Basically Napoleon Dynamite for the DS is a collection of ND-themed mini-games. There seemed to be plenty of choices to make on the screen I was presented with, and I poked around a bit before being guided back to one specifically. The game is a really early build, so one only a few were actually functioning, one of which was a dance game.

A bizarre Napoleon paper doll figure with an extra large head took his place atop a stage as some generic music began to play. The music very well could have been a placeholder, and really in this sort of crazy madcap dance-rhythm mini-game it comes second to the gameplay. The gameplay, unfortunately, was pretty basic. Various symbols representing arrows and buttons scroll across the screen and you have to hit them as they pass through a box in the middle to make mutant paper Jon Heder dance. As you succeed you fill up a meter that lets you unleash a super move of some sort, but in a game like this on the small PSP screen you really need to focus on the symbols going by rather than the effects of sais symbols. It left me feeling very bleh.

Maybe it'll be different for big fans of the movie...I mean they did tell me that a liger would definitely be making an appearance, but for me, if the mini-game they decided to showcase is any example, this just seems like a generic collection of mini0games with Napoleon Dynamite pasted on. Paste on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese characters and you have a loving tribute to America's second-favorite broke food. Paste on Batman and you've got...well, the best Batman game ever, but that's beside the point. I may not be a Napoleon Dynamite fan, but I am sure they deserve something more than filler like this.

I'm just in stitches remembering all the hilarious catch phrases and wacky mannerisms of that lovable anti-hero and I don't think I'll ever tire of his antics. If you can find some way to force feed me this underdog hilarity like some I'm a fattened foie gras goose, make it happen, Crave. More Napoleon Dynamite, please!

Ugh. Michael McWhertor

Gosh! Napoleon Dynamite Explodes Onto PSP System and Nintendo DS

Newport Beach, Calif.- May 09, 2007 Crave Entertainment, a leading publisher of console videogames, announced today that it will publish the first videogame based on the wildly popular Fox Searchlight motion picture Napoleon Dynamite.

Napoleon Dynamite quickly gained cult-classic status with its quirky look at life in rural Idaho. Teens and adults alike love the movie's colorful characters and offbeat take on teenage awkwardness. Napoleon Dynamite catchphrases (Vote for Pedro!) have become pop-culture fixtures, with references to the movie popping up everywhere from T-shirts to ice- cream flavors.

Crave's upcoming release will feature favorite Napoleon Dynamite characters including Kip, Uncle Rico, Pedro, Tina the llama, and of course, Napoleon himself. "Napoleon Dynamite is one of the great cult classics of the past decade," said Mark Burke, senior vice president of product planning and business development at Crave Entertainment. "It's one of those films that has great memorable lines and characters, and we expect that fans of the movie will really like the game."

About Crave Entertainment

Based in Newport Beach, California, Crave Entertainment is a subsidiary of Handleman Company. Crave, a publisher of videogame entertainment products creates games for the major console platforms including PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, Nintendo DS(tm), Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube(tm), Wii (tm), the PlayStation game console, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and the Xbox 360(tm) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. For more information about Crave Entertainment, please visit www.cravegames.com.

Website: http://www.cravegames.com

About NAPOLEON DYNAMITE

Napoleon Dynamite is a new kind of hero, complete with a tight 'fro, sweet moon boots and skills that can't be topped. Napoleon spends his days drawing mythical beasts, duking it out with his brother Kip and avoiding his scheming Uncle Rico. When two new friends enter Napoleon's life - shy Deb and mustachioed Pedro - the trio launches a campaign to elect Pedro for class president and make the student body's wildest dreams come true. But if Pedro is to beat stuck-up Summer, Napoleon will have to unleash his secret weapon...

A runaway comedy hit at the Sundance Film Festival and named Best Feature Film at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE marks the feature film debut of an original new voice, director Jared Hess, who himself grew up in Preston, Idaho, and left his studies at Brigham Young University to make the film. NAPOLEON DYNAMITE is written by Jared and his wife, Jerusha Hess, and produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel. The comic cast includes Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader and Haylie Duff.

ABOUT FOX LICENSING & MERCHANDISING A recognized pioneer in the industry, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising licenses and markets its world-renowned proprietary library on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Twentieth Television and Fox Broadcasting Company, as well as third party lines. The division is aligned with Twentieth Century Fox Television, one of the top suppliers of primetime entertainment programming to the broadcast networks.

The folks at GameDaily got a chance to talk with Napoleon Dynamite's dork superhero, John Heder about his new movie with Will Ferrel, Blades of Glory. It didn't take long for the conversation to turn to gaming with Heder revealing that he is a huge Nintendo fan. And not just John himself, but his entire family including his twin brother. The Heder clan's current obsession? Why, the Wii of course.

I think the controls are pretty cool. I think it's very innovative. I love that Nintendo is going in this different direction. It opens up the door to so many possibilities. And it's really cool how it works. I'm just waiting for more games to come out...

It gets you a little bit sweaty. It will give you some bruises. Over Christmas I was playing with the whole family and my dad was whacking us left and right uncontrollably. We had a few injuries, but all in good fun.

I guess even celebrities aren't exempt from Wii injuries. See, they really are just like you and me. In an attempt to bring the movie talk and game talk together, the interviewer asked Heder about the possibility of a Blades of Glory game.

I bet you could do a pretty cool figure skating game on the Wii where you can dance and express yourself. Because that's what ice-skating is all about.

Well, John, it might not be on the Wii, but perhaps you could pass your time with this new figure skating game on the DS. I'd attempt to describe it, but I think the title really says it all: Spinning Princess: Sparkling Figure Ice Angel.

I'll leave you to ponder that one. Flynn De Marco

Interview: John Heder Has Game [GameDaily]
[Thanks, John]

For your delectation and revilement, here are two videos. The first is the Blood Elf male dance, which is a literal translation of the Napoleon Dynamite routine, and the Draenei male dance, which is yanked from the Captain Planet-flavored video for flash animation soundtrack favorite, "Tunak Tunak Tun" by Indian pop star Daler Mehndi.

The female racial dances aren't worth mentioning, as they are both hideously dull. As per usual.

As a hilarious aside, Daler was accused of human trafficking in 2003.
Eliza gauger