This issue is late because we felt the election was more important. I watched as the games stacked up - a tempting pile of new worlds to explore, old acquaintances to meet, and new puzzles to solve. Well, we are back with a brief observation regarding some of the new games.

When Game Boy came out in 1989 and I asked where was Game Girl - I was told by the voice of authority that girls don't play games. Well, we know that not only not true, but now girls finally have their own Game Girl - the Pink Nintendo DS. And the DS is being supported by a flood of games that are blatantly girl games - the kind that boys don’t touch.

Everyone is putting out Nancy Drew games; Barbie has resurfaced; the Bratz persist; Hannah continues to make music; Lovely Lisa is the new kid on the block; and Princess Debut has girls waltzing in ball gowns with handsome princes. Oxygen Games has just released three games for girls on its My Games label - Diary, Make Up and Dress Up. On the PC and the consoles, this year saw two games with American Girls squeaky clean girls; Lisa in Falling Stars battling her uncle to erase evil sprites; A Woman's Murder Club with women in almost all the roles; Beauty Factory has girls in the lab aiming to be the next Estee Lauder; and in sports, Women's Volleyball and two cheerleader games, one with pom poms. Casual games are into cooking and prepping with some interesting recipes, and wedding gowns, wedding cakes and wedding invitation abound and multiply.

Who says girls can't have it all without heroic brutalities and unique fatalities?