As easy as this game is to make fun of, when you cut through all the weirdness, it does have some great parts.  I'll give you a mild spoiler (which should really not be a surprise if you played the original) and say that this has one of the most heart-wrenching moments of a Final Fantasy game.  Probably the most, since it somehow manages to encompass all of the tragedy in the original FFVII in the same fell swoop without seeming tacked-on.  However it's prefaced by a lot of nonsensical jibba-jabba about goddesses and honor and lifestreams and so forth, and is accompanied by an amazingly innappropriate j-pop song.  My brain has somehow come to terms with this, and I will probably be able to enjoy Final Fantasy-like games for many years to come, but it sure as heck

Lately I've been seeing more than a few news and blog stories about game reviews and what they should or shouldn't say.

Both Metacritic and Gamerankings place this game at 94%. The lowest rating I could find was 80%. I'm not trying to rock the boat or anything, but I can't say I agree with the prevailing gaming media sentiment here.

Things I liked, in order of most importance to least:

I was surprised by this game. Based on the reviews and on Rockstar's reputation, I was expecting it to be enjoyable - but instead discovered that it's a whole lot more than that. I just hope the developers realize what they've done.

Overall, I really liked this game, but since it would be really boring (for me) to write about the overall game, I'm going to be more targeted in this time - complete with bullet points (always a good choice when one doesn't feel like writing connective text to frame one's thoughts and ideas).

Girlish giggles taunt me as I plummet to my death, over and over. An upbeat, looping soundtrack - reminiscent of an 80's sitcom theme song - becomes my eternal funeral dirge.

I'm speaking, of course, about a sled race with Yeta, an adorable abominable snow-woman who dresses like a Babushka doll. She's the only thing standing between me and the final piece of heart that'll complete my last heart container.

As is typical for me, I thought I'd finally say something about New Super Mario Bros. - long after the game has been released and everyone has played it. Namely, I like it, a lot. It's basically a continuation of the sort of gameplay that Nintendo retired after Super Mario World - which is exactly what I've yearned for ever since Mario went 3-d. I might even go so far as to rate this game my "second favorite" in the series, following Super Mario Bros. 3.

While I'm waiting for my 72 iTunes songs to download, I thought I'd write a bit about my recent experience with the PS2 version of Liberty City Stories.