Hubba hubba, part trois

It's been almost a year since I last wrote about the guys I consider to be gaming's hottest hunks, so I think it's about time I chimed in on this steamy subject once again, don't you?

The five studs below have been placed in alphabetical order, by the way. If I were to organize them from hottest to hot-but-not-quite-the-hottest, I'd probably put either Garcia Hotspur or Sigma in the pole position.

Chuck Greene (Dead Rising 2)--I included this series' dark-and-scruffily handsome Frank West in my first "Hubba Hubba" post, so why not include the blond-and-scruffily handsome protagonist of its second entry in this one? It helps, of course, that Greene looks more than a bit like actor Aaron Eckhart. Sure, he shows up as a psychopath in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, but nobody's perfect, right?

Dunban (Xenoblade Chronicles)--Dunban is a special guy. Not only is he one of the few people capable of wielding the Monado, the legendary "energy blade" that serves as the centerpiece of this long-awaited Wii RPG, but he has a jaw so square it would make even Viggo Mortenson jealous. And then, of course, there's his flowing locks and muscular, tattooed torso. The only strike against this studly solider, as far as I can tell: He has a rather questionable sense of fashion. Oh, well, who wants to see him clothed anyway?

Enoch (El Shaddai)--To be completely honest, Enoch, the protagonist of this PS3/Xbox 360 action title, isn't my type. Oh, he's easy enough on the eyes, but he's just a bit too ... pretty for me. (I mean, look at that hair! Is Fabio his role model or something?) His guardian angel, Lucifel, on the other hand, is much more my cup of tea, if you get my drift. Still, I thought I should include a blond or two on this list, so there you go. (Pointless aside: Go here if you'd like to see some fan art that depicts Enoch and Lucifel "in flagrante delicto.")

Garcia Hotspur (Shadows of the Damned)--On the surface, Hotspur is your typical bad boy: He's covered in tattoos, he's got a facial scar, he has an affinity for leather (jackets, especially), his hair is dark and unkempt ... you get the picture, right? Dig a little deeper, though, and you discover that this questionably-named hunk has a softer side, too. (During the course of this Grasshopper Manufacture-made game, he goes to hell in order to save his true love.) Can I get an "awwwwwwwww"?

Sigma (Extreme Escape Adventure: Good People Die)--The Wikipedia entry for this upcoming Chunsoft-developed 3DS/Vita title says that Sigma, its main character, enjoys making risque jokes. In other words, he's pretty much the perfect guy. After all, it suggests he has a (crass) sense of humor as well as model good looks and a penchant for wearing what looks like a (form-fitting) mechanic's get-up. Be still my heart.

Honorable mentions: Hawke (Dragon Age II), Lucifel (El Shaddai), Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles) and Skyrim's "Nude Muscle Bears" (link NSFW).

See also: 'Hubba hubba' and 'Hubba hubba, part deux'

I may have missed out on a pink 3DS, but I'll be damned if I miss out on one of these

The "one of these" alluded to in the header above, by the way, is the rather posh (and completely fabulous) Princess Peach 3DS case seen below.

Of course, even if I do somehow manage to acquire one of these precious, available-only-in-Japan-at-the-moment cases, I'd more than likely be too much of a chicken to leave the house with it.



Those of you who are less cowardly than I am should know that these must-have, MSY-made accessories will hit the streets of the aforementioned island nation on March 1 carrying a price tag of ¥1,800.

(Via andriasang.com)

The Great Gaymathon Review #52: Sky Kid (Famicom)

Game: Sky Kid

Genre: Shoot 'em up

Developer: Namcot

Publisher: Namcot

System: Famicom

Release date: 1986

I knew next to nothing about this odd little game before buying it a year or so ago--which shouldn't be much of a surprise to those who know anything about its history. (Although the arcade original was released in the States, it wasn't a very high-profile release and, as such, it didn't see much success. The NES port, published here by Sunsoft, suffered a similar fate.) To be completely honest, I only picked it up because I was on a bit of a Namcot-made-Famicom-game kick at the time and I thought Sky Kid's cover art was cute. Luckily for me, the game that resides beneath that box art quite a lot of fun. I especially like that it's unique in the way that only games from this era seem to be: At its heart, it's a shoot 'em up, but blowing oncoming planes to smithereens isn't really the goal. No, the real goal of the game is to pick up a bomb that's placed about half-way through each stage and then drop it on a specified target that typically sits just before said stage's landing strip. (Yep, you have to land your plane at the end of each mission.) As I'm sure most of you have already imagined, that's a lot easier said than done. In the case of Sky Kid, that's because rival pilots do their best to create havoc by filling the screen--and not just with their planes, but with their bullets, too. At the same time, multitudes of ground units add to the visual cacophony by launching their own ammunition into the air. Thankfully, controlling your little pea-shooter-with-wings is as easy as can be. You even have access to a loop-the-loop maneuver (performed with the Famicom controller's B button) that can help you evade on-coming fire. Two additional reasons to check out this pleasingly unique title: Its graphics, while definitely on the simplistic side, are colorful and well crafted, especially for the era, and its soundtrack enjoyably jaunty--although not to the point of annoyance.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

The awesome alternate covers of the Nintendo 3DS Card Case 18

About a month ago, Nintendo of Japan added to its Club Nintendo reward stash something called the Nintendo 3DS Card Case 18.

Admittedly, the item's name isn't the most creative--although it is descriptive. (As you've probably already guessed, the Nintendo 3DS Card Case 18 is an accessory that holds up to 18 DS and/or 3DS cards.)

I don't know this for sure, but I have a feeling the case's name is lacking in creativity because its designers focused all of their attention on its awesome alternate covers.

You see, although the case's standard cover, seen in the photo above, is a bit bland, its alternate covers (each "order" comes with three of them) are anything but. For example, here's one that includes sprites from The Legend of Zelda:

Additional covers--featuring Bowser, Mario, Pikmin's Olimar and more--can be seen in this Flickr photo set.

These cases are now available via the North American Club Nintendo "shop," too, by the way. They're called "Nintendo 3DS Game Card Cases" (I guess the "18" part was too exciting for them) in this region, but the alternate covers appear to be the same.

Who wouldn't want to play an RPG with characters who look part Teletubby, part Tingle, part Pikmin, part Mr. Driller and part Mii?

I don't know why, but I find this soon-to-be-released (in Japan only, for the time being) eShop game's characters--which look as though they're part Teletubbies, part Tingle, part Pikmin, part Mr. Driller and part Mii (I know, that's a lot of parts)--oddly captivating.

Actually, I find its gameplay to be oddly captivating, too. According to andriasang.com, you begin the game by capturing the aforementioned critters (actually, they're "electric wave people") using your 3DS' camera and AR technology before tossing them into dungeons to battle baddies, collect treasure and, of course, rescue "an important person from the demon king." (To see all of the above in action, watch this trailer.)

Denpa Ningen RPG--which was made by the folks at Genius Sonority, whose previous credits include Dragon Quest Swords and Pokemon Coliseum--will hit the Japanese eShop on Feb. 8 carrying a price tag of ¥800 (about $10). Here's hoping it eventually finds its way onto the eShops of other regions, too.