The portable Resident Evils that weren't to be

I remember reading about this back in the day: A remake of the original Resident Evil developed for the GameBoy Color.

Unfortunately the game never saw the light of day--though I guess I can understand why Capcom (or whoever produced the game) would be a bit wary of trying to sell a highly pixelated version of a game known for graphics that scare the hell out of people.

A few videos of the game--along with a brief video of Resident Evil for the GameBoy Advance--have popped up on YouTube and are quite interesting. I know I should be more impressed with the polygons appearing in the RE2 video, but to be perfectly honest it's the RE1 video that interested me the most. That's probably because instead of seeing a pixelated mess, I see an almost impressionist take on the game that started the entire survival horror genre of games.

Now where's the ROM of this thing so we can try it out for ourselves?

On the dissecting table: Animal Crossing

I may not look it when I'm out in public, but in the privacy of my own home (er, the apartment I share with my husband and calico) I'm a complete nerd--at least as far as video games are concerned.

Where my nerdiness really comes out, though, isn't in front of my TV (while playing Super Paper Mario, for instance)--it's in front of my computer screen, reading articles about the process of making games on sites like Gamasutra.com.

A perfect example of the kind of article I like to read (when I have the time) was posted recently on GameCareerGuide.com--an article by Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh titled, "Ambition and Compulsory Design in Animal Crossing."

In the article, Rössel Waugh dissects Nintendo's Animal Crossing: Wild World--mainly from a designer's point of view, but partially from a player's point of view as well. It's quite an enjoyable read by a writer with whit to spare.

The Advocate discusses Queer Power (the video game)

The latest issue of The Advocate (with the lovely Rebecca Romijn on the cover) features not one but two short articles on gay gaming--and they're both on the same page!

For starters, Atlanta's "Fruit Brute," proprietor of Gaygamer.net, does the Q&A thing for writer Morgan Kroll. Just below that is an article I wrote about the Internet-based game, Queer Power, a hilariously nasty little fighter in the vein of Street Fighter II.

Here's a link to my article, if you don't happen to subscribe to or regularly purchase The Advocate.

Dragon Quest goes back to its roots

When Square-Enix announced Dragon Quest IX late last year, RPG fans (especially in Japan) were all atwitter for two reasons: 1) a numbered entry of the vaunted series was going to appear on a portable system (the DS) instead of a console for the first time ever, and 2) the game was moving from turn-based to real-time battles.

Although Japanese gamers didn't seem to mind that first point too much (not surprising, considering the DS is by far the most popular game system in the Land of the Rising Sun these days), they were pretty darn vocal about sharing their disappointment with the second point.

It seems all the caterwauling worked, as Square-Enix officials have let it slip that gameplay has been altered to make it much more like its PS2 predecessor. Sounds like a smart move to me, especially considering how popular the numbered DQ games have fared in their country of origin over the years.

To see how the game is shaping up, check out tres magnifique Jeux-France.com.

Sony hopes to score an ace in the U.S. with Hot Shots Tennis

Now here's a game I had completely forgotten about. I remember when Hot Shots Tennis (er, Everybody's Tennis) was first announced for the PS2 in Japan, but it fell off my gaming radar shortly after that.

Well, it popped back up on that radar earlier this week when Sony announced it will be bringing the Clap Hanz-produced title to the U.S. in July. The real kicker? It will retail for just $29.99! I'll definitely be picking this one up (of course, I'm a tennis fan from way back).