The atrophy of Gabe's ability in Fighters is something for which I am at least partly to blame. With few exceptions - Freeman and Iron Man, for example - I put up a mostly token resistance, so if he has come away from all these mock conflicts with the impression of indomitable personal prowess, no man could blame him. Other than checking out those new maps and 'mechs, he has committed himself entirely to being abused in online matches. The ability to hold "tournaments," with spectators and the like, would be quite welcome - I'm curious if the imminent Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 will improve upon the current matching system.

Those Goddamn GBA SP's showed up yesterday when I was over watching people injure Gabriel, so I guess I'll have to wait until later today. I have had many requests from humans curious how it compares with the Afterburners they have already, and I'm right there with them. The more compact size, I can give or take. It's the light and the battery pack I'm in for, and if the light turns out to be only okay the status quo begins to make some very compelling arguments. Hopefully I'll have it before I need to tear my computer apart, and I'll be able to kick out a quick note to all concerned parties.

I'm really in the mood for an RPG at the moment, but if something breaks my concentration in the middle of a game - like moving, or whatever - I sometimes can't get back on task, ever. I was playing Asheron's Call nightly for hours on end until I fled Chez Rats, and once I got into the new place, I played it long enough to buy some golden pants and that was it. Of course, that didn't stop me from trying to buy Dark Cloud 2 yesterday, which I would have done, if it hadn't been sold out of every one of the four stores we went to. Hopefully that's a good sign. For RPG's, though, that's hardly the only game out this month - in fact, good luck even trying to play them all. If Xenogears is any indication, good luck finishing its sequel (prequel, yeequel, whatever) Xenosaga before the year is out. Our operative at the Bellevue mall GameStop swears by ".hack", and he has a very sincere face. There's also a new Breath Of Fire game, but I couldn't tell you what that means exactly, because I've never played one. Tentatively, I am prepared to say it is as good as the others.

I tried to buy Apex when Dark Cloud 2 didn't pan out, and for some reason no-one had that either. At that point, though, I was primed for commerce - and I was able to bleed it off by purchasing a snappy reversible belt. I sat down, reversing and unversing it, and wondered if my gut feeling about Apex was correct - had Ridge Racer 4 returned? Ridge Racer 4, the one that showed me that racing games were, in fact, just games, and could be enjoyed independent of an irrational fixation on conveyances? The controls were demanding without being simmy. It had an almost RPG feel to it, your cars leveled up after races, and eventually changed shape altogether - but there were four different teams to race for, and all has specialties and unique progressions, in addition to a story, a strange story, but a story that carried you from race to race. It was very engaging, and the reviews I've read of Apex make me hope.

I do apologize for any brevity or lack of vigor the last few days. It feels as though key portions of my brain are packed up, along with everything else.

(CW)TB out.

speak to the sky