A custom-made pouch and a review copy of Curses 'N Chaos: two reasons my Vita's going to be played a whole lot more in the coming weeks

You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned my pink-and-white Vita all that much since it arrived on my doorstep earlier this year. (You can read about it, and see some snazzy photos of it, in this post.)

That isn't because I'm at all unhappy with it, I promise you. On the contrary, I love the darn thing to death. In fact, it's possible I love it too much.

What do I mean by that? Well, as I've stated elsewhere a few times before, I'm so used to laptop-esque handhelds like the 3DS, DS and even the GameBoy Advance SP that a system with an exposed screen like the Vita kind of freaks me out--to the point that I keep mine wrapped up and in its box whenever I'm not playing it.



(Admittedly, I own two PSPs and have had at least one of them for a few years now, but both came with scratched screens and so I've never obsessed over them like I do my Vita.)

As you probably can imagine, keeping a handheld stowed away in its original packaging doesn't exactly promote regular play--which should help explain my lack of experience with the Vita so far.

That's all in the past now, though, thanks to the snazzy, padded carrying pouch my neighbor friend, Gina Gallaway (her husband is Brad Gallaway, managing editor of GameCritics.com), recently made for me. As you can see in the photo below, it beautifully complements my oh-so-precious Vita.

Anyway, now that I have a case (or pouch, or whatever you want to call it) that can protect my Vita from dust and scratches and other such things, I'm keeping it at the ready.



Which means, of course, that I should be able to put a good amount of time into the copy of Curses 'N Chaos that the folks at Tribute Games kindly sent to me a week or two ago.

That's not to say I haven't put any time into it yet. Actually, I put about an hour into Curses 'N Chaos last weekend, but I'm not sure that was enough for me to come to any solid conclusions about it.

As for my not-so-solid conclusions: well, based on what I've seen and heard and felt so far, I've got to say I'm a bit surprised--and I don't mean that in the best of ways.

Don't get me wrong, Curses 'N Chaos both looks and sounds wonderful--as is the case for every Tribute Games release I've encountered to date. It feels good, too, truth be told. As of now, though, I'm not sure I'd say I'm finding it all that fun.



You see, I came into Curses 'N Chaos expecting that it would be some sort of Ghosts 'n Goblins or Ghouls 'n Ghosts clone. While it Tribute Games' effort ably apes the aesthetics of those Capcom classics, its gameplay is a lot more limited.

Specifically, while the aforementioned quarter-munchers have sprawling, side-scrolling levels, all of the ones included in Curses 'N Chaos are single-screen affairs. Because of that, Curses 'N Chaos is more of a "score attack" sort of game. That's all well and good, but I'm not really a "score attack" kind of guy.

So, for the moment I'm not exactly feeling this digital title (which can be played by PS4 owners, too). I'm not giving up on it, though--not by a long shot--so look for me to share additional impressions on it in a future post.

Have any of you played Curses 'N Chaos? If so, what do you think of it?

Five games I'm going to start playing (or get back to playing) as soon as my obsession with Animal Crossing: New Leaf fades a bit

It's no secret (or it shouldn't be, at least) that I've been a bit obsessed with Animal Crossing: New Leaf since it hit North American store shelves just over two months ago. In fact, I've played little else these last few weeks.

Although I have no idea when that obsession will fade, I'm fully prepared for when it does thanks to the following list, which details the five games I'm going start playing or, in some cases, get back to playing as soon as my heart yearns for something other than a little New Leaf action.

1. Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale--I've been hot to play this 3DS eShop title (see screenshot below) ever since the Japanese version was announced many moons ago. Those feelings only intensified when it was miraculously brought to North America. I hear it's a pretty brief experience, but that's OK with me--as long as it's as enjoyable as everyone (the guys over at tinycartridge.com, especially) says it is.



2. Black Rock Shooter--This curious-looking PSP game (below) landed in my lap shortly after its release, but I've yet to even boot it up. That's kind of the story of my gaming life these days, isn't it? Anyway, my neighbor (of sorts--we both live in the same Seattle 'hood), Brad Gallaway of the Drinking CoffeeCola blog, swears it's a worthwhile endeavor, so I'm determined to give it a go before this year is out.



3. EarthBound--Sometimes I think it's just not meant to be with me and this SNES classic. I mean, I've started it on at least three separate occasions, but I've yet to see its credit roll. That has nothing to do with me disliking the game, by the way; on the contrary, I love every aspect of it. For whatever reason, though, I've always been pulled away from it partway through the adventure. Don't worry, I'm going to do whatever I can to buck that trend when I return to last playthrough in the next couple of weeks.

4. Shin Megami Tensei IV--This poor 3DS game has been staring at me since it arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago. That's because I have it sitting on my desk--in part to serve as a reminder that I have to get off my ass and play it. Sadly, all it's done so far is make me feel guilty that I've ignored it for so long. If what I've read about it so far (about its difficulty) is any indication, though, I have a feeling it'll savor the sweet taste of revenge in the end.



5. Xenoblade Chronicles--I was a little apprehensive about adding this much-ballyhooed Wii RPG (above) to this list, I have to admit. Although I enjoyed what I played of it late last year, there was something about the gameplay that just didn't sit well with me. Will those feelings fade away and allow me to make some real headway when and if I return to it sometime soon? I certainly hope so.

I have to note that I'm also planning to get back to playing THE "DENPA" MEN 2 once I've put Animal Crossing: New Leaf to bed (or at least convinced it to take a bit of a nap). I've put a good 17 hours into it so far, but I have a feeling I've got many hours to go if I want to see its ending.

With all that said, are any of you in the same boat as I am, spending all your gaming time with New Leaf and basically leaving everything else to rot on the vine? Even if you aren't feel free to share which games you are playing at the moment in the comments section below.