24 hours just isn't enough

I know this is ridiculously obvious but I feel this way more than ever the last few days and weeks.

24 Hours in one day just isn't enough!

I mean, it isn't enough to get the non-essential, goofing off type of stuff accomplished let alone the real things that probably should matter.

I come home and eat and then help kids with homework or read with them and before I know it, it is time for them to go to bed. I don't mean I want them to go to bed but that it is best for their health and well being that they actually do get some sleep.

The funny thing is, the kids think we're "punishing" them when we make them go to bed on time and that somehow we just don't understand. Well, I'd like nothing better than to keep them up another hour or two and play some board games with them. Thank goodness my younger ones can't play RTS games online with me yet or we'd have serious issues. (well, they could but it wouldn't really be fair now would it...)

Or what about that neat National Geographic or NOVA special (of which there are dozens on my Replay saved) that we haven't watched yet. When will we ever find the time?

That's why I'm blessed to have time at the end of the year (usually) to take some time with the kids while they are off and do nothing but play board games all day. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always a blast and important but the real fun is the day after. Nothing to do but play games. The same goes for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Hopefully we'll have the same amount of time then to break out the latest box of fun.

So I say to all of you:

Happy Day After Christmas!

More Galaxy

While my friends discuss loftier topics, I'll continue to do the really important stuff of talking about, what else, games.

I've continued nibbling away at Super Mario Galaxy little by little and I'm struck by just how truly wonderful this game is. It is such a casual and entertaining bit of simple gaming that I can't really say enough good things about it. It really reminds me of the simple pleasures of games of the past.

With that said, I did actually find a bug when doing battle at the Reactor stage. The boss (Bowser in this case) tries to jump and stomp Mario and actually jumped off the planet and presumably into infinity. It was very weird. I just ran around the planet for about 3 or 4 minutes waiting to see if anything would happen and had no choice but to exit the stage and return to the observatory. And of course, I had a nearly perfect run through that level that time. I can't say I've found too many bugs in console games before.

One thing that is absolutely fantastic about the game is the way they mix up the early stages so that they have some replay value. Many of the stages have variations that pop-up due to a comet flying around and when the comet is around a particular planet/galaxy it modifies the game play by speeding it up, having it timed, becoming a race, etc. I only wish the Cosmic Mario race wasn't so difficult. I've only run against him once and it seems to require a near perfect execution of all the moves to even keep up.

The other thing I'll briefly mention is that, at first glance, the controls seem so amazingly simple. And to the player, they are simple. But what people I'm sure don't realize is how the designers managed to subtly adjust the controls for each situation so that you don't actually have to think about what way to move the controller to get Mario to run in the right direction. If you push forward and happen to pass around the edge of a platform and end up upside down, technically, the push forward should force Mario in the opposite direction. The designers had the good sense to let Mario keep running in the same direction. If you stop and then push forward again, guess what, he runs exactly the way you'd expect him to but in precisely the opposite direction that the same action had him going just a second prior to that. It's truly amazing and it is apparent how much the designers thought about the controls to make sure the 3D environment and strange angles of the camera don't screw the player up. Everything is very intuitive.

Anyone who owns a Wii should absolutely have this game.

They'll be missing a great time if they don't.

Tip of the Day

Keep the top of your head pointed in the opposite direction as the force of gravity on whatever large object you happen to have your feet planted on. (or did have feet planted on as the case may be)