I just have one thing to say.

Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy for the Playstation 2 is AMAZING!

Evidence - The Last Ritual. Sitting on the shelf at Target it appeared innocuous, a PC game cleverly packed in a sealed plastic "evidence" bag. The case was clear plastic, and on the cover was a evidence label with the names of the police officers who checked it in, the dates and times, etc. I was struck. The back promised an intriguing puzzle based game focused on catching a serial killer called The Phoenix.

Get home. Install game onto computer.

Creepiness ensues.

The premise begins with why you have the game. CDs were sent to the police by Phoenix, and in an effort to decipher the puzzles within, the NYPD has decided to distribute the CDs to the public. When you install the game onto your computer, you are prompted to register with a login name and an email address, then receiving a password which you use to access the CDs. You are also prompted to register at http://www.phoenix-investigators.org/us/, the International Committee for the Phoenix Arrest. The website features tools such as a web search, translations, a case update section, lastest news section, etc. Immediately upon doing both things, you are connected via your email address with a group of fictional characters who offer hints, musings, and discussions right to your email as you play through the game.

The CDs themselves are of course somewhat disturbing - they were offered to the PD by a serial killer, after all. The first few puzzles are a test of sorts, and are relatively easy to figure out. As soon as you get through those, however, the puzzles become much more difficult. You spend time searching for clues through the single screen puzzle presented to you, look things up online, check your email for hints or suggestions from your fictional compatriots, and finally solve the puzzle.

My favorite puzzle thus far: several numbers in floating around on your screen, not really a discernable pattern: 8, 9, 21, 33, etc. Small rectangular pieces of illustrations towards the bottom of the screen, scroll through them and you can place a number on each of the illustrations. But what number goes where? The hint Phoenix offers you in the puzzle screen is simply "Alessandro Mariano". Do some research on the MSN web search linked from the Phoenix arrest webpage, and find that Alessandro Mariano became Sandro Botticelli. And Sandro Boticelli did illustrations for Dante's Inferno. Hey, wait... do those picture fragments look like Botticelli's Dante illustrations? More research - hey, I bet those numbers floating around are the plate numbers for the illustration fragments....

And puzzle solved.

After completing a puzzle you're usually rewarded by a short live action video clip following one of the two storylines that the Phoenix is presenting before you. You're following the story of Jack Lorski, invesitgating a series of murders in Spain with a woman named Manuela, and the story of a woman named Jessica, who is searching for her brother Adrian.

I absolutely love that you have to do actual research online to find the answers to these puzzles. It gives the game a more realistic feel. I read a review online that was complaining about the fact that you spend just about as much time on a internet search engine as you do in the actual game, but I think it's a fascinating and original idea. The live action video clips and the emails you receive give an even more realistic feel, especially when you get your first email from the Phoenix:

"Hello little friend

You can tell the people at the ICPA that they ought to protect their databases a little better. Get ready, I know where you live now...

The Phoenix"

Gotta admit, when the Phoenix started sending me mail, I got pretty freaked out. ^_^

I haven't played through too much of the game yet, but what I have played (with friends Bob and Nils) has been clever, original, and creepy but not gory. The puzzles are interesting and difficult, but with some effort and teamwork the answers are attainable. I haven't yet felt like I needed to consult a walkthrough. Not only would that be cheating, that would definitely destroy the realistic feel the game attempts to impart.

Great game. Frustrating at times when you get stumped on a particular puzzle, but when you hang in there it's worth it. I'm curious about where this is all going to end up....

The scene: Standing outside my office building, leaning on Bob's car, hanging out until my lunch break finally comes to an end and I have to go back to work.

Bob: "I was reading an article about the oldest man alive."

Me: "Oh yeah?"

Bob: "Yeah. He's Japanese, and is 111. He attributes his good health to never having smoked or drank alcohol."

Me: *laughing* Wow, never drank alcohol? What's the point of life???"

Bob: *laughing as well* I know. Anyway, he looks great. I mean, he's old, but he looks great."

Me: "That's cool. I guess I should stop drinking and start eating sushi."

Bob: "Weird thing is, the oldest living woman is from the same village."

Me: "Huh. How old is she?"

Bob: "114."

Me: *laughing* "Yep, that's because it's been statistically proven that women live longer than men."

Bob: *scornful noise*

Me: *lecturing tone* "Men say it's because women nag them to death, but it's just because they don't want to admit that women are the genetically superior gender. It's sad, but true."

Bob: "It's because women suck the souls of of men. They suck the life force away from men to sustain their own life. Soul sucking fiends!"

Me: *eyes widen, staring at Bob*

Bob: "What?"

Me: "YOU'VE DISCOVERED OUR PLAN! Our wicked scheme to one day control the human race and lock men away like the cattle you are, to feed upon at will and make us nearly immortal! How did you know??? We were so careful never to let on! You man, you could never figure it out on your own! Who betrayed us?!?!"

*long pause*

Me: "I mean.... that's ridiculous."

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The first few months of 2006 were difficult ones for me. The office where I work was in total upheaval, I was moving to a more expensive place and the bills were piling up, and my best friend's mother, whom I had been close to, was losing a battle with breast cancer.

One night my boyfriend at the time had a show his band was playing in Kirkland, and I went along with him. The show was at some shitty little dive bar, as they so often were. Towards the end of the evening I decided to brave the bathroom, because after several beers even the prospect of a filthy dive bar public restroom isn't enough to make your bladder agree to hold on for another half an hour, even if you beg. ^_^

In this restroom was more graffiti than I have ever seen. Covering the sides of the stalls were the usual anecdotes about sex, name calling, and political slogans. Crudity in black ink. Amused, I was entertaining myself by reading a few of the sentences, laughing at the improbable drawings of male anatomy, when I saw it. Surrounded by important quotes such as "I <3 Lucas, best sex ever!", "Impeach Bush", and "Katherine is a whore", was one sentence that struck me:

"It just is."

Just three words, written in small letters, diminutive next to the rest of the phrases that people had been in a hurry to scrawl across the side of a toilet stall. And I found in those three words surrounded by filth, something so profound I can't quite express it. It's amazing what you find when you really need something, but you don't know quite what it is that you need. I think about that phrase that I found surrounded by graffiti whenever I'm depressed or stressed out, and sometimes it helps. Not always, but enough. So to whoever thought to write "it just is" in a public restroom, my hat is off to you. Thank you for giving me those three words.

(visit http://www.xkcd.com/)