PixlBit

Great! I'll have to look for it!

My son was very much into the Metal Fusion era of Beyblades this game is from. The show seemed not too bad, but I have to give major props to the actual toys. They were really pretty cool. It's pretty neat that you can mix and match the parts to make your own spinner with different properties -- which have impact you can really see. 

We did get a DS Beyblade game, probably because it came with a Beyblade. It seemed pretty bad. I never really tried it, but I watched my son play it some and it seemed like the results were pretty random. Sounds like the Wii version isn't much better. 

Happy Birthday to Snee-Mom!

I read this one too and liked it quite a bit. I've yet to read the Forerunner books you mention, but I need to. I liked the dual timelines, and especially liked reading about the Prophets returning to their homeworld and learning a bit more about them and how they barely ascended to lead the whole Covenant in the first place. I am guessing we'll see some tie-ins with Halo 5 with the whatever-they-were-called Elites. Possibly another weak tie in to the story like Halo 4 did in the co-op missions. Oh well, the book was good on its own. 

I like Reach and ODST best, but I prefer health packs, so...

I love the Halo stories and lore too, but I hate the way they are portrayed in the actual games. I actually got into the extra stuff because I was wondering wtf was going on with that Little Shop of Horrors dude in Halo 2. Once I understood the Halo universe, I dug it. The opening scene from Halo 4 is the best they've ever done at conveying anything at all. It helps that I know who is who before the scenes even start, but I thought that opening scene was impactful.

Glad you like the game, Blake! I play a lot of FPS games, and I enjoy the way Halo lays everything out the best. 

I love the DS/3DS! Glad you got one and are enjoying it. Since you asked for non-standard recommendations, some of my faves are Monster Tale (DS), Attack of the Friday Monsters (3DS eShop), and Parking Star (3DS eShop). Also, any picross game is a good pick for sure.

There's always the Etrian Odyssey games too, of course, but those aren't going to appeal to everyone. There are demos for the 3DS games, though, so give them a shot. 

Even though I loved the NES, its gun games always left me cold. I played a ton of Shooting Gallery on the SMS around the same time, though, and it was a lot more fun. Watching this video, I can see why... looks like a lot of variety, and how could you not try to earn a synthesized voice telling you that you did "PERFECT!"?

The DS has slowly but surely become one of, if not favorite systems of all time. I still buy games for it pretty often. Interested to see your picks!

You couldn't have selected a better image for this blog. Great work!

Now that I understand the "numbers theories" I'm going to close my 401(k) and roll it into a progressive jackpot. Thanks!