A slick haiku

I have to admit, I'm pretty amazed that I'm still playing Dragon Quest IX--despite the fact that I "beat" it last weekend.

I think the cute-as-buttons slime "enemies" have something to do with the cartridge's extended stay in my trusty DSlite. I'm a bit obsessed with the little suckers at the moment, to tell you the truth. Specifically, I'm obsessed with the Metal King Slimes that can be found on the ninth floor of the (level 58) "Gold Waterway of Dolour" grotto.

In fact, I'm so taken with Dragon Quest's oh-so-slippery mascot that I wrote a haiku about her/him/it:

You look so friendly
Welcoming eyes and wide grin
So why do you flee?

Yeah, I know--I won't quit my day job.

(By the way, go here to see the full version of the slime photo above.)

Speaking of PSP demos...

After I downloaded the Valkyria Chronicles II demo yesterday, I also downloaded the demo for Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip.

Honestly, I'm having a better time with the latter. Of course, it looks and plays a lot like the Mario Tennis games--which I adore--so that shouldn't be much of a surprise.



Anyway, the demo definitely has whetted my appetite for more of this game, which I just placed on my all-too-lengthy "to buy" list.

Considering Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip costs just $19.99 (order it here), I'll probably pick it up sooner or later--certainly sooner than I'll pick up the $40 Valkyria Chronicles II.

By the way, Amazon is selling the PS2 version of Hot Shots Tennis for just $8.15 at the moment. Here's a link.

See also: 'No longer a Valkyria virgin'

No longer a Valkyria virgin

Mark my words: The day I finally get my hands on a PS3 also will be the day I finally get my hands on a copy of Sega's tactical RPG, Valkyria Chronicles.

In the meantime, I'll make do with that game's PSP sequel (titled, amazingly enough, Valkyria Chronicles II)--or, rather, the demo of that game's PSP sequel, which hit the PlayStation Store earlier this week.

I've only played it for a few minutes, but I definitely like what I've seen so far. Will it prompt me to plop down $40 (the game's MSRP) for the full thing when it hits store shelves on Aug. 31? Let me get back to you on that, OK?

Pre-order: Valkyria Chronicles II

It's pink, so of course I like it

Yeah, you heard that right--I like the color pink. You gotta problem wif dat? (That's me trying to affect a thuggish accent, by the way.)

Another reason I like the following piece: It's pixel-y and its design was pulled from that all-but-forgotten NES classic, Contra Force. Oh, and it has a fabulous name: FrankenBury, the WIDOWMAKER. (Caps courtesy of artist Ashley Anderson.)



What's the point of an acrylic-on-poplar pistol, you ask? According to Anderson, you can "wear them on your belt to a Contra Force party," or, even better, you can "hang them on your wall beside your real glocks and desert eagles." Unfortunately, he adds, "you will be hard-pressed to roll up on some fool and straight blast them with these guns."

Still, if I had the dough I'd totally drop $50--Anderson's asking price over on etsy.com--on one of these fierce sculptures.

See also: '10048'

Show me the money

A few weeks ago, someone contacted me via flickr and asked if I'd be willing to sell my copy of GamePro magazine's second issue (below).

I declined, although I'm not entirely sure why. After all, I rarely flip through that particular magazine, and I'm not saving it so I can sell it for more money at some later date.

It's a good thing I'm not holding out for bigger bucks, because according to this gamasutra.com article--penned by Kevin Gifford, author of one of my favorite gaming sites, magweasel.com--such a tactic is unlikely to be successful.

By the way, if you'd like to flip through issues of old gaming magazines without dropping a single dime on them, check out old-computer-mags.com and retromags.com.