I understand that most gamers aren’t the biggest followers of football, but if you missed out on Superbowl 42, you missed an amazing game. When it was 10-7 and the Patriots just went down the field like there was no defense on the field, I figured it was all over. But what a comeback by the NY Giants and Eli Manning. Absolutely amazing to watch that kid kick it into high gear in one of the biggest events of the year. Well, it looks like some of the experts were wrong.

On to a more gaming related story, let me speak once again about Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. I’m not going to try and bore you to sleep with how great the game is, but rather let you in on a bit of a frustration I have encountered. As much as I love the game, the online mode is driving me bonkers. It could be that I have been spoiled by the Xbox Live service, but it is almost impossible to play anyone online in a friend match. They quite literally have to be your friend. Like someone you talk to or live near, not some random forum person who just wants to play. I wish that I could turn on Advance Wars or any other game for that matter and see if someone else is playing, you know, like a unified friends list. I don’t care if I can or can’t see what they are playing, just let me know if they are online no matter what game I’m playing. Give me the option to turn the feature on and off.

I get that Nintendo is trying to keep everyone protected and for the most part it works, but with no one willing to play me locally, the Wi-Fi mode is my only available outlet for getting my Advance Wars fix. The play anyone feature is nice, but all the maps and effects are chosen randomly. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but some of the maps are completely out of balance to one player or the other and are no fun to play on. Honestly, how does that happen? No really, think about it for a second. How does a horribly unbalanced map end up in a randomized map generator for online play. It’s as though they have all of the maps in one folder during the programming phase and tell the computer to grab any map from the folder. Jesus Nintendo, I love you, but would you PLEASE give us a few options?

It really shouldn’t be this hard after over twenty years of gaming . . . should it?

MAD wasn’t too happy about having to draw Kirk this week, but it was offset by getting to draw not one, but two hot chicks. Artists - I’ll never understand them.

- Dover

Greetings from Beau’s Eight-Sided Cage of Pain . . .

I have lent my copy of No More Heroes to Dover because I have been limited on gametime lately. I would not want to deprive anyone the joy of the gem that is No More Heroes and if you have not purchased it I will require a written explanation detailing your lapse in judgment. Anyway, onto a game that really isn’t a traditional game at all. In my opinion, however, it is a worthwhile title nonetheless. Endless Ocean for the Wii is a relaxing journey into the deep blue with little or no real defined goal except peaceful interaction with life under the sea.

This title will not appeal to everyone, so I am not saying that you should shell out (yuk yuk) the cash to take it home. However, it might be worth a rental just to see what none of the hype is about. This is a sandbox title in the water. You can complete simple goals involving swimming around, exploring, and doubling up with a friend over WiFi, which is a very nice touch.

The level of detail in the game (at least underwater) is great. Zooming in on the coral reveals detailed formations. You can interact with the various aquatic life (that means fish and stuff). By interact I mean feed the smaller fish, grab hold of the whales and ride into the deep. There is a lot not to actively engage in this game and that is part of the appeal for me. The music is all very relaxing and the whole experience is a nice break from the day.

If you are looking for nothing to do on the Wii then this might be a title for you. If you are looking for a Grand Theft Auto kind of experience, then this is not for you. You cannot feed the small fish to the larger fish. You cannot fish with dynamite off the stern of the boat. There are no weapons of any kind, not even a harpoon. This is a mellow title meant for experiencing the peaceful environment that dwells beneath, without the very real life fear of being eaten by a shark or shredded by a barracuda.

- Beau

Childhood is a fine mix of abject misery, utter delight and genuine curiousity at the unknown. If we are all composites of our previous experiences, then the innocence moniker applies only to the most näive among us: the children. For me, one beautiful element of that bygone era is the newness of everything. Specifically for this argument, the newness of gaming. Without expectations or notions on "proper" gameplay, every instance of gaming transmogrifies into a revelation on par with discovering a great secret. Vividly I can recall spending hours traipsing through the dungeons of Ultima, mapping each area on graph paper for reference. The Macventure game Dèjá Vu? I had a spiral notebook brimming with notes detailing every step of my playthrough. Same for Uninvited and Shadowgate. I would not hesitate to invest hour after hour throwing my armies into the brink on the battlefields of Warsong, and left no pixel untouched in my quest to garner a 102% completion rating in Donkey Kong Country 2.

I have noticed a dimness creeping into my brain as of late, as though the luster of the hobby I treasure dearly is wearing off. Games now are arguably the best they’ve ever been - certainly they are more sophicated and complex than the simple exercises on which I was weaned. However, I cannot shake the feeling that I am increasingly disinterested in the admittedly fantastic experiences offered up. I played and enjoyed Mario Galaxy, but too much of the journey felt rote. The joy of Mario 64 or Super Mario World was not present. I can’t endure any more Half-Life. Episode 2 rests on my machine, untouched and uninstalled. Call of Duty 4 is fun, but I wouldn’t particularly care if it were stripped from me. I worry sometimes that my apathy is shouting down my hobby.

I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic. I still rock out on Rock Band, and No More Heroes stands as a swift kick to the action genre’s ass. Devil May Cry 4 produced a marvelous demo, echoes of Ninja Gaiden, and Final Fantasy Revenant Wings has proven to me that the ol’ RTS girl still has some vigor in her. But as I held the new Advance Wars in my hand this past weekend at the game shop, I had to sigh and put it back. I’ve played the other three, and I wonder how much juice I can squeeze from the same fruit. Maybe I’ll just let this one go by.

- Irving