I was gonna hold out for the inevitable 3DS remodel, but GameStop's Cyber Monday Web offer was too tempting.I got the smexy black Legend Of Zelda special edition model, plus the Ocarina remake and a $20 credit, all for $199 - not a bad deal at all. The $20 credit will be blown more or less immediately on Mario Land 3D. I haven't had a working portable in over a year and I miss having one in the arsenal, so I jumped the gun. Screw you, scruples! Now I get to go back and buy all of the good DS games I missed... this is gonna get expensive.

Thankfully, I've been living on the cheap as of late, and have more or less avoided the holiday blitz to buy a ton of $10 games I missed when they were hot. With one exception, of course, which you know as...

Skyward Sword: I could do without all of the bird-flying, but otherwise, it's some damn good Zelda. I actually like how dated the game looks - it feels more like a video game than an interactive movie. The art direction is gorgeous and the music is even better. The motion controls for the sword take some getting used to - frustration abounds for the first hour or two - but once you get the handle on them, you come to appreciate the depth of being able to hack a dozen different ways as opposed to spamming the attack button.

They REALLY need to get rid of the goofy noises characters make when you talk to them, though. Either go with full voice-acting or just leave them all as mutes like Link. Zelda's giggle when she talks is fine; it's the random shopkeeper who insists on shrieking "BREEEAAAPPP?" every time you visit him that drives me insane. Not a big fan of Fi, either... feels too science fiction for the LOZ series. Little Midna casts a long shadow, I guess.

Still, these are nits that I pick. It's a keeper.

Mirror's Edge:Had meant to get this game for what feels like five years. Thought it was more interesting than fun, and the story is pretty generic. Still, there was no denying the thrill of first-person platforming, and there's something to be said for a game - especially in this modern, on-rails player-friendly era - where you just jump into the unknown and hope there's a place to land. Insane leap of faith, followed by a baseball slide under some pipes and then popping up to roundhouse-kick a security goon in the face? That's worth $12. The number of people who have played the game more than once can probably be counted on two hands, though.

3D Dot Game Heroes: I loved the concept; all I heard specifically was that it was 'Zelda-like,' which was probably the understatement of the year. This game is a love poem to Zelda from Atlus, to the degree that I'm amazed it was even legal to manufacture. The game is so self-aware that it doesn't manage to capture LOZ's earnest charm, but if you have a PS3 and DON'T have a Wii, well, this is the only Zelda game you're gonna get. Also, note that it's a clone of the original 8-bit Zelda and not the new fancy ones, so the game is only for us old people.

WWE '12: Got this for half price, so I took a chance on it. The new wrestling engine is indeed a great improvement, and the game looks much better in every department. I was also excited to see a ton of old-timers as unlockables for gaming night with the guys. I also love how you can simply bypass the single-player modes and just pay .99 to unlock everything - so delightfully crass. The announcing is still horrible, but that's what digital music players are for.

Hope everyone had a good holiday!