I don’t consider myself a ginormously obsessive gamer by any stretch of the imagination. I like shiny, colorful games and anything that will allow me to easily obtain Achievements on the 360. Other than that, I just like watching The Hubs play. I hardly ever touch our Wii, even though Mario used to be the beginning and the end of my gaming universe. Then I discovered the addictive nature of Achievements. Whoa, Nelly. Now I head to the Xbox Live Arcade looking for puzzle games to conquer like a junkie looking for her next fix in an alley.

So when the original Viva Piñata came out before the holidays a couple of years ago, I discovered that it was the absolute perfect synthesis of Jackie-friendly gaming: shiny and colorful, animals with hysterically endearing names and personalities, and a fairly easy opportunity to hike up my gamer score.

I don’t remember much about Christmas of 2006.

All I know is, I spent a lot of time on the couch playing that game. I have a memory of moss growing over me, relatives calling to make sure I was still ticking, Adam digging pathetically through the overgrown fridge for something edible. I got every Achievement save one, which involved spending several years of my life just hanging out with my piñatas. To this day I debate the gamer ethics of just leaving the 360 turned on until I get that last Achievement.

And now, today, the sequel has arrived. Adam pre-ordered a copy for me, which should arrive any day. I can be enough of a grown up to wait until then. But when that box gets here, it is on. You may not hear from me again for quite some time after that….