One of the “problems” around the holidays season is the flood of quality games that come out. Publishers are always vying for that Christmas market, and set release dates so that people have ample time to wrap up a game and put it under the tree. I’m currently addicted to Tony Hawk Underground for the GBA. I’ve been playing some Prince of Persia, although without a controller it’s very frustrating. I can completely understand why so many people have such good things to say about it, but I’m thinking that it’s only playable as a console game. There’s also Uru, which I still have to play and finish with Trolley. Then there’s Double Dash for the GC I haven’t tried yet, and Wind Waker I haven’t finished yet.

Good thing I already finished Call of Duty before Christmas, and the Thief III and Half-Life 2 release dates have been pushed back or there would be no way I’d be motivated enough for class.

It’s seven in the morning, and the sun still hasn’t come out yet. I’m completely exhausted. I’m going to try to take a six hour nap, and then stay awake until night to put my system back on track. Nick says he’s going to go to sleep now and wake up at noon. I say, “Hahahhhahah good luck buddy”. I’m too tired to go to practice (I’d be scared of falling asleep on the bus ride there), so I’m just going to spend the day fighting sleep. Maybe I’ll watch Midway, Ghandi, or Seven Samurai to keep me busy. Maybe I’ll install Sands of Time so I can stay awake. Gaming is the only thing that I can do without falling asleep. After all, I’m still awake at this hour.

Dina bought me a platinum GBA SP! I can’t believe it; I actually gasped when I figured out what it was. It’s been a pretty rough day, so this was a really nice surprise. I can bring it with me on my trip to Hong Kong so I can play on the plane. Now I want to buy so many games, like the sequel to Paper Mario on N64, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Fire Emblem, Tony Hawk’s Underground, and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. There are actually more I would buy if I won the lottery, but for now, I can download a few and upload them to my flash cartridge with the linker.

I snapped and bought Viewtiful Joe. I’ve been waiting for a game like this with old school play mechanics for a long time. Capcom heightened the sensation, and added in a bunch of great effects and depth. It’s a very difficult game, but extremely satisfying. I should really stop spending money like this, because I’m starting to look for things to sell.

I feel mostly recovered today after the gaming marathon Nick and I hosted over the weekend.It started Friday afternoon and ended on Monday morning, with a few sleep breaks and food/Family Guy/Mr. Show breaks in between. Trolley and Wheaties lugged their computers over, including a spare monitor for Aaron. Jacques brought his entire setup by cab, that’s how hardcore he is.

We were able to play same Quake 3 and Serious Sam 2, but the bulk of our time was spent on trying to complete Diablo 2 with new characters. We managed to get to the end of Act III, but the weekend ran out. At one point, we found ourselves surrounded at a vital waypoint, and started doing dragging runs to fight smaller groups of monsters.

All in all, the best LAN ever.