games!!! i have been playing games! it's been a while since video games have taken over my mind, but now i can feel that burning desire to pick up my gba or go back home and fire up my cube. yesterday, via gamefly, i got viewtiful joe. yeah, it has a weird name, but so what? it's awesome...red and yellow. explanation: it's a 2-D, side-scrolling, action/beat-em'-up (think original double dragon or streets of rage). the kicker for this game, however, is that it's cel-shaded to look like a comic book...and it's done well. the point of the game is to beat up the bad guys and make the ass-kicking look as good as possible...that equals more points, of course. to aid you in making spectacular moves are the abilities to go "slow-mo," "mach speed," and "zoom-in." combining these 3 effects allows for some really crazy ways of ridding the screen of enemies. the best thing about this game is that it's fun, even in the difficult parts. i can see why x-play gave it a 5 out of 5.

the other game that's holding my attention for right now is mario & luigi: superstar saga for the gba. this is the follow-up (in spirit) to super mario rpg (snes) and paper mario (n64). that means this is no typical mario game. it's more of a nice combination between mario and zelda with some heavier rpg elements thrown into the mix. you play as both mario and luigi, the latter always being second-best...everyone refers to him as mr. green or green-stache, and are trying to get the princess's voice back. you walk around areas and can see your enemies, much like zelda. however, when you touch an enemy, you go into battle. here's where the rpg elements come into play: battles are turn-based and rely on button presses, but also have combos and item use included. i like this take on combat. if the button presses are timed just right, you can always counter-attack without being hit, cause extra damage, etc. the script for the game is pretty good, too. it's lighthearted and humourous (sp?) without being childish or stupid.

the last thing i want to type about today is the music i've been listening to as of late. about a week ago i heard some stuff on shoutcast that i liked, so i hunted the band's web to see what they had out album-wise. well, i found their homepage and it just so happened that the song i heard and the rest of the album was available for download on their site...mp3 format, even. that band is chimerical child and their music is nice. it's downtempo/trip-hop/etc...good stuff to drive to or study to. one thing i noticed is that most bands / people in this genre are independent and not afraid of offering their songs for free over the web. it surprised me, to say the least. i'd even go as far to say that if i can find their albums in cd (most of them offer vinyl...this isn't the friggin 70s) i'll most likely buy them. how interesting considering the riaa is/was wanting to shut down independent streaming radio stations (shoutcast) and that's how i found out about them. furthermore, i downloaded their music for free from the band's own site and then say that if i can find the album, i'll buy it. it kinda goes against what they're claiming: mp3 downloading is making people not want to buy cds. considering that i just bought some cds this weekend, 1 of which i had already downloaded the mp3s, because they were cheap, i think the riaa needs to open their eyes.