Well, I certainly hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. For the first time in a few years, I did relatively well in the wish list department. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of wish lists, simply because I think it's up to the gift-giver to determine what they think I would like. However, with so many media choices out there (games, DVDs, music) it's a good idea to give some ideas as to titles I don't own or plan on purchasing, because there's nothing like having the recipient tell you they already own X when you went out of your way to get it to put a major downer on your family gift exchange.

Anyway, I did receive a couple of games I requested, notably Metroid Prime 2 and Mario vs DK for the GBA. Both are games I've wanted to get but either haven't had the cash or haven't found them on sale. Now I've just got to find time to play them amongst all the other titles I'm fooling around with, including some classics (see Now Playing for details).

You'll find that it'll take me a while to finish a given game, simply because I have so many other interests outside the gaming domain that occasionally a game gets lost in the shuffle. The biggest example is that it took me almost 5 years of off-and-on playing to complete Final Fantasy VII. There would be stretches where that'd be the only game I would play, and then stretches where the disc would spend months in its case, never to see the laser-light from my PS1 (or PS2).

What is one of those interests? Amusement parks. Right now is the off-season for most every local park, so it'll be a long cold winter before I'm back riding my favorite coasters and enjoying the out-of-doors. If you're also a theme park fanatic, be sure a link to Screamscape is in your Favorites list ... http://www.screamscape.com. It is one of the best rumors and news sites out there and will keep you up to date on what's happening at your local fun zone.

Until the parks reopen, there are Koopas to stomp, Space Pirates to zap, dungeons to explore and races to be won. Have a Happy New Year!