I'm still playing Okami this week. I've actually passed the point in the game where I quit last year, so that felt like an accomplishment. I've got about 40 hours on the game clock now, and using the 'Stray Beads' as an estimate, it looks like I'm about 70% through the game. Given that I'd been pretty down on myself for changing interests so much in the past year, I'm proud of my stick-tuitiveness so far. At least, as proud as one can be while keeping in mind it's just video games.

I'm getting used to the control scheme on Metroid Prime, and I can see why it got such good reviews. I think I'll probably like it. I don't know if that means I'll like other first-person games or not, but I'm more open-minded than I was. The hardest part for me is not being able to see the character's feet while walking near a ledge or jumping across things. It seems like it's fairly forgiving, but I'd really rather be able to pull out to 3rd person while jumping. Oh well.

The Now Playing List will probably stay about the same for the next week (unless I finish Okami), except that for the "ol'-skool" slot I haven't decided whether to keep on with Rocket Knight Adventures or move on to something else. It seems like sort of a shame not to try to beat it before I put it back away, but there's a lot of other "old" games on the shelf to evaluate, too. (This is the part where I should remind myself that gaming is about having fun, not productivity, and I should keep playing it if I want. But next to it is Castlevania Bloodlines, and the choice isn't as clear all of a sudden.)

Vacation in two weeks! Not much longer now...