new record on june 12

new record on june 12, originally uploaded by suddenly.

finally passed stage 15. cracked the 2000 mark!
god, it takes forever to advance and believe me, i’ve been trying.

new high score!

new high score!, originally uploaded by suddenly.

new high score on virus buster

new high score!, originally uploaded by suddenly.

hey, JY: it’s on!
it took me a while but i beat my last high score. by the way, the more you play, the harder it gets. i wiped out several dozen times before i even reached stage 10 and the pills started hailing down at breakneck speed. it’s serioiusly frightening.

somehow the people who created the brain age program know exactly how to push our buttons and keep us hooked on virus buster. damn them!!

still trying to surpass stage 15…

virus buster – new high score on may 18

virus buster – record for may 18, originally uploaded by suddenly.

i reached a new record today!

1773 points, stage 15, hard level

i’d been stuck on stage 12 for a while but i found out that if you don’t bust the viruses quickly, the pills start hailing down a dozen at a time. it’s really scary.

i still can’t fathom how some people get over 3000 points. one day…one day…

virus buster in español

i found this youtube clip of someone in spain playing virus buster:

she reached level 19 on the hard (difficil) mode. i’ve only made it to level 12. i think the player’s name is “estitxu.” i’m gonna guess that this person is basque with a name like that. i like how virus buster is called “bactericida” in spanish and when you complete the level you are “curado.”

my latest addiction: “virus buster” on nintendo DS

pamphlet for brain age (above)

“virus buster” on nintendo DS’s brain age 2 (right)

(that’s the creator of the program, dr. kawashima, with the glasses on the screen. he hates cilantro but i still like him anyway.)

if you haven’t figured it out by now, i am a game geek. i got a nintendo DS for christmas along with the brain age program after dropping a big hint to my significant other that i wanted one by forwarding him this article and talking about how awful it would be to develop alzheimer’s. i quickly became addicted to brain age and trained religiously. i eventually reduced my brain age to 20 years old –the best you can get!– then i moved on to brain age 2.

brain age 2 has more complicated training programs than 1, like solving anagrams and playing the piano. when you complete a few days worth of training, brain age 2 unlocks a video game for you called, “virus buster.” it’s essentially dr. mario but you manipulate the capsules with your stylus on the screen and can move the fall-off bits as well. (if you’re not familiar with dr. mario, think of it as a variation of tetris. if you’re not familiar with tetris, stop reading immediately and crawl back under your rock.)

anyway, i am completely addicted to this game. dr. kawashima says that it’s meant to be relaxing and that i should play it before going to bed but he lied. it’s anything but relaxing. i bust those viruses and want to bust some more. it really gets my adrenaline going. i want to see my score go up and up. i moved on to the hard level of “virus buster” and have reached a high score of 984 which is puny. people have exceeded 4000 points on this game. there’s probably some kid in korea who’s reached 10,000 points.

i’ve played “virus buster” so much the DS screen has more scratches on it than a hip-hop DJ’s vinyl. i play it on planes, trains and buses. at the airport and on the toilet. i know, i know. i need help.

you can watch another addict reach his personal best on “virus buster” here:

someone playing virus buster

UPDATE: i reached a high score of 1067 today!