'2 Bros. Plumbing'

Although this is far from the best Mario-inspired t-shirt design I've ever seen, I appreciate that its designer attempted to do something different.

If you like the design enough to want to buy a t-shirt bearing it, vote on it (within the next seven days) here.

(Via superpunch.blogspot.com)

Well, crap ...

If you've been following this blog for a while, you're likely used to be whining about the lack of red DSi systems in the States. (They hit the streets in Europe and Japan more than a year ago.)

Well, it seems I'm finally going to get my wish on Black Friday. According to the following Sears flyer (leaked by the folks at multiplayerblog.mtv. com), Nintendo is prepping a pair of $149.99 "holiday bundles" that will include either a red or green DSi system and a copy of Mario Party DS.



Will this negatively impact my plans to buy a Twin Famicom or a PS3--or, who knows, an Xbox 360--after the holidays? Honestly, I have no idea.

See also: 'Proof that Japanese 7-Elevens are cooler than those elsewhere,' 'Looks like it's time to get a DSi,' 'I'm seeing red' and 'Oh, Christmas tree...'

I have no idea what's going on here, but I'm kind of interested anyway

You know those game trailers that confuse the hell out of you because they don't show a single second of actual gameplay?

Well, the following trailer--for Rockin' Android's upcoming PSN platformer, Crescent Pale Mist--shows a ton of gameplay, yet still manages to confuse.



That said, I'm still kind of interested in the title, which hits PSN (with a price tag of $5.99 attached to it) on Nov. 9.

(Via blog.us.playstation.com)

I just canceled my Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition pre-order because of this

When the folks at Amazon.com added Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition to their site a few days ago, I immediately pre-ordered it--despite the fact that I'm not a fan of Nintendo's 16-bit remakes of its NES Super Mario Bros. titles.

I canceled that pre-order this morning, in part because of this trailer (for Donkey Kong Country Returns, which will be released in North America on Nov. 21):



The highlight of this particular trailer, in my opinion, is the misty/smoky level shown at the 56-second mark. Oh, and the fire/lava level shown at the 1:05 mark.

See also: 'I've gotta say, this looks great'

10 video games that made my life gayer (#9): Animal Crossing

Would you believe it if I told you that I held off on buying a GameCube until early 2004--more than two years after its North American debut? Well, it's true.

What prompted me to (finally) pick up Nintendo's boxy little system? By the time I bought one, they were just $99, for starters. And then there was the release of Animal Crossing.

OK, so that game was released (in the States) in late 2002--more than a year before I acquired a GameCube. I'd had my eye on it from day one, though, and as such it was the game I bought alongside my (now beloved silver) system.

Was it worth the wait? In a word: Yes. I've rarely put as much time into a game as I put into Animal Crossing. Something about its "life simulation" concept really resounded with me, I guess.

"Animal Crossing Painting" by Pocketowl

I know some people consider the game to be boring or tedious, as most of the time you're running errands, planting trees, picking fruit and watering flowers. Well, call me crazy, but I seem to enjoy those rather mundane chores when they're wrapped up in such cute packaging.

My only beef with the game? No matter how many love letters I sent to my female neighbors (my character was female, too), none of them reciprocated. Oh, well; you can't have anything, right?

See also: all of the previous '10 video games that made my life gayer' posts