I'm in that brief window of the year between my October birthday and Christmas where I actually get to enjoy first-run games. I'm too cheap to pay for them myself, but I always ask my family for them as gifts. Because this time period coincides with some of the best game releases, I get to choose from a great crop.

For my birthday, the sister got me a copy of Dragon Quest Heroes Rocket Slime for the Nintendo DS, which she knew I wanted. Since opening the game, I've fallen into a slimehole where it's hard to think of anything else. The premise of the story is that you are a tiny adorable ball of slime named Rocket whose home town of Boingburg has been wrecked. All the other slime inhabitants have been kidnapped, and it is up to Rocket to save them.

Rocket's main move is to stretch himself out and then rocket himself forward very quickly. It's like he's both the slingshot and the shot, pulling himself back, then snapping forward. The controls make this maneuver very easy, like flicking a rubber band with your finger, only with more control. This is one of Rocket's main fighting moves.

The first slime that Rocket rescues in Mother Glooperior, who plays an important instructional role in the game. Mother Glooperior cheers Rocket on throughout the game, offering blessings from the Goddess and other prayerful sayings. All the Catholic elements are given a loopy and irreverent expression. At the end of each gaming session, Rocket saves his place in the game by visiting Mother Glooperior in church. As shown in this screenshot from GameSpot, the slimes celebrate this moment with song, accompanied by organ music and the parting words of Mother Glooperior: "Bless you, my slime."