Been playing this for most of the day, and have finally managed to get to the top of the scoreboards on both Score Attack and Marathon modes. That means Challenge and Time Attack modes are open for me. And are clearly impossible. I realised today what the point of the dropping-to-the-ground first section is – you build up points, and then the more points you get for that section, the better the Yoshi you land on. Different coloured Yoshis have …

I am KING for I got 280 on Score Attack. The thing is, I know I can get at least 320, as I managed 120 on the first section, before messing it up, on an earlier attempt, and on my 280 go, I only got 81 on that bit. Actually, 280 isn’t really very high. I’m just hoping you don’t realise that. And now I’ve ruined it. Bah.

Another few goes at this, on Score Attack mode, and I’ve managed to up my high score to a measly 230. I seem to have misreported my previous high score, which was 210, not 260. Me == Rubbish.

I don’t normally list web based games that I play from time to time on here. Nor do I mention emulated games often, either. This web based game will break that trend though. Grid Game, for want of a full proper name, is addictive. It’s simple. It is a click once, then wait game. You need no skill to play. But play it you must. My current high score is 2097. For I am best.

Entered the Palms Singles tournament, and won it with relative ease – I even managed my first hole in one! Once again, I was losing to start with, but soon overtook everyone. I realised why too – it’s because the other players had played more holes. I though it was odd that “Nate Dog” went from 0 to -5 after a Par 3 hole… Then I practiced on the Marion putting green, learned about Approach Shots, and had a go …

Hurrah! New game day! I’ve been waiting for this to arrive from DVDSoon for what seems like ten million years. Played Score Attack a few times, figuring out the controls (who reads manuals?), and scoring 260 on my best attempt. I then had a couple of goes at Marathon mode, reaching 2260m. What a truly bizarre game it is to control, but it’s intuitive, and that makes it all OK. No singing Yoshis yet though.

Went and did some drive and approach practice on the Palms practice area. Was crap at the former, and acebest at the latter. Whilst I was in the area, I decided to have a go at the Palms Doubles tournament. It started off much harder than the Marion one, in part because my partner has become a retard for some reason. He actually aims for trees and bunkers. Idiot boy. After three holes, I was on +5 and the leader …

Thought it best to actually take part in some tournaments today, so went and competed in the Marion Doubles. Which I won, with easy (I was -5 at the end, compared to my nearest rival, on +6). Then I did the Marion Singles with similar success. I’m assuming the game actually gets harder, as it was really simple to come first in these two tournaments.

This arrived during the week, so I gave it a go today. Although a competent golf game, I’m a little unsure as to how the RPG elements work. I mean, I’ve gained a few levels (I played a practice round of doubles, had a go on the random club 3 hole game, and found a level-up mushroom), but altering some stats seems to be a bit hit and miss. For example, if I “spend” points on “Height”, for Ella (my …

Decided to have a run through Arcade Mode on the hardest setting on this. It was, well, not too hard actually. I picked characters I don’t normally use (so that’s no Ken, Ryu, Iori, King, etc) and instead went for Athena, Eagle, Rolento and others (I died a few times, you see). This game is great, if played with the Street Fighter II pads, like I was. Standard PS2 pads are rubbish for everything. Came 7th on the score table. …

The wine puzzle was obvious once I’d read George’s notes. Thankfully – I was feeling stuck. I then had another annoying Sam Fisher moment, and found the Templars hiding. They knighted George, and gave him the Phi stone, to go with his Omega and Alpha stones. On returning to the “gang”, the location of Susarro was figured out (the exact location, that is) and it was off to Eygpt. Another sneak-past-the-guards section later, and we were inside the Armillary, where …

Wandered around outside as Nico, solving another crate puzzle (or rather, the same one again), and got myself a card. I then went back inside and got it validated, and it was into the basement. Walked through it a little, and then a shadow appeared… …and play swapped to George, trapped in a laundry room. Bashing open the door, I find myself in the basement too. Where George and Nico meet up again. Found Bruno, although Susarro is with him, …

I made it past the guard who I couldn’t make it past last night (mainly as I was going the wrong way), and had a crate puzzle to deal with. My favourite. This was made harder as you had no way of knowing what you were supposed to do, but I managed it by accident. It turns out you have to push a crate to one position, and stand on it. You can then reach a ledge that you can’t …

Um Bongo, Um Bongo, they drink it in the Congo. They also have vast underground labyrinths with annoying crate-pushing puzzles and irritating play-for-seconds, load-for-minutes gameplay. And yet another video game cliché – the rotate mirrors to deflect beam bit. But anyway. Those out of the way, and a spikey death avoided, I gained the Alpha Key to match my Omega Key, and it was back off to Paris to find Nico’s flat ransacked and Bruno kidnapped. And the news that …

Got George into the building Bruno tracked down. And lo – it turned out to be the same theatre that Nico had entered previously. I rescued her (which involved dropping sandbags from a lighting gantry onto a baddie’s head, as expected). I have to admit, there aren’t really many surprises yet in this game. Then I broke open a safe, stole a couple of artifacts, found one of the ‘power sites’, discovered George has some hiddern power, escaped from the …