, called the Schwarzwelt, has appeared over the Antarctic, and it’s growing…

Siliconera reported on an interesting leak at Amazon.ca – if you search for Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, a product listing pops up. Atlus hasn’t made any formal announcements yet, but it appears that the latest DS Shin Megami Tensei game could be arriving in North America on March 10, 2010. The listing also prices the game at $39.99.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey came out October 8, 2009 in Japan. An unknown dimension has appeared over the South Pole, and you’re part of a team sent to investigate what is going on and stop it from spreading. You don Demonica suits, thats what the character on the cover is wearing, and head into unknown dungeons in this new dimension. It’s a standard, turn-based, RPG where you get to recruit demons as your allies. Dungeon crawling is conducted in a manner similar to Etrian Odyssey, as it offers a first person view. Players also able to make choices and decisions during the game that can lead to multiple endings. It got a Cero C rating in Japan, meaning it was recommended for ages 15 and up…