Graffiti Kingdom ships

Gamers tired of the same old character creation mechanic that merely lets them choose their character's hair color, gender, and wardrobe got some good news today. Hot-B, a publisher located in Burlingame, California, today announced that Graffiti Kingdom is now shipping for the PlayStation 2. The game was developed by Taito and was previously released in Japan, where it earned some game of the year nominations from certain outlets.

As the malleable Prince Pixel, gamers will embark on an adventure to restore the Canvas Kingdom to its former glory by defeating an ancient evil. As he quests to save his parents, the prince will battle enemies and acquire various drawing tools and "form cards" that aid the character.

With said drawing tools, players can "draw" their characters almost anyway they want to. Using their imaginations, gamers can make their hero a five-legged teddy bear or an amorphous blob. More-detailed tools become available by progressing through the game. Those a little more left-brained can take the easy route and select from one of 220 customizable characters.

A two-player mode is also included, and it lets gamers battle head-to-head.

Graffiti Kingdom is rated E for Everyone and retails for $29.99.