Wind Waker Unplugged…

No better way to close out the holidays than with an awesome rendition of the Wind Waker theme. It is a one man band filmed and edited together to make an incredible work of art. This guy is a genius…

Scribblenauts

One of the most exciting games yet for the DS was recently announced: Scribblenauts. The premise behind the games is simple. Scribblenauts' theme is "Write Anything, Solve Everything!" The goal of each level is to collect a star. To do this players can write any word imaginable and that object will then appear on the screen. The player can then use these objects to collect the star. Check out the trailer below for an example of this on a simple level.






This game has a ton of potential. I love the end of the trailer where there is a policeman chasing a donut. If each object has real life characteristic (or stereotypes) this game will be amazing. If they can make it work it will truly be an entertaining game. The developer has been going through dictionaries just adding new items to the list. It is scheduled for release at the end of 2009. Hopefully this game will reach its potential.

November Sales Data

Nintendo had a huge month in November. They sold over 2 million Wiis in November alone and the DS sold more than 1.5 million in that month as well, four years after it came out.

On the software side of things things Nintendo didn't run away with sales. But this is what Nintendo had to say about the game sales:

Four games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 U.S. best-sellers for November, representing the diversity of people who play Nintendo games. These included Wii Play (for casual and lapsed players) at No. 3 with more than 796,000 sold, Wii Fit (for new gamers) at No. 4 with more than 697,000 sold, Mario Kart Wii (for both core and casual payers) at No. 5 with nearly 637,000 sold and Wii Music (for everyone) placed at No. 9 with more than 297,000 sold, following its long-tail trend.

I love Nintendo's descriptions for who the games are for. I guess lapsed players are all the people looking for a second wiimote for their system.

Club Nintendo

Club Nintendo has opened up for America now. Through this website, formerly known as My Nintendo, you can register games and your hardware systems. If you register your Wii or DS you get a 90-day warranty extension. For each game you register you get coins that can be redeemed for Nintendo merchandise, most of it exclusive for Club Nintendo participants. This program has been available for a long time in Japan and went to Europe earlier this year.

By collecting enough coins you can become a gold or platinum member which allows you to earn a free gift at the end of the year. This year's Club Nintendo gifts for Japan were awesome. My favorite was this gold Wii Wheel.

I am very excited to see what items are in store for members of Club Nintendo in America. And I hope I can get one of these wheels.

World of Goo

I have already mentioned World of Goo in two other posts, here and here, but I just beat the game and enjoyed it so much I felt it deserved its own post.

World of Goo was largely developed by only two people who run the indie development studio 2D Boy. It is an amazing accomlishment for two people. The goal of most of the levels is build structures to a pipe to get as many Goo balls in a pipe as quickly as you can and in as few moves as you can. The first levels are simple; but the game builds upon itself as it increases in difficulty.

The game is shorter than many games out there. The game took me roughly 8 hours to beat, including spending time messing around building a really tall tower in the World of Goo Corporation. In total there are about 47 different levels, each only taking a few minutes to complete. However, the longevity of the game is extended through "Obsessive Completion Distinction Criteria." Each one of these OCDs require you to collect a certain amount of goo balls or complete the level in a certain amount of moves. Many of these are very challenging (I have only completed 2 so far).

Graphically each level is simple and stunning at the same time. The music is very entertaining and fits perfectly with each level of the game. This was made easier since the design, story, art and music were all done by the same person. There isn't really a cohesive story behind the game, but there seems to be a lot of symolism going on in the game. Plenty of stuff to phychoanalyze if you like doing that while you play video games.

This is a game that everyone can enjoy. For just $15 this game is a steal. Buy some Wii points and enjoy this game.

121

I recently completed Super Mario Galaxy. I had conquered the game with Mario back in . After you beat the game with Mario you are able to play through the same levels with Luigi, trying to capture all 120 stars. Luigi is able to jump higher than Mario but he also doesn't have traction which Mario has. After you have beat it with Luigi, a special bonus star is unlocked.

This game is one of the best games on the Wii. The visuals are stunning and the sound is great. But by far the best thing about the game is the level structure. It is increadible to jump around small planets and see gravity pull Mario around.

The game also offers levels that can cater to any playing ability. The game is easy enough that anyone can collect 60 stars and beat Bowser. However, some of the other levels are truly challenging. By the time I was finished beating the last four extra hard levels I was shaking from the sheer intensity. You get so close to the goal and then one wrong move ends your life and sends you back to start the level over again.

Although Mario Kart has been the most high profile battle between me and Adibobea9, this was the original battle. It feels very sweet to win it.

Mario Kart Serenade…

So ever since Mario Kart Wii was released, Jeff and I have been battling it out for the most Time Trial records. As you can see on the right, we are currently tied once again. Just when you think you have dominated each and every record the other somehow manages to overcome it by a few seconds pushing you even farther to go faster. Hours have been wasted, and hours have been met with great success. Even though we have great enmity to each other for the continual battle we appreciate the challenge. So I dedicate this song to you, Jeff…

Shaymin

This ghostly image can be seen on Pokemon.com
It looks like a new Pokemon, Shaymin will be coming soon to the U.S. It will most likely coincide with the release of the 11th Pokemon movie: Giratina and the Sky Warrior. Although the release date has not been announced for this movie Pokemon.com says it will be coming to DVD soon.
This will bring the number of released Pokemon in the U.S. to 492, leaving just one unreleased Pokemon.

Intense Gameplay…

I am sure you can find yourself within one of these gamers…

In anticipation of Black Friday

Black Friday is only a week away. To get you ready for the holliday shopping season Wii Bluelight presents its holliday shopping guide.

Wii:

Wii Points Card - A must buy so you can get some Wiiware games or a cool virtual console game to relive your childhood.

Speaking of WiiWare use your WiiPoints to get the amazing game World of Goo. I have been playing this a ton lately. The best thing about the game: it will appeal to anyone in the family.

Guitar Hero World Tour - If you want to start a band the only good option on the Wii.





Mario Kart Wii - In my opinion the best Mario Kart game ever. The Wii Wheel and online play provide countless hours of fun for everyone.

Shawn White Snowboarding and/or Skate It - Check out either one of these games to put your Wii Balance board to use.

Boom Blox - This innovative game was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg. Plus my sources say this game wil be on sale at Target for $20 on Black Friday.

Animal Crossing: City Folk - If you haven't played an Animal Crossing game, this is a must have. If you have played an Animal Crossing game before this is just like the others.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09: All-Play: A great golf game with excellent controls. Plus it has an excellent online component.


Nintendo DS -

Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia - If you don't want the traditional Pokemon game try out this game where you save Pokemon. Plus it has downloadable missions to help you catch them all.


Guitar Hero On Tour Decades - A sequal to the DS game. I love the innovative guitar grip.

Chrono Trigger DS: Releasing on November 25th this game is essentially the Super NES classic brought to the DS the best game ever, now available with bonus content and in portable form.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: The third Castlevania game on the DS features an all new Glyph attack system.

Personal Trainer: Cooking - The latest from Nintendo's Touch Generations is a cookbook that walks you through the cooking process for over 200 dishes and even has a grocery list function if you are missing some of the needed ingredients.

Software Vs. Hardware: Wii Failing Despite Great Sales…

*NOTE* I will be using VGChartz as my source of information. Although not 100% accurate and often times doesn't sit well with fans, I believe it is a fair comparison in the battle of the video game king.

For the past few months I have been following the sales of games in all regions on a weekly basis to see if the Wii is still the dominating console of the three. As it still stands, the Wii console continues the trend of selling out on a regular basis; this happens even considering the now two year old console. But does that mean it is winning the war? If you look at hardware sales and the profit that Nintendo is bringing in alone, then the answer is absolutely. But if you look at the software side of things, the winner could very well be the other team.

Granted the Wii has much better 3rd party support than Nintendo had with the Gamecube, but much like the PS2 many of those titles are shovelware and of little importance. What differs between the PS2 and the Wii though, is the quality and AAA titles that also appeared on the system. The PS2 was home to some the the best games of last gen and all time, and it also held its own against its competitors in the graphics department. It is no secret that the Wii and its competitors are much different in processing power and the consumer markets are in totally different places, so when I frequent video game boards and news sites I continually read how the Wii has abandoned the hardcore gamer completely.

Many Wii fans claim to want the next best game and to experience the "M"ature games that the 360 and PS3 fans enjoy, and yet each time a more mature game is released it falls off the map as quickly as it is released. Yes, there will be many who will point out the success of Resident Evil 4, which was ported from the Gamecube and shout praises for Suda51's most successful game ever, No More Heroes. However NMH would have sold more on the 360 or PS3 and RE4 is one game that already had proven its success and already has a place in Nintendo fans hearts.

Shooting Zombies apparently is the only mature thing that Wii fans dare to support because when it was confirmed that the Zombie feature was cut from the recent Call of Duty, only 61,000 of the 36 million Wii owners chose to buy it in the first week. Compare this to the 2.14 million who bought it on the HD consoles. COD is a fantastic game and something that Wii fans have been asking for and when it arrived it was quickly forgotten.

So when I say the Wii is failing despite its great sales, I am speaking about Nintendo losing some of the fanbase it became popular with in the first place. Don't get me wrong though, because it isn't Nintendo's fault completely; they continue to sell their 1st party games in great quantities. For the last few months the only games in the top ten that have been Wii related are WiiSports, WiiPlay, WiiFit, and Mario Kart Wii and the recent additions of WiiMusic and Guitar Hero: World Tour have come and gone.

If its not Nintendo fault, who's is it? The answer lies with you that may be reading this. If you are happy with only Nintendo related games then you don't apply, but if you are one of the fans that appreciate great games and want a more mature experience on the Wii I suggest you purchase the ones that are already available. You can make excuses all you want about 3rd party support lacking due to quick ports and cheap development, but when a company like Activision, develops COD for the Wii with loaded features you must buy it to see more like it.

The Conduit, a FPS made specifically for Nintendo's console, could very well be the Wii's last hope. More polish has been put into this game than any other game on the market and other developers are taking notice. They will be watching its success to determine the route to take in the future. I understand that WWII has been whored out till death and that many of you only enjoy blasting away zombies, but regardless of the "generic" theme of humans vs aliens, The Conduit is the 3rd party savior for the Nintendo Wii…

WiiWare

One of the most under appreciated aspects of the Wii has to be WiiWare. One of the difficulties that Nintendo faces in promoting WiiWare is that the Wii has found a large casual following. These fans are less likely then other gamers to connect their Wii to the internet. In fact, in Japan only about 40% of Wii owners have their Wii connected to the internet. As such, a large number of games have gone unnoticed by a large segment of Wii owners.

WiiWare should get more recognition from everyone because there are a number of games on WiiWare that are superior to many retail games. Not to mention they provide you great entertainment for a fraction of the price of many retail releases. In October alone two of the most critically acclaimed games for the Wii were on WiiWare: World of Goo and Tetris Party. World of Goo costs 1500 Wii Points ($15.00) while Tetris Party is 1200 Wii Points ($12.00). Even before October WiiWare was home to innovative releases such as LostWinds, the Art Style series, Mega Man 9, and the Strong Bad episodic content.



For more information on WiiWare check out Nintendo's Wiiware Page. This will provide you with information on game details, how to connect your Wii to the internet, and purchasing Nintendo Points. New WiiWare games are released every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Mountain time. Wii Bluelight always updates the new WiiWare and Virtual Console games on the sidebar every Monday.

Drum Tuning

Today I got my USB-Midi cable from Activision so I could tune my drum set for Guitar Hero World Tour.

Some of the drums for GHWT were either too sensitive or not sensitive enough. My drum set fell into the latter category. My blue drum and orange cymbal would have to be hit harder than normal for them to register. So Activision provided a free computer program and a free USB-Midi cable (second day Fed-Ex even) to enable owners to set the sensitivity for each individual drum pad and cymbal. The details can be found here.

The program is easy to use and it works wonders. I am now an expert drummer. (OK, it hasn't made me an expert drummer, but I am better now and when I mess up I know it is me and not the drum kit). Now all the pads require the same amount of strength to successfully hit them. This is the second major problem that Activision and Red Octane have had (the first being no stereo sound on the Wii version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.) At least they have come forth and provided solutions to the problems.

Welcome Back GoNintendo

The last couple of days I have had no Nintendo news. GoNintendo.com, my favorite site for all things Nintendo had recently changed its layout. I hated the new version and wasn't going to the site anymore. I checked it again today to see if I could get an RSS feed without the crappy layout and to my surprise the old GoNintendo that I loved so much was back. Now I again have a place for the latest news.

#100

On Saturday I purchased Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. This game is the 100th video game that I own. Some interesting stats about my games.


41 Gamecube Games


33 Wii Games (including 25 retail releases, 3 WiiWare, and 5 Virtual Console Games)


23 DS Games


3 Gameboy Advance Games

Average IGN editors score: 8.3 (the highest at 9.8: Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4; the lowest at 4.0: My Pokemon Ranch)

First Released Game: Luigi's Mansion, November 18, 2001


57 Games were published by Nintendo


16 Games with Mario in the title (he is also a character in Smash Bros Brawl and Melee)

Number of Games I have beat: 20



It took me almost four years to buy 100 games. That is almost a game every other week. No wonder Tammie thinks I am addicted to video games.

Dragonite Event

I just got a level 50 Dragonite from Toys 'r Us. Just wanted to live
blog the event. Here is me with my newest Pokémon. Sent from my iPhone.

Video Games Through Art History

Shirt.woot! recently ran a contest for people to design a shirt that represents video games through various art styles. The first place winner is below. The Mario Kart Blue Shell.




Check out other ideas that people came up with over at shirt.woot!

A Guitar Hero Commericial for Adibobea9

Since Adibobea9 wasn't a fan of the previous Guitar Hero World Tour commercial with the celebrity athletes, Guitar Hero has a commercial just for him.



I think this commercial alone will be enough to get him to buy the game.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village Review

We once again were able to score an exclusive interview review with Lugenstien! This time for Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

Wii Bluelight: Lugenstien, thanks for coming back for another review.

Lugenstien: My pleasure. I just completed the last puzzle in Professor Layton and it was an incredible game. The game consists of 135 puzzles for the player to solve (plus more available through download). These puzzles run the gamut from word puzzles to chess puzzles to various story problems.

Wii Bluelight: Sounds like another brain age type game.

Lugenstien: It goes far beyond the standard brain age game. While the puzzles will work your brain what truly sets this game apart is an incredible story line, great art style, and incredible voice acting that connects all of the puzzles together. The diverse puzzles alone are enough to make the game great but it is the presentation of the game that makes this game truly incredible. You explore the village of St. Mystere talking to residents and clicking on items to find puzzles. Solving these puzzles progresses the story line until you are able to solve the overall mystery behind the village.

Wii Bluelight: How hard are the puzzles in the game?

Lugenstien: There is a large variety of difficulty in the puzzles. Some are very easy, others will test even the seasoned puzzle solver, some seem down right impossible at first. However, for the hard puzzles players are able to spend coins that they have found throughout the village to buy hints to assist them in solving the puzzles.

Wii Bluelight: Anything else the players should know about this game?

Lugenstien: This is actually the first game in a planned trilogy. The second one has already been released in Japan. However, there has been no release date yet given for America. Look for it sometime in 2009.

Wii Bluelight: What is your final score for the game?

Lugenstien: Presentation: 10, one of the highest quality presentation on a DS game
Graphics/Sound: 9, very good music, plenty of songs to keep it interesting, very high quality voice acting
Gameplay: 8, great use of the stylus to solve problems, if you miss a puzzle as you search the village it is often hard to find them later in the game, this becomes frustrating
Game Length/Replayability: 8, it will take you a while to finish all of the puzzles, about 26 puzzles available through downloads, once you've beat a puzzle though not much replay value
Overall: 9, the high production values and simple enjoyability of this game makes it a must own. Look for upcoming sequels.

Obama says: "Don't play Wii (and don't go to school and don't go to work), Vote!"

Obama's new add encourages people to skip work, skip class, and not play the Wii.



I for one will be playing the Wii that day and not voting.

World Tour Commercial

I can't wait until my copy of the game gets here from Amazon so I can be just like Kobe!

Gameboy Shirt

This sweet shirt was available at Shirt.Woot! earlier today.





The write up for the shirt was very funny.

Hey, baby. You got a game link cable? ‘Cause we could hook up. Aw, yeeeahh. Hey, come back, I want to play some “Pokémon,” if you know what I mean. Ah, forget you. Well helloooo there, sweet thang. How’d you like to live out your Final Fantasy? Enh? Enh? Hey, hang on, don’t be like tha—OK, whatever, forget you. No, not you, sugar, you I like. I think you bumped my power switch, hot stuff, because I am turned on. Say, why don’t… OK, sure, just turn around and walk away, that’s fine.

This shirt was designed by: rushblume, who had to have been teased on the playground with a name like that. Who’s getting the last laugh now, schoolyard bullies? Any of you meatheads win a shirt.woot Derby recently? WE THOUGHT NOT.

Wear this shirt: as a conversation-starter among people you won’t realize you didn’t want to start conversations with until it’s too late.

Don’t wear this shirt: around any nearsighted gamer giants. You could end up with your guts crushed under their colossal thumbs, or suffering lasting damage to your central nervous system from whatever hallucinogens have you seeing gamer giants.

This shirt tells the world: “Getting biz-zay with me is like a game of Tetris: Deliberate and methodical until the pace picks up, I lose my cool, and it ends in disappointment. Plus I play goofy music throughout. That’s kind of my thing.”

We call this color: Heather Grayme Boy

Mario Kart Tournament

Last Friday the Law School held a Mario Kart Tournament. Of course I knew my friends and I were a lock to win the whole thing. We easily won the event, dominating the competition. We owe OUR success to two things: First, the jalapeno poppers and pizza bites we consumed the night before during our practice; Second, Adibobea9 kicking our trash online during the practice. He humbled us and the competition we faced paled in comparison to him. Here is my team holding our winnings from the tournament.

I just wish I had a picture of Ben racing with one hand on the Wii Wheel and the other hand in the air with his index finger pointed to the sky. Classic.

Picross DS Review

Today we present the first Wii Bluelight exclusive interview review with lugenstien. The first game reviewed is Picross DS.

Wii Bluelight: Lugenstien, what exactly is Picross DS.

Lugenstien: Picross DS is a puzzle game that can be simply described as a picture crossword. For each row and column you are told how many of the boxes need to be filled in to create a picture. For example on the puzzle below the middle column would be totally filed in since it says five of the boxes are filled in, and that is how many boxes there are in that row. The last column has a three that means that three consecutive boxes will be filled in. Through a process of elimination you can figure out which of the boxes those are. In the second row the numeration is 1 1. This means that there will be a box filled in and there will be some space in between another box that is filled in.Although somewhat complicated to explain once one begins to play it is easy and entertaining.

Wii Bluelight: How is the game controlled?

Lugenstien: There are actually two control methods. The first is stylus control. You tap or drag the stylus across the boxes that need to be colored in. The second is controlled through the control pad and the A and B button. For the smaller puzzles the stylus control is better; however, larger puzzles such as the 20x25 puzzles that require zooming in on the puzzle to use the stylus it is easier to stay zoomed out and use the control pad instead.

Wii Bluelight: How many puzzles are included in the game?

Lugenstien: There are 15 easy puzzles to help familiarize you with the game play, 165 normal puzzles where you are penalized for marking a wrong square, and at least 150 free puzzles where you are not alerted if you make a mistake. In addition to these puzzles you can create your own puzzles, download additional puzzles from the internet, and play in a daily mode where you try to advance your skills.

Wii Bluelight: Is there anything the game could improve on?

Lugenstien: The game as a whole is amazing. The gameplay is both addicting and challenging. The one shortcoming of the game is that it does not allow for multiple save files. If multiple people are playing the game it is impossible to know which puzzles you have completed and which puzzles the other person has completed. The simple addition of allowing for multiple player files would have made the game close to perfect. It makes the main game better but it would also be fun to compare your daily training scores with other people using the cart, similar to the Brain Age series.

Wii Bluelight: What is your final verdict on the game?

Lugenstien: I would break the score down like this.

Presentation: 5, simple presentation but it works; really should have provided for multiple save files

Graphics/Sound: 6, basic and clean graphics, limited selection of songs that get old quick

Gameplay: 8, gameplay is addictive, stylus control doesn't work as great on the larger levels

Game Length/Replayability: 10, there are so many puzzles you will be playing this game for 100s of hours

Overall: 8.5, adding multiple save files would have easilty pushed this game above a 9.

Wii Bluelight: Lugenstien, thank you for your review. We look forward to having you back on the site to review more games.

Nintendo Conference Highlights

Late last night Nintendo was holding a conference in Japan to announce their upcoming hardware and software. The biggest announcement by far is a new iteration of the Nintendo DS.










The new DS-i with two cameras, one on the back and one on the front.

This DS should be coming to America in late 2009. Club Nintendo will also be coming to America this holiday season. This club rewards members for purchasing and registering Nintendo games as well as for filling out surveys. Points earned can be exchanged for exclusive Nintendo items.

Beyond these major announcements Nintendo announced a number of new games for next year including Punch-Out!!, Sin and Punishment 2, and Mario and Luigi RPG 3. These games are definitely something to look forward to in the comings months.

The Next Gen: WiiHD…

Currently Nintendo fans are enjoying the Wii as they fling their arms in the comfort of their homes, but there are already rumors of the next video game console "WiiHD" to be making its appearance in the year 2011. I grew up on Nintendo, but for most of my life I never had to buy the systems and the respective games. Even the Gamecube was a gift for Christmas and as a late bloomer the games were only played for a short period of time before the announcement of the Wii. This is the first time I bought the system and stayed current throughout it lifetime.

Although it has only been two years from the launch, it is a scary thought to be thinking about putting down more money in hopes to play the next big thing in Nintendo's lineup. What's worse is Nintendo also has plans to release another DS in the near future and I still have yet to play all of the games I currently own and want to own. One of my fears for this generation of gaming was the rise of Nintendo. I was content with them being in 3rd place in the race; it gave me great games but not so often. My wallet and my game completion could keep up with one another. Now that they are on top there are too many great games to play and too little time to play them.

I love the fact that as I get older I can still enjoy my pastime, but it gets difficult when school and work impede me from enjoying it to the fullest. It is a sad tale that games are so addictive, because they are also so expensive. I now have to look to Ebay and other online deals in order to get the games I want and will never play. Although truth be told, when I retire I will have an entire collection to sift through…

Lawyering Skills

Today I received my offer from Parr Waddoups Brown Gee & Loveless. To celebrate on this blog I am highlighting the one game series that actually helps me train to become a better lawyer: the Ace Attorney series from Capcom.
The Ace Attorney Series is a great addition to the Nintendo DS library. In each of the games you play as a defense attorney through a number of different cases. The game play proceeds in a point-and-click style. In each case you interview potential witnesses, find clues, and conduct your case in court. The major event of each case is the trial. You question witnesses and try and trip them up during their testimony. When they say something that is contradicted by the evidence before the court you yell "Objection!" into the DS microphone and the trial stops while you bring the contradiction to the court's attention.

In each case you are pitted against an overzelous prosecutor; they are willing to go to any length to obtain a conviction. The games also do not follow any standardized rules of procedure. The sense of justice and fairness is also warped; however, the games are still well written and entertaining.




I recently bought the third and final game in the Phoenix Wright series. However, Capcom has recently branched out the series with an all new attorney: Apollo Justice. With this new series I should be able to continue to live out my courtroom dreams for the next year before I start working at Parr Waddoups.

License Plate Vexation…

So I am a gamer and one that frequents the IGN forums quite often. As a Nintendo loyalist I usually end up in the Wii and DS Lobby, but on occasion I will check out what is happening with the other consoles. I have often said that I enjoy reading about video games more than I like playing them and so I tend to check out blogs as well. Go Nintendo is the most popular one I visit regularly and over the years of reading post after post I have come to understand the meaning of NMH, MOH, COD, LOZ, etc. Most people would understand they are simply abbreviations for larger names, which is true, but my mind now understands any abbreviation regardless of intent being associated with some game.



I live in the state of Utah and it is standard to have 3 numbers followed by 3 letters. As I travel the roads in and around town I constantly am peeking at the license plates of those driving in front of my view. More often than not, I will seek out a meaning for the last three letters hoping to find a game title hidden within. It may be my obsession with forum reading or simply the fact that I have a personal custom licence plate, but the vexation is a common everyday routine…

Rush 2

The one racing game that I enjoyed the most on the N64 was Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA.



It was a solid racing game that threw physics out the window. This resulted in some incredible air off jumps and very deadly crashes.



The racing was intense and split screen multiplayer worked very well. To unlock extra cars and tracks you had to collect keys and soda cans that were placed throughout the race tracks. Often requiring a long jump to reach them. Weird, but very fun at the same time.

Making the Old School New

One of the most unique things that have happened during the current generation of consoles and handhelds for Nintendo is the resurgence of old school games. One of the earliest examples of this was the New Super Mario Bros. for the DS. I love how the first level starts out very similar to the original Super Mario Bros. and then you get a huge mushroom and it is nothing like the original. This trend only continued with the virtual console on the Wii. It gives you the opportunity to relive the classic games from seven different systems. This allows players to fall in fall in love again with games from their childhood or experience games that they missed out on the first time around. The DS has also seen a number of remakes: Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, and the recently announced Chrono Trigger highlight this trend. Finally, WiiWare will likely be host to a number of original versions of classic games. Mega Man 9 has already been announced for WiiWare and follows in the footsteps of the classic Mega Man games. WiiWare has also been used to rerelease Toki Tori, a GameBoy Color game.

These games reinforce Nintendo's philosophy that gameplay is more important than graphics. Hopefully these games will just be the beginning of more classic game designs being brought to old and new gamers alike.

Pokemon DS

I recently was able to talk Tammie into getting me a second DS. Nintendo just released a special edition Pokemon DS. The DS looks awesome and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get this DS. I am especially excited to be able to play games with Tammie now. Maybe I can use this to get her more into gaming.

Edit: Tammie called me out so I need to come clean. It was Tammie that bought this DS for me. I came home from the store, barely resisting the urge to buy it myself. She then went to the store later and came back with this. I was working on the computer and Tammie had Carter bring me the awesome shirt that went with it. I did the dishes and gave her a back rub that night to try and make up for her awesomeness.

Olympics

Considering the track and field events of the olympics is starting up this week I thought I would highlight one of my favorite olympic related games: World Class Track Meet.
This track game included 100m dash, 110m hurdles, long jump, and triple-jump. I loved playing this game against people. As most people know the secret to success in this game is not running but merely vibrating your feet as fast as possible without your feet leaving the ground. By doing this you can easily get incredible times below 5 seconds.
But by far the best thing about this games was the commercial for it. Absolutely amazing. But as you can see the gids in this game haven't learned how to run yet.