Joe got his hands on this original game, and it's definitely an interesting play.
The main idea: You're a big fleshy block head. You have a cardboard box for legs, and you have to eat everything you can. The end result is Animal Leader, a very interesting and original GameCube game.
All the graphical elements in the game are done with a kind of blocked off style, with no anti-aliasing and rounding to be found anywhere. It all gives a good effect overall though, making the game seem simplistic even while it is still graphically impressive.
The idea of the game, at this point at least, seems kind of like an improved version of EVO for the SNES. You walk (more like flop at first) a 3D world looking for animals to assimilate. When you do, your boxy legs form into that animal's type of locomotion, and you gain a bit of its abilities. The enemies that you fight give up hearts when you defeat them, like EVO's food system.
It's a very different game than anything else that's out there right now, and it's definitely worth looking into the development as work continues on it. As for a US release of the game at this point, it's anyone's idea.