Bonk: Brink of Extinction | "DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!"

Hudson Soft's booth was pretty packed at this year's New York Comic Con thanks to a solid lineup of titles such as Lost In Shadow, Deca Sports Freedom and Bomberman Live Battlefest. But it was the return of Bonk that really sent me back to the future. Bonk: Brink of Extinction was on the floor and playable from start to finish and between the massive levels, awesomely funny classic game mechanics and nifty co-op gameplay, Hudson has a real winner here. Unlike many “retro” remakes, don't expect to see movement in the 3D plane or flashy CG movies between stages. What's here is pure side-scrolling bliss that's going to put an ear-to-ear grin on your face that won't leave for weeks.

Hudson's ancient (but forever young) cave dude just won't drop off the planet, but that's actually a good thing for TG-16 fans who remember spending countless hours head-bumping and jumping through some classic adventures. Here's a fistful of screens from the upcoming platformer currently in development at Pi Studios and set for release over PSN, WiiWare and XBLA later this year. Single player and two player co-op modes will be on board and yes, side-scrolling action is in full effect along with a few new abilities.

It's too bad this new Bonk game isn't shipping on a disc along with all the rest of the classic Bonk games with a fancy schmancy name like “Bonk's Collection” or something like that… I'd pay good money for that (plus a full-color artbook) any day of the week.