buttonmashing

Mashing buttons since 1984

Archives for 2005

Mario Kart, in bed.

by 3 Comments

Remember how you thought it was funny to read your fortune from a fortune cookie and then add “in bed” at the end? “Share your happiness with others today … in bed!”

Yeah, that was funny. Anyway, I can’t tell you how fricking cool it is to play Mario Kart DS, online … in bed.

I’m an insomniac to begin with, so I’ve always played a little Game Boy Advance in bed before I turned in for the night. Now I usually play a little DS before I turn in. Before Mario Kart it was Metroid Prime Pinball. Pinball was perfect for a quick game before lights out. Now I’m playing Mario Kart, online, while I’m lying in bed. It is awesome.

In bed.

B000A2R54M-01-_AA_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Next Generation, here we come!

by 5 Comments

Alright, maybe not we. I don’t consider myself an early adopter. I did buy a SNES and N64 at launch but that wasn’t with my money. I didn’t, however, get a Gamecube or DS when they launched. I kept an eye on them and eventually indulged myself with the purchase. That said, I am a sucker for shiny new gadgets. As it stands right now, the Xbox 360 is the shiniest gadget out there. But I feel no compulsion to purchase one. Reasons why abound, but right now I’m just not ready to dive into the Next Generation.

The biggest reason is my current home theater situation. It’s been said in a couple places (most notably here (lame-o registration required)) that to get the full Xbox 360 effect, you’ll need an HD-capable TV. I predict a lot of disappointed kids christmas morning when they hook up up their new 360 to their non-HDTV and Call of Duty 2, which was glorious to behold at the Xbox 360 kiosk (HDTV), looks like total trash. Sure, there will be a lot of people who will upgrade their TV to an HDTV to enjoy the graphical goodness of the 360, but right now I’m not ready to invest that kind of money. I certainly want to watch TV in High Definiton. I want to watch Monday Night Football and 24 in HD. I want to watch the Discovery channel in HD. I’m not ready to make that plunge just yet. So why buy a console that I can’t even enjoy to the fullest? Especially when I have a stack of games I haven’t finished yet?

The second reason are the games. Forget for a second about backwards compatibility. How many Xbox games will actually be played on the 360? Halo 2? Sure. Anything else? Probably not. So let’s consider the 360 launch titles. I’ve had my chances to give the 360 a test drive a couple of times. The games look fabulous. Those Samsung monitors make Call of Duty look disgustingly good, I suggest to inform yourself about the top 10 gaming monitors right now so you get to have the best one. I just can’t get excited about the launch lineup. Kameo doesn’t do it for me. Neither does Perfect Dark. Project Gotham Racing looks slick but that’s about it. From the looks of it, EA’s offerings look to be craptacular. Let’s not even mention the sixty dollar price tag.

I’m also getting a little tired of all the games Microsoft may (or may not) be playing. Toying with the supply to create artificial shortages doesn’t seem like the best strategy to me. Their 360 TV commercials are meaningless and lame. All the hype they’ll be pumping through MTV and Spike TV irritate me. Maybe I’m just bitter.

Xbox Live looks like it will continue to lead the way online, but the whole micro-transactions thing doesn’t excite me. Everyone is getting excited about downloading games like Joust and Smash TV from Live Arcade. Woo! If I’m not mistaken, I can already get those (at a comparable price) to play on my current Xbox. Midway Arcade Treasures, anyone? Paint me unimpressed. (I’ll take all that back if I can play Smash TV or Off-Road multiplayer on Live. That would probably make my head explode)

But what difference does it make what I say? In the end, the Xbox 360 will sell out world-wide. Scammers will be selling empty 360 boxes on eBay for thousands of dollars. Men, young and old, will weep when EB Games doesn’t honor their pre-order. People will brawl and little children will be trampled underfoot at Wal-Mart, all for that Shiny (Green!) Gadget. What a great hobby this is!

Will I ever get a 360? Yes. If Santa comes through, I’m not kicking it out for eating crackers, if you know what I mean. Just don’t look for me waiting outside Best Buy for a 360 next Tuesday. I’ll be too busy playing Mario Kart online.

In my hands

by 7 Comments

B000A2R54M-01-_AA_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Impressions after The Office.

Update:

Well, as Will and Thomas have pointed out – Nintendo’s servers appear to be getting slammed. This is both good (a lot of people trying to play) and bad (they weren’t prepared for the onslaught). Come on, Nintendo! People have been clamoring for an Online Nintendo Experience for years! Anyway, I’m going to keep playing the single player game for now and I’ll try getting back online later. Wi Fi setup was pretty simple and I’m itching to get on! For those who make it on, my friend code is:

4 3 8 1 4 6
1 4 7 8 7 7

This might explain it:
nintendo_wifi2.jpg

Update 2: Woohoo! I finally got into a game with other racers, racing was smooth as silk and a blast! Nevermind it took me FOREVER to finally get into a game. All that’s water under bridge. The four races were pretty competitive. I fell WAY behind in race #2 on the Rainbow Track but actually recovered to finish second. In the end, I tied another racer named Charlie (I think that was his name) for first. I wanted to continue but it’s late and my low-battery light started flashing. I will be on in the future! Let me know what kind of experiences you guys had.

See you in Wi-Fi land!

Mario Kart DS

by 18 Comments

So Mario Kart arrives this week on the DS. From the early reviews, it is looking really, really, really good. To the chagrin of the buttonWife, I plan on picking this game up sometime this week. I can not wait for some sweet Mario Kart racing.

I’ve got to say that the Nintendo DS is a fabulous piece of gaming hardware. I’m still jamming on Advance Wars, just picked up Metroid Prime Pinball and will be getting Mario Kart and Animal Crossing in the next few weeks. That’s not mentioning the other games on the wish list! I can’t get over how good this little piece of hardware is.

Come on, friends of the buttonMasher, you guys need to pick one of these up!

My Nintendo DS

Buckeye Blogging, Week #11 (8-2)

by Leave a Comment

Choo choo! All aboard the Pittman Express! Now boarding for the State up North!

Nothing like a warm-up a week before the Buckeyes roll into Ann Arbor to play the team-that-shall-not-be-named. OSU played its last game at home against the Northwestern Wildcats. They looked like Wildcats for about the first 3 minutes of the game and looked liked something else the other 57. OSU never looked out of it, of course, but watching Basanez drive 80 yards for the first score was a little disconcerting. Of course, NW does have a top ranked offense but still! This is the Buckeyes! No one comes into our house and does that. And they paid the price.

I have been impressed with how much Troy Smith has improved. I’ve mentioned before that his throwing motion has always looked awkward to me. I’m not sure what it is but it’s never looked fluid to me. But he has really been making strides and I think he’s made a lot of progress. This offense is still relatively young so I’m pretty excited about not just this year but next year as well. Running for 300 yards is pretty impressive. Things are looking good for the Buckeyes as they prepare for you-know-who.

I mentioned to a guy at work how quickly this season has flown by. Buckeye fans (as well as other college football fans, I’m sure) go through phases of anticipation, thinking about football season. There’s thoughts of the next season right after whatever bowl game we’ve played in. Then there’s a big burst of activity during the high school all-star games and the OSU Spring Game. Interest wanes a bit during the summer, but about the beginning of August comes around, our minds quickly turn to the inevitable season. This year there was, more than most, a feeling that it could be The Year. While those hopes were dimmed after the Texas game, there was still hope. The flame burned out in Happy Valley and here we are now. Time has flown. Here’s to hoping we go out with a bang and end up in a BCS bowl. The season may not have gone how we hoped but it has still been exciting and the future looks bright.

Getting things done, video game style

by Leave a Comment

I was reading the always excellent Dubious Quality and Bill linked to a blogger talking about his “shrinkwrap shrine.” I’m sure a lot of us have a similar shrine — a backlog of games we never get around to either playing or finishing. I mentioned something similar to this a while ago but I really enjoyed Doug’s piece. I’ve found that the increase in disposable income has definitely increased my ability (and propensity) to accumulate games. I’ve got a long “queue” of games waiting to be played, only to be pushed further down the line as new games enter in. It’s a neverending battle.

The reason I singled out this piece was I liked his way of dealing with a short attention span. He doesn’t start a new game until he finishes the one in already in the console. I thought it was a pretty smart “GTD” way of playing games. Of course, if a game is blowing royal chunks, there’s no point in continuing. But if you’re in the middle of a decent game, trying to finish it before you pick up the latest release might not be a bad idea. Still, that takes some serious self-control.

Especially when the last few months are jam-packed with great games. Why won’t anyone release a good game during the summer?!

Dear Santa

by 4 Comments

Dear Santa (and other gift giving acquaintances) – I know you’re busy, what with your millions of stop on Chistmas Eve and all, so I thought I’d make it easier on you by listing my wish-list in easy to read format (complete with Amazon links to get the ball rolling). I’ll start with the small stuff:

I know it may be tough, but if you could wing it, I certainly could use one of these(Xbox 360).

I know it may be tough to get down the chimney but if you could pull some strings (or just ring the doorbell), one of thesewould really be great. (Samsung HL-R5078W)