I'm dreaming of an 8-bit Christmas

I don't know about you, but I've always wanted someone to release a (good) Christmas-themed game. This was especially true when I was a youngster. In fact, my desire was so strong for such a game that I tried to make my own.

Back when Nintendo Power magazine was still in its infancy, it held a contest that called on readers to create a game. The idea I came up with consisted of a platformer that took players through a whole host of holidays. I know, it wasn't the most creative of ideas, but I was pretty happy with it at the time.

Anyway, I only designed a few of the game's enemies and stages, but all of them had to do with that merriest of holidays, Christmas.

Why am I bringing this up? I'm not entirely sure (sorry), but I think it's to show that I'm still waiting for a good Christmas-themed game to come along.

Is RetroZone's 8-BIT XMAS 2010 that game? Definitely not. I just played it for a few minutes (you can download the ROM for free from retrousb.com) and, frankly, it stunk.

That said, I don't think the game is supposed to be the star atop this pixelated tree. What is? The game's see-through cart--which is filled with colorful, blinking lights. (Here's a video of five such carts in action.) Are those lights alone worth RetroZone's $39 asking price? Not in my opinion, but don't let that stop you from buying one.

A seemingly better option: Super Mario Bros. 2: Christmas Edition. I can't vouch for this ROM hack since I've yet to play it, but the video above makes it seem worth a look--especially since (I'm guessing) it's free.

Fabulous flash game alert: Mission in Snowdriftland

In the run up to Christmas in 2006, a Nintendo-backed platformer called Mission in Snowdriftland appeared on the Internet.

Part game and part advent calendar, the Flash-based Mission in Snowdriftland featured 24 levels--a new one opened up each day from Dec. 1 through Dec. 24--of wondrously wintry action.



Although this Extra Toxic-developed game was removed from the Web on Jan. 16, 2007, it reappeared a few days ago (on Dec. 1, to be specific)--seemingly to promote a bunch of DSiWare and WiiWare titles.

If you're any kind of platformer fan, I suggest you get your butt over to mission-in-snowdriftland.com pronto--before it disappears for another four years.

Ashley Anderson + Crystal Castles = This

Aaron Keuter--an Atlanta-based motion graphics designer, animator, editor, compositer and director--recently created the following music video, set to Crystal Castles' "Xxzxcuzx Me," using some of artist Ashely Anderson's symmetrical drawings.


Xxcuzx Me Video from Crabfood on Vimeo.

It sure is trippy, isn't it? Hopefully it didn't cause any of you to have an epileptic seizure. Anyway, to see more of Anderson's work, check out his Flickr photostream. Conversely, go here to see more of Keuter's work.

Well, this has to be a first ...

Once I "beat" a game, it's usually banished to the back of my collection until I can muster up enough interest to tackle it again. (A rare occurrence, to be completely honest.)

As such, it's kind of blowing my mind that I'm still spending time with Kirby's Epic Yarn--a game I conquered a couple of weeks ago.

I'd like to say that the challenge of getting a gold ranking on every stage--along with the challenge of finding the three treasures hidden in each level--is responsible for my seemingly never-ending love affair with this game, but I think the reason is simpler than that.



Basically, I think the game's charm is what keeps me coming back for more. Also, it's a blast to play. Yes, most stages are a breeze, but that hasn't kept me from returning to some over and over again--even after I've "perfected" them.

I'm sure I'll leave Kirby behind sooner or later--like when I finally pick up Donkey Kong Country Returns--but for now I'm thoroughly enjoying this wonderfully plush and playable platformer.

("Epic Yarn Kirby Plush," above, by TuthFairy)

The Great Gaymeathon

It sometimes feels like I spend more time thinking (and writing) about games--especially ones I don't yet own--than I do playing them these days.

Well, I've decided to (try to) do something about that--by playing, over the next few months, every single game in my collection and then commenting on them here.

I'm not promising to play each game from start to finish, mind you, but I will spend some quality time with them. I'm also not promising to review them in full; rather, I'm planning to keep my commentary short and sweet--kind of like the impressions I've enjoyed at sites like gamengai.com and video gameden.com.

Oh, and the best part of this plan? I'm going to call it "The Great Gaymeathon." (Or maybe I should call it "The Great Gay Gameathon"? Nah, that's too long.)

As for when the first Great Gaymeathon review will be posted, well, I'm not entirely sure. I'll post it as soon as possible, though--I promise!