Well, I've been home from the Caribbean for a few days now, and as my tan quickly fades in the bitter cold of a Cleveland winter, I find myself with plenty of time indoors to catch up on gaming. While on my cruise, I finally finished Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. I loved it so much that I've now gone back to finish/restart Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. It's already better than its DS successor in the self-referential humor department, and I would have expected nothing less from a series with as much history as Mario. I also used what little spare time I had on my trip between swimming, snorkeling, and eating more food than I ever thought possible (I know, vacation is tough) to get my life started in Animal Crossing. I'm happy to say that life in Kakariko Village is running very smoothly, despite the glaring lack of classic NES diversions. I'll definitely miss all those hours playing Super Tortimer.

Here's a nifty sunset picture I took from our cabin's balcony. 

For Chanukah this year, I got Mario Tennis: Power Tour (GBA), Mario Party 7 (GCN), PoPoLoCrois (PSP), Bust-A-Move (DS), and a 1GB memory stick for the PSP. There aren't any AAA titles in that list, but they're all games I've been waiting for. I'm excited for Mario Tennis because I've been trying to rationalize my GBA Micro purchase. Mario Party 7 is great for a casual night with my girlfriend and her family. PoPoLoCrois seems like a nice, simple RPG for PSP gaming on the go, and Bust-A-Move is just plain fun. The slingshot mechanic seems perfectly suited for the series. And I'm excited for the 1GB memory stick because I have plenty of videos of my new nephew to show off!

In other news, both ReviewSpotting and Community Contributions seem to be growing nicely. We've gotten the last few issues floated in General Games Discussion, and the supply of high-quality entries has never been bigger. Expect a larger-than-normal issue shortly after the New Year.

Lastly, I should be bumped up to Level 17 any day now, which is pretty exciting. Normally, I wouldn't mention anything like this in a blog entry, but (with the possible exception of Blaster Master) Minus World is by far the best Rank name on GameSpot. It's wondiferous.