Thursday, September 09, 2010

Coming soon to a DS near yours truly: Jam with the Band

I've had my eye on Jam with the Band--the European version of Nintendo's Daigasso! Band Brothers DX--for some time now, but I've held off on buying the DS-based music game because of the high cost of importing it.

That changed yesterday afternoon when I discovered that UK-based retailer sendit.com--which thankfully ships to the US--is selling the game for a mere £4.89 (about $7.50). (Even better: Shipping added just $4 to the total.)

Should the game reach my doorstep in a reasonable amount of time and in the promised condition, I'll probably turn to sendit.com later in the year when I buy Last Window: The Secret of Cape West and Professor Layton and the Lost Future.

Buy: Jam with the Band

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Pixelchu

Artist Maré Odomo recently answered--via his Flickr photostream--the all-important question: What would a Pikachu look like in pixelated form?


Although I'm hardly the world's biggest Pokémon fan, Odomo's drawing makes me wish someone would whip up an 8-bit de-make of one of the series' earlier entries.

See also: 'A little more Maré love'

'Fat Ash'

I came across the following image while perusing the "score designs" section of threadless.com a few minutes ago. (Yes, I'm sometimes strange like that.)


Unfortunately, scoring for the design--humorously titled "Fat Ash"--ended some time ago. (Even worse: Its final average score was just 2.17 out of 5, which means its unlikely to be printed.)

If you're itching to score a few still-in-the-running designs, check out the Donkey Kong-inspired "Barrel Ride Down the Falls" and the, er, Princess Peach-inspired "Everything is Peachy."

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

A few more thoughts on Ivy the Kiwi? (No, that's not a question)

I spent some additional quality time with the Wii version of Ivy the Kiwi? this past weekend, and as a result of that experience I've decided to expand upon my earlier impressions of this Prope-made platformer.

* For starters, forget what I said earlier about the colorized backdrops that appear in the North American iteration of this game. Not only have they grown on me, but I think I now prefer them to the mostly monochromatic ones found in the Japanese version.

* Although I'm not willing to do a similar 180 on what I said a few days ago about the title's background music--I still think it's too loud compared to the sound effects--I am willing to augment those thoughts by saying the tunes are pretty spectacular. I especially like the moodier tracks, which remind me, in a way, of some of the music found in the Professor Layton series.

* Speaking of Professor Layton, this game's difficulty curve, much like Level-5's popular puzzler, is a bit like an up-and-down roller-coaster ride. Sometimes you'll lose a whole slew of lives trying to finish a level--such as 5-3, if you're like me--and then breeze through the follow-up with nary an issue. It's more of an interesting fact than an annoying one, though, so don't worry about it if you're on the fence about the game.

See also: 'No question about it ...'

Sunday, September 05, 2010

For once, I'm (nearly) speechless

I haven't been shocked speechless by a YouTube video since ... well, since I saw the first trailer for Namco Bandai's queer-on-so-many-levels WiiWare title Muscle March early last year.


I can't be alone in hoping that someone--anyone--eventually creates a game that centers on one of these chicken-headed, thong-wearing muscle studs, can I?

The question, then, is: What kind of game would it be?

A shooter's completely out of the question, as the Cho Aniki series has that market cornered already. A fighter's a possibility--especially since ol' Chicken Head reminds me a bit of King from the original Tekken--but who plays fighters anymore?

No, I think it would have to be a rhythm game--in the vein of Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan or Space Channel 5, of course.