What better day to kick off a new column than a lazy monday during the doldrums of summer? It's times like these that I realize I spend much more time reading and writing about videogames and the industry than I do actually playing games. My 360 isn't even hooked up to a display, my PSP has a half-inch of dust and hasn't left the top of my refrigerator in months (why it was up there in the first place, I have no idea). I had a brief affair with my GameCube earlier in the month, in an attempt to play through Resident Evil again, but gave up only a few hours in.

Looking at my collection, I find so many games not worth owning; the occasional single player game that really blew me away but I can't be bothered to play through again for the sixth time (Metroid Prime, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 4); amazing online games that are only amazing due to memories with friends and the gaming community while the game was at the height of its popularity (Splinter Cell), and more games not worth owning. The fact that I have games that have been shrink-wrapped for a year or more makes me depressed; but I know these games aren't even worth my time. My point is, there's a lot of crap out there; it's almost unbearable. So what can get me excited? What can get me playing these games that I know so much about from my obsession with the industry? I'm bored with the fad of podcasting; the 1Up show got me excited for tons of games during its first several episodes -- now I don't even tune in. I've grown apathetic of IGN and GameSpot -- I honestly find that better content is available through message boards and blogs -- rather than the bloated, ugly mess that is "professional" journalism. A six-page review of Mario DS, for instance, littered with typos and just saturated with filler, just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

So, a 9.0 won't make me jump out of my seat and drive to Target to pick up a game (yes, Target, don't even get me started on game-specific retailers like GameStop -- their unknowledgeable employees, pushy methods, and general detriment to the game-buying public cause me to shop elsewhere). The launch of a new Nintendo system, though? That's still something to be appreciated, even if it is a revision of a handheld system I already own and don't even particularly like. Yes, I'm aware the DS Lite came out earlier this month -- it finally got to me, and I had to have one. I didn't want (couldn't afford) a new game, so when I tore my DS out of the bullet (scissor) proof blister pack that Best Buy unnecessarily shoved it in, I looked at my current DS collection. I mostly dislike games that use the stylus heavily, with some exceptions (Kirby), I can't stand Mario 64's cumbersome controls,I played Mario Kart to death, and the rest of my collection just flat out sucks -- Tiger Woods, Ridge Racer, etc. Just really bad stuff. One game, though, kicked so much ass on the regular DS that I just needed to experience it again on the Lite -- Metroid Prime Pinball. Pinball games, by their nature, have very high replaybility. I turned on my new DS with the goal of beating my old high score (a meager 6 million) and discovered this game's awesomeness all over again.

The beauty of Metroid Prime Pinball is its flawless use of the Metroid license -- it's exactly as the title describes: Metroid Prime in pinball form, right down to the game areas, enemies, bosses, themes, and music. Oh, the music. Metroid Prime has to be one of my favorite game soundtracks ever, so hearing this music again gets me excited every time. The classically awesome title screen music; the beautiful ambience of Phendrana Drifts, the bubbly techno of the impact crater; the remixed Ridley theme; it's all so aurally wonderful. The point of this column isn't to really go in-depth with the game and point out each and every nicety and flaw; so i won't bore you with details -- but I will say that it's my favorite game on DS. Pinball games are simply awesome if there's good table design -- and Metroid Prime Pinball has two full-featured tables, four boss tables and a multiplayer-only table -- and they are all good. You eventually make it to the Artifact Temple, much like the real Metroid Prime, by collecting 12 Chozo Artifacts. In the temple, a pissed-off Ridley flies around trying to destroy your balls. Simply awesome. The final table even has two forms of Metroid Prime! Seriously, this is a really well-poilshed game, and it's amazing that it comes from the same people who made Mario Pinball for GBA. This game is $8 dollars at Circuit City right now. Go grab it.

In the midst of playing the game non-stop for a couple of days, I realized that the battery life on the DS Lite is pretty short compared to the original system. On the ugly tank DS, I could play a game on a fairly regular basis for a week on a single charge. On the Lite, my battery indicator goes red after a few hours of play. It may be the fact that I'm playing on the supernova brightness setting, but after seeing it I just can't settle for anything less. Just like after playing DS Lite I can't go back to the bulky monstrosity that is, as I like to call it, DS Heavy.