Site updates first: release dates updated. Lots of delays in the PS2 and Xbox scenes, with rapidly-dwindling futures for Dreamcast, PSOne, and Game Boy Color.

New review, too: Shadow Hearts, a Midway RPG in which the main characters are exorcists. Freaky, yet not as dark as Persona.

Rob Boyd, a contributor to Gamebits, recently sent me a WonderSwan, which he picked up while in Taiwan. (So few people know me well enough to truly appreciate my desires. Maybe I can send Rob the sweater my aunt knit me.) This black-and-white handheld by Bandai is not available in the States, but is popular in Japan – at least, popular enough for Square to release Final Fantasy remakes for it. The only game I have is Gunpey, a puzzle game named in honor of Gumpei Yokoi, the creator of Metroid, who died a few years ago in a car accident. I look forward to trying this game, and also to deciphering the rules for the Chinese chess game Rob sent me.

I've taken a brief hiatus from video games to watch the Season One DVDs of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television series heretofore unknown to me. It's leagues beyond the 1992 movie, that's for sure, with better themes, more surprises, and more humor. I look forward to seeing more of Buffy… on DVD.

That's the last update for the month. Peace out.