There's SOMETHING about those Space Invaders creature designs that holds up really well over the test of time. Even though the classic Space Invader gameplay became dated as soon as every videogame developer stole it's game dynamics, no Space Invader clone has creature designs quite as iconic as those in the Taito gaming classic.

As of late there has been a huge resurgence in interest in these characters. Much of it can be attributed to the street artist of the same name. In the last 5 years it's become easy to find Space Invader inspired products like keychains, wall decals, and shoes.

Taito appears to have gotten a little wiser and are now reinventing the Space Invader characters for the modern gamer.

In the made for Wii "Space Invaders Get Even" , you control an army of Space Invaders invasion of planet Earth. It's a weird mix of retro pixel art and more traditional polygon graphics. It looks like it might be fun.

What I am more excited about is "Space Invaders Extreme". I hate the "Extreme" name, but love the Lumines/Rez/Q Games look and music. It appears to have a more rhythmic approach to gameplay and has to be one of the trippiest looking games on the DS. It's also compatible with the knob accessory that came with Taito's Arkanoid DS game. The games already out in Japan, but no announcements have been made on whether or not it'll be released in the US.

If I find a few dollars lying around, I'll have to import the game from Japan.

Below you'll find video of the DS game and pics of the DS and Wii games.

No More Heroes. On the Nintendo Wii. By Grasshopper Studios (same guys that made Capcom's Killer 7 Game).

What'd I think? HOT DAMN.

This game brings me back to when I was a little kid playing games like Final Fight and Strider in the Arcades. Those games ruined me.

In 1990, Capcom beat-em-up games dripped with style. You could feel a familiarity in design to stuff you'd see in American films... but they stylistically made a very strange turn that brought a wackiness that exuded a superior sense of Japanese cool. When I had enough quarters to play either game, I felt "cool" while playing. Half the time I had no clue what buttons to push or where I had to go. In fact, I ended up dying in an absurdly short amount of time (HEY, I WAS 12 YEARS OLD). But it didn't matter. Because in those 30 seconds of playing, I felt like the baddest motherfucker to ever live.

Maybe it says something about me sexually, but I loved being the lean and mean guys like Strider Hiryu or Final Fight's Guy. There was something so cool about a dude with a nimble, almost feminine frame, that could beat the living shit out of hyper-steroid monstrosities. So, time and again, I'd get some quarters and play on.

When I play "No More Heroes" I get a wild adrenaline rush that brings me back to my days playing those classic Capcom Beat-Em-Ups. It's like they took everything that induced that panicked fever I experienced as a 12 year old and allowed it to aged like Scotch alcohol to complement the more jaded tastes of the 29 year old me. The nice thing is the aging occurs with full awareness of what has happened in those 25+ years. You have bits of Punk rock, Westernized otaku culture, drugs, sexuality, Tarantino, Grand Theft Auto, Lucha Libre (YES!) and a bunch of other things to build upon and reinterpret through that super-cool Japanese designer lens that I once believed in.

The total package is more than the sum of it's parts. There are definite flaws like the dated graphics and uninteresting overworld... but the game cleverly wears it's problems on it's sleeve making them a quirky complement to the overall experience.

The action-based gameplay gives you a very visceral experience with the Wii controls. Integrating motion controls to finish off opponents is very satisfying. It's reasonably deep and keeps you coming back for more by steadily introducing new environments, enemies, and wrestling moves.

The mini-game jobs you're given are a bit stupid but I liked the way they are all based around basic Wii motion controls. It also gives you a much deserved rest from the frantic battles.

The way I see it is: the battles are hot sex. The stuff in between are the cigarette breaks. If Wii games are wallets, "No More Heroes" the one that has "one bad mother fucker" written across the top.

After seeing the trailers and previews of "Professor Layton & The Curious Village" I purchased the Nintendo DS game about a week and a half ago. I love it.

The music and characters are great. The story is fun. The logic puzzles are super addicting.

Now, you have to understand, I LOVE logic puzzles. With the logic puzzles alone, there would be plenty worthy of my purchase. But what really makes this game more than just another Nintendo "Brain Age" game is the way it builds a beautiful universe around those puzzles. Yeah, it get's annoying that everybody has a puzzle for you (as the PENNY ARCADE guys snidely point out) but it's a small complaint to a game that is cleverly accessible to a variety of gaming types. I even love the jigsaw puzzle and (to a lesser extent) hotel room sidequests. It's a thrill to win pieces to that damned puzzle (GIVE ME 3 MORE PIECES, BASTARDS).

Street Fighter 4 was playable at AOU 2008 (an Arcade Game conference in Japan). One stage and 10 playable characters were shown. The majority of major videogame websites have a decent collection of gameplay videos.

The gameplay looks pretty nice in motion. Speed and strategies feel true to the Street Fighter style. The 3D graphics look sharp and don't appear to affect the classic 2D gamplay.

I still wish they did something a bit more stylized, but all in all it's looking pretty nice. I also hope we get some interesting new characters.

CHECK OUT MORE GAMEPLAY VIDEOS HERE.

The Street Fighter 4 watch continues...

The designs and early in-game character models for Chun Li, Zangief, Blanka, Guile, Dhalsim, and E. Honda were revealled in a Japanese Gaming Magazine (I think it was Famitsu). Naturally, leaving in the digital world, scans of the pages were posted (via a Korean game-site) for the world to see.

Now that we're able to see a bit more, I'm feeling a bit bummed with the direction things are being taken. The designs are nearly identical those seen in Street Fighter 2 and the subtle style shift is starting to look and feel weird. The harsh style and garish colors remind me of 80s hair-metal. But Street Fighter should be more polished and refined.

This is starting to look more like a 3D remake instead of a true sequel. I'm all for nostalgia...but there comes a point where it holds you back from taking steps forward. Hopefully that will take place with the introduction of new characters.