Hit the jump for hazy, disjointed hands-on impressions for Infinite Undisovery, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Damnation, Rise of the Argonauts, Lord of the Rings: Conquest, and Mirror’s Edge.

I literally got no more than 10 minutes with each title in the Exhibition Hall and with the exception of The Conduit, I didn’t get to chat up the demo-keepers for the usual details a journalist needs to report on her games. But since most of these titles are coming out soon, already have demos available or were previewed at E3 and Leipzig only a week or so ago, 10 minutes is really all you need to get to know a game for yourself, if you’ve been following it in the news.

Above: Tabletop... meh.

I bee lined for Infinite Undiscovery first thing, since it’ll be the first thing I buy in that list of games. This action JRPG is the closest replacement Square Enix has offered me to replace Kingdom Hearts, and while I could deal with the lack of Disney, I’m not sure I could deal with the art design. Like Lost Odyssey, everything was proportional and colors were muted for a more realistic-looking experience – to me, it seemed ugly, but we were only playing in two areas that weren’t very well-lit (caves and stuff). The combat served me well enough – button mashing is what I expect when someone says “action” RPG. I sort of liked that you could be strategic when it came to setting up your primary party and your secondary party, and even a third party to have in reserve – but then I realized all of these characters were onscreen with me as I ran off to locate hidden energy crystals. Talk about crowded! At least Goofy and Donald weren’t so far up Sora’s ass, you couldn’t see the boss.

Despite not being able to see the demo boss, I took him out in short order (the save featured over-leveled characters, huzzah!) and gave up the controller to the girl in line behind me.

Above: You catch more bees with honey... and more gamers with food.

Then it was on to Animal Crossing: City Folk, but that was only because the line for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World was longer. Animal Crossing: City Folk looked like it was directly imported from the GameCube Animal Crossing, with a larger town area to run around in and different NPCs. I was the most fugly-looking little boy with a beanie and I spent most of my time in the demo, running around and trying to find my house so I could empty my pockets. Failing that, I just settled for dropping cherries, fossils and decorative end tables to make enough room in my inventory to put my watering can away.

Then the line for Symphonia abruptly got shorter, so I made my move. However, the guy ahead of me got his hands on the controls and played Dawn of the New World for a solid 23 minutes straight. Other people gathered around me, fidgeting, wondering when this guy would give it up – but nobody wanted to be the asshole who asked for a turn. So I watched him play and marveled that he couldn’t seem to get the motion controls to work. How hard could it be to point the cursor at the flower and press A to trigger the flower bridge? He kept getting attacked from behind as he struggled, and most of the battles he spent mashing on the artes button to send his character into aerial attacks. Dude didn’t even bother to change his elements the way Nintendo Power says you’re supposed to…

Finally, I got my turn and wandered around the world map, trying to trigger the flower bridges. But the motion controls sucked and I found myself piddling around just as much as the guy ahead of me had. The only difference was I gave up after only 10 minutes instead of making the poor bastards behind me wait another half hour.

In disgust, I wandered over towards the back of the Exhibition Hall, maybe to get another look at the Pink Godzilla store, but I got turned around and wound up getting my hands on Damnation – since there wasn’t a line. I’d read a little bit about the game and knew that it was supposed to be this big, open-world adventure that featured acrobatic-type stunts and stuff. But I hadn’t read anything about cowboys, so I was surprised to see myself playing as one – gun slinging some far-off enemy I couldn’t figure out how to target (yeah, yeah, I don’t do shooters, so kill me). A small cluster of 12-year-olds formed behind me and one of them told me to use my “spirit vision” to target the sniper I was having trouble hitting. When I couldn’t figure out how to do it, I handed over the controller and watched to see what he would do – but I’d left him in a bad place and the sniper took him out three seconds later.

Above: Mountain of Pink Godzillas!

I wandered away before the demo level restarted and found myself staring at Rise of the Argonauts. And my only question is: how have I not heard of this game before? I’m totally down with mythology and I even suffered through God of War and God of War II just because I get a fangirl’s thrill of watching Zeus interact with Hera (it’s like the original soap opera). The game is still in early days yet, so the graphics were a bit chunky and the frame-rate was crap – but it played pretty well as far as movement. The environments were rich with detail and the cartoon-ish style of the characters totally worked for me; so I was really loath to give up the controller after only 10 minutes. But I didn’t want to be a dick and there were a lot more games to play.

Later, I felt bad because I realized I hadn’t actually experienced any combat in Rise of the Argonauts – I just ran around a hallway and made slaves open doors for me. But when I went back for a second bite at the apple, the line had suddenly swelled to ten people (I guess that E3 Game of the Year Nominee sticker above the demo table got some attention). However, it turned out man friend had played through the demo from the start and he filled me in on what I missed later.

Apparently, this game is ultra-violent between light attacks and execution moves. “Like Ninja Gaiden II?” I asked. “No,” he said. “Like Conan – except all the animations are canned.” He totally dug the big ass mace, the big ass shield, the big ass spear and the smaller-ass sword. You can switch weapons in the middle of the combo, so if you start out hacking someone with a sword, you can finish by pulling out the mace and caving in a guy’s skull. “It’s a pretty big deal,” said man friend. The combos didn’t feel really fluid to him, but we agreed that that had more to do with the game being in early development stages as opposed to the game potentially sucking.

Oddly enough, man friend was sold on the deep-looking advancement system. I had Googled the game for info about the god-based affiliations, but he was talking about aspects related to astronomy. Whatever that means. I don’t care, because I’m totally going to get this game just based on my 10 minutes with it – never mind man friend’s experience.

Next up was Lord of the Rings: Conquest – and that’s only because Mirror’s Edge had a line out to next week. My man friend volunteered to start waiting while I wandered off, and the closest console available was where I wound up. There wasn’t much of a wait to play Conquest – I assume because everyone’s already seen it. Even I’d already seen it at EA’s last Showcase event; and not much has changed between then and now – it’s still a Star Wars: Battlefront-style of action game where you can get by with button mashing. It’s pretty, though.

Man friend stood on tiptoe and waved me over to him. I dashed, thinking he’d gotten his chance at Mirror’s Edge, but it turned out he just wanted to vent. Some Parkour expert had cut ahead of everyone in line and was being given the royal treatment by the demo handler. The guy right behind Parkour dude got a consolation shirt, but the rest of the the jilted line-waiters had to suffer.

“It’s because of his shoes,” I consoled my man friend, staring at the funky-toed footwear the Parkour guy was sporting. It certainly wasn’t because this guy was good with games – he died like half a dozen times. To be fair, the demo level started you off with a pretty serious jump and if you botched it, down you went. But after that, he was getting shot because he wasn’t running up stairs fast enough to get away and he kept over-balancing on the part where you’ve got to walk across a cable stretched between buildings.

“Why is everything red?” Parkour guy demanded. Clearly, he hadn’t read up on the game… Then the PS3 overheated and I thought he’d give up and go away. But the demo handler – anxious to please – restarted the demo for him and ran through the level to get back to the point where he’d left off.

I checked my watch. It’d been more than half an hour with just this one guy!

Finally, he finished the level and the line moved up. At long last, we got our turn with the game and I let man friend take it since he’d been a dear about waiting in line. Man friend says the controls were a lot simpler than he thought they’d be. He was really impressed by the sense of moment and speed – the faster you went, the better it felt. And the combat was very minimal, which fit in with the rest of the game. He disarmed at least three guys and stole their guns – but “it didn’t feel right” so he threw each firearm away and kept running. He also didn’t really use the “bullet time” feature because it made the free-running feel less fluid (even if it did make disarm moves look cooler). The little touches impressed him the most – the multiple paths through environments, the way Faith touched the wall before rounding corners. I thought it was kind of dumb that you had to punch open doors, but he didn’t seem to mind.

My favorite part? The dot they added to the middle of the screen to reduce motion sickness. Seriously – a life-saver.

Man friend finished the level in 10 minutes and I pried him away from the console, stressing my etiquette about not taking too much time. I felt like I had been pretty efficient with the whole day, but when I check my watch again, I realized three hours had gone by and I hadn’t even seen half the games on the floor.

And that’s why I’m glad Crecente had his magic yellow badge and that I had three friends with me at the convention. Because there is no way one PAX-goer could ever do it this year all without some way to cut in line or some way to be in four places at once.

Stupid Parkour guy…*mutter, mutter*

It's another one of those surprises we knew absolutely nothing about before hand! At Nintendo's E3 press conference this morning, Animal Crossing Wii was revealed to a captivated audience who haven't heard the dulcet tones of K.K. Slider in such a very long time. AC creator Katsuya Eguchi appeared on screen at the conference to announce the new title. "I wanted to create a software where players could feel like they are playing together if they are playing at different times"

Like other ANimal Crossing titles, the game has no required goals - a realistic world functioning on a 24-hour clock. Other new features involve a city you can visit with an auction site, and a chat room where players can talk using Wii Speak!

While AC Wii is almost a certainty, Punch-Out is still firmly planted in rumor-land. Even though it sounds perfect, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high before Nintendo's E3 press conference. Now if only they could find away to combine Animal Crossing and Punch-Out...

News: Animal Crossing & Punch-Out!! Wii Detailed [N-Europe]

Tom East, online editor for ONM, writes on his blog that "those of you who have read the new issue of Official Nintendo Magazine should already know that Animal Crossing Wii will be unveiled at the conference." QED, I guess.

Since we've yet to see any ONM subscribers excitedly spill the details from the mag online — if there are any details, that is, outside of the brief Animal Crossing Wii mention we've already seen — we're going to hold tight on this almost-confirmation. But yeah, Animal Crossing Wii. We'll be shocked if it doesn't come up next Tuesday.

One Week To Go... [Official Nintendo Magazin]

It's Been A While! It's time to revisit an old friend. How's your village doing these days?

Pretty sure we'd be more surprised if Nintendo didn't announce AC Wii at E3.

Animal Crossing Wii Confirmed for E3? [Cubed3]

[via Lava Level]

Hit the jump for an image of December.

CONFIRMED: Animal Crossing Wii on sale this December. Er, no — what's on the other months? No idea! Still, we wouldn't put a big Winter Animal Crossing Wii E3 announcement past Nintendo.

Animal Crossing Wii Dated? [Mada Genkai]

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Animal Crossing Is Tragic [YTMND]
18. Animal Crossing [Kotaku via Spoilerium]

• Boy
• Blanca
• Mabel
• Mallary
• Brewster
• Elvis
• Aurora

Having returned from Japan with a sick "charm" obsession, seeing this makes me want to search every Asian buffet I come across until I find these. Hopefully Presto 117 will save me the trouble and just let me send him/her a check to go and get them for me. I only wish there was a KK Slider available.

It's boundless speculation time!

This is the modern-day version of acting out your parents' marital problems with Barbie dolls. The girl sits in her room, listening to her parents fighting in muffled voices, and begins to think she isn't good enough to have a good-natured, friendly Animal Crossing town. She begins sending out letters to her 'friends', first calling Tom Nook a bloody wanker (deservedly so), and eventually getting to the point where she's distilling turnips into alcohol and calling Tippy a 'fucking cow'. It isn't until Whitney comes to confront her that she realizes she needs help and brings the DS Lite to her mother, who completely misunderstands. Eventually the truth will come out, leading to a dramatic, "YOU, okay!? I learned it from watching you!"

That or it was a used copy, but that's just boring. Michael Fahey

Girl says Nintendo swore at her [Metro.co.uk - Thanks Peanutismint!]

The ever lovin' Faith over at Destructoid has posted a great list of what she considers to be fourteen of gaming's guilty pleasures. It's quite a list and populated, as one might expect, with a lot of cutesy poo games like Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon and the Pokemon Series. Reading over the list, I was mortified that I play almost half the games on it. That is a lot of guilty gaming for one person, although I tend not care so much what people think of my game choices. I mean come on, I have a pink DS with Mario stickers on it. Does it sound like I care?

So tell me, what guilty secrets are rattling around in your game collection? Flynn De Marco

The top 14 guilty pleasures of gaming [Destructoid]

Just in time for Earth Day, which is today (living in Taipei, where a layer of suspicious-looking black gunk coats every exposed surface on my roof, I didn't even notice), Game Daily brings us a list of the top 10 planet friendly games. A couple of my pet favorites are on here: Katamari, Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon (I'm not sure farming has ever looked so fun and environmentally friendly as it does on my DS) all make the list, along with some unexpected choices like Grand Theft Auto.

And what comes in at number one? Why, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, of course. Maggie Greene

Top Ten Planet Friendly Games [GameDaily]

Overclock Your Nintendo DS Lite [Modd3D via Make]

Dust off that box covered with Animal Crossing stickers, it's time to remember at the top ten games you loved (in my case) a year ago. But for all of you out there in Kotaku-land who already sold your box to buy something newer and shinier, this should make you reconsider picking one up at the next garage sale you crash.

I've already been inspired to find that infectious Mario Sunshine soundtrack. Kim Phu

Screw Attack's Gamecube Farewell [Gametrailers]

Alice over at Wonderland points to this cute as pie new set of gashapon Animal Crossing Toys. A similar set of these made their debut last year to much fanfare and were sold out almost immediately. Now, Yujin has issued this new set in honor of the Animal Crossing movie that which is hitting movie screens across Japan. Instead of having to buy all the sets individually, website NCS is offering the entire set including houses, furniture and lovable critters for $26 plus shipping.

The greatest thing about this Animal Crossing town is you can leave it as long as you want to, no weeds grow, no cockroaches show up (hopefully) and no cutesy doe-eyed animals are going to bitch you out when you finally come back. Flynn De Marco

Animal Crossing House Gashapon Set 3 [NCS]

National Console Support is now taking order for a trio of Animal Crossing mugs from Banpresto that just might fit the bill. Choose from KK Slider, Celeste and Blathers, or that son of a bitch Tom Nook to brighten up your day, for a very pleasing $8.75 each.

You know, I don't get a kickback from NCSX. I just want to enrich your life with more videogame branded crap! Enjoy! Michael McWhertor

Animal Crossing Ichiban Kuji - Mug [NCSX]

However, this Japanese mom goes to extreme lengths to keep her children interested in their food, creating gorgeously handcrafted lunchbox creations, most of them loaded with Nintendo character references. From Super Mario Bros. to Animal Crossing to Mario Kart, these food creations look too good to eat. Not that I'm a fan of carved Vienna sausages and boiled fish paste mind you, just that the craftsmanship is out of this world. Many more here.

Thanks to Synie for the wonderful tip! Michael McWhertor

I'm the type of guy who likes to sit through movie credits, ignoring the desperate pleas of whomever I am with as I scan for names, funny bits, and important messages about cutesy cartoon animal video games. I would have been in luck after watching the Japanese Animal Crossing movie.

According to Nintendo-Inside.jp and the electronic version of Kyoto Shinbun after the credits have rolled on the new Animal Crossing a message comes up as follows:
"Let's meet in Wii"

Animal Crossing Wii maybe here sooner than we think? [NeoGAF Forums, via The Last Boss]

Apparently inspired by yesterday's Yoshi snow sculpture, or "Snowshi" as one reader dubbed it (trust me, it was just a matter of time), Kotakuite Steve, sends in this picture of his sculpture of Animal Crossings traveling canine minstrel, K.K. Slider. I'm interested to know what the facial features are made out of, although I must say I'm a little concerned for the condition of that guitar. Flynn De Marco

Behold Lilly —my cute, button-nosed and raven-haired cousin — hugging the ivory DS Lite I gave her for her birthday, along with a copy of Nintendogs and Animal Crossing.

Her fraternal twin Aunna does not like cameras, so though delighted with her gift, she would not deign to look up from her virtual puppy and smile at the camera. She will be a surly punk rock heartbreaker as a teenager, let me assure you.

Of course, I'll have my revenge: here's what Aunna's beautiful smile looked like at one week old.

Thanks for your help, guys! They were delighted. The gift card read "To Aunna and Lilly, From Flor, Love Kotaku!" Florian Eckhardt

While I may think Animal Crossing is gaming's equivalent of guppies, some absolutely adore it. For those that cannot get enough of the game, here is a set of Animal Crossing stuffed, well, animals. These will get released next month in Japan for 1,200 yen (approx. US $9) a piece. They're kawaii and do absolutely nothing—much like the game. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Rakuten]

Some lucky gamer assembled some items from the Animal Crossing: Wild World "Mario Set" and decorated a cottage with them. Not exactly how I'd like to furnish my pad. If the music didn't drive me insane, the fireballs would make getting out the door a real bitch. Brian Ashcraft

Via Kotaku commenter Risky+Safety comes this frighteningly real image of the upcoming Animal Crossing anime. Guess this means the whole AC movie bit isn't some unfunny joke. Risky writes:

I was in a theater near Osaka station yesterday to see Nippon Chibotsu, and I saw this. The quality isn't very good, something I realized after I took the picture, but in the background is Tom Nook and the Able Sister's shop.

Risky, was that a dig at your camera or something else? Brian Ashcraft

Trailer Here [Kotaku]

Starting next week you will be able to download some cool free stuff for your copy of Animal Crossing: Wild World at your local Toys R Us.

The stores' DS Download Stations will have six exclusive virtual gifts available: a 1-up mushroom, star, fire bar,
goal flag, question box and pipe. The items can be used to decorate your virtual house in the game. The downloads will be available through July 29.

Cool idea, I just wish the'd offer up some freebies for the games I enjoy, like Mario Kart. Bring on the new Karts! Brian Crecente

I posted yesterday about the Animal Crossing movie magazine ad, and then updated with a link to the trailer hosted on the official site. Courtesy of GayGamer.net, today I go you one better, and actually cram the trailer itself all up ons. One wonders what exactly could cause conflict and dare I say it, plot in such a utopian setting, where dwarf ninjas partner with stunted little girls and take turns glossing each other's eyeballs with Vaseline. Eliza Gauger

UPDATE! Link to the trailer for this fine piece of cinematic history: watching preview here.

Due to goblins, this is the second time I've written this post. The lost post was absolutely the greatest thing ever jettisoned into the hallowed halls of American literature, and you should be weeping helplessly that you are deprived of its healing aura.

God damn it.

So, 4-Color Rebellion posted a huge, glossy ad for the Animal Crossing movie, which is due for Japanese release on December 16th. I've put the fullsize scan under the jump.

Bashcraft is going to snatch me bald for posting something this covered in kanji with no translation in sight, but its sounds like 4-Color has it covered:

A quick glance at the advertisement shows the female protagonist keeping company with a young ninja. With that sort of match-up, could we expect something similar to an anime remake of Bonnie and Clyde? Two lovers — one a small-town girl, the other a small-time practitioner of the ancient art of ninjutsu — both caught up in a deadly game of robbery and romance. The coupled criminals terrorize the Animal Crossing countryside until they're ambushed by the law and gunned down outside the steps of Nook 'n Go.

4-Color also posted their Oscar-nominated shortfilm, Brokeback Crossing, on the same page as they had this ad. It's the must-see movie of the summer.

And Tipper Josh sent in a link to the official website, but I haven't been able to access it all day. If you get in, alert me to the horrors that lie beyond, wouldya? Eliza gauger

Brokeback Crossing, and post about the ad [4-Color Rebellion]
Official Animal Crossing Movie site

Minimal, the second single from UK techno/pop duo Pet Shop Boys's new album, sounds remarkably like a tune from the DS Animal Crossing: Wild World. While the music is different, the tune's chorus echoes the voice AC's roving troubadour canine K.K. Slider. With none of this is confirmed (and for good reason), there is a similarity. Check for yourself. And buy their new album. It's moody. Brian Ashcraft

Compare Here [Discopop] via 4CR

Sure, we may have awesome blue jeans and universal health care, plus some of the best breasts the world has ever seen, but what we don't have is a marginally acceptable customer loyalty program along the lines of Club Nintendo. Oh, Japanese game buying public, how I covet thee.

The latest and greatest goods from Nintendo Japan are pictured above and include (left to right, top to bottom) Link and Mario notepads, Animal Crossing tape, Mario (and Wario!) hanafuda cards, tiny Mario washcloths/batchrags, DS game and stylus holder with a fruity rainbow of styli, Nintendo DS pouches, Club Nintendo bookend-style DS game rack, the highly desirable Game & Watch Collection (containing Oil Panic, Greenhouse, and Donkey Kong) and Animal Crossing playing cards. Every single item is a delicious slice of awesome, when you're a die hard Nintendo fan. Like me.

Anyone wanna hook a weekend editor up with that DS pouch? Anyone?! Michael McWhertor

Club Nintendo Hotness Follows

At Harajuku's LAPNET SHIP, the gallery/cafe is holding a Animal Crossing art exhibit for the next thirteen days. Ten artists, illustrators, painters, etc. were invited to contribute to the event and created works based on the Animal Crossing universe. Besides art, there are also a related goods like capsule toys for purchase, and visitors that bring their DSes snag a Wild World download. Admission is free, but visitors need to make reservations beforehand. The exhibition's opening was *surprise* crowded. —Brian Ashcraft

Ah, Capsule Toys [Watch Impress]

As a result of the game's success Nintendo has already hinted at plans for a Wii version and is also planning an animated movie, to open in Japan this December. Unnamed members of the game's development team are said to be involved in the production, which will apparently retain the themes which has made it so popular - despite the fact that the game has no overarching storyline or ending. The director of the movie will be Jouji Shimura, who has previously worked on properties such as Master Keaton and Shin Angyo Onshi.

Nintendo has previously hinted at plans to enter the animation business, although it is unclear whether this new Animal Crossing project is a major part of those plans, or merely a separate response to the game's success.

Actually, Nintendo getting into animation is a fantastic idea. They have a portfolio of kid friendly characters to easily rival Disney or Warner Bros... yet their game worlds tend to have a touch of surreality to them, like Fleischer Brothers shorts. As long as it was the sort of animation that used to be ubiquitous — high-quality, aimed at children and adults alike — I could see myself getting excited about a Mario animated movie. - Florian Eckhardt

Previously: Anime Crossing
Animal Crossing Hits 3 Million In Japan, Anime Planned [Gamasutra]

Image Here

While I personally cannot think of anything more dull, Nintendo is moving ahead with an anime Animal Crossing. The DS version, AC: Wild World, has been a monster hit in Japan, moving three million copies. Likewise, Europeans have gone bonkers for the unending and plotless game, while the game has been a mild US success. Go figure. There are many other Nintendo properties I'd rather seen animated before Animal Crossing, but that's neither here nor there. The movie is slated for December in the Land of the Rising Sun. It will be cute and very, very boring.

Full Story Here [Gamasutra]

Urbane Gridskipper correspondent Jean Snow points to girly Japanese mag GIRLIE, which does a big Animal Crossing issue. Cute and girly popstar Kaera Kimura graces the cover and is interviewed about the game. There are also tips on how to get in-game accessories and lists of favorite characters. How girlie!

More Here, All Manly [Jean Snow]

Play a little Animal Crossing: Wild World over the Easter weekend and Nintendo promises to deliver you a little letter and special present. I wonder if it will be a crown of thorns or a chocolate easter egg?

If you must get your virtual freebie for your little animal collective, make sure to log your DS into Wild World between Friday and the end of the weekend.

Animal Crossing: Wild World Gift for Easter [British Gaming Blog]

A sticker-free, knock-your-socks-off, cuter-than-cute, custom painted Animal Crossing: Wild World DS. Must have.

DS Here [British Gaming Blog]

Wait, you can beat Animal Crossing? And there's a survival mode? Hmm, wonder if it includes knives...

Yay! Finally completed Animal Crossing!

And I got the Good Ending, too:

Brewster finally admitted his true feelings :)

When you complete it, it unlocks Survival Mode - which stops you from saving so you have to do it all again in one sitting :(

I thought AC was never ending, any clue what this blogger is talking about?

Completed it [Animal Crossing Daily]

He also hints at other unique functions of the Nintendo Revolution that they're exploring beyond the remote controller to make the Rev Animal Crossing experience fresh.

Chat with Eguchi [IGN]