I'll be honest, I didn't think this year was going to produce a two-pager. But as it turns out, I might have actually gotten more stuff this year than I did last. I won't bother to count, but feel free to do so if it bothers you not to know. This is really strange, because I figured Christmas wouldn't be as great an occasion since now I'm an adult. But it was pretty much the same. Everyone still treats me like a kid, so I'm happy. But as much as things stayed the same, there was a lot of difference from last year.

The first thing, and most prominent for me, was our dog situation. Last year we had good old Mojo. I was forced to watch him a lot, so I got rather attached to the dog. But this year, we've got our new dogs. The whole season reminded me of Mojo, and gave me this strange sensation inside. I think it's what you people call "emotion". And then there was the fact that this year I only had two video games on my list, as opposed to the lists of years past that had only two items that weren't video games. It could have something to do with the fact that this year I have a job and money, and I can buy the things I want. Lastly, this was teh first year where I eer had to actually go out to find things and buy them for my family. Previous years saw my parents doing my shopping for me, and it was different for me to have to do it for myself. But that's enough reflection for now, it's time we get back to the important matter at hand: showing off my material posessions!

I had pretty much given up on my hopes of collecting the new line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys after the third series came out, and haven't gotten any since last X-Mas. But then I saw these guys, and I knew that if I was going to have any TMNT toys at all, these would have to be the ones. The Toddler Turtles are possibly the best version of the Turtles I've ever seen. While they only show up in the random flashback in the show, that's more than enough to produce toys for them. Just look how cute! And the little pretend weapons! As a bonus, all four come in the same pack at the price of a normal figure, so you don't have to shell (Ha! Shell!) out four times the cash to obtain the complete foursome. If you'd like to read up on them a little more, Matt has an in-depth review of the little guys. And many more pictures.

It was inevitable. I tried to avoid it, I did, but people kept buying me DVDs of things, so it had to be done. I aksed for a DVD player. And then I got one. It's not an expensive model, but it sure gets the job done. Plays the DVDs quite well, and also comes with MP3 support. I guess there's not much else to say about it other than the black colour matches with my GameCube really well. And it fits on the shelf pretty good too. Ummm... I'm really reaching for stuff to say here, folks. Well, I've got nothing else, so it's time to see what kind of stuff I got to use this with.

Well what do you know, it's season four of Friends! Still a good three seasons or so before the series apparently jumped the shark, it's a good season to have. Full of excellent Joey antics (particularly when they go to England) and some great episodes, like the one with the big "who knows who better" game. Ah, that was a classic. But I still can't think of an episode that beats The One Where Nobody's Ready from season three. If you need a refresher, go check last year's article. That should shed a little light on the subject. And once again, I seem to be left without much to say, so it's onto the next thing.

Hooray! Futurama! When the show first aired, I watched it every once in a while, but never really got into it, but ever since Teletoon's been running the show, I've been watching every chance I get. And now, I have the season two DVD set! On top of that, I've bought seasons one and three between then and now, so I've got plenty of Futuama to watch whenever I want. It may just be a phase, but as it stands, Futurama is my favorite show on TV, new episodes or not. While I always enjoy the Simpsons (even the new ones, which for some reason, everyone else hates), I think Matt Groening really outdid himself with this series. Not to mention that it stars one of my favorite voice actors, Billy West, in at least three roles. And to top it all off, Dr. Zoidberg is probably my favorite cartoon character ever. He's so awesome. I've actually been watching all the episodes with commentary, and it's friggin' hilarious. There are often a few too many people to keep track of, but it's still really great, and offers a lot of insight into the show. Season four will be mine soon, and then I will have them ALL! Because having them ALL is a very popular theme with me.

Good news, everyone. I've got what might be the most original game ever. Well, if Wario Ware had never existed, it certainly would be. Feel the Magic: XY/XX is a pleasure just to own. It's an incredible game that easily deserves its own review. that's why I'm doing one, and I won't write much about it here, other than a few base facts. Base facts like how it uses the Nintendo DS' touch screen to the fullest extent yet, and even uses the microphone feature on more than two occasions. It's a deceptively simple, and somewhat short game, but it's a blast to play, and would have been even better thad they implemented some sort of multiplayer mode. But no game is perfect, right?

It's funny how deceiving the cover is. It managed to trick my mom into thinking that it's some kind of horrible sex game. I was even kinda surprised that she picked up on the chromosome thing in the title. I guess it's common knolwedge to anyone who's finished up to grade six or so, but I never really though that people knew hat kind of thing. Just seems like a little reference that only smart people would pick up on. So even though my mom was totally against it, I got it for Christmas. I even tried to get her playing it, but she just kind of gave up, saying it was too complicated. Pah. It's funny how some people are so stubborn and won't even try new things. Excellent game. This and Wario Ware: Touched! are easily worth buying a DS for.

The Sims 2. Never thought I could really enjoy the Sims again, but then along comes this. It's just the upgrade that the aging game needed. There were far too many expansions that didn't really offer anything new. But the sequel packs it on, with many new gameplay features like Wants and Fears, the aging of your sims, and even little side-missions. I also recently learned that you can earn special items when you complete certain tasks, in a nod towards a similar feature in the SimCity games. i really can't explain how much better this game is that the first. Hell, you can even decorate the neighborhoods if you so choose. Want some trees over by the shopping mall? Just plop 'em down. Not enough rainbows in your sky? Too many rainbows in your sky? Add some more, or tear 'em all down. I did a pretty comprehensive review in my Ten Greatest Games of 2004 article, so you should scooch on over there if you want more detail. For the abriged version, this game rocks. If you didn't like the original, you probably won't like this one either, but I think it's damn good.

Oh yes, and the big-boxed version comes with a "bonus hint book". I'll tell you now, that is a freaking exaggeration. Not only does it not need the big box, due to the book really being a booklet no larger than the instruction manual, but the hint book itself is pitifully worthless. All it really does is explain about the different aspirations, which the instruction manual and in-game help stuff do quite well. that's really all there is to it. No more than a six-page aspiration explaination. Then it's even got the nerve to advertise the real strategy guide on the back. That damn Prima is trying to sucker you into buying their guide for a game that doesn't really need one by giving you a tiny taste of what they're serving up. I should go buy a guide by any other publisher just out of spite.

I was surprised last year at how not-so-bad Big Shiny Tunes 8 turned out to be. But I saw commercials for 9, and said to myself "it's time to stop getting them". With bands like Billy Talent, Evanescence, Nickelback (whom I don't mind, I just can't stand the new stuff, which it was bound to be), and a bunch of bands I've ne'er heard of, I was ready for this one to be craptacular. But really, it's not so bad. It actually turned out quite well. Billy Talent, the only band on the CD I cannot cope with, is number one, so I just have to skip the first song every time and I'm good! Other than that, it contains the only Evanescence song I don't mind, and I can tolerate Franz Ferdinand and Nickelback long enough to get to the good stuff. And speaking of which, you've got The Killers' "Somebody Told Me", a kickass Blink 182 song by the title "Feeling This" and astonishingly enough, Hoobastank is on the CD, but not with "The Reason" (which I've grown to dislike due to massive overplaying), but "Same Direction" which just plain rocks. Also worth mentioning are Jet and Yellowcard. Overall, it's a pretty good CD. Much more than I expected. Now we'll just see if 10 is any good, though I'm kind of hoping that it'll be the last. These Big Shiny CDs are starting to clutter up my collection.

Our last item for this year is this neat RC Mario Kart thingy. I've seen it online a couple of times, but have resisted buying it because of a rather hefty price tag. It's a cool thing, and a great addition to my collection of Mario stuff, but I don't think I'll ever actually use it. For one, it needs like a bajillion batteries, including at least one 9-Volt. I just don't have that kind of battery budget. Well, I suppose I could make the effort to buy a few, but still, it's more of a display thing. A quick glance shows that it can only move straight forwards and back up to the right. Not exactly racing material if you ask me. My little micro-charger thing could probably win a race against this big boy, even though it would need a minute of charging every half-lap. You really can't make an RC toy without the ability to turn. It just doesn't work. But, you know, whatever. Better I get if at Christmas for free than give in to temptation and buy it from Lik-Sang for like 50 bucks. And if you think I wouldn't eventually crack, you really don't know me at all.

And that, my friends, concludes my 2004 Cristmas article. It may have come late, but I sure think it turned out better than I was assuming it would. You may feel a bit cheated that I gave you a single review instead of a handful, but.. well, yeah, you got screwed. Unless you hate my writing, in which case this is the best case scenario. Except for if I had followed my orignialest plan and just not done one at all. But nay is the case and now it is done. i wish I could think up some more stuff to say, for a conclusion of a single paragraph is barely a conclusion at all.

Ah, yes, that's it. I'm quite surprised at how much stuff I got, considering that at 18 I'm pretty sure my gift allowance was to be cut in half at least. But it turns out that Santa is particularly nice to some adults. Heh heh. Yeah, my parents are great. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do that fateful year when they finally decide it's time I grow out of getting a shitload of gifts. I guess by that time I won't care quite as much as I do now. Or perhaps they'll just wean me off slowly by giving me slightly less each year. It's gonna be sad the first year this special isn't a two-pager. I think that's gonna be when I quit doing it. If the site lasts that long. But we've made it through two years of rambling filler, and I'll bet I can make it to five, at least. I just hope somewhere along the way I can grow out of this Angelfire dirt. In any case, I hope you enjoyed. See you next article. Or blog post. Whatever.

~Ryan
E-Mail: Tuominenator[at]gmail[dot]com

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