On the road again

The hubs and I are on vacation (actually, we've been on vacation since Thursday), so expect to see a few less posts than usual until we return home next Saturday evening.

In the meantime, why not check out some of the great sites listed along the right side of the screen?

This is *not* good news

At least, not for my husband :)

Anyway, the word on the street is that the ninjas at Nintendo are prepping a new entry in their popular Animal Crossing series for the soon-to-be-officially-announced 3DS system.

In fact, according to destructoid.com the game will be unveiled as a launch title for Nintendo's next handheld at the upcoming E3 event (to be held June 15-17).

Here's hoping Katsuya Eguchi and his team at Nintendo EAD bring some new and exciting ideas to the table this time around. Although I enjoyed Wild World and City Folk, both sequels could (and should) have been a lot more innovative.

See also: 'The game that got me to buy a ...'

Another day, another game that has me jonesing for a PS3 or Xbox 360

Taito's Space Invaders is the latest in a long line of classic arcade titles (see: Galaga Legions and Pac-Man Championship Edition) to get a modern makeover. The name of this particular (Square-Enix-published) re-imagining? Space Invaders Infinity Gene.

Here's a trailer for said game, which will hit PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade sometime later this year:



See also: 'How did I miss this one? (Pac-Man Battle Royale edition)'

'Pokéflute of Time'

What would you get if you threw The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon into a blender? Seattle-based artist Maré Odomo seems to think this would be the result:

Here's a direct link to Odomo's creation, in case you'd like to download a larger version.

See also: 'Maré Odomo may be done with his 'Letters To An Absent Father' strips ...'

Xenoblade just moved up a few spots on my 'most wanted' list

You've heard of Xenoblade, right? Don't be embarrassed if you haven't--although the folks at Nintendo surreptitiously unveiled this Monolith Soft-developed RPG during last year's E3 event (it was called Monado: Beginning of the World at that point), they didn't say much about it until a few months ago.

So, why has it moved up a few spots on my "most wanted" list? I think I'd rather show you than tell you.



Yep, the image above shows two of Xenoblade's main characters in their underwear (or are those supposed to be swimsuits?). (If you prefer the ladies to the gents, here's a pair of screenshots that show two of the game's female characters in their skivvies.)

Now, I'd be lying if I told you those images turn me on, but I wouldn't be lying if I told you I'd get a kick out of controlling a half-naked character (or two) in an open-world RPG.

(Via NeoGAF)

If Gradius and R-Type had a love child ...

... I'm pretty sure it would look like locomalito's Hydorah.



To see Hydorah in action, check out this trailer. Or, skip that step and download this old-school shmup here. (If the link to the left doesn't work, try this one.)

(Via NeoGAF)

Seven galaxies in ...

... and I can already say, without a smidge of hesitation, that Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a better game than its predecessor.

For starters, it adds good ol' Yoshi to the mix. Oh, and the Cloud Suit--which is, in my opinion, the series' slickest power-up since Kuribo's Shoe.

I could spend hours on this stage...

Also, it eschews the last game's confounding "Comet Observatory" hub in favor of a map system that's similar to the series' more traditional, two-dimensional efforts (Super Mario Bros. 3, especially).

Finally, part two is, thus far, decidedly more difficult than its pushover of a predecessor.

That said, I'm only a few galaxies in at this point, so it's possible my opinion of the game will change as I delve deeper into it.

Are any of you also enjoying Miyamoto's latest masterpiece?

See also: 'I ♥ Mahito Yokota (and so should you)'

'Super'

You know, if I had a dime for every threadless t-shirt design that caught my attention I'd be a very wealthy blogger.

Anyway, the threadless design that prompted this post is called--rather appropriately, I think--"Super" and is the brainchild of artist Tan Nuyen.  

If you'd like to stroll around town sporting Nuyen's iconic design, cast a vote (in the next four days) for it here.

By the way, this design first surfaced on Nuyen's Flickr photostream just over a year ago (where it was/is called "Just super!").

Maré Odomo may be done with his 'Letters To An Absent Father' strips ...

... but that doesn't mean he's done with Pokémon-inspired art altogether.

Case in point: His latest creation, titled "What is this."

Actually, since posting "What is this" late last week, Odomo has uploaded two more Pokémon-inspired pieces of art to his Flickr photostream. Here's one and here's another.

See also: 'Ash Ketchum's (and Maré Odomo's) Letters to an Absent Father'