I still haven't been able to get that darn torpedo down the chute in Rogue Squadron II, so I decided to start Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. What a mind-blowing game. And to think this originally was supposed to be for the Nintendo64 system. Just, wow! The sounds, voice acting and graphics really make this one of the creepiest games I've ever played...

I better be careful though, it's not exactly the best game to play until 3 a.m. and then try to go to sleep :o

Well, that COULDA been the headline if Maryland, my alma mater, hadn't lost so many seniors to graduation and Chris Wilcox early to the NBA the year after they won the NCAA Tournament in 2002...

But Wilcox is still a Terrapin in NCAA Basketball 2K3, so I could make my dream a reality - and I did. I played most of the season on the default from-behind camera view - going 22-5 and finishing the regular season ranked second behind top-ranked Florida (26-1) and winning the Naismith Award with Wilcox, who let the nation in scoring and rebounding.

But the game became a million times better when I accidentally switched the camera to the side view. So I played the NCAA tourney that way and tore it up! I beat Florida in the Final Four and held off a surprising Notre Dame team in the title game. The Irish were a No. 7 seed. And Wilcox was the tourney's leading scoring at 30 points per game, but somehow didn't win tourney MVP! It went to a Lousiana Tech guy who got knocked out in the first round and wasn't among the leaders in any stat category. Sounds like a glitch to me. (At one point during the season, 4-17 Hampton was ranked No. 1 ahead of 21-0 Florida. So 2K3 certainly is buggy. But at least the play control is good and the action animations - dunks and layups - look cool.)

With PC games off-limits until my computer is safe again with a new power supply, I'm now going to focus on Rogue Squadron II. It's fantastic, but I haven't been able to get past the Death Star bombing run. Practice makes perfect, I suppose...

Well, I guess my ongoing journal about Black & White is temporarily on hold... My PC had been acting weird lately, with random restarts and crashes. Now I think I know the problem: My ancient Dell only has a 145-watt power supply!

I recently bought a butt-kicking 256MB ATI Radeon video card on sale for $40, an upgrade from my 64MB nVidia, and since the Radeon doesn't have an on-board cooling fan like my previous card, I also put a cooling fan in the slot under it. But I guess my computer can't handle the additional voltage.

So I did some Googling and found a company selling power supplies that's recommended by a lot of PC sites. The best part is that it's specially made to fit in my oddly shaped Dell case and has a good warranty. So as soon as I get that 400W sucker, I'll hook it up and we should be good to go!

All these years I've been maxing out my little Dell with the most RAM it could handle, a bigger and faster hard drive, a fast CD burner, etc., when I should've been taking care of the most basic need: where the juice comes from!!

I mean, really, 145W? Even for a computer from the year 2000, that's pitiful! I'm lucky my wife has a computer, or I wouldn't be able to feed my Internet addiction and troll the Gamespot forums when I'm not at work :wink:

I'm going to take a break from my Black & White journal for a minute to brag about my two new emblems and my jump up to the rank of Mediator. Thanks Gamespot, I feel like a proud papa! I logged in this morning and saw that I got the Old-School emblem, which, for me, is probably one of the most coveted. I'm an NES fanatic, because I spent my formative years playing ground-breaking games like the orginal Zelda, Metroid, Tecmo Super Bowl and Ninja Gaiden. Those were the days!

Today I also earned the Good Taste emblem, which is very cool as well. I've always prided myself on playing challenging, cutting-edge games. I do have a couple of games considered stinkers by Gamespot, but those, such as NCAA College Basketball 2K3, have sentimental value for me. For example, 2K3 is not only the lone college basketball game ever made for the GameCube, it came out the year after my alma mater, the University of Maryland, won the national championship in 2002.

So, following sports video game tradition, my Terps and the Indiana Hoosiers - who met in the title game - are the default teams in the head-to-head matchup when you turn on 2K3. Plus, Maryland is really good in 2K3! :D Currently, I'm on the road to March Madness, trying to win back-to-back championships. In fact, I think I'm going to go play a couple of games right now!

Black & White is an innovative real-time strategy game. Like I said before, I'm usually not into these types of games because they often require way too much effort and are highly addictive. And I certainly have an addictive personality (just ask my poker buddies). Well, Black & White has me hooked.

The co-worker who gave me the game warned me about a "steep learning curve," and he was right. I actually felt a bit nauseous trying to get accustomed to the free-look camera controlled by a floating hand. But so far, so good.

I helped the pitiful villagers build a temple in my honor, then tackled my first mini-quest. Along the way, I picked up a male villager and put him next to a female, and they immediately kissed and headed to a hut to make a baby. Apparently this is how I will maintain the population of the village. Hilarious stuff.

So for my quest, I had to find three stones to open a gate. Two were easy enough to get, but one presented me with a dilemma: Do I act benevolent to earn the stone by saving the villager's sick relative who wandered off in the rain, or do I let him die and smash the house to get the stone? Bad or good, Black & White, get it?

I chose the "white" path, for now.

Behind the gate was my choice of three giant animals - a cow (?), an ape and a cheetah - which I will train and command to be nice or ransack the land. I chose the ape, of course. Monkeys rule! My wife got a kick out of watching me rub the ape's belly to make him happy. I think I'll name him Newman, which will be our next dog's name. Yep, we're "Seinfeld" freaks.

Alas, I had to go to work before learning how to train Newman using a leash and different collars to affect how he acts. That'll be fun...

WELCOME one and all to my GameSpot blog. I never realized what a great site this is, with all the game-rating and profile-building goodness. It's very cool to add games to your collection or wishlist. Make sure to click on "My Games" to check out what I have and what I want.

Anyway, on to my ramblings:
Super Mario Strikers for the GameCube is great and everything - the graphics look good, the play control is fun and the games are fast-paced. Yeah, the 2-point "super strike" goals are a bit much, but if the people over at Nintendo had just added a couple more features, it could've been a Game of the Year candidate.

What this humble video game savant would've included:
Stats - How can you not include a list of each tournament's leading scorers and assist disher-outers? The only semblance of stats you get are a mini postgame "box score" that doesn't really tell you much.
Smaller tourneys, mini-games - Other than the first basic cup tournament, most of the others are tremendously time-consuming. I really enjoy this unique game, but it's a little much to play 14 games in a row. Some skill-building mini-games - like goal-shooting or lob-passing - would've been a nice addition. The never-ending "practice" sessions just don't cut it.

Next up, Black & White for the PC. A co-worker was kind enough to give me this fascinating older game. I'm not usually into RPGs, but this one has piqued my interest, being able to be a god - ruling over villagers who worship you while you grow your own giant creature...