Oh, I guess I should also mention that today is not my unbirthday.
Consoles I have known (cont’d)
I linked to the first article in this series a little while ago. Here’s the second part. (I loved the mention of The Amazon from the NES game Pro Wrestling. I hated getting my face eaten by that guy!)
Continuing his saga through the gaming systems that formed him, TODD LEVIN recounts the lessons found in his first Nintendo, particularly as taught by the highs and lows of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out.
Link. Another funny read.
Down, and pretty much out.
My family and I have apparently been stricken by a military-grade, full-spectrum flu super-bug, because whatever I have has completely thrown me for a loop since Sunday night. I haven’t been myself since. My desire to game had dropped to nil and my desire to blog had dropped even lower. It’s been a painful four days, but I think I’ve made it through the worst of it and I’ve somehow made it out alive. I wouldn’t wish the cold shakes I had on my worst enemy. Pure torture.
So blogging should resume its normal, sporadic pace shortly. I’ve got real work to do before I get to play, so in the meantime, here’s a video to keep you mesmerized (I can’t stop watching it):
Check out this video of a thousand cars driving at once, too. Equally mesmerizing. Must be my feverish brain.
(Explanation for the Mario video can be found here)
A DS Treasure Hunt
Why can’t we get cool stuff like this?
On a small island near Tokyo, people armed with Nintendo DS portable game consoles are scouring the terrain in search of clues that will lead them to a secret treasure.
via Pink Tentacle
Awesome Halo 3 screenshots
BS Angel has posted some really cool Halo 3 screenshots. Halo 3 may not be the perfect game, but the additional things like the theater are so much fun. I need to be using them more often.
I know what Cloverfield is
I saw Cloverfield this afternoon. I loved loved loved it. In order to avoid any spoilers for those of you who may not have seen it, I’ll just make three observations that seem to be the common themes of the discussion of the movie:
- Everyone who had seen it before told me to sit near the back of the theater to avoid getting motion sickness. I call these people pansies with weak stomachs. I sat right in the middle and never missed a beat. Sure it was way frenetic and disorienting, even frustrating at times, but it was essential to the movie. Loved it.
- I also noticed an interesting reaction to the ending between friends and family that had seen it. The “younger” generation (we’re talking twenty-somethings) hated the ending. Those my age (we’re talking older than twenty-somethings) really enjoyed it. I’m with the latter. The ending was perfect. Loved it.
- If Hollywood made more chick-flicks like this, I would see them all. Yes, I called it a chick-flick. That’s what it is. It just happened to be made by someone who grew up on Godzilla and Michael Bay movies. Loved it.
Sure, there are things you could nitpick about, but I’m not getting into those. I remember seeing the trailer for this movie on the opening day for Transformers and have been waiting for this since then. I never got sucked into the viral marketing, but I still needed to know what Cloverfield was!
Definitely worth the wait.
Wii in the house
We’ve had the Wii set up for a few weeks now, I just haven’t had time to post my initial impressions of this wonderful piece of video gaming goodness. I will say now that I am a full fledged Wii acolyte. It is not gimmicky. This is the future of gaming.
Even now, weeks after hooking it up, I don’t feel like I can really post anything definitive or authoritative because I’ve only been able to play it for about an hour total since it’s been hooked up. The kids have usurped control from its rightful owner and are showing no signs of relenting. I haven’t even broken the seal on Mario Galaxy yet! We have two wiimotes. Ergo, if the kids are awake and the Wii is on, I’m not playing.
When I do get my turn at Wii sports, I’m always surprised at how responsive and accurate the controls are. There is a sense of more than just playing the game. It really takes gaming to a different level.
What’s really fun is watching the kids play. They have no preconceived notions. They’ve both played games on the 360, but that’s it. They have no idea of how a game should be “controlled.” It took them both a few tries to get used to the wiimote, but now it’s second nature. They both love to play bowling and baseball. It’s so simple and so obivous to them. I can’t wait to see them interact with other games.
This little machine is pretty scrappy. I’ve played around with the other channels a bit, I plan on picking up a few games from the Virtual Console (Super Metroid will be the first one) and I want to grab the web browser. I just need some time with it on mu own.
So for now, the Wii is really just a bowling game for the kids, with an occasional baseball game thrown in. Once I get a few hours to dedicate to Mario Galaxy, I’ll be getting down to some serious Wii gaming.
Halo 3 Stats on the Go
Because I feel a need to link anything concerning Halo 3, statistics, and the getting of those statistics in divers ways, I must point to iHaloStats, an iPhone app to retrieve your Halo 3 stats at any moment.
Never have I wanted an iPhone as badly as I do right now. (via Aeropause)
Comic Watch – Basic Instructions
How to Decide Which Star Wars Character You Are Most Like. Basic Instructions nails it again.
Personally, I’ve always thought of myself as Boba Fett, minus the ignominious death.
Dragonlance Movie
A while ago, Brinstar mentioned the forthcoming Dragonlance Movie, something that excited me very much. While it would have been AWESOME to the forty-third power if it was done in the style of Lord of the Rings (with Peter Jackson directing, of course) I could take some solace that at least it was being made. It was going to be animated, but that shouldn’t be a handicap. No way they could screw up one of my fondest stories as a kid growing up, right?
Right?
Right?
Sturm is ashamed