I feel like a pansy. I shouldn't be interested in this game... but it's sappy corn syrup sweetness has the inner girl in me feenin' to find out if this'll be released in the U.S. Otherwise, I may consider importing it from Japan (for shame!).

"Kumatanchi" is a Nintendo DS game by Vanillaware that has you doing meaningless activities as a cute anime girl like changing your hair color, eating, exercising... it's basically a 2D version of Animal Crossing with decent graphics and a shiny Anime look.

Somehow, that's got me drooling with excitement. Is something wrong with me? How in the world am I going to play this game in public on my Icy Blue Ds-Lite? ;-)

E3 is going on these days... and thus far the videogame news that's been released has been pretty ho hum for me.

Aesthetically and stylistically there is very little to feel enticed by. The only two things that I feel are worthy of sharing with you are the latest trailers for Street Fighter IV and Madworld.

Visually and design-wise, I consider SFIV to be a failure. Everyone looks like the were born from the uterus of Chyna (with their cro-magnon facial features and bulky physiques). And the new characters bring little to the wonderful Street Fighter cast. But I'm digging the way the gameplay looks and the up close and personal camera choices. I also like the speed and size of the Lucha Libre character.  It'll be nice to check out, but I don't expect a classic.

Madworld looks insane. Stylistically, it's the most exciting game that's been revealed. Juicy violence with a vulgar sense of humor... all packaged with a Sin City graphical vibe. There's still not enough to decide if it's going to be a good game. But the style is already guaranteed to more than make up for it!

STREET FIGHTER IV TRAILER

MADWORLD TRAILER

If this doesn't make you a Wii Fit convert, NOTHING will. It's like one of the better episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance"... only nobody's pretending it's Art. God bless YouTube.

Click through to see the video in question. Genius marketing or fan boy posturing? Either way, it's brilliant!

While everybody else is lining up to spend 80 bucks on Wii Fit so that they can be told how fat they are by a video game, I'm happily chillin' at home with the wonderful Lost Winds on my Nintendo Wii. Don't bother looking for the game at your local Gamestop. This game is downloadable via Wii Ware only. For $10 purchase on your credit card via wireless internet to your Wii you get a nice short and sweet game filled with whimsy that should keep you busy for about 2-3 hours.

The games a decent mix of Metroid, Okami, and Ico. It's world is a fairly open 2D action game (like Metroid) which uses Wii controller operated wind mechanics (sort like Okami) to control a boy with a funny hat around a serene environment with the occasional puzzle or enemy. As you get more powers and solve puzzles more areas open for you to explore.

I've played about an and hour and a half so far. So far, so good. It all feels familiar... but it's fun and has a nice sense of art direction.

Why in the world are we Americans so afraid of sex? I understand that we are used to violence in videogames. But how is seeing sex or "two men kissing" more damaging to a child than a "graphically severed human head".

The included poll was conducted by WhatTheyPlay, a website dedicated to presenting videogame news to parents. The poll was informal, but it still disturbing to see that sex is so overwhelmingly taboo when compared to explicit violence. Thanks to the John Davison Blog for the heads up.

When I was 8-12 years old, Nintendo Power Magazine was my Bible. Even before I had a Nintendo Entertainment System I would beg my friends to let me read their newest issue of Nintendo Power.

This was in the midst of a videogame Golden Age. Game companies hadn't figured out the gaming business just yet, so you'd have a huge variety of games. At the time, Nintendo Power would commission artists to do illustrations of new games that would be included in the pages of the magazine alongside screenshots of the game.

There was one particular artist who stood out to me. His art was sophisticated when compared to the cartoon-like styles of the other artists. But at the time I hated his unrealistic approach to color.

I would later discover that this artist was Katsuya Terada. Since his time as a Nintendo Power artist, he's made quite the name for himself as the character designer for Blood: The Last Vampire, the live action Cutie Honey, and the live action Devil Man. He also created a Monkey King manga and has a slew of really beautiful art books.

With age, I can see his obvious influences. His early work SCREAMS of Metal Hurlant and Moebius. His later work feels a lot like Frank Frazetta and Simon Bisley's painted work. But somewhere in it all, you can still feel a sense of originality.

Back during his Nintendo Power days, his illustrations of Dragon Warrior/Quest, Faxanadu, and Final Fantasy sold me on those games. Below are my favorite illustrations he did for Zelda. You can see a wonderful collection of his Zelda illustrations HERE.