With the release of Crosswords DS this week, will a $10 price cut compel you to buy New York Times Crosswords instead?

Amazon's "Deal of the Day" happens to be everyone's favorite alf-loving crossword game (again). While $10 for any game is hard to resist, keep in mind that puzzles from the New York Times are tough -- make sure you have the mental fortitude before picking this one up. You might also want to note, though, that Mother's Day will be here soon, and this might make a nice, cheap gift for DS-owning moms.

Imagination is the Only Escape is only in its early stages, and yet, the game is already causing controversy.

This Holocaust-themed title is about a Jewish boy in Eastern France during WWII, when the Nazis occupied the territory. The game's world then becomes a fantasy land, imagined by the boy in order to "escape" the harshness of reality. The New York Times caused some alarm this morning, though, reporting that Nintendo wouldn't be releasing Luc Bernard's DS game to America.

The article, however, might have been jumping the gun. It's true that Nintendo of America has no plans to distribute this title, but Bernard hasn't even approached the company yet. A representative from Alten8, Imagination's potential publisher, also told Eurogamer that no one has blocked the game and that it's still in its early stages.

Does that mean the game is in the clear, though? Not necessarily.

We hope that many of you flocked to stores this week to get Barnyard Blast. If so, or if you're a fan of crosswords, you might be happy to know that the same developer (Sanuk Games) is coming out with Crossword Challenge.

Or, you might be thinking, "Another crossword game?" Aside from the New York Times title, Nintendo is coming out with one in May. Then there are iterations using The Sun's crosswords and a USA Today's. So, in other words, five games. If you speak Japanese, there's also Compile Heart's release.

We don't mind an oversaturated crossword market, though. New York Times puzzles can be too hard, Nintendo ones might be too easy, The Sun's will be too trashy, and USA Today's crosswords are always too similar. In our opinion, there's definitely a place for this Sanuk Games project.

Of course, whether there's room in the market is another question. The New York Times rendition came out long ago, but surely sales for the other four will eat into each other, with (we think) Nintendo's being the most successful. Whether or not the publishers do well, though, there's no doubt that with competition, the consumer always wins.

This late-night post marks the fourth time we've referenced Milhouse's ALF quote from "Bart Sells His Soul," the Simpsons episode in which Bart trades in his soul for five bucks. Out of all the ALF pog allusions, however, we can confidently hold up this one as the best. How is that, you ask? Two reasons:

1. Check out this screenshot that Gray Whitten took from a New York Times Crosswords puzzle on his DS! Any game that makes an effort to mention furry, large-nosed Melmacians sounds like an obviously fantastic game to us!
2. We've finally obtained a video clip of that classic scene from when Bart confronted Milhouse about getting his soul back. We've embedded it right after the five-letter word for interruption.

Stuck at home while every one else is out shopping, reaping the savings of Black Friday deals? Or maybe you just didn't want to deal with the crowds, afraid that you'll end up in a fist fight over the last Gold Nintendo DS Lite bundle? No need to worry -- there are a few sales you can still take advantage of online!

Amazon

• New York Times Crosswords - $9.99

Circuit City

• Cake Mania - $9.99
• Cooking Mama - $9.99

EB Games

• Konami Classics: Arcade Hits- $9.99
• New York Times Crosswords - $9.99

[Via CAG]