Hot for Professor

I came across the photo below--of a rather steamy Professor Layton--while perusing the Boy Culture blog's coverage of New York Comic Con 2012 the other day.

You're far from alone if a feeling of déjà vu washes over you while taking in said photo, by the way. Apparently the guy posing (literally) as the esteemed Hershel Layton has appeared as a shirtless, muscled version of every gamer's favorite professor at numerous conventions and related events over the last few years.

In related news, did you know that someone actually created "an aggregate tumblr for general Hawt Proffy [as in, Professor Layton] stuff"? Well, you do now--and you can find it at hotforprof.tumblr.com.

I just perused the first few pages of said tumblr (for research purposes only, I assure you) and I'm sad, er, I mean happy to report that none of the drawings, illustrations and other images that I came across were of the not-safe-for-work variety.

Attention Vita owners: Dokuro is now available for purchase via PSN

OK, so most of you probably don't own a Vita. And if you do, you likely already know that GungHo's 150-level puzzler-platformer Dokuro is hitting PSN today. Just in case any of you weren't aware of that fact, though, I thought I'd remind you.

Oh, and I also should remind you that this "two-dimensional Boxxle and ICO mixture with chalk graphics" title (according to NeoGAF user deimian86) will cost you just $19.99.

Here's a (Japanese) gameplay video of Dokuro--which is Japanese for "skull," basically--for those of you who've yet to see it in action:



If you just can't get enough of Dokuro, you may want to watch this video, too, which takes viewers through the game's Japanese demo. (Warning: The guy playing said demo is very annoying.)

Personally, if I owned a Vita I'd probably pick up the Japanese retail release of Dokuro, as I'm pretty fond of its box art, rather than the North American PSN version, but I'm weird like that.

See also: 'Surprise, surprise: The first (and only) Vita game that interests me is an odd, niche-y one'

Five things I dislike about THE 'DENPA' MEN

I've mentioned Genius Sonority's 3DS eShop RPG, THE "DENPA" MEN, quite a few times over the last few weeks and months, and pretty much every one of those mentions was the definition of positive.

In this post, however, I'm going to be a bit negative. Don't worry, "DENPA" MEN fans, I'm not going to rake the game over the proverbial coals. All I'm going to do is point out the few aspects of it that irk me ever so slightly, beginning with:

1. What do you mean I can't change the hero?--I get that the first "Denpa" man you capture becomes the "hero" of your particular playthrough. What I don't get is why you're never allowed to give the guy a rest. Surely he still could serve as the game's central character even if he's sent to the sidelines once in a while? Don't get me wrong: I like my so-called hero (his name's Rudolph) a lot. I just wish I could replace him with a different "Revive"-sporting "Denpa" man on occasion.

2. Every "Denpa" man for himself--I mean that literally in this case. After all, according to the people who made THE "DENPA" MEN, there's only one female character in this game--despite the fact that a number of them look like ladies. As someone who considers himself a bit of a feminist and who prefers to play as female characters in games, that disappoints me. Thankfully, it appears as though this problem has been rectified in the title's just-released-in-Japan sequel.

3. "Defend"? Who needs "Defend"?--I have a feeling one of the folks responsible for the development of THE "DENPA" MEN said something remarkably similar to the comment that kicks off this bullet point while working on the game. How else can you explain its total lack of a "Defend" option during battles? (Those of you who have yet to play this portable RPG: Please note that this is by far the least important of the complaints I'm sharing in this post.)

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Paper Mario: Sticker Star edition)

Although there are a number of 3DS games I'm looking forward to getting my grubby hands on next year--the next Animal Crossing, Etrian Odyssey IV and Fire Emblem: Awakening, among them--I'm eagerly awaiting quite a few 2012 releases, too.

Sitting atop the latter list: The latest (and hopefully greatest) chapter in Nintendo's Paper Mario saga.

As many of you likely already know, this 3DS title will be known as Paper Mario: Sticker Star when it's released throughout North America on Nov. 11. Here is the art that will grace the covers of said release:

The game will sport a slightly different name--Paper Mario: Super Seal--when it hits the streets in Japan on Dec. 6, and naturally it'll sport a different piece of box art, too.

Although I'd love to show you the cover art that'll be used on the Euro version of this Intelligent Systems-developed game, which also will be called Paper Mario: Sticker Star and will arrive on store shelves on Dec. 7, Nintendo of Europe has yet to reveal it.

Given that, I guess we'll just have to judge the pair of illustrations showcased above.

Personally, I much prefer the North American cover art to its Japanese counterpart this time around. Granted, the latter option does a much better job of depicting the game's sticker-collecting aspect, but that isn't enough to trump the former's bold use of color.

Now that I've had my say, what do all of you think of the box art that's been prepared for this portable RPG?

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

LTTHTGP: Costume Quest (XBLA)

LTTHTGP means "Late To The Halloween-Themed Game Party," by the way. Just in case any of you were wondering.

What does that mean, you ask? It means that I finally picked up (the XBLA version of) Double Fine Production's trick-or-treat-centric RPG, Costume Quest, earlier this week.

I've been meaning to do so since the game was released nearly two years ago but, well, you know how it goes sometimes (especially when you have a backlog as extensive as mine).

Anyway, none of that matters now. What matters is that I'm playing Costume Quest. Finally. And not only that, but I'm enjoying it. It's so completely cute and charming that it's all I can do to keep myself from puking (you know, because everything's so damn adorable) while working my way through Tasha Harris' wonderfully creative and nostalgic tale.

The only aspect of Costume Quest that I'm not absolutely in love with at the moment: The QTE-heavy battle scenes. I wouldn't say I dislike them, but I also wouldn't say I like them as much as I would if they were, say, more traditionally turn-based. Oh, well, you can't have everything, right?

Have any of you played through the PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 version of this game? If so, what did you think of it?