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Not even the goofy-looking cartoon alien (Shade, just the latest in the endless parade of Sonic the Hedgehog supporting characters, and looking straight out of Invader Zim) can stop this early Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood boxart from looking cool. It’s about as simple as it can be — a hand-drawn picture of Sonic, the alien thing, and the logo. But it’s proof that in the hands of a good artist, even just a picture of Sonic can be made appealing.

Though both look nice, we’re amused by how much the dark, blue- and- purple-dominated artwork contrasts with the color explosion found in the actual game.

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The early birds may catch the worms, but the late adapters catch the sales. So, those of you who haven’t yet succumbed to Square Enix’s high-and-mighty game tax but still want a copy of The World Ends With You are in luck.

Until Sunday (we assume, so don’t quote us on that), you can grab the game at both Amazon and Circuit City (dot com or brick and mortar) for the low reasonable price of $29.99. Should you not want to leave the comfort of your own home (or, like this blogger, you just don’t live near a Circuit City), then each online deal has its pros and cons. Both sites offer free shipping, but Circuit City adds tax to the order. Amazon, on the other hand, doesn’t add tax but the game isn’t in stock at the moment. Therefore, it will take two to four weeks (according to the website) for Amazon orders to ship.

Either way, if you have your eye on this game, we recommend biting on one of these deals because Squeenix’s $40 DS game standard hurts.

Note: Amazon is trying to fool you into buying the copies that are in stock for $39.79 (via Hubbagames), so don’t fall for it. If the link directs you to the wrong place, you should see this on the right side of your screen. Just click “Add to Cart” on the choice that says $29.99, and voilà.

[Via CAG]
Read: TWEWY at Circuit City
Read: TWEWY at Amazon

Adding to the ever-growing list of “cool stuff Japan gets that we don’t,” Bandai Namco is offering a sweet preorder bonus with Tales of Symphonia. The RPG, which releases in Japan in late June, will come with a Dramatic DVD for gamers that preorder the title. The DVD will include original animated scenes that add to the game’s story, which sounds like a pretty nice extra to us.

We’re sure the DVD will never see the light of day outside of Japan (officially), so the rest of us will just have to be content to look at screens and pretend that’s dramatic. Some new screens might help you with such a task, so just click on the “Read” link below (or the picture above) to check them out.
[Via Gemaga]

CEO Ray Muzyka and President Greg Zeschuk of Bioware, a company founded on narrative-centric RPGs, can’t seem to decide if the Wii is a game (as opposed to, from what we gather, a toy). In an interview with GameDaily, Zeschuk said, “If gaming is defined by story, then generally Wii may not be,” though he immediately expands on that, “The game [4 to 5 people together are] playing is actually very different than the rest of us. What they’re doing as a company is like a different flavor.”

Providing a counterpoint, Muzyaka noted that the Wii experience is “more toy-like” but also said, “there’s also a narrative between the players outside the game and kind of fulfills the same things games do. Games are ‘toys’ in the sense that they’re fun.” Warren Spector had made a similar designation in an Escapist piece last year, categorizing games like Tetris and Madden akin as “retold” narratives. The above is a rather bare-bones highlight of their discussion, so check out the full interview for more.

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