Ok, so I lied about writing during my vacation. I'd send you all a consolation, but this is the internet; if you can imagine it, it's already happened, and probably due to some creepy guy in Japan.

My gaming experiences have been few since coming home for my winter break. Due to unforeseen circumstances (I left the power cable in my dorm room) I have been unable to play any of my Xbox 360 games. Going without Gears of War for a month and a half after having only small taste of the action is like some sort of elaborate torture. The positive side to this, and what a positive side it is, would be that I remembered every component of my Wii.

Now, as I mentioned before, I love my Wii. I knew this from only Wii Sports; Because, as I've decided in the intervening period of time between obtaining the Little-System-That-Might and now, Red Steel blows. At first I thought I could just grow past the shoddy controls and gameplay. Then I played the multiplayer mode with my friend, and whatever residual magic the title may have had suddenly vanished. How could a title that Ubisoft purportedly put so much work into end up failing so hard? I still believe there are some redeeming traits which can be used to teach developers how to succeed in the next generation of Wii titles.

Fortunately for myself, I ended up getting two more titles for the Wii that have made the $250 purchase totally worthwhile: Rayman: Raving Rabbids and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Rayman is so ridiculously fun that I scraped skin off of my elbow while playing, but only went to get a bandage after I was done, much later. The biggest asset to the game is the creativity involved. Sure, it may seem just like a mini-game collection, but it's actually got an evolving plot. The story doesn't just stop with Rayman being kidnapped by deranged lagomorphs (I don't think that word's been used since Sam and Max: Freelance Police came out). Anyway, the Wiimote is really well-applied in the crazy games, so I'd say this is one of my favorite party games now.

I'm pretty sure Zelda speaks for itself.

The other time-sink I've been playing is Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, which wins big points for general awesomeness.

No links today because this is all me, baby.

I'm home from school, and I've got a working computer while I'm here! In any case, let me recount what has occupied me as of late.

Like many a fool before me, I camped out last Sunday for a Wii. Rather, it would be better to say I camped out almost all of Saturday until the early hours of Sunday. This wasn't actually my idea, but someone else's on campus, and since I figured having company from school to pass the time would be a good thing, I carpooled with three other guys. We had no idea how many people would be there, or when they would get in line, so we went ridiculously early. It would turn out that camping out was a good idea, though we really didn't need to get to this Target as early as we did. Nonetheless, we got our Wiis, and when I got home, I was way too tired to play. So, I napped, and set that bad boy up. My roommate was in, so we concocted some Miis and fired up WiiSports, which turned out to be an insane amount of fun. We progressed through all of the sports, and by then it was time to get back to working on finals. In case anyone missed the memo, I am a college student, and the Wii's launch date coincided with the last weekend before Final Exams/Projects.

Later that day, I did manage to get some Red Steel action in. Let's get something straight. WiiSports is a terrific introduction to the Wii control scheme, and the decision to add it to the Wii bundle was a smart one. However, Red Steel is not as easy to pick up. Now, maybe this was because my sensor bar was not well-fastened and thus kept slipping on the top of my TV, but maintaining control in the game was damn difficult. Of course, I did eventually get the hang of things, and don't get me wrong, the game is fun. I just really understand what reviewers were talking about when they said the controls just didn't work so well. As long as the cursor remains in plain view, aiming isn't so bad, especially with the zoom function when targeting. Without the targeting feature, though, the game would be broken shit, and I can't see anyone wanting to play it. I still haven't tried the multiplayer, so hopefully that convinces me to keep the game, but so far I'm running out of reasons to like the game. It is fun, but is it fun enough? Time will tell.

Now that I'm home on vacation, there are two Wii consoles in my home: My brother's and mine. I only bought Red Steel, as I am a poor, poor college student. My brother, while not exactly rich himself, bought more than I did. We also invited a bunch of people over tonight for a gaming party, featuring the Wii. A couple of our friends have their own, so we all pooled our games together. We started the evening off with WiiSports, obviously, for those unaccustomed to the Wiimote. Then there was some Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. Well, it's pretty much the same thing as before, but there are a ton of minigames now, many of which are pretty cool.

Later on, we popped in Rayman: Raving Rabbids, another minigame collection. This game, however, is a complete blast. The art direction is about as solid as granite, and that's pretty damn solid. The game is chock full of imagination and creative uses for the wiimote and nunchuck, not to mention I can't get enough of those little Rabbid bastards. Crazy little buggers. Interestingly enough, even though this is a relatively loose collection of minigames, there is a semblance of plot, however subtle. Rayman actually starts accruing some esteem amongst his captors, and when he gets farther along, his gladiatorial prison room gets decked out with nicer equipment. Completing all the games from a day allows you to unlock s special extra, such as a new costume for Rayman or a new song. Overall, this is actually the game I'd recommend the most to someone looking to get a Wii. This is, of course, since I haven't played the new Zelda game yet, and won't be able to for quite a while. And what gaming party is complete without Guitar Hero? We played quite a lot of the second game in this awesome series, mostly in Coop mode which is a welcome addition to face-off mode in multiplayer.

That's enough Wii-raving for now. I'll see what I can do next time. If there is a next time!

In my last post I mentioned waiting for new Super Smash Bros. Brawl information from Nintendo World, the gaming event being held in Japan as I type. Well, no convulsions from me (unless I really, really want to). GameTrailers has release a video from the show featuring new in-game footage, including new moves from the playable characters (Here's a hint: Snake is kind of sneaky) and features such as breakable platforms and new levels. That is exciting, though the secrets I was anticipating, demanding even, were new characters. Well, Nintendo answered that with a gimped whisper, announcing Fox McCloud of StarFox game as playable. Color me Cerulean Blue, or maybe Brick Red. No, Firetruck Red! Yeah.... Seriously, though, I'm unsurprised, as would anyone be, as Fox has been in both of the other Smash Bros. incarnations. This isn't exactly a huge secret, Nintendo. You better be prepared to release unexpected characters, or at least some that are of moderate-surprise level quality. Or else I'm gonna cry a bit. Well, I may shed a tear. OK, I'll just whine a lot, but seriously, where's the 480p beef?

Article:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - New Footage (GameTrailers)

Good day, Internet! It is Thursday, and that means it's the weekend. Well, for me anyway. You suckers get stuck with another day of the week. You know, I think I'm just going to squander the day, just to rub it in. Of course, I'll have to be visited by the ghost of a dead celebrity or something, who will take me on an inspirational and spiritual journey detailing the wrongs of goofing off. Ooh, or maybe it's a talking Dinosaur! No, Denver! Denver the Last Dinosaur. Yeah, that'd be rad.

Oh, 80s!

Anyway, there's a little news on the wire. You know the one I'm talking about.

• Unfortunately, reports that the Wii would output at 720p, putting it on par with many 360 and PS3 games, are untrue, according to a story at EuroGamer. The output resolution will apparently max at 480p.
• Nintendo World is upon us, which sounds like the eve of destruction in some bizarre acid-trip movie (Beware the Ives of Nintendo! The Nintendonians are invading! Ohno, Nintendo is coming for us! We better hide, or we'll be destroyed in a most excruciating manner!) This event, loosely resembling the late Space World Expo, is actually a series of shows touring the Japanese nation in different cities, showcasing the latest in Nintendo gaming products. With the highly anticipated launch of the Wii just weeks away, this will be one of the last instances where someone gets to touch the wild, undomesticated Forbidden Fruit before it becomes standard, everday household fruit (My analogies are flawless. Do not attempt to delude yourself into thinking otherwise). As you may guess, what I'm looking most forward to are the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl characters reported to be unveiled at the show. One (me) can only hope that this announcement occurs at the first show, as opposed to one of the later shows, causing me to spasm uncontrollably until the secret is revealed.
• In order to fully grasp the reality of the demand for the Wii, you could imagine a family of bears who are craving sweet, sweet honey at the end of their winter slumber. These creatures have not eaten for months, and their level of hunger causes a state of delirium in which they confuse human-people for their tasty snack- effectively mistaking little Suzy for a bottle of SueBee. What we have on our hands here is a bloodbath. The lesson, you ask? Bears are dangerous, and can attack at any time. Seriously, though, anytime a retailer opens up pre-orders for the Wii, they sell out lightning-quick, much like my super-human reflexes. The latest example is Wal-Mart, whose online store experienced just such a phenomenon, selling out in just a few short hours.
• Wii rhymes with 'pee.' We get it.
• Bioware has announced a new PC-exclusive RPG titled "Dragon Age." Games For Windows, the magazine previously known as Computer Gaming World, featured the game on the cover to their latest issue, which means you can go to your bookstore, newsstand, or literary haven of choice and read more about it there. For an idea of what the games all about, imagine, if you will, the developer of Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, and the upcoming Mass Effect (it's a stretch, I know). Now, imagine that this developer is creating a new game called "Dragon Age" and that's all you really wanted to know anyway. There. Are we clear? Good. Seriously, though, from what little I've read about it so far, it sounds pretty damn cool. We're mixing Baldur's Gate style pause-game, issue commands style combat, Mass Effect style almost-real-time conversation, D&D style role playing (think classes and game rules. Momma didn't raise no Barbarian! Well, unless of course you roll up a Barbarian, in which case I hate you forever!). Oh, and you can do cool stuff like run between the legs of the humongous creatures, climb up on their backs, and more. From the looks of it, the game will feature multiple stories to allow, nay, encourage repeating the game.

That's it. That's all I've got right now.

Articles:
Nintendo reconfirms Wii 480p (EuroGamer)
Nintendo World 06 - The Wii Lineup (Kotaku)
Nintendo World 06 - The DS Lineup (Kotaku)
Wal-Mart Wii preorders sell out (Gamespot)
Games For Windows featuring new Bioware RPG - Dragon Age (1up)
And just for kicks... (YouTube)

Obviously none of you are going to read this today, since it is Halloween and there's no way any of you are over the age of twelve (Then again, this is the internet, so it's kind of hard to tell sometimes) and must thusly be trick or treating. Still, it is my duty to maintain this blog, and so I shall.

Most of today's news in my favorite categories (gaming, movies, and tech) comes from the realm of video games.

• Viva Pinata has gone gold, which means soon you can finally purchase and play it in your own home (unless of course you're a real or pseudo-real gaming journalist, and have had the chance to review it ahead of time.) This game's looking like it's got a lot of potential.
  
• Nintendo released the finalized list of Wii launch-window titles, as well as the list of titles coming to the Virtual Console by year's end.
• Speaking of the Wii, GamesIndustry.biz reported that Nintendo will release a DVD-enabled version of the console. Just to make sure people are confused, after saying the Wii would have DVD functionality and then not, they mentioned that this version would only be coming out in Japan according to current plans. That doesn't mean it won't come out in Europe or the US, but no one's talking right now. We'll just have to make them talk. (I'd make a threatening gesture, but it just won't come across well in text)
• In regards to my last post, 8bit_generation pointed out that stories are circulating that Microsoft's latest update for the Xbox 360 Dashboard software might be screwing with gamers' systems. I installed the update myself with no problems so far, so we'll just have to see to what extent this is true.
  

I couldn't afford to buy candy at pre-Halloween prices, so if anyone reads this, please send me candy. CANDY GOOOOOOOD! RAAAARGH!

If anyone needs me, I'll be rampaging.

Articles:

Viva Piñata goes Gold (Gamespot)

I'd rather not submit absurdly huge posts encompassing all the subjects I want to talk about, so from now on, I think I'll keep it simple. Anyway, since this blog is in its early days, I'll now introduce you to Alex Speer, gamer. My tastes in games vary quite a bit. I like games from most genres, excluding, of course, horse-racing, fishing, hunting, most sports, and most blatantly-licensed garbage (except M.C. Kids for the NES. That game blew my pre-adolescent mind. It was ahead of its time, truly the forerunner to every epic game franchise to date, even the ones that started before its release).

I will love Nintendo products for a long, long time. I always have, especially since I was raised in a Nintendo-centric household. My favorite system to date is the SNES. I do, however, own an Xbox 360, and I used to own a PS2. Nintendo fanboy or not, I've been excited about the company's new system for quite some time. Most of this is from massive amounts of conjecture as to the possibilities given a game developer's creativity. As for everyone else in the world, however, it has been widely argued that the system, the Wii, may end up as just a gimmick. Today's article, via Kotaku, is by Ryan Garside at Bit-Tech, concerning this very matter. The Wii was played, and what followed was his critical analysis. Some games are fundamental to the enjoyment of the platform, while others boil down to mere novelties. This comes as no surprise, and my point is the following. Nintendo created the Wii for everyone. That's not just little Billy. That includes his sister, his parents, and his highly jaded Grandfather from the Old Country, where people worked for a living and didn't need to be entertained all day long. As such, it needs to be casual, much like the Nintendo DS. People need to be able to pick up a game, play for a little while, and go. There are other video game consoles for long-term gaming.

Just so we're clear on this, the article merely sparked my topic of interest. I'm in no way offering a opposing anything in the piece, just using it as a subject to jumpstart my post. That goes for all the articles linked to on this blog.
In short, I'm still excited for the Wii, especially since I don't expect it to be my 'primary' gaming console. Hopefully Nintendo proves the doubtful to be wrong, but these things can't all be winners. I still can't wait for the new Smash Bros. Also, have any of you seen the new screenshots of the Wii version of Madden 07? Super sweet, though useless to me since I'm not a big fan of Football.

Article: Bit-Tech: Nintendo hands-on Wiiview