I don't want it to end

Do you ever find yourself procrastinating as you near the end of a game?

I do it all the time. I did it as I approached the finale of the first two Professor Layton titles, for instance, and I did it as I sauntered toward the finish line of Super Mario Galaxy, too.

Well, I’m doing it again as I edge ever closer to Dragon Quest IX's end credits.

I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing it, though, as it's pretty well known that the title features oodles (yes, oodles) of post-game content.

Oh, well, sometimes it's best to just go with the proverbial flow, wouldn't you agree?

See also: 'Daisy dukes, bikinis on top ...,' 'Sexy secretary,' 'But what about Beyonce's blue ball gown?' and 'The gayest (Dragon Quest IX) party ever'

Short comic, long name

Seattle-based artist Maré Odomo--best known around these parts for his Pokémon-inspired "Letters to an Absent Father" comic strips--recently let it be known via flickr that he's working on a new "pokécomic series" called "I Know I Shouldn't Be Alive But I Don't Want To Die."

Here's the first entry in the series, which seemingly will focus on the legendary pocket monster known as Mewtwo:



See also: 'Red, blue, yellow, green,' 'My $5 is in the mail, Maré' and 'Maré Odomo may be done with his 'Letters To An Absent Father' strips ...'

Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle edition)

Although North American gamers have been gazing the art that appears on the cover of their version of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle for the better part of the year, their Japanese counterparts are just now getting a look at the art that will appear on their version of the Grasshopper-developed title when it hits store shelves on their shores in late October.

Did the designers at Grasshopper use the time between releases to improve upon the game's box art? Decide for yourself:



The North American box art is on the left, by the way, and the Japanese art is on the right.

As for my two cents: I like both covers, but I think I like the North American one just a bit more--mainly because it seems to convey the game's "rated M for mature" content better than the Japanese art.

Buy: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

The DS is going to be the death of me

At the very least, it'll be the death of my marriage. (Due to me buying too many DS games, naturally.)

Why? Well, aside from Cladun: This is an RPG for the PSP and Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Wii, pretty much all of the games I'm looking forward to buying/playing between now and the end of the year are DS-bound.

That wouldn't be a problem, of course, if I weren't looking forward to buying/playing so many DS games. I mean, in the next few months alone there's Ivy the Kiwi?, which will hit the streets (in the U.S.) on Aug. 24, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Sept. 12), Etrian Odyssey III (Sept. 21) and Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (Oct. 5).

If DS systems were this small, I probably wouldn't have to worry
about spending so much money on DS games.

And then there are the recently-and/or-soon-to-be-released-European-only titles like Jam with the Band (already out), Art Academy (out on Aug. 5) and Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (Sept. 17). (Also, I'll probably buy the Euro version, instead of the North American version, of the third Professor Layton game--to go along with my Euro versions of the first two entries.)

I guess it's time to start looking for that second (or third) job...

Daisy dukes, bikinis on top...

OK, so my main Dragon Quest IX character, Madonna, isn't currently sporting a bikini top and a pair of daisy dukes--à la Katy Perry's hit single, "California Gurls"--but one out of two isn't bad, right?

Actually, I'd take a "dangerous midriff wrap" (below) over a ratty pair of daisy dukes any day, but that's how I roll.

All that said, as awesome as I consider Madonna's girly getup to be, it's nothing compared to her cohort Utada's "malicious maid" costume:

I've just crossed the 60-hour mark in my playthrough of this horribly addictive game, by the way. I'm currently grinding my characters into shape so they can properly take on the boss of Gittingham Palace, King Godwyn.

After that, I'm off to the "Realm of the Mighty" to tackle ... well, whatever awaits me there.

Are any of you still spending time with Dragon Quest IX? If so, how far along are you?

See also: 'Sexy secretary,' 'But what about Beyonce's blue ball gown?' and 'The gayest (Dragon Quest IX) party ever'