Games:

Finished Halo 2. Though it has one of the most unsatisfying endings ever, and part of the gameplay is one of my pet peeves (switching playable characters), I really enjoyed it. I really like the atmosphere, and I really want to find out how it all turns out. Been playing a lot of the multiplayer, and as a multiplayer game, it’ll be around for a long time, I think. Picked up the soundtrack on sale at Best Buy, and though it doesn’t have what I wanted (which was the instrumental version of the song “Blow Me Away” by Breaking Benjamin (the lyrics are really pretty insipid), I like it quite a bit, as well. Also picked up a copy of Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, which I’d already finished, ’cause I found it in non-Greatest Hits packaging, and I don’t actually own a copy, and it’s a really stellar game. One of these days, I’ll also pick up R&C III. Maybe when the INSANE GLUT of games dies down.

Also been playing NFSU 2 and LOTR:TTA. Both EA games, which I got at discounts from the store. Had I not gotten these cheap, I’d undoubtedly be playing GR2 and R&C III already. Ah, well. NFSU 2 I didn’t really like at first, but it’s growing on me. The city’s a pretty interesting environment, and though it’s really “more of the same” in terms of the actual racing, there’s a lot of races, and a good variety of tracks. TTA is a weird one, which I may have already elaborated on, so I’ll put that off ’till later.

Looking to get Alien Hominid, but none of the stores I’ve been to have it in stock. Alas! Perhaps next week, or sometime tomorrow, I’ll swing by the other local EB, and trade in Catwoman, which is well and truly awful (and I got it for $5, and the $5 went to charity, so whatever), and maybe Drake of the 99 Dragons, also awful, also for $5, though not to charity, alas.

Also played with a demo DS unit, and I remain relatively unimpressed. I used the stylus control on the Metroid demo, and it actually worked alright… for the demo unit. Without the demo unit stand holding the DS in place, though, I have NO IDEA how I would play this game. It’d be nigh-impossible to use the stylus with one hand, move with the other, and also mysteriously levitate the unit in some marginally stable way. The thing’s also fucking ginormous, and I wouldn’t be able to carry it in my pocket even if I wanted to. So, between the DS’s ergonomic catastrophe, and the PSP’s awful battery life, which one will come out the winner? Easy. The GBA.