With the massive double-whammy that was Super Paper Mario and Pokemon, April was a month that made us happy. Happy enough to go crazy on daddy’s drums even, not unlike Baby Edgar here. In’ee cute?

While these two gems took up most of our playtime, a lot of other titles swept in and won some sweet rebel lovin, too. Read on to find out what they were, and don’t forget to chime in and let us know what you spent the month playing.

Jody:

Started out the good old month of April playing Pikmin and Metroid Prime (two games I never played in the Gamecube days) and they are both fantastic. Got Super Paper Mario the day it came out, played about 12 hours worth, and got bored. Blasphemy, I know. It’s sad because I absolutely love The Thousand Year Door. I don’t know what it is about Super Paper Mario I don’t like, but theres just something about it. Maybe its all the backtracking, and trying to navigate Flipside and all that. Graphics are great and the writing is top notch, but the actual gameplay left a lot to be desired for me. Of course, now I am playing Pokemon Pearl and it’s GREAT. People are always asking me, “Hey Jody, how are your Pokeymans?” To which I of course respond, “Let me show you them.”

Drew:

Hotel Dusk — Great little game…really enjoying it, though not making much progress because I haven’t spent much time with it. My DS I play only at lunch or when I’m waiting for a haircut, dentist appointment, etc. So not very often. As much as I love the game, I have to admit it doesn’t hold my interest enough to make me pick it up and play it when I’m at home with other stuff to do.

The Dig (via Scumm on my MacBook) — This is one of my all-time favorite games, harkening back to the glory days of LucasArts. I finally found my old legally purchased PC copy from a decade ago and used Scumm to load it up. It’s still a great game, though the graphics are much worse than I remember. What I loved about this game was how entrancing it was…the ambient music just drew me in. Playing it now after so many years, I have to admit it’s not as incredible as I remember it. I suppose that’s how it goes with many games and pastimes we enjoy in our youth and then revisit as adults. I’m not sure what it is, but something gets lost over the years. Still, I’m enjoying figuring out the puzzles all over again. I’m amazed how much I’ve forgotten.

Mii Channel — Things have been quiet with the Wii lately. I haven’t bought any of the new games that I want, like SPM or SSX Blur, but I will when I have more time and money. Or maybe my wife will buy them for me for our anniversary (hey honey…hint hint…yeah right, like she reads this). Anyway, my wife and I have been making lots of Miis of our friends, though. It’s addictive fun.

Edgar:

Super Paper Mario — Haven’t had much time to play it, just beat the first boss this week. I love the game but the pacing is a little too slow.

Pokémon Pearl — After placing Pokemon aside after the red/blue version, I never thought I’d be going back to it. But after hearing everything that was new in this version… ok I’m lying. Just hearing that it was online made me want to play it again. Since all of my friends that I used to play with back in the day aren’t leaving close-by anymore, online play is a great addition for me. I’m loving every moment of this game; even played 8 hours on the first day. Hadn’t done that with a game in a while.

Greg:

Pokemon Pearl — Hi, I’m Greg, and I’m a Pokemonaholic. I have been ever since Red and Blue hit US shores. The GBA games were disappointments, but Diamond and Pearl are utterly fantastic. They may even surpass Crystal as my all-time favorite. I’m not likely to catch them all this time, but I’ll still end up putting dozens of hours into this addictive game.

God of War — Yeah, yeah, I’m behind the times. I finally picked this up when I saw it for $15. It’s a blast. I love the combat, it’s stylish and deep. I’ll probably pick up the sequel when I’ve finished this one.

Mitch:

Pokemon Diamond — Finals week is one of the hardest times of the year for any college kid, and even at a private liberal arts school, my case is no different. Unfortunately, because of a lack of money and a lack of time, the most I’ve been able to eke out of gaming these days is dumping almost two days of time into Pokemon Diamond. There’s something about this damn game that makes me just want to keep coming back for more.

Tamagotchi Corner Shop 2 — Ha ha, laugh all you want. It’s a great game with a lot to offer! And, to answer your question, no, I don’t care if women won’t touch me! At least Mametchi loves me.

Tingle’s Balloon Fight — A friend of mine hooked me up with a copy of this Club bonus, and let me tell you – it’s one hell of a hilarious game. I have no idea why it’s so fun (it’s essentially a clone of Balloon Fight, but with two screens), but all I know is that I can’t stop trying to beat my high score these days. If you ever get the chance to nab a copy of it, go for it. It’s definitely worth its weight in gold.

Gongonzabar:

Diablo II — Every few years I pick this game up again and play a new character. This time I’m a cow-killing Amazon that throws javelins of lightning. I must have bought Diablo II three times by now, and it is still as fun and exciting as when I first played it.

Pokemon Diamond — So yeah, I’m a Pokefreak, but how can you not be? I haven’t played Pokemon since Red and Blue, but just the memories of actually playing those two games reinvigorated the Poke-itch that had laid dormant for years. With all the classic gameplay plus all the new features and wi-fi, it’s too hard to resist picking this up. So hopefully I’ll soon complete my quest to catch them all and become the greatest Pokemon trainer ever. Maybe if I get so great, they’ll name a Pokemon after me one day. Go Gongonzabar, use your pound attack!

Vinnk:

I finally found an American Wii! It was at the 18th store I looked at. I picked up Zelda, Metal Slug Anthology and Super Paper Mario, and I have been playing them a lot. When my friends are over it is still mostly Wii Sports and Excite Truck that I play. That game is so great. So dear readers, I am going back to Japan next week. While I am here, what other games should I pick up?

Michael Tucker:

Being the ever poor college student and deciding (for once) not to blow cash on new games, I have once again descended into the realm of indie games. My latest love/hate addiction has been Darkside Adventures. It’s an old school platforming adventure that brings along some of that old aggravation as well, but these sorta games are like gamer whiskey. They may make you rowdy and ready to explode, but they put hair on your chest. I can almost spot one if I look really close. Err, anyway, it’s a great game to kill a week or a weekend depending your tolerance and skill.

Kevin:

Pokémon Diamond — The Pokefever got ahold of me. Maybe it’s because I was able to grab a copy off the shelves 3 days prior to the official release date, but I never expected myself to join the land of Pokémon one more time since Yellow back in my wee days.

Super Paper Mario — Although I took a break from the game in the last few days (only at Chapter 2-2…), SPM will most likely keep me busy in early May before starting out Okami on PS2. I love the level design in SPM, it allows me to sit back and play for short sessions — exactly what I need right now, when I have little to no time to play games on the big screen.

Punch Out!! (VC) — Even though I play this little baby all the time on my Game Boy Micro (oh the noes, emulation!), I couldn’t steer away from buying it on the Virtual Console.

N Rumas:

This was a super-busy month for me, but I still managed to have some VC fun. Punch-Out!! and StarFox 64 kept me so entertained that Super Paper Mario (it’s coming in the mail soon!) hardly crossed my mind.

As far as I’m concerned, both games are still to this day the absolute pinnacles of their respective genres, and that’s saying a lot. If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and drop the fifteen bucks ASAP. Money well spent, trust me :)

Benny:

Super Paper Mario — I’ve always loved the Paper Mario take on the Mushroom Kingdom and this game distills that into its essence. I’m loving everything about this game. The subtle (and not so subtle) throwbacks to other Mario (and Paper Mario) games, the clever puzzles, the surprisingly deep story, and the hilarious dialog. I’m not sure Peach, Bowser, and Luigi have ever talked this much… but if they are this funny they should certainly talk more. NEEERRRRRR!

Pokemon: Diamond — It’s Pokemon, but better as always. What’s really surprising me is how much I’m enjoying the really subtle graphic style.

Loco Roco — This is the happiest game on the planet, and I’m loving every twisty, turning, sing-songy moment of it. Once you “sync in” with the controls… it’s the happiest dream you’ll ever play. MOJA-MOJA!