Friday, December 03, 2010

Square Enix gets into the holiday spirit

Unfortunately, the Square Enix Sound Team's take on "Joy to the Word"--which will appear in the PSP Parasite Eve sequel, The 3rd Birthday--sounds like it's being sung by Kermit the Frog.



Don't believe me? Check out the latest post on the game's official blog (click the "play" button beneath "Joy to the World.")

(Via andriasang.com)

Will either of these box covers leave Japan?

My guess: I doubt it.

I mean, when was the last time you saw a North American game box that featured a man crawling out of a woman's cleavage, or a man clawing his way into a woman's pants?

The former will be front-and-center on the Japanese PS3 cover (below) of Atlus' adult-ish action-adventure game, Catherine, while the latter will grace the cover (see it here) of the Xbox 360 version of the game. (Both will be released in Japan on Feb. 17.)


All that said, both of the images mentioned above are more likely to be attached to the American and European versions of the game than this promotional illustration.

(Via andriasang.com)

I love that curvy 'Famicom' logo on the left side of the system

I took this photo (of my new-to-me Twin Famicom) yesterday but didn't like it at the time. I've since changed my mind, so I thought I'd share it here.

I love that curvy little 'Famicom' logo on the left side of the system

The system is larger than I thought it would be, by the way. At 10.5 inches wide by about 10 inches deep (and three inches high), it looks kind of like a squat NES.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

It has arrived!

What is "it," you ask? Why, it's the red Twin Famicom I bought myself for my birthday!

Here it is, in all its cherry-red glory.

Donkey Kong + Red Twin Famicom

Although it's not as pristine as I was hoping it would be (there are a few dings and scratches here and there), it seems to be in good working order--and that's all that really matters, isn't it?

I'll take a few more Glamour Shots-esque photos of it after my latest game purchases arrive.

See also: 'I've been called a lot of things ...'

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Just Dance 2 it is

I know all of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear which game I bought my mom for Christmas. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure until I visited amazon.com this morning--and saw that Just Dance 2 was on sale for $25.99.


I'm totally choosing the sailor when I play Just Dance 2.

I'm not entirely sure she'll like it, but I have a feeling she will. If she doesn't, I'll tell her to give it to me--and then I'll send her one of the other games I was considering (likely Boom Blox, Tetris Deluxe Party or Wii Sports Resort) in return.

Buy: Just Dance 2

Herp derp

You know how I've been whining about how my DS, PSP and Wii have been offline since we bought a new wireless router a few months ago? (Just nod and agree with me if you don't remember any of this.) Well, it seems all three systems could have been on line all along. Doh!



I figured that out today after reading that Pac-Man Championship Edition (above) has hit the European PlayStation Store. Unfortunately, no one seems to know when the game will show up on our shores, but you can bet your butt that as soon as it does I'll pick it up--along with ClaDun: This is an RPG.

(Via kotaku.com)

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

All my mom wants for Christmas is a Wii game

So, my mom just told me that she wants a Wii game for Christmas.

All she has at the moment are Wii Sports and Wii Fit. As far as I can tell, she likes both games, so she'd probably enjoy Wii Sports Resort--or one of the Wii Fit clones. Have any of you had any experience with The Biggest Loser, EA Sports Active or Your Shape and, if so, would you recommend them to an aging lady who enjoys a bit of exercise?

Note: The people in the photo above aren't my dad or my mom.

Two other possibilities, in my mind, are Just Dance or Just Dance 2, since my mom loves to shake her tail feather. Have any of you played and enjoyed either of those titles?

Finally, she likes puzzle games. She loved Tetris DS more than life itself, so Tetris Party Deluxe is a definite option--if it's any good.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! (Also, if you haven't experienced any of the above-mentioned games, feel free to name others that you think a 60-year-old woman might enjoy.)

Morrigan Aensland by Andrew "Drew" Green

I may suck at most fighting games, but that doesn't keep me from liking many of them. One such game that has long attracted my attention and interest: Capcom's Darkstalkers.

Atlanta-based artist Andrew "Drew" Green must be a fan of the game, too, as he recently updated his blog with rather delicious drawing of Darkstalkers' sexy succubus, Morrigan Aensland.


As for why he chose Morrigan over the game's other characters, Green says (on his blog), "I've always felt her design is really very solid. Great color choices, good balance of elements, a lot of personality, and frankly I happen to love sexy characters."

To see more of Green's great work, check out his blog or his Flickr photostream. (Oh, and don't miss this post if you're any kind of Mario fan.)

Monday, November 29, 2010

The perfect gift for the gaming geek in your life

If you've ever wondered what an Inception game might look like, Robert Penney is your guy. Well, sort of.

The London-based artist recently created a fictional box cover (below) for an Atari-esque (and Pac-Man-inspired) game version of the popular film.


Penney didn't stop with Inception. He also produced fake box art for game versions of Avatar, Cloverfield, Dark Knight and a few popular TV shows, too.

Prints of each of these illustrations can be purchased here for as little as $16 (and as much as $86).

(Via superpunch.blogspot.com)

I'm always game for a Pac-Man-inspired music video

The members of Sweden's Bondage Fairies have described their band's sound as "Nintendo death punk," so it should be of little surprise to hear that they like to inject their music videos with a smidge of 8-bit revelry from time to time.

The video below, for the band's "Pink-Eye Paranoia" (from their 2006 album, "What You Didn't Know When You Hired Me") is a perfect example:



(Via retroist.com)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

$3,600 for a sealed copy of Panic Restaurant?

I've played a lot of games the last few days. Among them: Taito's Panic Restaurant (aka Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World in Japan), released for the NES in late 1992.

For those of you who have never heard of Panic Restaurant: It's a cute platformer which puts players in control of a chef named Cookie ("Naughty Kokkun" in the Japanese version) who has to make his way through a cursed restaurant. (See part of it in action here.)

Anyway, I've been playing the game using an emulator because, well, it's pretty darn expensive. Case in point: One eBay auctioneer is trying to sell a sealed copy of it for $3,599.99. (Another is selling a similarly pristine copy of the game for just $1,799.99.)

Opened copies of the game are cheaper, of course, although I'd hardly call them cheap. Loose copies, for instance, commonly command prices above $100.