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…