I've been playing videogames for a good long while now. I think it's almost about time to call it quits and focus on other priorities. The last game I'll probably be playing will be Mario Kart Wii. Afterwards, I'll probably get rid of all my gaming equipment and start focusing on other stuff. It has been a fun run while it lasted.

So the unthinkable happened today and the batteries for my launch-day Wii have ran out. It was a good run and I feel a little sad tossing those spiffy Panasonic LR6AA Industrial Alkaline batteries away into my recycle bin. At just under 2 months, I'd say they lasted quite a while. Ah well... I just stuck in a couple of Kirkland Signature AAs and I'm good to go again.

I got fed up with having to use my neighbors' wireless signals everytime I wanted to play my DS games online so I lowered the encryption on my Netgear router from WPA to WEP.

Of course something would go horribly wrong when I did. Something went awry and my router stopped working. Switching it back to WPA got it up and running again just fine. Granted that it's still covered under warranty, I wasn't in the mood for talking to a tech support rep in India for the next hour  or so only to have him/her to tell me that there's something wrong with it and that I have to mail it somewhere and be without it for the next 1-2 months.

So, with my router being useless to me at that point, I decided to shop for another router. As luck would have it, CompUSA had a nice ****** wireless router on sale for $10 after MIR. I went out and bought it, brought it home and set it up. It's been about a week now and the router has been working perfectly without any problems whatsoever. I'm able to share files between my NAS and systems just fine and I can play games online just fine on my DS. That and now I'm sure that I'll be adequately prepared for the Wii.

Now I just have to work up the patience to call tech support for my old router.

Just bought Mario vs DK 2 the other night and am about an hour into it so far. After completing the first set of levels, all I can say is that this game has a cute, mischievous, feel to it. From the colorful and vibrant levels to the giggles, 'yahoos' and 'oh yeahs' of the minis, this game will appeal to casual gamers and Nintendo fans alike. Oh yeah, and it's easy on us lefties as well. The A, B, X and Y buttons can be used to scroll through the stage just like the directional pad.

(for some reason, launching a bunch of mini, giggling, Marios at DK in the first boss fight and watching him real back in pain as if punched back by a pro boxer had me giggling like a schoolgirl)

Mario vs DK 2 plays a lot like Lemmings. Some noteable differences are, unlike Lemmings, time cannot be sped up, the environment is non-destructable, there are only a handful of mini Marios to deal with and all the necessary tools are present in the environment.

Hardcore gamers may be turned off by the repetitiveness inherent in this type of game, but as a long time Lemmings fan, I love it. I can't wait until I complete the single player mode and start building and downloading custom levels. :)

Here's some photo proof that my new DS Lite does not support the WPA level of encryption that I have set up. It'll support WEP just fine, but I'm too stubborn to lower my network's security. :)

OMGZ I just got my DS today! It came with Brain Age (free!) at Best Buy! :D

The buttons, directional pad, power switch, volume slider and hinge all feel great. The level of detail and craftsmanship that went into the design of those moving parts is very high. It may be a bit subtle but they all add up to something that feels very solid and classy - kind of like a German-engineered car. If you've ever compared the sound and feel of closing the door of a Japanese car vs a German car, you'll know what I mean. :)

As has been said several times before, the brightness of the screen is eye-bleedingly good! It should be very playable outside in the sun. I'll have to test that out tomorrow to confirm though. The speakers do sound a bit quieter and a little more subdued than the old DS, but they serve their purpose and manage not to sound as tinny as on the older model.

Here are some pics...

DS Lite - Check!


Hori screen protector - Check!




Gloves to prevent finger prints during application - Check!


Fan/Ionizing Air Cleaner to minimize dust and debris during application - Check!


Screen protector applied with NO bubbles and only 2-3 specs of dust trapped underneath! No dead/stuck pixels either - Yay!


Time for some action shots!










And last but not least...

Good news is that I finally saved up enough cash to subscribe to a broadband service and set up a wireless connection for it. Bad news is that I don't have a cable long enough to connect my PS2 to it and my DS does not support WPA encryption! :cry:

w00! I have a GS blog! :D