Up late talking games & writing? You're...

Pray for me, people.

Games: Warhammer Squad Command for PSP is a total thumbs up. Haven't completed it yet, but the mechanics are silky-smooth, the graphics are good, and it provides very straightforward strategy action with a good kick. It's a little thin on the options and customization, but I'd rather my Strat games go too light than too heavy, honestly. So far, I've gotten more than my $20 worth.

I also just finished Pokemon Ranger on DS. My son picked this out so I was obligated to go thorugh it... it's my policy that what the son plays, the parents play. That way, we know what he's seeing on a screen, and we also know what the heck he's talking about when he needs help or whatnot. Anyway, the wife volunteered to go through Pokemon Pearl, so I took Ranger.

Ugh, what an annoying little game. The main hook is that players draw circles around spazzy, jumping Pokemon to try and catch them. Sounds simple, but it's a lot harder than you'd think. My son got frustrated pretty early on, and I can see why... for a kids' game, the circle-drawing is a perfect way to get someone's aggravation up. The rest of the adventure is a brain-dead simplistic RPG, so snooze city there -- but at least that aspect was playable for young ones.

Why is it so hard to find quality kids' games?!?

Food: Take a few scoops of sherbet (rainbow, orange, whatever), add ginger ale, and some fresh fruit slices... Stir and sip. Pretty damned good, right? Props to the Mother-in-Law for that one.

Love ya, MA.