Pianta Village Episode 2 (Il Piantissimo’s Crazy Climb) has been a sticking point for some time - I was playing on behalf of #2 when #1 suggested sliding Mario on his front (i.e. press B a lot) and we have cracked it. #2 now has 68 shines and I have 82 shines on my save (yay!).
This week is the Acorn Festival in which Cornimer (who looks suspiciously like Tortimer with an acorn head) gives presents in exchange for acorns - so far I have the following:
Hopefully there will be a wall and floor as well, but I think I may be running out of time :(.
Completed my first run through of episode VI - the last chapter was ‘unfun’, but the stuff on Endor was very good. I need to go back and get Jedi Status on most chapters of IV to VI now.
After a long gap I’m playing SMS again. #2 wanted his own save so I’ve been working my way through the levels as well. I now have 78 shines and finally cleared Noki Bay - #1 (with a little help) cleared Noki Bay some time back.
Some wedding anniversary presents are better than others and this is (as expected) huge amount of fun. I suspect the uninitiated will say it is short and easy, but they are wrong, it has taken just over two hours to have a first run through the six chapters of Episode IV - but I have in no way finished a new hope. Like in the original game each chapter can be played in freeplay mode which allows access to loads of secrets playing with a selection of your unlocked characters. A new feature for this version unlocks super story mode which allows you to try completing the entire episode in less than an hour and/or beating your current stud total - I tried it last night and failed 
(around one hour and seven minutes), but it sure was fun although most of the humour had to be ignored. Writing of which anyone who can play the game without laughing has no soul - some highlights include stormtroopers bathing (with helmets on) in thong(!) trunks, Chewie pulling off characters arms, Leia slapping characters in hand-to-hand combat and stormtroopers cleaning windows on the Death Star.
A bit of an odd day today, my kids all went to a party, but owing to an emergency I ended up looking after a friend’s two children. The morning was spent playing Shrek 2 which is one of the best child friendly cooperative games I know. There was the occasional disagreement over swapping between characters but nobody appeared to be bored which was the main thing.
After lunch and once my kids returned home Shrek 2 was played for a short while before a switch to Mario Kart on the DS and Fifa Football 2003 on the gamecube.
As a result of the world cup my eldest wanted a football game and being tight I bought this off ebay. I don’t know much about football games but it seems enjoyable enough, I find the controls absolutely baffling and #1 wins more matches when I’m not on his side than when I am but at least it is another game where we can play cooperatively.
I haven’t mentioned it much, but Animal Crossing has been played for a short time each evening. Owing to #1 son wanting the game in real time and my wanting the game with the time offset, I have created a second town (called Tempus), it exists on a rift in the space-time continuum meaning the time is normally 9 hours behind GMT (except on Saturdays when it mysteriously catches up with GMT) - this allows me to meet up with KK Slider and Sow Joan. I am not going to engage in this sort of behaviour on the DS version. Anyhow EvetsX in Namsobia and Spike in Tempus both bought turnips at 117 bells each on Sunday and sold them all last night for 832 bells each which makes them very rich (Spike has over 1,000,000 bells in his basement) and I think they will now be able to retire to a life of collecting.
I’ve sent my first fossils off to the museum, everyone keeps telling me I must be nocturnal since they haven’t seen me all day. I don’t want to keep messing with the cube’s clock but it might just come to it.
My first attempt at advanced was… interesting. To be honest I’m rubbish at it, but it’s got that lovely addictive quality where you know you could have done better. I understand now why this had such good reviews when it came out.