Lego Indiana Jones

June 7, 2008

In celebration of the end of the school year, I went out and purchased Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii. I've been watching videos of this game for a while and was looking forward to playing it. This game is really fun. It is very easy to play and has great graphics. The story is really good with a bunch of humor added to the original Indiana Jones story lines. All of the original three movies make up this game. The only thing that I wish was different are save points. You can only save once you finish a scene. For someone like me, who only likes to play for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, being able to save mid-level would be a welcome addition. I guess the one good thing about it is since you have to complete the level it increases my chances of finishing the game. So far, I'm only in the first movie, but I can't wait to get through the next couple. The Last Crusade is my favorite and I'm looking forward to playing that as a game. I think the developers of this game did a great job incorporating all the major aspects of the movies and injecting some humor to the Lego characters. I can't wait to see what the Lego version of Batman has in store.

Boom Blox

May 10, 2008

I purchased Boom Blox last night because it looked like a simple fun game. I've been watching videos of gameplay for months and with Steven Spielberg creating it, I thought it must be fun. I'll tell you this, it is. The story line for Adventure mode is very simple and something kids will enjoy a lot more than me. The true fun lies in the levels and not the in-between story line. The control with the Wii remote is very simple and easy and I've enjoyed the different types of play, whether it be strategically knocking down blocks, pulling blocks (think Jenga), or knocking away enemies. There is quite a bit of strategy involved in the game, on some levels more than I expected. I think this will be a great game for kids to think outside the box and strategically plan their moves. One thing I wish I could do, and maybe I've not figured if you can do this yet, but when you are exploding the blocks, I'd like to freeze the action so I can get a great angle to see the blox blowing away. I know you can switch angles while it's happening with no problem, but a lot of times the action is almost done by the time I switch views. This is definitely one of those games where you can play a few levels when you have a few minutes of free time and then come back to it later. It's a great casual game that makes you think critically of your every move. It's worth picking up, or at least playing, if you're looking for a solid Wii game.

Mario Kart Wii

May 6, 2008

I got Mario Kart Wii on launch day. This was one of the titles for the Wii that I've been looking forward to for a long time. I loved Mario Kart 64 and couldn't wait to see what Nintendo would come up with for their motion control Wii remote. This is old news by now but the Wii remote sits in the center of a miniature steering wheel and you steer just like you would a car during your game play. After playing it for more than a week, I have to say, this is a fun game. The courses are fun, and in cases such as the mines or the rainbow track, they are beautiful. The scenery is filled with pictures, drivers, statues of all the Miis stored on your Wii. You can even unlock your Mii as a racer. One of the big frustrations for me is the addition of the new blue turtleshell bomb thing. I hate that one. The online play is fun and lag free. It is much more difficult than the regular racing against the computers because you have real people running you off the road and throwing things at you. That aside, it is still a game with a lot of fun. The 50cc tracks are great for beginners (perhaps too easy for most), the 100cc tracks are a little more difficult, but manageable, and the 150cc tracks are even more difficult. It's definitely a great addition to the Wii. The next game I'm excited about, Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

March 11, 2008

Today I purchased Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii. I remember playing a SSB game on the N64 and finding it entertaining, but I never bought it. That was one of the only times I ever rented a game. I swung by Best Buy after work and picked up a copy. I got home and was instantly thrilled with the game. The introduction showing all the Nintendo Universe characters was amazing. I'm really impressed with the graphics in this game. The Wii definitely continues to amaze me. I played the game solo and find it quite fun being the different characters with the different powers and moves. The scenery is amazing as well. Skippy invited me to play with him and his daughters via the Wii Connect feature where you can play across the internet with other people. So, we played and it was fun, when it wasn't lagging. Since the game just came out, and it was a highly anticipated release, Nintendo servers were being bombarded. This meant we kept freezing or being disconnected from the servers. I can see how it will be really fun playing against other people. I can't wait until the servers calm down so I can have some online SSB fun!

Wii Wishes

February 21, 2008

Yesterday I read an article on how to turn the Nintendo Wii into a media center. Now, remember, this isn't a real media center. The Wii has no hard drive, it doesn't play DVDs. This was essentially a way to stream the media on your PC to the Wii. I tried it, and it actually does a pretty good job. The video quality is less than stellar and if I had a lot of videos on my PC and it wasn't in the same room as my Wii, it might be worth it. There is one thing I would love to see working on the Wii, Hulu. The flash version with Opera isn't compatible with Hulu. It needs an update of the flash player, which as far as I know, you can't perform on the Wii. Hopefully an update will be available soon, because I will stream videos from Hulu. I'd love to watch Monk, Psych, Chuck, and other shows on the TV instead of the computer.

And when will Mario Kart Wii come out? Come on already!

Gifts Galore

December 26, 2007

Well, Christmas has come and gone. It was a good one. I was given seasons 4-7 of The West Wing. I love this show so much. It's such a smart, funny, well-acted show. I also got a bunch of Best Buy gift cards. I spent those today when I went to buy an external hard drive. I got a 500gb MyBook. I reformatted it and partitioned it so both the pc and the Mac can use it. The Mac partition will be used with Time Machine. My Christmas prank on my sister was great. She got me good as well and gave me this really cool picture of the first pitch on opening day of the first Cardinals game at the new Busch Stadium. It's very cool. Can't wait to hang it somewhere. My other sister got me a cool Cardinals baseball (well, it was from my nephew) and the Wii Zapper which I am using to play Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 and, of course, Link's Crossbow Training. It was a great Christmas. I hope everyone else had a great holiday as well.

Super Mario Galaxy

November 20, 2007

I bought Super Mario Galaxy on Friday and I must say, this game is fun! I am Nintendo's target demographic for the Wii. I am a casual gamer in every sense of the word. While I appreciate complex games like Metroid Prime 3, Halo, Zelda (Ocarina of Time is the only game I've ever actually completed in my life), I have a short attention span with games. I usually play for 15-30 minutes then take a break and do something else. This is what makes Super Mario Galaxy so great for me. I play a galaxy, which on average I would say takes 15 minutes for each galaxy, some even less, especially if there is a time limit, then I take a break, or maybe I'll play another galaxy. I wish all games were like this. I would really like to finish the newest Zelda, but I've not played it in so long that I would have no idea where I left off and it's a game that, while you can save and stop playing at any moment, unless you're really paying attention to your surroundings, you can forget what you are doing and where you should be going. And I do. I don't have to worry about that with SMG.

As for the controls, they took some getting used to, that's for sure, but I have the hang of them now and I can usually walk around, even upside down, without any problems in direction. The graphics are pretty sweet too. It's the Wii and it's Mario, so it's not like I was expecting PS3 or Xbox 360 graphics. The scenery is awesome, the galaxies are creative (the Rolling Greens galaxy where you have to balance on a ball and roll into a giant golf cup was fun and short). Overall, this is probably one of the games I've enjoyed playing the most, on any system.

i am shep

Tag: wii