Wii Blue Light

Pokewalker

2010-03-31T19:33:00.001-06:00

I thought the Pokewalker would be gimmicky, but it turns out that it is actually fun. I love catching Pokemon at work and church. I am very excited for the Yellow Forrest to be available for download on Thursday. Can't wait to get a Pikachu that knows Fly or Surf.

The Other-M

2010-03-30T19:27:00.003-06:00

This trailer looks amazing. I am so excited for this game.

Endless Ocean 2

2010-02-11T21:50:00.002-07:00

One of the games coming out this month that I am most excited for is Endless Ocean: Blue World. This is the sequel to Endless Ocean that Nintendo released back in January 2008. The gameplay of the original game was very relaxing. You swim around and explore various underwater locations and discover different species of fish. Underwater, the game looks amazing. The animations on land however are rather stiff.

The sequel looks like it will improve on the original in a number of areas. The most significant being the inclusion of WiiSpeak capabilities so you can communicate with your friends when you connect online to dive with them. The graphics look like they have received an update and there are a variety of different diving locations this time, from tropical reefs to artic waters.
The game comes out February 22.

Gotta Catch 'Em All

2010-02-08T21:25:00.001-07:00

Last November, I completed what I consider to be one of the greatest video game achievements. I completed my Pokedex by obtaining the last two Pokemon that I needed: Lugia and Arceus.

I started to catch 'em all on April 22, 2009 when I purchased Pokemon Pearl. The first Pokemon I received was Turtwig from Prof. Rowan.

Here is a rough estimate of what it took to capture all 493.

Games Purchased: Pokemon Pearl, Pokemon Leaf Green, Pokemon Emerald, Pokemon Ranch, Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokemon Platinum.

Total Play Time: Just a rough estimate, but about 490+ hours of play time between all of the games. This includes over 240 hours in Pokemon Pearl and beating Pokemon Leafgreen and Pokemon Emerald three times each.

Times I dragged my wife and kids to Toys 'R Us or GameStop so I could download an exclusive Pokemon: 8.

It looks like my achievement will be short lived however. This past Sunday, the fifth generation of Pokemon was announced. They showed off the silhouette of a new Pokemon. Once this game comes out I can renew my quest to catch them all.

Wii Bluelight Re-Boot

2010-01-31T15:26:00.005-07:00

I have decided to attempt to restart this blog. With finishing law school, studying for the bar, figuring out how to practice law, and buying a new home this blog got lost behind other things. I barely had time to play games let alone read or write about them. But I missed being able to work on this blog and write about things I enjoy. So here going the attempt at a re-boot.

Warning: Wall of Text Approaching - Or Why the Wii is Not Crashing

2009-04-21T23:27:00.006-06:00

Recently a large number of articles have come out critisizing Nintendo. Most of these were the result of the less than steller sales of both Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and MadWorld (the same two games highlighted by Adibobea9 just a few weeks ago). MadWorld sold about 66,000 last month and Chinatown Wars sold about 88,000 last month. This knee jerk reaction to the low sales is very misplaced.

To illustrate this I want to dissect one article that was published by Yahoo! UK and look at the strength of their arguments. The article can be found here; but I will quote their article in context as well (and put some facts that they cite into their proper context).

The articles main premise is that the Wii is starting to fall out of favor in Japan and therefore the system is destined to crash ("Most worrying for Nintendo is how sudden the interest has waned. The wave of videogame popularity usually rocks Japan first, then the US and finally across Europe and the rest of the world"). To support how much interest has wained in Japan they point out how the Wii barely outsold the xBox360 in Japan last week ("Last week Wii barely outsold the beleaguered Xbox 360 with 13,349 units versus 10,134 respectively.") What they fail to mention however is that the PS3 barely outsold the Wii last week as well (16,701 - 13,349). They also fail to mention that the Wii has sold roughly 8 million units in Japan while the PS3 has only managed to move a little over 3 million.

They also talk how the PS3 and PSP have begun to gain momentum in Japan. As evidence of this the article cites the fact that even new PS2 games top WiiFit on the sales chart ("PlayStation 3 and PSP are now pulling ahead and gaining momentum in Japan, which is still by far the most discerning market in the world for videogames. Even the latest PlayStation 2 games are outperforming Wii Fit in the Japanese Top 10"). While this is true (Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2 sold an estimated 11,000 and Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2009 sold an estimated 10,000 while WiiFit only sold an estimated 9,000) it also fails to consider that WiiFit has been out in Japan for 72 weeks. The PS3 game with the current longest reign in the top 20 is Biohazard 5 which has been on the chartz for 6 weeks but only managed to move around 7,000 units. It also fails to recognize that Nintendo has sold more units of WiiFit than Sony has sold PS3s. Yet clearly it is Nintendo that is failing.

The article doesn't stop at attacking Nintendo's performance in Japan. They also cite the Wii's inability in Europe to have any game in the top 10 besides WiiFit ("By now, and judging by the ongoing failure of anything other than Wii Fit to dominate the UK Top 10, it's fair to accuse Nintendo Wii of being a two trick pony. Folks are picking up Wii to play Wii Sports and Wii Fit and that's about it"). However, last week in the Europe/Others region there were four Wii games in the top 5 (Wii Sports, WiiFit, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Play).

The article also cites problems in America as well. Wii sales in March 2009 were down 17% compared with March 2008. There are two important points to put this decline in context. First, the Wii still easily outsold both the xBox360 and the PS3 last month (610,000 > 330,000 > 218,000). Clearly no crash here. Also last years March Wii sales were higher than normal because of the boost received from the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl on March 9th. Considering this, the Wii may even be selling better nominally than it was last year (especially considering the state of the economy).

Putting the cited statistics into their proper light I think it is absurd to think that the Wii is crashing. Are they less dominate than they once were? Yes. Is that innevitable after dominating all of the competition for nearly three years? Yes. Nintendo can still continue to build upon their success with even more innovative games in the coming years.

New Disc Golf Info

2009-04-21T11:42:00.007-06:00

Some footage and demonstration of the disc golf mode in Tiger Woods 10. It looks like it responds realistically with the Wii Motion Plus add on.

Tiger Woods TGA 10 Disc Golf Video from Revogamersnet on Vimeo.

The most recent cover of the game also has a Pay & Play logo that hopefully indicates some downloadable courses in the future to take advantage of the SD storage solution. The box art also states that Wii Motion plus is included. It will be interesting to see what this bundle will be priced at and if the game comes unbundled as well. It looks like this game is becoming a must buy.

Edit: It looks like the bundle version will retail for $59.99 while the game only will cost $49.99. No Grand Slam Tennis bundle for the U.S. however. Bundle is the way to go since Wii Motion Plus retails for $19.99.

Help of Advertising

2009-04-17T18:47:00.007-06:00

It is incredible what advertising can do for a new IP. This has been illustrated recently in the sudden increase in sales of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I have been very high on this game since buying it the week it came out (over a year ago now). However, the sales of the game in the U.S. have been lackluster (sales in Europe have been amazing however). About a month ago Nintendo released two commercials featuring Lisa Kudrow being somewhat rude to another lady as they play Professor Layton.

Since the airing of these commercials on cable TV sales for Professor Layton have been increasing each week. Last week the game sold almost an estimated 52,000 copies. This is the largest weekly sales to date for the game (incredible since it has been on the market for 61 weeks). Commercials such as these really help bring new games into the conscience of the more casual audience.

Disc Golf

2009-04-08T22:25:00.005-06:00

This info comes from the Tiger Woods 10 website:

All-New Disc Golf - Trade your clubs for discs in a fun, new game mode based on the family-fun sport of Disc Golf. Play from custom tee locations on all 27 courses in the game!

If the disc golf aspect uses the Wii Motion Plus to its full extent this would be a great addition to the series. A well done disc golf game would interest me more than a regular golf game. Hopefully they don't just tack this on at the end. I will be keeping my eye out for any new info or hands on impressions of this.

My Hardcore Gaming on Wii…

2009-03-30T22:57:00.010-06:00

The Wii has been on the market now for about 2.5 years and like Nintendo consoles of the past, has been labeled as Kiddy. However this generation the battle has been more between Casual and Hardcore gaming. Nintendo has succeeded beyond expectations and I have enjoyed way too many games than I originally thought coming off the less than stellar performance of the Gamecube.

With all the games I have bought there has still been a lack of good Mature rated games. Most have been either cheap ports or lousy developed titles, minus the great No More Heroes. However last year I bought Call of Duty: World At War and the excitement continued to roll in when 2009 came around. MadWorld recently hit earlier this month and later the DS finally saw its first and long anticipated Grand Theft Auto. Lately I have been putting too many hours in to Chinatown Wars and it even overshadows many Nintendo 1st party games.

2009 will even get better when The Conduit hits in June, and Dead Space: Extraction later this fall. Having only time and money for one console and one handheld I am happy that 3rd parties are finally understanding the Nintendo systems and filling the void of games that the PS3 and 360 enjoy.

Guitar Hero Commercials

2009-03-29T19:45:00.001-06:00

I am not buying Guitar Hero: Metallica anytime soon. But I love the commercials for the game. Not quite as good as this one but still very entertaining.

Storage Solution

2009-03-25T22:17:00.007-06:00

Today at the GDC Nintendo announced and launched a storage solution for the Wii. The Wii's internal memory which stores save data, Wii channels, and downloadable games is only 512 MB. Needless to say, if you download many games, especially N64 games or larger WiiWare games this feels up quickly. For the last few months if I wanted to buy a new game I had to delete a number of games to make room. This was a large inconvenience.

The new storage solution allows games to be saved to an SD card (up to 32 GB in size) and played from the SD card with limited delay. Hopefully with this storage solution Nintendo will begin to release more N64 games (Majora's Mask and Excitebike 64 please) and increase the allowable size of WiiWare games. Check out the video below to see this system in action.

It is not the best possible solution,but I am more than happy with what Nintendo came up with. I am excited to see what are the other consequences of this update.

Confessions of a Pokemon Addict

2009-03-23T22:00:00.017-06:00

Yesterday the latest iteration of the Pokemon series, Pokemon Platinum, was released. Even though I own Pokemon Pearl (Platinum is basically the same game as Pearl with a few minor (yet exciting) additions) I had to pick it up today. Ever since I bought Pokemon Pearl in April of 2007 I have become addicted to Pokemon. I have played Pokemon Pearl for over 220 hours and have put as many hours if not more playing the other Pokemon games I have (Platinum is my 9th Pokemon game).

Even though I love playing Pokemon games I am somewhat ashamed to admit it. I think it is safe to say that many people think that Pokemon games are for young children. Even my 11 year old nephew thinks he is too old for Pokemon games. Admittedly, on their face Pokemon are rather cute and childish looking. The games, unlike some other RPGs, are very simple to pick up and play.

Yet behind this simple and cute exterior lies a game that is very complex and difficult to master. My countless hours that I have spent playing the Pokemon games has gotten me very close to my initial goal of achieving the motto of Pokemon: Gotta Catch 'Em All. It has only been recently, as I neared what I initially envisioned would be the end of playing Pokemon, that I began to scratch the surface of a much deeper experience. I have begun to collect rare event Pokemon from other countries and raising Pokemon that can battle competitively. Understanding competitive battling requires and understanding of extremely complicated game mechanics that are largely hidden from view unless you seek them out. It also takes an extreme amount of patience and hard work to obtain a Pokemon with good stats and then to raise it the precise way to capitalize on those stats.

I think it is precisely this dichotomy of being easy to pick up and play while also be incredibly complicated if one chooses that makes Pokemon such a great game. Anyone from the casual player to the extremely competitive player can enjoy the same game. Pokemon is the quintessential Nintendo game for this very reason.

It's in the game

2009-03-19T11:51:00.001-06:00

Recently EA announced their intentions to place a larger emphasis on developing games for the Wii from the ground up. To fulfill that promise EA has announced two games that will use Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus: Tiger Woods 10 and the new Grand Slam Tennis. With the details released this week about these games it seems that EA is taking this promise very seriously. Both of these games have jumped to the top of my wish list.

EA promises an all new realism that can be obtained only through Wii Motion Plus. They have obtained one-to-one motion control. Whatever you do in your living room, the on screen character will also do. Although the controls in Tiger Woods 09 were very good overall there were two main problems: first, the controller reading draws and fades was inconsistent; second, putting was unrealistic, you would choose a putter distance, for example a five foot putter, then you would have to swing full power for it to go five feet. Both of these issues have been remedied with the use of Wii Motion Plus (you can even push or pull putts now if you twist your wrists during the putts). Also added to the game this year is an actual crowd at tournaments; no longer will there be applause and jeers from an invisible audience. Also the weather conditions in the game will reflect the actual weather conditions at that location thanks to a link to the Wii Weather Channel.

EA has built also created a new franchise, Grand Slam Tennis, from the ground up for the Wii. It already has a lot of great things going for it besides Wii Motion Plus. It is the first tennis game to have Wimbledon in it. It also has many of the legendary players from days past such as Pete Sampras and John McEnroe. I also love the visual style of the game. Having more of a caricature style works much better with the Wii.

The early hands on with the game and Wii Motion Plus have been outstanding. Where the ball goes depends not only on the timing of the swing, but on the speed and position of the wiimote as well as the length of the backswing and follow through that you take.

I have expressed some concern before about Wii Motion Plus making games too realistic to the point that they are no longer fun to play. However, it seems that EA is walking this fine line. It seems like the games are still accesible. Hopefully these games will also provide a deep control experience that takes practice to fully master.

8-bit Hip-Hop

2009-03-11T16:41:00.004-06:00

I really enjoyed this combination of two things I love. Check out the link below for some hip-hop tracks that have been remixed in the style of 8-bit games.

Hip-Hop 8-bit Remix

SSBB: One Year Later

2009-03-09T20:57:00.000-06:00

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was probably Nintendo's biggest game release last year. The hype for the game was by far the biggest. From May 2007 until the games release on March 9, 2008 there were daily updates on the official website: Smash Bros. DOJO. The actual size of the game also makes it one of the largest ever released by Nintendo. There are 544 trophies, 700 stickers, 35 playable characters (including Sonic and Snake), 27 assist trophies, and 30 different Pokemon in Poke Balls. The game also includes probably the best soundtrack ever for a game. The number of game modes was also large; most notably, for the first time including a single player story mode: the Subspace Emissary. Brawl also added Wi-Fi play for the first time in the series.

All of this adds up to a tremendous game; the best iteration in the hugely successful franchise. However, one year later, looking back at the merits of the game, I think the game failed to be a great game. Despite being the largest game on the Wii, it doesn't have the replay value of other games. I play other games far more, and Brawl hasn't been turned on at my house for a long time.

The biggest problem for Brawl is the underwhelming online play. The quality of the online play was decent. I didn't have big problems with lag like others did. However, despite having robust options in the main game, the online aspect is limited to battles, home-run contests, and multi-man brawls. However, there is no stat tracking involved at all. If you beat up on your friends for hours the only record of it is in your memory. There are no online rankings, no stats, no replays. Mario Kart Wii, released one and a half months after Brawl features a much better online system with rankings, ghosts, and lag free play.

What Brawl really needs is an online ranking system. Tell me where I rank in the world, region, and against my friends. Tell me how many times I have beat my friend. Include rankings for the classic mode, home-run contest, Subspace Emissary. I spend hours racing around Luigi's Circuit in Mario Kart to try and beat my friends. Likewise rankings would make me replay the home-run derby and the classic mode over and over for bragging rights. Include online tournaments with different challenge objectives like Mario Kart and Tetris Party.

Brawl came half way to achieving this replayability with an awesome achievement system (one that I will likely never complete); but it would have been even better if I could compare my achievements with my friends. Unfortunately Wii Speak was also not implemented into the game. The lack of trash talking with friends also ruins the fun (Skype has served as a decent substitute though). Overall, Brawl is lacking a few characteristics that would have pushed the game over the top to be the game to play on the Wii.

Excitebots

2009-03-04T22:49:00.010-07:00

Nintendo just announced a new game, Excitebots, that will be released in May. Excitebots is essentially a sequel to Excite Truck. It will provide racing like Excite Truck, but the trucks have been replaced with vehicles that look like insects and animals.
The official description reveals some ~~wierd~~ interesting gameplay mechanics:
"Get your friends together and grab your Wii Wheel (TM) accessories for action-packed raucous racing. ExciteBots: Trick Racing takes the big-air thrills and simple controls of Excite Truck (TM) and ramps up the fun with a non-stop barrage of funky challenges and mini-games performed at blinding speed. You won’t believe your eyes when you find yourself shooting goals, throwing pies and even playing poker in the middle of racing robotic animals and insects around off-road tracks."

Pies? Poker? I'm not too sure how those elements will be incorporated in the game. If it was anyone but Nintendo was making this game I would think this game was another piece of shovelware. No one would be excited about this game. Hopefully, it will be a great game.
I am most excited about a picture on the cover art for the game. A soccer ball is displayed. Hopefully this game will again have a take on the soccer game from Excitebike 64. Especially if the soccer game was online (the Wi-Fi logo is on the box, so some aspects of the game will be online). I could sink hundreds of hours into the soccer game alone. I think an online soccer game would make some of my friends buy a Wii.
This could be a very interesting release from Nintendo.

Metorid Prime 3

2009-02-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today I finally finished Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. When I first got the game I played it a lot and got to the final boss but couldn't beat it on my first try. So I left the game alone for a long time. I have so many games that I progress to the final boss but never finish. I think there is a part of me that doesn't want to finish games because then they are over. (I still have not beat the first Metroid Prime, though I am at the last boss).

I have enjoyed the Metroid Prime series. However, I think Corruption took the series to the next level with the incredible controls of the Wii remote. I really enjoy first-person shooters with the Wii remote - nunchuck combination. (I am really excited for the Conduit to improve on these excellent controls with expanded customizability).

For those who have yet to experience the Metroid Prime series Nintendo is re-releasing the first two Metroid Prime games games on the Wii with Wii controls. This should make the games even better than they were.

Mario Kingdom Chronicles in Baroque

2009-02-12T19:58:00.005-07:00

Shirt.Woot has brought another video game shirt to its site. This one features Mario and Yoshi in an epic battle against Bowser, all done in a Baroque style. It is currently sold out, but you will be able to pick it up tommorow for $15.00.

Pokemon News

2009-02-12T15:17:00.002-07:00

Today is a big week for Pokemon. I moved one step closer to completing my Pokedex. I went to Toys 'R Us yesterday and downloaded Shaymin.

That leaves me just four Pokemon short of a complete Pokedex.

Nintendo also announced that a Giratina figuring will be given to those that pre-order Pokemon Platinum. This is way better than the stylus they gave for Pearl and Diamond.
Pokemon Platinum is being released on March 22nd.

The newest movie, Giratina and the Sky Warrior, will also be making its America debut on the Cartoon Network this weekend. It can be seen Friday the 13th and Sunday the 15th at 8:00 p.m. or Wednesday the 18th and 9:00 p.m. It will then be released on DVD on March 31st.
Luckily the movie isn't scheduled to air on Valentine's day. I'm sure my wife would have loved it if we had to watch that for Valentine's day.

Video Game Soundtracks

2009-02-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Many games have incredibly soundtracks. The music provides so much atmosphere and character to the game. A number of these songs get stuck in my head for days. I also love when my son is in his room and he hears me start a game. He instantly knows what game it is from the music. Unfortunately, most video game soundtracks are never released in a format that can be enjoyed whenever one wishes. Recently, I have noticed a number of publishers providing free dowloads of game soundtracks. I think this is a great idea. It gets gamers excited about the games and provides gamers a way to enjoy the music whenever they want. Check out the following sites to download some excellent video game soundtracks.

World of Goo

Big Bang Mini

LIT

Boom Blox

2009-02-01T11:04:00.001-07:00

One of the highlights on the Wii last year was Boom Blox. Boom Blox, which was the first game which partnered EA and Steven Spielberg, is in essence a reverse Jenga game. Many of the levels have you throwing balls at blocks in an attempt to knock them down in as few throws as possible. The following trailer shows the many different game play modes.

The game has a large single player mode which is comprised of both a story mode and also a challenge mode. The game also boasts a very entertaining multiplayer mode. This even kept my wife entertained for over four hours of play. The game also had a very in depth creat a level mode. Some people have made incredible levels that recreate classic Nintendo games.

I would recommend this game to anyone. It actually provides an entertaining family experience, unlike many of the other party games on the Wii. Recently the sequel, Boom Blox: Bash Party, was announced. If you haven't picked up Boom Blox yet consider it. Look for a price drop and grab it. Or at least pick up the sequel coming this Spring.
Buy this game or else the Grim Reaper will get you.

BYU Video Game Study

2009-01-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

A study recently released by BYU links video game to marijuana use and low self-esteem. (Check out the Deseret News article here). The study polled 813 single college students from around the nation. Students that played video games daily were two times more likely to smoke weed than those that only played video games occasionally and three times more likely to smoke weed than those that played no video games. Girls that regularly played video games also had lower self-esteem.

Although this link is evident from the study, it does not demonstrate whether video games cause these behaviors or whether playing video games is merely an outward expression of people that already have these characteristics. Since this article has been published there has been a large outcry from the gaming community. So much that the writers of the study have released a statement reiterating this. “The study absolutely does not find that videogames cause this behavior. We’ve repeatedly tried to emphasize that in the study itself. It was all correlation.”

Even if they claim not to have found any causation, the pictures they posted along with the article seem to suggest that video games are bad. Look how depressing and life ruining video games are. (Though they match our blog's theme very nicely.)

Professor Layton 2?!

2009-01-24T17:45:00.009-07:00

The game I am most anxiousely awaiting to be announced is Professor Layton and the Devil's [Demon's][Pandora's] Box, the sequel to Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Devil's Box was released in Japan on November 29, 2007 and has already sold over 860,000 copies. However, no release date has been announced for America.

Last week on IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, they speculated that this game would not be localized because of the high cost of translating the text and replacing puzzles that are specific to Japan. They stated that it would cost as much to localize the game as many games cost to make. They further cited the fact that Curious Village has only sold around 350,000 copies in America. This figure, they stated, would likely not justify the localization of the game.

However, they ignored the fact that the game has already sold over 620,000 in Europe and Australia (even though the game was released in November of 2008, nine months of the American release). Europe is sold out of the game, and this game may reach 1 million in sales in Europe alone. Thus, bringing the combined sales of America and the other regions above that of the Japanese release. This fact gives me great hope that we will see a release in America.
Recently in the Official Nintendo Magazine (a European magazine) the cover announced that it contained a preview of Devil's box.

This is pretty good evidence to me that the game is in the works. I assumed that the localization is not much different for the U.S. than it is for the U.K. versions. As such, I think this game will reach our shores before the end of 2009. This game was also on a number of year end lists as the hand-held game of the year. I think Nintendo would be foolish not to localize this game.

iPokedex

2009-01-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

I was recently playing Pokemon Colloseum in my quest to catch Ho-Oh. As I was playing I was wishing there was a Pokedex for the iPhone. Nintendo will likely never release a Pokedex for the iPhone since the iPhone is considered by many to be a competitor with the Nintendo DS (I haven't found any iPhone aps that rival a DS game; however, I think the upcoming DSi downloadable software will face difficulties when compared to the iPhone aps). Today I did a little research and came across a website Pokedex that is designed to work specifically with the iPhone's Safari browser. Just point your browser to room34.com/pokemon/ to check it out. Although it lacks some features (I would love to see it also list the type effectiveness of each Pokemon) it can serve as a basic Pokedex on the go.

Nintendo Voice Chat

2009-01-20T21:35:00.012-07:00

Recently Nintendo finally provided a voice chat solution for the Wii. Some DS games (Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Pokemon Pearl, Metroid Prime Hunters etc.) had already allowed for the use of voice chat. However, it took Nintendo almost two full years to bring voice chat to the Wii. Like the Wii itself, Nintendo has taken an unconventional approach to voice chat. Instead of using a headset like the xBox or PS3 Nintendo uses a microphone that sits on top of the TV and the audio is put through the TV speakers.

This design serves two primary functions for Nintendo. First, it promotes a more inclusive game play atmosphere. Everyone in a room can participate in the conversation. Second, it also allows parents to monitor their children's conversations.

At first I was concerned that there would be significant echoing as the mic pics up the gameplay audio rather than my voice. However, the speakers filter does a very good job and there is little to no echoing. Currently only Animal Crossing: City Folk supports use of the microphone. Nintendo has also provided a Wii Speak Channel, essentially a voice chat room, where friends can talk.

Hopefully more games will begin to use this feature. The Conduit has already announced that it will be compatible with Wii Speak. I just wish Wii Speak could have been provided earlier in the Wii's life so it could have been used for games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Mario Kart Wii. I then wouldn't have to use Skype to rub in my wins.

Last School Vacation

2009-01-17T23:47:00.005-07:00

I recently completed by last school Christmas vacation. During the vacation I wasn't able to do any blogging because (a) I used my iPhone instead of my computer to check websites and (b) I spent all of my time playing video games instead of reading and writing about them. The week before classes started I played the Wii for an average of over 3 1/2 hours each day. I played by DS even more since I was trying to finish Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia so I could download some exclusive Pokemon.

I am so sick of school, but I am going to miss the extended vacations where I have no worries or responsibilities. As school starts I will be spending more time on my laptop for school (and also blogging more so I can avoid doing school work).

Wind Waker Unplugged…

2008-12-30T00:11:00.002-07:00

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

2008-12-22T13:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-12-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-12-15T23:51:00.006-07:00

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

2008-12-12T15:49:00.009-07:00

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

2008-12-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

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…

2008-12-02T23:33:00.002-07:00

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

2008-11-26T22:13:00.004-07:00

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…

2008-11-25T11:55:00.001-07:00

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

In anticipation of Black Friday

2008-11-22T22:07:00.002-07:00

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…

2008-11-21T10:37:00.007-07:00

*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

2008-11-19T15:57:00.001-07:00

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

2008-11-15T16:39:00.002-07:00

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

2008-11-12T22:23:00.006-07:00

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

2008-11-08T23:56:00.013-07:00

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

2008-11-08T13:12:00.001-07:00

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

2008-11-07T00:11:00.006-07:00

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

2008-11-04T19:25:00.003-07:00

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

2008-10-29T23:00:00.004-06:00

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!"

2008-10-28T19:56:00.008-06:00

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

2008-10-26T14:11:00.001-06:00

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

Gameboy Shirt

2008-10-24T16:24:00.007-06:00

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

2008-10-08T21:53:00.007-06:00

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

2008-10-02T21:49:00.001-06:00

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

2008-10-02T09:10:00.011-06:00

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…

2008-10-01T15:52:00.003-06:00

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

2008-09-15T20:16:00.001-06:00

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…

2008-09-15T16:26:00.005-06:00

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

2008-09-13T21:00:00.009-06:00

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

2008-08-26T16:10:00.001-06:00

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

2008-08-25T16:04:00.006-06:00

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

2008-08-17T12:48:00.006-06:00

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.

Completionist’s Nightmare

2008-08-09T23:21:00.006-06:00

My weekly rewing has been on a little hiatus because of work trips. I resume this feature with one of the largest games ever made. It takes a large amount of time and skill to fully complete this game.

Donkey Kong 64 was the first Nintendo 64 game that required the expansion pak. The game had good graphics for the 64 and also had interesting gameplay. In each of the eight worlds you have objectives that need to be met by each of the five playable characters. Often you need to use a particular character and their special ability to reach areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. One of the very best parts of the game was the opening cut scene which contained the D.K. Rap.

Hopefully, this game will make it to the Virtual Console. If you have hundreds of hours to waste this would be a great game to purchase.

Peripheral Overload

2008-08-03T22:34:00.009-06:00

I am really looking forward to Guitar Hero World Tour's release in October. It should provide an enhanced Guitar Hero experience and not provide a gimped port like Rock Band. Plus the drum set for it is awesome.

However, the downside of the game is figuring out where I am going to keep the drum set, an extra guitar, and a microphone. My living room is already overflowing with peripherals as it is.

I already have to move the guitar and the balance board just to open the cabinet where my games our stored. Someday I imagine that I will have to have a separate closet for my games. Until then I will have to put up with Tammie's constant nagging to clean them up.

Game Night

2008-07-29T20:51:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite things growing up was to have game nights with my friends. We would play video games late into the night. Some of my favorite video games are my favorites not because of how incredible the game was but rather because of the fond memories I have staying up and playing them with friends.

As I have moved away from friends these game nights have ceased (except for bachelor parties). However, with more video games going online (and with more of my friends buying Wiis) video game night is making a triumphant return. Most often we will be playing Mario Kart, other times it will be Smash Bros. Brawl. If you are up for a game let me or Adibobea9 know what evening works best and we will try to accomodate.

Nintendo World Cup

2008-07-19T12:07:00.002-06:00

This week again I am going back to one of my favorite games as a kid. Nintendo's World Cup.

This was a simplistic soccer game, but it had many great features. First, was the graphic style of the game. Nintendo's World Cup borrowed sprites from River City Ransom. When you tackle a player or hit them hard with a soccer ball their eyes bulge out.

Second, was the simple game play. You just tackle, pass, shoot, or do super shots (which consist of either a bicycle kick or a header). If you tackle someone enough they will pass out until a goal is scored or the ball goes out of bounds. Because of this you will often have times when all of the opposing team is passed out. Few things in gaming are as enjoyable as knocking out a soccer player by tackling them over and over.
It was really enjoyable to play through the game. The difficulty ramed up nicely. Cameroon, the first nation you play, is easy to beat. Their team spends most of the game laying on the ground. Germany, on the other hand, is a very difficult team to beat.

One-to-one

2008-07-15T23:50:00.006-06:00

One of the biggest announcements from Nintendo at E3 is their new Wiimote attachement Wii MotionPlus. Wii MotionPlus, in conjunction with the sensor bar and the accelerameter already in the Wiimote, will provide enhanced motion sensing. "Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play." Despite the promise of the new controls, I think that one-to-one motion controls will end up being a mixed blessing for video games. The Wii MotionPlus will make some games possible that are not possible with just the Wiimote. One game I am especially excited for is the potential for a frisbee golf game. However, the danger that must be avoided is making the controls too realistic. One of the main reasons I play video games is to do things that I am incapable of in real life. It is an escape. For example I love golf games because of my awesome golf skills in video games. Tiger Woods PGA Tour would lose a lot of its appeal to me if I was only as good in the video game as I was in real life. It wouldn't be fun to shoot a 120 golf round in a video game. For games to be enjoyable with Wii MotionPlus developers must be able to obtain the proper balance between realism and keeping the games accessible.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

2008-07-12T12:31:00.008-06:00

The Mario sports series has been somewhat of a mixed bag. Some of the games have been truly outstanding, others have been a disappointment. However, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour is truly one of the series' high points. The game is very simple to pick up, but some of the modes and courses take a large amount of skill to play.
I still consider beating the "one-on,one-putt" mode of the game as one of my greatest gaming achievements. In this mode you play through an 18-hole executive course. You have to hit your drive on to the green in one shot and then sink the putt in one stroke. One mistake and you are starting over. The amount of different modes in this game is amazing. You could spend days (which I did) just trying to beat all of the modes in this game.
This game was developed by Camelot, which also developed the soon to be released We Love Golf! for the Wii. Despite my love for Mario Golf I will be looking past We Love Golf! to Tiger Woods PGA Tour '09 All-Play. Tiger Woods is scheduled to feature one-to-one swing mechanics for a more realistic and intuitive golf game. This year's Tiger Woods will also feature online play for the first time on the Wii. Tiger Woods is currently scheduled to be released on August 26.

The Nintendo Kiddy Image: Part 1…

2008-07-11T13:16:00.005-06:00

I grew up on video games and so it is only natural for me to have a place in my heart for all things Nintendo. In recent years as video games have evolved Nintendo has picked up the stereotype as a kiddy company catered to families and those who have yet to reach the years of puberty. With the release of the DS and Wii they have garnered more stereotypes as a company only interested in the affairs of a casual market. Through my fanboy eyes I am still able to accept that Nintendo isn't perfect, but they are however very much a hardcore company and take the business very seriously.

These stereotypes probably wouldn't bother me so much, if it wasn't for the fact that the other 2 players (Sony and Microsoft) respectably garner the praise they seek for. To the media and publishers, the PS3 and Xbox360 are currently hardcore systems and games are developed with respect to that. Sure the Wii is underpowered compared to its HD counterparts, but Wii is still capable of beautiful looking games whether approached at an artistic view (Super Mario Galaxy and MadWorld) or taken with a more realistic view (The Conduit and Disaster Day of Crisis).

Third parties on the Wii, as a whole, however continue to release casual titles with little development time and production values and yet is has been the market leader for almost a year. Their excuse: "Only 1st party titles sell well on the Wii" or "The Wii is catered to the casual." Lately their have been some rumblings of some quality 3rd party games being released later this year and early 2009, but as of right now they are few and far between. Miyamoto (The God of Video Games) recently made a statment regarding this issue:

"If there's only one piece of advice that I could give to the managers of third party companies, it would be that a lot of times it seems that when they're putting games out on Nintendo hardware, those games are being developed by their third-string team or their fourth-string team. Maybe that's because they see those products as being unique projects or somewhat smaller-scale projects. But when Nintendo puts out a title that is designed to really support and sell its hardware, that title is always developed by one of our number one teams. And so I think that when it comes to the question of trying to compete with our software, I would really like to see the parties try to do that with their number one teams rather than with the third- or fourth-string teams."

Nintendo fans want quality titles. The reason we continue to support Nintendo is because we want to continue playing games that we fell in love with and are fun and engaging. Their new titles continue to innovate and I look forward to each new announcement in the future…

The Next Level of Wii Blue Light.

2008-07-08T22:21:00.001-06:00

Wii Blue Light is happy to announce the addition of Adibobea9 as a website editor. He will now be posting and updating the site regularly. Expect some exciting new additions in the future with Adibobea9 on board.

Showdown

2008-07-06T23:15:00.000-06:00

Adibobea9 is back in the country and is playing Mario Kart Wii again. I have mixed feelings about his return. I loved having all of the records, but I was no longer interested in the game. The competition is why Mario Kart Wii has been my favorite Wii game so far. I have a feeling that we will be swapping records back and forth for a long time to come.

Monkeys in Balls

2008-07-05T16:10:00.008-06:00

This weeks game of the week is Super Monkey Ball 2. The Super Monkey Ball game series is a really weird idea for a game, but it works. Instead of just having a marble roll around on a platform maze you make the marble a clear ball and put a monkey in it. Pure genius. The game play was great, and the puzzles were super challenging. However, I beat all of the game levels except for the very last one, where you manuver around on a Gamecube.

I really need to put this game back into my Gamecube and finish off this last level. The minigames on this game were also a lot of fun. My favorite was monkey target where you tried to drop your flying monkey into the middle of a target.
I recently just purchased the wii sequal Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. This game has a shorter main game than previous games, but it has 50 mini-games. Though I have heard most of them are throwaways. I'll have a review of Banana Blitz at a later time.

The Sounds of Science

2008-07-01T20:51:00.005-06:00

We recently got a new surround sound system since our previous one was broke. This one has a large receiver so I am able to hook the Wii up to the surround sound. It has really changed my appreciation for the games that I have. Having great sound can definitely enhance the gaming experience. Of course, the first game I tried was Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It was awesome to crank the sound up (to 11) and hear myself rock. It was also nice to hear some of the subtle sounds in Wii Fit and other games that I hadn't even noticed before. It was definitely worth the investment.

Captain Skyhawk

2008-06-28T16:05:00.005-06:00

For this week I am going way back to a game from the NES. Captain Skyhawk was an incredible airplane shooting game. The objective was to repel an alien invasion. The varied levels had you defeating enemy bases, dog fighting with enemy planes, dropping off supplies to your team so they could develop a new weapon, and finally fighting the mother alien space ship (a pod looking thing with a big eye). The game was very addicting and I beat it numerous times. This is some of the great early work by Rare. The following video is the first level of the game.

Excitebike 64

2008-06-21T15:11:00.007-06:00

This week's game is another great game for the Nintendo 64. Excitebike 64 is an incredible game to play with a bunch of people. While the racing on this game was excellent, it was the multi-player soccer matches that really stole the show. I know how wierd playing soccer on a motorbike sounds but it is incredibly fun. I love how loud and annoyning the announcers were: "Vicky Steele gets a soil sample!"

I don't own this game yet, but I hope it comes out on the Virtual Console soon. I really wish they would implement online into some of these multiplayer games. If they had online soccer I could kill a lot of time playing with friends.

King of Kong

2008-06-17T19:50:00.007-06:00

Last weekend I watched the movie King of Kong. It follows the story of two video game players as they battle for the world record in the Donkey Kong arcade game. Their battle is almost as epic as mine and Chris's. It was a great documentary, very funny and entertaining. I highly recommend watching it. If you have Netflix you can watch it instantly online.

On Fire

2008-06-16T23:22:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite things about video games is that I seem to get better at them even when I am not playing them. There have been numerous times when I get stuck on a certain level. No matter how much I practice I can never seem to overcome the problem. So I put it aside and move on to another game. I can come back months later, without practicing, and breeze through the place where I was previously stuck. For some reasons it just clicks in to place. Today I had one of these moments playing Mario Kart Wii. I have been unable to beat some of Adibobea9's records. As of yesterday there were seven that I had not yet beat. I was becoming frustrated and have been playing more Wii Fit and Pokemon in lieu of Mario Kart. Tonight I sat down and played Mario Kart and the records began to fall. Currently I only have one record left to beat: Grumble Volcano. I am down by eight second to Adibobia9. I am half tempted to win easily with the following cheat.

But I am determined to win fair and square.

Saturday Special

2008-06-14T11:53:00.001-06:00

I am starting a new feature for the blog. Every Saturday I will reach back into the past and highlight one of my all-time favorite games. I start with one of my favorite multi-player games of all time.

The New Tetris is the best multi-player Tetris game that was ever made. Even Tetris DS with its Wi-Fi capabilities still does not surpass The New Tetris when it comes to multiplayer (though it does have such a wide variety of options and gameplay modes that it is the definitive Tetris so far).

This was the first Tetris game in America to feature 4-player head-to-head games. Beyond merely trying to outlast your friends head-to-head, the game also features a garbage system. When you got a Tetris four incomplete lines are sent the bottom of anther player's screen. If you clear three lines at once, two incomplete lines stack up under another player. When garbage was turned on, three options existed for how the garbage was distributed. The first would just go to the player to your right. Second, is the "hot potato" setting; all of the garbage goes to a random person until that person is able to clear a line, then all the garbage goes to someone else until they clear a line. Finally, the greatest garbage mode: directed garbage. You are able to select which person will get your garbage. This mode is great for doing two-on-two battles, or for trying to take down the superior Tetris player by ganging up on him 3-1. My fondest memories of this game is staying up late at a bachelor party and taking down Jeff Wassom with three people.

One of the best features of this game, that has not made it into any subsequent game, is the block making feature. If you made a 4x4 block with any four Tetris pieces they would merge into a gold or silver block. If you then cleared lines with a gold or silver block a much larger amount of garbage would be added to the other player. It usually ended up being a high risk - high reward trade off. Many times you would be so focused on creating a block and would end up allowing your screen to get so high that you were very susceptible to attacks from others.

Also present in the game for the first time in America was the ability to swap out one of the falling Tetris pieces. This allows you to save up a straight piece and work on getting a Tetris. The addition of this feature added a whole other element of strategy to the game.

Although this is a classic game I doubt that it will ever make it to the Virtual Console. There is currently a Tetris game in development for WiiWare. Tetris Party will feature 6-player online play and likely some form of motion control. I would love to see the return of block making as well, but I doubt that it will be included. Some rumors also speculated that balance board support is being added to the game as well. Either way hopefully it will create some great multiplayer game play.

Fifty - Fifty

2008-06-06T17:54:00.004-06:00

The Mario Kart Records graph on the right pane of this blog is pretty self-explanatory, but I needed to do a special post to give a place for Adibobea9 to respond. In response to the Mario Kart Challenge not only have I easily beat 10 of his records (and Ribeye's record on DK Summit) but I now hold the fastest time on half of the courses. Adibobea9 hasn't even been gone a full week. Three more weeks to try and beat the other half of the records.

Wii Fit Thoughts

2008-06-04T07:29:00.000-06:00

When I lost 41 pounds from January 2007-May 2007 there were 3 things that were effective in helping me lose the weight.

First, I checked my weight at least every week; keeping track of my weight frequently kept my weight loss goal on my mind and I paid more attention to excercise and what I ate.

Second, I lost the weight along with other people. We talked about our weightloss and supported each other.

Third, I had a reward for accomplishing my goal (my Wii).

Wii Fit makes a very effective weight loos tool because it provides all three of these elements. Weighing yourself everyday and seeing it charted out makes your awareness of your weight "bubble up inside you." This in turn makes you more aware of what you eat and what exercises you do. Second, Wii Fit, like the Brain Age titles from Nintendo, also encourages people to communicate about the game. It is enjoyable to see other people's progress in their weightloss and through their high scores in the minigames. Finally, Wii Fit is a video game. I love unlocking new activities and trying to beat the high scores in the game. The rewards are built into the game. Even if Wii Fit doesn't provide as good of a workout as running or swimming it is a good weight loss tool because it provides these three elements. However, Wii Fit can make you very sore and cause you to sweat (even ask Tammie). Overall I think Wii Fit is a great game and I have begun to see some modest results from it as well.

# 491

2008-05-31T13:48:00.003-06:00

Today I went to Toys 'R Us and downloaded Darkrai, the first legendary Dark Pokemon. He is also the star of the 10th Pokemon Movie: The Rise of Darkrai, which came out on DVD Tuesday.
I always feel somewhat silly going to these events. Mostly because Tammie thinks that it is silly that I go to these events. It is always little kids or guys that I consider nerdier than myself. But I need to catch all of the Pokemon and this gets me one step closer! (Maybe I am a bigger nerd than I thought!)

Wii Fit Time

2008-05-27T22:26:00.006-06:00

Today Wii Fit came in the mail from Amazon.com. I have been looking forward to getting this for a long time. The thing I first noticed about the balance board was how solid it felt and looked. The game started out by analyzing my weight (overweight), my center of balance (slightly tilted to the right), and my Wii Fit Age (34 years). I have only done a few of the activities available, but so far it seems like a fun game.

Mario Kart Challenge

2008-05-25T12:00:00.005-06:00

Mario Kart Wii has the most addictive competitive elements that does not include direct head to head play. Time Trial mode not only allows you to race against your best time and Nintendo Staff ghosts, the Mario Kart Wii Channel also allows ranks your best time compared to your friends, your region, and the whole world. It became an obsession for the first few weeks I owned the game to make sure I had a faster time trial time then all of my friends. That was until I went on vacation for a week. I came back and now I don't have any records. 31 of the 32 track records belong to Adibobea9, the other one to Ryan.

However, with Adiboboea9 going on abroad for school for a month I have a chance to recapture some of the top times. He only thinks I will get 10 records while he is gone, I think I will get over 20. The competitive nature of the rankings make the time trial mode extremely addictive so I will imagine I will be wasting a lot of time while he is gone to beat his records.

One Year Anniversary

2008-05-13T19:34:00.007-06:00

Today marks my one year mark of being a Wii owner. The only reason I own a Wii now is because of the biggest loser competition I did with Tammie's family. Everyone put in money to create a sizable pot of money for the winner. From day one my goal was to win so I could buy myself a Wii. That was the driving motivation behind everything that I did to lose weight. Between January 1, 2007 and May 5, 2007 I lost more than 41 pounds and was able to purchase a Wii. It was a very successful Wii weight loss program. Unfortunately a year after getting my Wii I have put back on some of the weight (though I am no where near where I was when I started to lose weight).
In a week I will be starting my second Wii weight loss program. This time my Wii weightloss program will be facilitated by Wii Fit. I will be participate fully in the Wii Fit program and regularly update my blog with my progress. Hopefully this Wii weight loss program will be as successful as my first, and longer lasting.

Wii Experience

2008-05-07T17:46:00.011-06:00

Being on vacation without my Wii has been tough. I have been going through Wii withdrawals. It got especially bad when I found out that the Nintendo Channel launched today. I have been waiting for the Nintendo Channel since December.

As I was walking through Six Flags Magic Mountain today I saw the Wii Experience station. They had a number of Wii stations set up along with a gift shop that had a number of video game shirts. They had a wide variety of games set up: Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Play, Mario Strikers Charged, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, and Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree. While I was there playing a number of people came in and tried out some of the games. The controls on Wii Play seemed a little bit hyper sensitive. Overall I think it is an effective setup for Nintendo and Six Flags. It probably would have been a good idea to have Wii Sports as one of the games. Not necessarily because it is such a great game, but because that is what people know the Wii by. Nevertheless, it certainly eased my Wii withdrawal.

Holding on to What's Golden

2008-05-01T14:46:00.004-06:00

If you looked at the 3 Balls blog in the past week you probably noticed a widget for Mario Kart Wii. It came out April 27th and I have been sinking a lot of time into that game since my finals are over. Today I was playing my friend Adibobea9 online. As I started the first race I noticed that my Wii Wheel icon on the screen had changed from white to GOLD! Altough many people have been negative towards the Wii Wheel I love playing with it. I think the wheel makes the game more immersive. Plus, it will be easier for Carter to get into the game.

As a bonus, to celebrate my Golden Wii Wheel, click below to listen to "What's Golden" by J5.

Gotta Catch 'Em All!!

2008-05-01T13:53:00.000-06:00

Carter caught his very first Pokemon yesterday. I was playing Pokemon Emerald and Carter wanted a turn. So I saved my game and handed him my DS. A little bit later Tammie told me that Carter was throwing a ball at a pokemon. I walked over and sure enough, Carter had caught a Wingull.

I am so proud of him for catching it all on his own. Carter named the Wingull "Baby." Baby will now be a part of my team throughout my Pokemon Emerald adventure.

Mario Kart Records

2008-04-30T20:45:00.005-06:00