CLiX Games

Ok so today I was looking around on gaming communities and spotted a fundraiser that really caught my attention.  It’s called Mario Marathon 2 (because they did it last year as well) and they are raising money for an organization called Child’s Play.  The details are there are 3 guys and they are playing through 7 Super Mario games(Super Mario Bros 1,2,and 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy) completely and non-stop.  They started July 10th and are going to complete 100% of all 7 games by the target date of July 15th.  There are 599 levels/stars to beat/get.  Its really fun to watch these guys, you can check them out at http://www.mariomarathon.com.  This is by far the coolest thing in ever.

So personally I’ve spent 10 bucks on DSiware titles, that doesn’t include the free points that I started with.  With the free points I got Bird&Beans and Dr. Mario Express.  I really like Dr. Mario Express, but Bird&Beans isn’t really the kind of gae that I enjoy.  Then when Art Style:  Pictobits came out I really wanted it so I dropped 10 bucks for 1000 DSi points, or Nintendo points I think they’re called.  And after Pictobits, which is truly an amazing game, Hudson released a Sudoku game that got my attention.  I enjoy the idea of a DSiWare but I think that Nintendo could be making loads more money.

Its true I spent 10 bucks since April, but if there was a virtual console on the DSi I could easily have spent 100 or more.  There are soo many Gameboy games that I wish I could play again, or for the first time.  To name a few there are Super Mario Land 2:  The Six Golden Coins, Kirby:  Adventures in Dreamland, Pokemon Blue or Red, The Legend of Zelda:  Link’s Awakening, Metroid 2:  Return of Samus, Super Mario Land, Tetris, and a lot of others.  I would pay 5 dollars for any of these games, and would probably get all of them.  Heck, I would probably pay 10 for some of them.  I just hope and pray that Nintendo comes out with a virtual console on the DSi and soon.

So with my recent pre-order of Wii Sports Resort, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the WiiMotion plus will work out.  I remember when I saw the early Revolution videos(Red Steel) and thought, oh thats sooo awesome.  Now with the Motion plus hopefully playing the Wii will be like what I thought it was going to be like back when it came out.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the Wii, it’s just that it was slightly different then what I thought.  It has taken Nintendo a little less than 3 years to come out with this upgrade that seemed like it should have been part of the original Wii.  July 26th, I can’t wait to see how it works.

     So with the recent release of Pokemon Platinum, I’ve decided to pick up my Pokemon Diamond and start playing it again.  I was pretty far into in it when I put started up my game so I figured I’d just keep going.  Me playing Diamond is my way of saving myself $35.  I know that Platinum has a “different” story line, but it’s all basically the same wonderfully addictive game.  

     So when I started playing again I had 3 gym badges and my starting Pokemon was Chimchar.  Now I’ve got 6 badges and a kick butt team.  Obviously I have my Infernape, level 40, then there’s Gyarados level 38, Psyduck level 39, Roselia level 34, Staravia level 20, and Geodude level 14.  I only have Geodude and Staravia on my team for HM’s.  I’m heading off to Lake Acuity to save my over zealous rival right now, but I’m making a pit stop to pick up Defog in Pastoria city.  I’ve been playing Pokemon games since 1998.  And they are still awesome. 

     I can still remember unwrapping my Pokemon blue for Christmas in 1998, it was easily the best present I got that year.  I don’t know what it is that makes the Pokemon franchise so addicting, but I certainly don’t mind it that much.  I have some seriously high hopes that Nintendo will have a DSi virtual console where I can download old Gameboy games.  Pokemon Blue and Red being the main reason but also is Super Mario Land 2:  Six Golden Coins, and many others.  There are so many old Nintendo games that I would just love to play over and over again.  

     So on Saturday night my local Gamestop (where I pre-ordered my DSi) threw an opening night party for the DSi.  It was from 10-1:30, and you couldn’t leave until 12 because technically the DSi didn’t come out till April 5th.  I figured it would be kinda boring hanging out with a bunch of other geeks for 2 hours inside a Gamestop. So I sat down with my brother and watched Braveheart until 11:45 and then we made our way over.  

    When we got there there was about 18 people, including a couple 9-12 year olds (personally I think that that was a bit late for them) and to my surprise there weren’t that many creepy geeks/nerds there.  They had some free pizza and soda, so I took part in that while I waited patiently in line.  When I made my way to the front of the line the man behind the cash register (which I really don’t like because a, he’s like 400 pounds and b, he’s the meanest most critical sales clerk I think I’ve ever meet) said that they were going to call out “numbers”.  Mind you I got there like 10 minutes ago and everyone else was waiting there since 10 ish.  Apparently the people that had just paid for the DSi’s got to get them first.  So I was back in the end of the 15 person line waiting to pick up my DSi, which I had pre-ordered and paid in full like 3 weeks earlier.  I was basically the last person in the store to get it!  The people who just showed up to buy it got to get them first, the guy was like, “We got to get the people who have been waiting the longest their DSi’s first.”  I was like, ok so I’ve been waiting for 3 weeks and they get theirs because they’ve been in the store for 2 hours?  

  Anyway, the DSi is pretty sweet yo.  I upgraded from my DS Phat and there are sooo many differences between them.  My favorite is the more vibrant colors, the new volume adjustment, the bigger screens, and the brightness adjustment.  I’m pretty excited about my DSi, I’m playing some Chrono Trigger right now and it is blissful.  

     So in all honesty, I absolutely love Zelda games.  But when Wind Waker came out I was one of those people who said that the cel shading looked childish.  It really put me off from playing it cause I thought (and to a degree sill think) that the art form portrays the way a game plays.  Recently with the announcement of Spirit Tracks I realized that if I don’t play any cel shaded Zelda games, it appears as though I’m missing out of three of my favorite franchises games (of course Phantom Hourglass being the other). 

     So I went out and picked up The Wind Waker, against my own opinions.  I’ve not actually heard bad things about the game from my friends.  So anyway, I picked it up and now I guess I’m like 3/8 of the way in because I’ve collected the 3 pearls.  If you were wondering how I guessed that, it was purely based off of Ocarina of Time.  So far the game has been good, not to childish like I once had thought.  The only complaint I have about it is that sailing takes forever and doesn’t really enhance the gameplay.  The only interesting part of sailing so far for me was when I encountered sharks for the first time, the dramatic music and them knocking me out of the boat had me pretty scared.  Oh, and I personally don’t like the actually Wind Waker, nothing specific I just don’t like it. 

     All in all so far I really enjoy The Wind Waker.  I can’t really wait until I beat it and then start to play Phantom Hourglass.  For some reason I just think that playing a Zelda for the DS should be the coolest thing.  

     Well some of you know about the DSi, while others probably could care no less.  Just an updated DS Lite some would say, and they are right.  But the question is, did Nintendo update it enough that you would want to buy one?  

    My answer is yes.  The main thing that sold me was the fact that I’ve had my DS since December of 2004 (which means that I have the DS Phat.)  Now don’t get me wrong I love my DS.  So much as a matter of fact that I’m probably going to keep it even after I get a DSi.  The second thing that sold me was the possibility of downloading old gameboy games to it like a virtual console.  Even if it is just a rumor, I’m still excited about it.  

     Keep your eyes open for the Nintendo DSi, coming out April 5th in North America in Black and Blue(kinda).  

     Well it has been a while since posting about what’s going on.  I’d like to take the time now to catch up with all the video game news and stuff that I have going on.  

     With all the new amazing games out, there has only been two that I have purchased, Street Fighter IV (XBOX 360) and Fire Emblem:  Shadow Dragon (Nintendo DS).  I’ve played Street Fighter a lot, and most of the time I get destroyed on Live.  My character of preference is El Fuerte, even though I’m better with Ryu/Ken/Akuma.  I haven’t played Fire Emblem much because I’m kinda waiting on my DSi to come in, but the prologue and first chapter are really good, as are all Fire Emblem games.  I really want to play Resident Evil 5 because I enjoy the zombie killing scene, but I don’t want to get it in fear that it won’t live up to my expectations.  

     Another reason I don’t really want to pick up RE 5 quite yet is because the long list of games that I have yet to complete.  Lets see there is Metal Gear Solid 3, Onimusha 2, Kingdom Hearts 2, Okami, Tales of Symphonia 2, Castlevania:  Order of Ecclesia, Final Fantasy 4, Eternal Sonata, Gears of War, No More Heroes, Star Wars:  Knights of the Old Republic, Prince of Persia, Paper Mario:  The Thousand Year Door, and Fire Emblem:  Shadow Dragon.  Oh and there are a couple of Virtual Console games that I haven’t beat yet either, but most of my VC games are ones that I’ve beat many times (such as Super Mario anything, Donkey Kong Country 1,2,3)  With all these games to finish, I should be playing videogames till I’m old and gray.  

     Off topic completely I would like to mention the upcoming Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda:  Spirit Tracks.  I don’t know why but I’m soo excited for it.  I was really hoping that it would be a new Wii title, but I’m just as happy with a DS title.  So yeah, Zelda…

     So today, I was super excited about the Resident Evil 5 demo so I hoped on my XBOX and looked through demos to download it, cause I love RE.  Anyway after a few short seconds I realized that today was not the day that the demo came out.  While I was looking I did see the F.E.A.R 2 demo.  And I, having nothing too much better to do at the time, decided to download the F.E.A.R demo.  

     Now, I have had very little experience in the realm of Horror.  I don’t like watching scary movies, and the only scary video games I’ve played are Resident Evil 4 and Shaq Fu.  The latter which actually still haunts my dreams.  But anyway I decided I wanted to try out F.E.A.R.  The demo started off like any other FPS does, except it seemed a little more like I was on acid.  So I jumped down this hole in the ground, because I had to NOT cause I wanted to, and plowed through some guys in a dimly lit room.  Actually I had taken more damage then intended to so my health bar seemed to be screaming at me.  After being alerted to my health situation, I was much more cautious when rounding corners and such.  Then I came to what seemed was a school corridor. It wasn’t creepy at all until the room started moving and all the lights were flashing.  Then there was this image of a little girl just walking down the hall.  As I mentioned me and horror aren’t usually tight, so this mildly upset me.  Oh, and then something happened like I found some guy that I didn’t even know I was looking for and all of sudden something completely destroyed him, I mean there was parts of him and blood everywhere.  Conveniently shortly after this I received an important phone call that I had to take, so I shut down my console.  

     Some people claim that games like this doesn’t scare them, well good for those people.  Actually, No not good for them.  The point of the game is being scared.  So if you’re not going to be scared of it, then thats a crying shame.   I can’t say that I will be going back to that game anytime soon, but its good to know that its still there if I want to be terrified again anytime soon.  

This image is here to objectify my F.E.A.R.

     Well Happy New Year!  I hope you’re having a good year so far.  Its almost 2 whole weeks into the New Year and things are going fine on this end.  

     So this post is about the unfortunate demise of Bob’s Game.  I really was looking forward to this game, its sad to see a grown man give up on his dreams.  Personally I think its a terrible example to set to the younger generations, not committing to his word like that.  The deal was a peaceful 100 day sit down where he was locked in his room.  Now don’t get me wrong, I can understand how frustrating it must have been being in the same room.  But when he quit on day 30 he played a joke apparently by faking his own death.  Thats bad taste.  On top of that he blames (well he claims that he doesn’t blame) Nintendo for not hearing him.  He claims they are teaching children under false pretense.  If you’re a parent and you’re teaching your children through video games, you’re more messed up then Bob.  Now, maybe Bob was just going insane, he was in a room for 30 days, but not only did he disappoint me, he crushed me.  I checked his site daily.  Watched him for a couple of seconds and then moved on with my day.  It was a cool feeling knowing someone was out there fighting for his creation, something that he had put years of time into creating.  If he had gone through with it and failed I would be soo much more at ease.  But he weaseled out of it.  Maybe I’m being hard on him.  Maybe he really is insane.  Maybe I’m right.  Maybe Bob’s game was good, but if this is really how Bob is, it doesn’t have the heart that all the games created by Miyamoto, Itoi, Kojima, Carmack, and Wright had, thats the key here, heart.  Maybe its not good enough to make a video game, maybe the video game makes you…