So yesterday I finally managed to claw my way into the Tetris DS global top 100 with a rating of 7581. Unfortunately, now I'm too scared to go back online with it because I know I'll inevitably mess up against some 6000-rating player and drop like 500 points. So, in the Tetris-deprived interim, I'll offer a few thoughts on this latest version of the classic game.

Tetris DS is probably the best WiFi-enabled DS game at the moment. Mario Kart is great if you're playing with three friends, but that can be hard to coordinate. On the other hand, getting into a simple 1v1 Tetris match is so quick it can be dangerous—many times I'd start it up while, I dunno, waiting for a big download or something to finish, and before I noticed it'd be half an hour later. For people who aren't prone to Tetris addiction, it's a great addition to the DS's casual gaming, pick-up-and-play library. The only thing that would improve it would be if you could start an online match from anywhere instead of being limited to wi-fi hotspots.

I thought gameplay additions like the ghost piece and infinite spin would ruin things, but their effects haven't bothered me. The ghost piece actually dramatically speeds up the game. I'm still undecided on whether the hold piece belongs in a Tetris game, but I'm leaning towards yes; it finally provides some countermeasure to being dealt an endless series of those horrible Z- and S-pieces. My main complaint about how the gameplay's changed (since the 1989 Gameboy version, anyway) is that the rapidly increasing gravity makes the single player mode pretty stupid and infinite-spin-reliant after about 10 levels, but that's easily forgiven thanks to the addictive online mode.

Well, that's good to know. I'm eagerly awaiting the day it's acceptable to call someone a faggot for cutting me off without signaling. It's a nice thought to declare that the language has evolved and we're over all the loaded connotations a word can have, but it's still pretty idealistic. It just distresses me because instead of people being more conscious and informed of what they're saying, they're opting for a questionable path-of-least-resistance excuse and hoping everyone else buys it.

Somewhat less controversial examples of dictionaries making concessions:

alright - A hideous and depressingly widespread hybrid of two totally unconfusing words. Spelling it like this looks like you're typing drunk. Whenever I see this in some high-visibility ad or article, I hope that a copy editor somewhere is getting fired.

literally - Thanks to everybody propagating incorrect use of this word, many dictionary entries for this now have a secondary listing explaining that it can also mean "figuratively." How many words in the English language are their own antonym??

WALLAH! - OK, probably not in any dictionaries, but please. Your flourish is undermined by your illiteracy.

Last night I got to the final castle of New Super Mario Bros., and I couldn't bring myself to go inside. It's taken a great amount of willpower to limit myself to about one world a day to make the game last this long, but I guess today will be it. I've still got a few star coins and secret exits to collect, but it's sad to think that after a little more than a week, I'll have seen everything. Still, while NSMB doesn't come close to offering the amount of content or level intricacy of Super Mario World or even Super Mario Bros. 3, it's one of the most fun and addictive games in recent memory. The level design starts out kind of simple (maybe to let you refamiliarize yourself with controlling a 2D Mario), but later on just about every other stage throws something new at you. It's probably optimistic and definitely not in character with the series, but it would be nice if they could take a nod from Castlevania and start putting out one of these a little more often.

Oh, and another thing: While the Super Mario 64 DS-inspired minigames are fun, the Mario VS. Luigi mode is a huge surprise. The rounds I played with Morgan have all been unbelievably frantic and have involved a lot of screaming. It's probably the most intense multiplayer on the DS, and you can play it with only one game card, too. Make an effort to play it as soon as possible.

Here's an inexplicable and hilarious snippet from importer friend Lik-Sang:

The end of the preorders queue for the Nintendo DS Lite Crystal "Cocaine" White has been reached last week, a few days after Ice Blue and Enamel Navy got cleared.

And you thought importing a DS Lite was tough before the DEA started intercepting shipments!

And you thought Ouendan was the most addictive thing to do with a DS!

And you thought the increased brightness was the only advantage of the DS Lite's new screen!

The Six Stages of PlayStation 3:

1. Denial: "Six hundred dollars???"
   
2. Anger: "And they totally ripped off that motion control thing at the last minute, too!"
   
3. Bargaining: "Maybe I don't really need the extra 40GB and HDMI."
   
4. Depression: "I will work more hours to buy one."
   
5. Acceptance: "Oh, right, there's still the Wii."
   
6. Metal Gear Solid 4: OMG RAIDEN TORNADO, I NEED MONEY
   

Anyway, I made some wallpaper, but I don't know if I'll be adding it to the gallery since it's just pasted together from a bunch of the promo screenshots. For now, here it is:

1024x768
1280x1024
1600x1200

Update: My video capture app is being uncooperative, so here's the the audio.