Learning curve

This was gonna be a post bemoaning the difficulty of the Nintendo DS vertically scrolling shooter "Nanostray", which I recently received as a gift. My initial three attempts were pathetic, prompting the realisation that I'm horribly out of practice at such fare and my hand-eye co-ordination has deteriorated. But 24 hours and a reluctant perusal of the instruction manual later, I'm pleased to say my next session was passable. I got the hang of the four-button weapon/sub-weapon/smart bomb/bonus attracter system and completed 50% of the game in "normal" mode. I probably could have liberated another planet or two, but there was a small, squarebound volume requiring my attention...


Reading: "Hikaru No Go" #11 by Hotta and Obata. Follows the trials of a go prodigy in modern Japan. The twist is that the protagonist's haunted by the ghost of an ancient expert. No, he doesn't use it to cheat. Except, well, there have been times when its genius was felt; incidents that continue to cause complications.