How desperate am I to get my hands on Animal Crossing 3DS? *This* is how desperate I am to get my hands on Animal Crossing 3DS...

I mean, I'd have to be pretty desperate to watch, a few times over and with bated breath no less, The Bit Block's video analysis of Animal Crossing 3DS' Japanese box art that can be viewed below, don't you think?

Although a few of Josh's comments tripped my trigger, if you know what I mean, the one that really revved my motor was the one that suggested this iteration of the Animal Crossing franchise may include more than one island to explore, à la the first release.



Sadly, it seems all of us schmucks outside of Japan won't be playing this game anytime soon, as Nintendo of America recently tweeted that it would hit the streets sometime during "the first half of 2013"--which of course means it likely won't do so until around June.

Are any of you also chomping at the bit to get your hands on the game that the Japanese will call Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori (aka Animal Crossing: Jump Out)?

Handre De Jager's BurgerTime

When Data East's BurgerTime was ported to the NES in 1985, its box art looked like this:

South African illustrator, animator, 3D modeler and digital music composer Handre De Jager thinks it should have looked more like the image below, given "the [often] inaccurate nature of 80's and early 90's video game cover art."

Although I can't say I agree entirely--mainly because I'm pretty fond of the box art we ended up with--I also can't say I dislike De Jager's illustration.

That said, it is a bit frightening, isn't it? Honestly, I'm not sure which aspect scares me more: The hot dog, the pickle or the egg.

(Thanks to Twitter user Alchemlx for turning me on to this creation.)

The Great Gaymathon Review #59: BurgerTime (Famicom)

Game: BurgerTime

Genre: Arcade/Action

Developer: Data East

Publisher: Namcot

System: Famicom

Release date: 1985

This is one of those ancient arcade games that probably only appeals to folks who were around when it was first released. For everyone else, the premise--create hamburgers while walking over ingredients and avoiding similarly munchable enemies--is unlikely to make much sense and the old-school difficulty of the gameplay is sure to prove more than a bit daunting.

So, where do I sit on this BurgerTime continuum? If you'd asked me back when it was first ported to Nintendo's 8-bit systems, my 9-year-old self would have told you I was located firmly on the "hell no" side of things--in small part because of the game's cruelly challenging nature but in larger part because it's far from "arcade perfect" (something I pointlessly put a lot of stock into in those days). How would my 35-year-old self respond if asked today? I'd say that I'm now on the opposite end of the spectrum and that I'm pretty darn fond of this iteration of Data East's admittedly brutal quarter-muncher.

My younger self was right, of course, that the stages in the Famicom/NES version aren't as colorful as those in the coin-op original, nor are the enemies in the former as well crafted as those in the latter, but who cares? Both releases more than get the job done in the looks department, and both feature the same brilliant, can't-get-it-out-of-my-head backing track. Most importantly, though, both also evoke a rather thrilling sense of panic in the player that calls to mind other classic titles--like Mappy and Pac-Man--from the same era.

Combine all of the above with the Famicom port's tight-as-can-be controls and completely adorable cover art and you've got yourself a great little pick-up--assuming you don't have a short fuse (see the comments above about this game's difficulty) and you can find it on the cheap.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts

What does it say about me that the first thing I noticed about this photo was that these guys are playing a Dreamcast game?

I mean, it's great that they have visible abs, nice enough legs and an acceptable taste in underwear, but what I really want to see is: Which Dreamcast game are they playing?

I'm guessing it's something "typical" like SoulCaliber or Dead or Alive 2. They'd earn my undying respect, though, if it were ChuChu Rocket! or even one of the Power Stone titles.

Via videogamesmademegay.tumblr.com)

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (LittleBigPlanet Vita edition)

I'll be honest here: I'm not actually all that interested in this title. Like most folks, I used to drool over every screenshot and video I came across of this platformer's console-based predecessors. After reading a bunch of ho-hum impressions of the first LittleBigPlanet, though, the series basically fell off my radar.

Still, I'm always a sucker for good--or at least interesting--box art, which is where this particular blog post comes in. While perusing NeoGAF a week or so ago, I came across LittleBigPlanet Vita's Japanese box art and thought, "Hmmm, I like the looks of that!" A few clicks of the keyboard later, I found myself staring at--and, yes, liking--this portable platformer's European and North American covers, too.

The question is: Which LittleBigPlanet Vita cover illustration do I like best? Before I respond, let's take a little look-see at each of the contenders, shall we?

Actually, the following illustration can't actually be called a contender, as it won't appear on this game's packaging in any region, as far as I'm aware. Because a number of European and North American retailers used it as a placeholder image on their websites, though, I decided to include it here. (By the way, the game is set to hit Australia and Europe on Sept. 19, Japan on Sept. 20 and North America on Sept. 25.) 

The box art that eventually took its place on the aforementioned sites can be seen below.

As is typically the case, LittleBigPlanet Vita's Japanese cover art is quite different from that of its western counterparts:

As for which piece of box art I prefer: If the Japanese cover's background were light blue like the background of the European/North American cover, I'd go with it in a heartbeat, as I prefer the more colorful and whimsical nature of that creation. As it stands, though, I'm going to say it's a tie between the two.

What do all of you think? Do you have a favorite when it comes to LittleBigPlanet Vita's cover imagery?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts