Club Nintendo coin values changes

Oh man... I just finished registering a bunch of Wii & DS Lite games on Club Nintendo because I read that starting July 1, 2012, most of the coin values for those games are going down. Qualifying (first party) Wii games are worth 50 coins right now, but starting July 1, they seem to drop to between 40/30 & 20 coins! What a rip. And many DS games are dropping from 30 to 20.

But here is the weird part... some first-party games coin values are going UP-- the Pokemon series all seem to be increasing as are the main Mario games-- excluding Super Mario Galaxy (1), the Selects version that is MSRP $19.99 is worth less coins that the original Super Mario Galaxy 1 sold at full price. But don't be fooled, there are far fewer games going up compared to the number going down.

Also incredibly annoying, many of the download games like classic Gameboy titles get cut from 10 coins to 5.

I was squirreling away a bunch of Nintendo game codes from games I'd bought awhile back.... but Nintendo has forced me to register them now if I want the full coin values. I'm now at Platinum status for the second year in a row, but I've almost spent my wad..... I'm holding onto a couple of Mario codes that will inexplicably go UP in coin value after July 1.....

I think it's really douchey of Nintendo to decrease coin values like this. Bad enough they have expiry dates-- some countries have made such practices ILLEGAL as in gift cards, and points slip through the cracks on the technicality that they aren't real money... but still. Expiry dates for gift points is an immoral practice.



later
don

All the Metroid games suck?

I've tried the Metroid franchise time and time again-- and it's overwhelmingly clear that they are simply AWFUL AWFUL games.

I can't believe how many Metroid games I have: Metroid Prime 3 (Wii), Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS), Metroid (Ambassador NES 3DS download), Metroid: Fusion (Ambassador GBA 3DS download) and Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Clearly I really want to like this franchise.... I even drew this pic when I'd just started playing Metroid Prime 3. Sci-fi is one of my favourite subjects, and the games look actiony. I keep thinking that the deadly combination of tedious action bits where it takes forever to kill everything crossed with obtuse backtracking will somehow not be a part of one of the Metroid games... when it's clearly a cornerstone hallmark of the series. Every Metroid game needs these 2 elements otherwise it wouldn't be Metroid, I suppose.

I just started playing Metroid Fusion half an hour ago. It's brutal how clunky this game controls... hell *all* Metroid games control like absolute shit. How is any of this fun?? I get that sometimes a game is "hobbled" in order to add challenge, and in rare cases it actually works well: Steel Diver is a good example of that. But there is still something unsatisfying about Steel Diver, knowing it's intetionally awkward to control... it's just never a good idea to intentionally make terrible/awkward controls for a game.

I haven't tried Metroid: Other M yet. I bought it awhile ago for $9.99, and I'm betting it was a complete waste of $9.99, just as all the Metroid games have been a waste of money for me. If it's like any of the other Metroid games I don't know if I even want to try it.



later
don

Wii sound issue

I just downloaded Super Mario Kart for the Wii Virtual Console.... it's fun. Cashed in some Club Nintendo coins. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the Mario Kart & Mario franchise in general. I slammed Mario Kart 7, but I have to admit I'm still playing it a lot.

It's interesting to see how the franchise began in Super Mario Kart, even though it can be hard to look at.... I wonder how gamers in the 1990's managed to keep their eyes from getting wrecked....


Anyway, this post is more about a Wii issue that I've been having for awhile but since I haven't turned on my Wii for a long time I didn't think about how persistant it is. Sometimes when I go back to the Wii Menu, the sound becomes all scratchy. I'm pretty sure this issue popped up after a recent update. It's kind of annoying. just another example of what I hate about firmware updates, especially FORCED firmware updates. This is a problem that stretches across different platforms, from Nintendo to Sony to Apple & so many companies.... it could be one of the biggest gadget problems to consumers. We need to be more aware of what companies are doing to our products & hold them more accountable to any damage they might do.



later
don

Monster Hunter Tri

I bought Monster Hunter Tri (Wii) from The Source last week, for $9.98... sweet clearance price. Been playing it tons.

I've had Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP) for awhile, and enjoyed playing that last year. So far I'm finding Monster Hunter Tri to be largely a big-screen console version of the PSP game... which is not necessarily a bad thing. The big addition is underwater monster-hunting, and it works fairly well-- very similar to the underwater sequences of Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow or Super Mario Galaxy.

The graphics are a little bit better than the PSP, and while I busted out my seldom-used Intec Classic Retro Controller to try it out... I actually like using the Wii remote/Nunchuk combo! Still, just having the 2nd analogue stick of a Classic Controller to control the camera takes out some of the frustration of the PSP version.

One problem with Monster Hunter Tri is that it uses pretty much the exact same text box/font style as the PSP version, and it's way too small on the big screen. On the PSP it was ok, but on the TV, it should have been formatted better. Plus Capcom seems to want to have a bit more story content in the Wii game so characters talk A LOT. There is SO MUCH FREAKING READING in Monster Hunter Tri. Of course, no voice work other than a few grunts.

And true to the Monster Hunter franchise, the difficulty ramps up pretty quick. There's a lot to manage in this RPG, and it is a slow-paced game.

I'm not sure there's a lot to significantly differentiate it from the PSP games, but if you like the Monster Hunter games, this is a pretty much a sure bet. I'm surprised how closely it sticks to the formula.




later
don

Borrowing games from the library

What a great source for Wii games... my local library branches have at least a few Wii gems that I've always been curious about. I can get up to 2 games for 7 days.

A few weeks ago I borrowed Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces. All I knew about it was that it's a flying game, and I love flying games. So I was a bit surprised to read on the back of the box that not only is it a flying game but a flying game developed by Project Aces, the dev studio that does the Ace Combat series of games-- including my 2 fave PSP ones, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception & Ace Combat: Joint Assault. A definite borrow!

Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is based on the Sky Crawlers anime, and the game is pretty much Ace Combat gameplay mechanics with the Sky Crawlers skin overlaid onto it. Should be an instant-win right? The problem is that in the anime universe of Sky Crawlers, it appears there are only propeller-based aircraft, no jet engines. The aircraft in this game move pretty slowly. The mission structure, from the mission briefings to the aircraft selection to the combat & even mission types is very much like what I've played in the PSP Ace Combat games.... I was actually amazed there was no "fly through the tunnel" mission like there usually is with those games... However, the missions in Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces are very short and become an awkward blend of Ace Combat style with story elements from the anime, which I hadn't seen before playing the game (I found the DVD at the library after, and borrowed it... it's meh...) and the default motion controls, while actually a not bad idea, don't work very well in actual use. The game overall is fairly short; I think I finished it in like 5 hours.

Right now I'm borrowing Donkey Kong Country Returns and GoldenEye 007. Donkey Kong Country Returns is a good-looking platformer that is very unforgiving. Normally I'm not a fan of stingy gameplay where you have to do everything exactly right or you get nothing, but I think developer Retro expects gamers to replay it over & over, memorizing the game in an attempt to get good replay value from it, extending playing time.

GoldenEye 007 was one I was very curious about. One of the annoying things about it is that there's a glitch where if you have a GameCube controller plugged in to your Wii, or like me, a Wavebird controller dongle... the Wii remote inexplicably stops working right at the save file page. I first played the game on someone elses' Wii and it worked fine. When I took it home & booted it up that's when I noticed. I had to look it up on the internet that you have to remove any GC controller (even though my Wavebird wasn't turned on) and GC memory cards to use the Wii remote + nunchuck. While it's nice that using a GC controller is an option, there are other Wii games that also have that option yet you can still use the Wii remote without unplugging the GC stuff. So it's clearly bad programming by developer Eurocom.

Other than that it's an ok first-person shooter but I'm finding it way too dark on the screen like House of the Dead: Overkill. Maybe it's my TV? I dunno, but I mowed through like a dozen guys that I had NO IDEA where I was or what environment I was in, all I could see was a sea of black.

Oh yeah, I also borrowed Tom Clancy's HAWX 2, because I'd seen very little info about the Wii version and it's a flying game. The controls are ok, but the game is very meh. Glad I discovered that, otherwise I might've risked $5.00-$10.00 if I came across it on sale. Same with Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces... just not worth owning in my opinion.

Yup... I'm really loving the library.



later
don

Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II

I bought Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II (GC) a long time ago, but I kept holding out for a GameCube controller that has rumble (my Wavebird doesn't)... but it's kinda dumb to not use the Wavebird just because it doesn't have rumble, so I've been playing it the last couple of days on my Wii....

Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II is one amazing looking game, especially for a GameCube game... between this & Resident Evil 4, they must be two of the best looking games for the system.

But...... Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II is one of the best looking games-- that is broken beyond hope. The look & feel of the game is so faithful to the Star Wars movies that it's an amazing achievement. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of playability.

Let me put it plainly: space is really dark. TIE Fighters are really dark. So it's nearly impossible to see the enemies. You have a targeting computer that can highlight them as long as you constantly hold down the button. But the game *severely punishes you* for using the targeting computer at all. (game developer) Factor 5 is probably thinking, "Hey, Luke Skywalker never needed no targeting computer! And he managed to shoot down everything!" You know what? He managed to shoot down everything because it was IN THE F'N SCRIPT YOU DINGBATS! You can't just cripple gameplay to make it look "authentic". A game has to be playable, you know. And then there are obscure mission goals compounded by not being able to make anything out, so it's a lot of guesswork.

The production values of this game are so good that it's a crying shame that it's so ridiculously unfun. Factor 5 is infamous for their botching of the game Lair, while I haven't played that one I can imagine why they were so panned. Lair looks good but apparently plays like crap. I guess Factor 5 should just disappear & not come back. But there's so much talent there with the production values that something should be done with at least some portion of the company talent pool.

Factor 5 made a major mistake that a lot of companies make: it completely eludes them that a game needs to be playable by people who AREN'T part of its developer team, that a game needs to be playable by people who HAVEN'T played the game 8 hours a day for months during its coding & construction.

There are only about 10 missions, so maybe they're trying to extend the gameplay by making it super hard so as not to let players breeze through it too quick.

Such a beautiful looking game. What a waste.


later
don

Wii games to get rid of

Man.... I need to free up some space. I've been going through my games stockpile, and there are a bunch I think I simply need to get rid of. Some of them I've played, enjoyed, but I'm pretty sure I won't play again-- like Deadly Creatures-- others I've played, did not like them nearly as much as I thought I would-- like House of the Dead: Overkill-- and others are games that I just couldn't really get into.... I don't think I'm an RPG fan (Jeanne D'Arc) or an RTS fan (Field Commander)

So here's my pile of games to get rid of... there are more PSP games not pictured.



This is just maybe 1/4 of my game collection? I don't know. All I know is I keep my Wii/Xbox games in a cabinet, and this pile are games that can't fit in there. I need to sell off some games before I can buy more....

There are 2 must-buy games on my list for the rest of this year: Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii) and Ace Combat: Joint Assault (PSP). Hopefully I'll keep my games impulse-buying to a minimum before then....


later
don

Excitebots:Trick Racing

I bought Excitebots: Trick Racing from Walmart a few days ago for $20.00.... that's the lowest I've seen it, though I heard Rogers Plus has it for $15.00-- I couldn't find any at my local ones.

Excitebots: Trick Racing is an arcade style racer with a very weird theme. You're racing with robots that are based on animals: frogs (see cover), bats, birds, grasshoppers, etc. these robots have wheels, but they can also walk (run) upright when you get a wrench power up. Speaking of power-ups, there are a bunch of neat ones that score you stars (points) while racing... you can knock a big soccer ball into a net, or run over a bunch of bowling pins, and there's a race mode where you race while playing Poker.... like I said, it's kinda weird. And they don't explain WHY you're racing with giant animal-themed robots, you just gotta go with it. Why? Why NOT, eh?? Fair enough...

One thing I really like is that it's not entirely about winning a race. You have to get a certain number of stars to get a good score to unlock the next round of play. You can collect stars by using power-ups, doing tricks and of course winning the race. But you could not win the race and still "win" by having enough stars.

It's a fun game that's fast with cheesy music.... unfortunately there's no custom soundtrack option like there was with the previous game Excite Truck..... probably stupid Nintendo's fault for removing mp3 playback support on the Wii.....

But the game overall feels sort of like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up; what is here is good, but there's not a lot to it. The race tracks are not bad looking-- there's one in Canada, yay!-- but they are a bit generic, and there's not very many of them. The game really counts on players replaying the same tracks over & over again.

If this game was $10.00, it'd be a great deal. For $20.00, it's a little high priced, compared to the play value I got out of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle which was the same price.



later
don

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is simply not as good as Super Mario Galaxy. It isn't-- and anyone declaring the opposite is LYING.

Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion. But I can tell you why Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not as good as the first game:

• Too much pseudo 2-D: the best suit from Super Mario Galaxy is the Bee Costume, which makes a welcome return in SMG2. But, they confine the use to levels with 2-D platforming. HOW can THAT be an IMPROVEMENT over the past game which had levels that let you fly around in 3-D environments??? Verdict: Worse than Super Mario Galaxy.
  
  
• They made a crappy mini-game even worse: SMG1 had the riding-the-manta race levels, which were jittery & a chore to get through. But in Super Mario Galaxy 2, it gets even WORSE with the riding-a-bird levels... you can only use the wiimote, twist it left/right to turn (fine) but tilt down to speed up AND go down, and tilt up to slow down-- but NOT GO UP. Yes, you can NOT fly upwards in this level, ONLY down. It's a completely moronic control scheme where the speed up/down controls could've been mapped to buttons. Verdict: Worse than Super Mario Galaxy.
  
  
• The camera is worse. How do you wreck a camera? By having it too close to Mario we can't see as much of the level... and being able to see a level is KIND OF important in a platforming game. Verdict: Worse than Super Mario Galaxy.

So these factors alone should rate it lower than the original Super Mario Galaxy, yet it's getting higher scores-- perfect scores--- despite having glaring problems. This is like when the final Lord of the Rings movie got all the Oscars, obviously it isn't the "best"-- each movie in the trilogy is just a piece of the story-- but they didn't want to give all 3 of them a bunch of Oscars, so they saved it till the last. Maybe reviewers are trying to make up for not scoring the first Super Mario Galaxy as high as they should've/would like to, and so they're overdoing it now... at the expense of people new to the franchise who don't know about shitty game politics like this.

I'm almost at the final world, and I decided to pop in the first Super Mario Galaxy and play that a bit, to see if things were actually better for the first game. And I'm sad to say that yeah, they were. The music is much better, it feels epic & fun, as well as the level design & even the handling of Mario seems smoother. One of my big gripes about Super Mario Galaxy 2 is that Mario is so damn sluggish. He takes about 3-4 seconds to recover from a hit! So most of the time during his recovery animation he gets knocked off of a platform and dies. Stupid.

All the pseudo 2-D shoe-horned into the game, the galaxy (level) select is made to look just like older Super Mario games like New Super Mario Bros.... how does it make sense to have a linear select path in space??? But much worse is that there's too much 2-D in the levels themselves. All this feels like they're trying to make Super Mario Galaxy 2 more like the older Mario games, which is stupid and a waste of not only 3-D movement capabilities but the uniqueness of the Super Mario Galaxy franchise. Why would it need to "feel" like the previous 2-D Super Mario games???

New costumes like the rock & cloud suit are ok, but Yoshi isn't nearly as fun to play with as he should be. Yoshi levels often require you to aim, eat jump and shoot pretty much simultaneously. All those are mapped to the Wiimote and it feels like too much. Plus the level design for the dash peppers-- whoever came up with those levels needs to be kicked in the head.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not all bad. At it's best, it is like Super Mario Galaxy. There's now checkpoints so you don't have to start all the way at the beginning. The graphics may be a little bit better, but I don't think the design is as good so I wouldn't say so. And it is more of Super Mario Galaxy, so for those who need more of it, this is about the only option. The developers were honest when they admitted that Super Mario Galaxy 2 started off as a "1.5" expansion pack, because this is essentially what Super Mario Galaxy 2 is. Not the worst game ever, but it doesn't live up to the very high standards that were set with the first game.

The Crap in Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2 initial thoughts


later
don

The Crap in Super Mario Galaxy 2

To all you reviewers who gave Super Mario Galaxy 2 perfect 10's: SHUT THE HELL UP.

Seriously, it is not better than the first game. It is simply more of the same, with minor additions that are NOT improvements. They add new features to the gameplay but they don't IMPROVE the gameplay. The cloud & rock suits are cumbersome & not all that fun. Even Yoshi is not all that fun-- the speed peppers levels are awful. And the Bee Suit, which was the best suit from the first game, is back but it's penned in to a 2-D level design. In fact there's way more pseudo 2-D in this game and how can THAT be an improvement???

I'm starting to realize a fundamental flaw in platform gaming that has rarely been addressed in all the decades that the genre has been around: the "all or nothing" principle. Either you do it 100% or you can't do it at all. It may've been understandable to have games with that constrained of mission structure when the genre was invented in the '80's. But come ON already-- games have to evolve.

A good example is Marble Saga Kororinpa. It gets mediocre review scores, and one of the main complaints is the difficulty traversing the levels. I disagree, but the real point is that Marble Saga Kororinpa does one thing that helps alleviate the difficulty & improves gameplay immensely-- in each stage you're trying to collect crystals, parts & bonus items. Say you get 75% through a stage, collecting a few crystals & die. You'll either restart at a checkpoint or the beginning.... but those crystals you've collected STAY in your collection, you don't have to get them again. This is a major thing because it's so annoying & endlessly frustrating to do nearly a perfect run, stick your neck out to collect that rare object tucked somewhere very hard to get at, but you do get it-- just to make one mistake & die.... then you have to somehow do that perfect run AGAIN. By taking that out of the equation, there's still challenge in Marble Saga Kororinpa because you still have to make it to the end of the stage. It just cuts down on the huge annoyance factor of games that demand perfect platforming every time.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is automatically a lesser game because it stubbornly sticks to a less advanced platforming philosophy of "all or nothing", and if you mess up 95% of the way through, you have to get all the 1-95% of what you collected back again. The only concession the devs make to sort of combat the all-or-nothing is to have a Cosmic Guide that plays the game for you. But again, that's an "all or nothing" philosophy: they're saying "Either you play it or we play it. Those are the only options." The clueless developers didn't actually fix the core problem. How about not having infinite respawning enemies every time you die? How about NOT including broken flying controls or stupidly impossible chasing bunnies levels? They weren't fun the first time, why would they be fun again??

Mario is so sluggish, when he gets hit he takes about 4 seconds to get up! Why even bother having it knock off 1 health when it takes him so freaking long to get back up that he gets knocked off walkways & cliffs anyway??

Super Mario Galaxy 2 should really be called Super Mario Leftovers because that's all the game is really.... levels that didn't make the cut the first tine around are dusted off & repackaged as a sequel. The game is not as polished as the first; once you accept some challenge modes it will restart the challenge infinite times until you either pass or run out of men, or pause the game & exit. Obviously programmers screwed up & forgot to offer a retry Y/N screen like in the first game. Just so many little missing things like this that make the game less than the previous.

I feel awful to have exorbitantly overpaid for this game. In a perfect world, video game developers who rest on mediocrity & "tradition" should be punished with plummeting game sales, but the video game industry is far from a perfect world.


later
don

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - initial thoughts

So I picked up Super Mario Galaxy 2 - day 1 purchase. I couldn't find any deals, so paid full price for it.... $59.99 + GST + PST... came out to like $67.00-something..... ouch. At least I had a gift card, so I only paid about $3.00-something of my own $$$... but still, I almost paid more for Super Mario Galaxy 2 than about the *last 4 Wii games* I bought...... hmmm....






Tornado Outbreak (ugh.. sucked) - $10.00
Marble Saga Kororinpa (awesome!) - $10.00
No More Heroes 2 (pretty good) - $20.00
House of the Dead: Overkill (disappointing, but may get better with repeated plays) - $15.00

But I really loved the first SMG, so it's probably worth it. UPDATE: it wasn't.

However... I do have to say..... the reviews for Super Mario Galaxy 2 are WAY TOO HIGH.

They keep saying how this is NOT more of the same, that it's better than the original Super Mario Galaxy, etc.

I've only just started playing about an hour or so into it, so maybe I'm not far enough in? And while yes, it is cool & fun as the first game, and there are new suits like the Cloud Suit... reviewers are flat-out LYING when they say it's not more of the same. IT IS MORE OF THE SAME. I'm not saying there aren't a few new twists like Yoshi. There are, and they're nice.

But there are a lot of little things that are not as cool & "Wow!" as the first Super Mario Galaxy. They streamlined the galaxy select menu to make it a path just like the other Mario games like New Super Mario Bros (Wii & DS). Also, space seems less... space, and more like sky. As seen in the screenshot at the top corner of this posting, that is Starship Mario (cool idea) and it's supposed to be floating in "space", but it looks like sky, right? I really miss the cosmic feel of the original game, it felt big & epic. These changes kinda restrain the game feel even though they may make it easier to select levels to play.

Also the music. I was really blown away by some of the music of the first Super Mario Galaxy, but so far, in Super Mario Galaxy 2, not so much. It's not bad, mind you, but again, not an epic, cosmic feel.

The camera is NOT improved, it is exactly the same as before, with all the flaws of the old fixed camera system. Reviews that say otherwise are lying.

Most of these issues may seem like nit-picking-- maybe they are. The actual gameplay is pretty much what it was in the first game, and while that was great, if you have the same as the previous entry, but some of the minor issues are LESS good than the previous, that means that the second game is NOT as good as the first, right? How can it be if at best it equals the first game, but other parts aren't as good?

Both IGN & Gamespot, I think they gave Super Mario Galaxy 2 a perfect 10 out of 10. That just seems too high if it is slightly not as good as the first game.

And while you don't have to have played the first game to enjoy the second, you really should play the first before playing Super Mario Galaxy 2. It does show you the basic moves but the game right from the outset assumes you have played & know the moves & have fought the previous bosses.

It isn't a bad game at all, but please don't swallow all the hype blindly. I don't know what's gotten into these reviewers.


later
don

House of the Dead: Overkill

I bought The House of the Dead: Overkill a couple days ago from Best Buy for $14.99. I've been wanting this game for a long time, and that's a pretty good price. But so far I'm fairly disappointed in certain aspects of the game.

The House of the Dead: Overkill is an on-rails light gun style shooter where you shoot zombies... err, "mutants"-- for some reason the game insists on not calling them zombies, I think it's a running joke from the previous HotD games, but they never actually explain it here. The presentation is another tongue-in-cheek humourous style-- this time wholly inspired by Grindhouse style '60's-'70's movies. The overall idea and especially the music are pretty nicely done. But the humour almost tries too hard to effectively elicit big laughs from me.

My biggest problem with the gameplay is that the images are waaaaay too dark on the screen. You can't see ANYTHING. It's a black background with black stuff that you wave your target reticle over and you know it's a zombie mutant because your reticle turns red. I get that it's supposed to be action-horror, but it's just not enjoyable not being able to see *anything*... even the cutscenes are like this. It's impossible to play this game unless the room is completely dark, and even then you can't see much on the screen. And the only adjustments you can make are to the audio-- no contrast/brightness adjustments at all??? Moronic oversight.

If you look up screenshots of the gameplay, you'll notice that they usually have a greenish tinge... that's because someone tweaked the contrast up... there's no greenish tinge here & thus, it's not possible to see much in the actual game. Drives me nuts.



I'm going to play this a bit more, hope I'll warm up to it.



later
don

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

I bought No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle yesterday from Walmart for $20.00. Pretty good price, considering I was thinking of buying it from there last week when it was listed at $29.99. Seems like quite a fast price drop, but just another example of my "rules" about EA Games & Ubisoft.... oh wait, did I actually post my rules about EA Games & Ubisoft here? I'm looking over my recent posts & I don't think so.....

So basically, I believe that EA & Ubisoft games almost always drop in price; whether it's 6 months or a year after the game comes out, games from those 2 pubs usually end up at $20.00 (or less). I think it's because of their market penetration, you can buy EA & Ubi games practically anywhere right? So they end up in bargain bins all over the place.

Yes, you could say that *every* game drops in price eventually, but that's not always the case. Take first-party Nintendo games for instance: Mario games that came out years ago have dropped maybe $5.00-$10.00 from their release MSRP. But with EA & Ubi games, most of those drop like stones eventually.

Anyway, that's my "rule" or belief or whatever. So NMH2:DS coming from Ubisoft, I decided to wait rather than giving in to the $54.99 release day MSRP...

Man, I've gotten this far & I haven't even talked about the game yet. It gets good reviews which seem a bit high, though I do think it's a fun game. It's basically a 3D brawler, with stylish art direction & a good sense of humour. In some ways it reminds me of Madworld. I'd say it's faster paced because there are less moves, which makes it a bit less clunky, but it still is rough around the edges as far as gameplay. It's mostly melee sword combat, unlike Madworld which relies on gestures a lot more, here you basically button mash the A button; tilting the Wii remote up or down to do high/low attacks. Then there might be a finishing move where you swipe the Wii remote a direction given onscreen to do a kill.

The premise is like Afro Samurai: the main character Travis Touchdown is fighting his way through ranked players with the ultimate goal of becoming #1. He uses a lightsaber "beam katana", and can purchase other weapons as he goes. Along with the fighting part of the game, there are side jobs which earn him cash-- these side jobs are 8-bit style arcade mini-games, and there are also revenge missions which are much like the "beating up the lackeys on the way to the boss" part of the main missions, except they are time limited. And in between all this are slick & sexy cutscenes of the woman doling out Travis' missions, Silvia Christel.

I really like the artstyle & humourous tone of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, it's goofy & weird that the save mode is Travis pulling down his pants & sitting on the toilet. Luckily strategically placed bands (of toilet paper?) spare us from seeing too much. There's a section of the game where you play as a female character Shinobu Jacobs, and her save mode is her taking a shower...... nice. But again, all the naughty bits are hidden by paper. Still, with the sexiness & coarse language this is not a game to be played with kids around.

Speaking of Shinobu, this is where the game gets clunky: she should be a really cool character to play-- she's very hot looking & well animated, her moves are faster than Travis' & she jumps. But the problem is that they make her have to do a fair amount of platforming & the game is not nearly polished enough for that. Shinobu has to jump up on crates, and her levels are way too frustrating when they should be fun. There's a lot of clunkiness in the actual gameplay... the game relies on its reputation as being "hardcore" but there's a difference between hardcore or challenging and broken. There's no excuse for gameplay that doesn't function properly. Most of the game is fun, but it takes getting used to the rhythm of it.

I haven't played the first No More Heroes, the reason I picked this one up over the original is because I heard it was a bit more refined, but really... I saw a giant robot battle in it and that was what won me over. A bit disappointing, though... the robot fight is more like a mini-game mode inside one of the boss fights, it was actually cool but brief.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is very linear, even the revenge missions are only shown one at a time. There isn't a way to replay past bosses. It's straightforward & probably a fairly short game, but I'm having fun with it. With a name like that-- "Desperate Struggle"-- it sounds like it was meant for the DS??? Kinda odd. I wonder if they were thinking that at first, when they started developing it? It might be kinda interesting to have a DS version of No More Heroes.



later
don

games wishlist 2010

This is kinda late, but it just occurred to me that I haven't posted a games want list for a long time.

I guess because I just haven't seen too much to get excited for this year.... but still, there are a few titles that are really exciting and others that are intriguing.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - I have to say that the first game was a complete surprise for me, I loved it! As much as I loved Super Mario Galaxy.. I do feel that this will be more of the same, which is both good and bad. There will be small changes & updates which will probably be very cool, but I know what I'm getting. Maybe it's the classic "video game sequel syndrome". Still, I'm getting really psyched up for it, it's coming so soon!

Ace Combat Joint Assault - Another sequel to one of my favourite games, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception for the PSP. This may actually be my most anticipated game of the year so far.


Metroid: Other M - I was not all that fond of Metroid Prime 3 or the DS Metroid Prime: Hunters, but the different take that developer Team Ninja will spin on the franchise might be cool. I'm really intrgued by how it'll play. Maybe I'll replay those games & see if I can get into them.

Hmmmmmmm............ I'm trying to think of some other games I'm really psyched up for, but I got nada at this time. Again, 2010 seems like a bit of a dry year for video games if you only have a Wii, DS or PSP. I find myself buying last year's games, it's a little scary how I've snagged just about everything on my old want list....



later
don

Marble Saga Kororinpa

So the other game I bought from my recent jaunt over to Vancouver... Marble Saga Kororinpa. I started playing it last night, and so far it's not bad. It gets mediocre reviews because of the control scheme. With the "marble rolling genre" of games, control is key. I read someone refer to these games as a genre, and I guess they are when you think about it.

I can understand why some may complain about the control. But it's not as bad as you would think from the reviews. Yes-- you WILL need to turn the Wii remote upside-down at times; so that the A button side is facing the floor. The key to playing this game is to hold the Wii remote with the tips of your fingers & not let it rest in your palm at all. You've gotta think about the Wii remote as a gyroscope or something. And it helps not to use the Wii remote strap.

There are times when I'm thinking, "did the devs actually PLAY this level themselves?" things almost seem broken. Then I went into the level design editor where you can make your own levels, and decided to create one myself. I think that the number of tools I have available are dependent on unlocking them from progressing through the main game, so my tools may be limited, but... I created this level that was UTTERLY BROKEN. It was so funny-- had me in stitches when I test-played it because I thought, "OK, let's play this to see how it works" and it was SO bad.... hehehehe. So maybe this game/level design stuff is harder than it looks....

Another weird thing I noticed is that there's this ant character, and his "vocals" sound EXACTLY like the characters in Animal Crossing.... you know, that fast chirping like sound they make as you read their text dialogue? I actually checked my GameCube copy of Animal Crossing to see if it was made by Hudson, but it seems to be a first-party Nintendo game. Maybe the same company developed both games? I dunno.

It's still early but I'd say Marble Saga Kororinpa is worth the $9.98 Real Canadian Superstore sells it for.



later
don

Tornado Outbreak

So I've been playing Tornado Outbreak a little bit...

Wow. This game just totally bites.

What a *SHIT* game! What the hell, Reviews on the Run???

Yes this game has a great core mechanic of playing as a tornado that gets bigger the more it sucks up. But the constraints coupled with the indecipherable story RUIN any momentum or fun that could be had with that awesome idea.

[pauses writing to watch the Canucks game]

So the game is basically this: you start as a small tornado, you have to collect a certain number of yellow fire-guys, then this device-thingy activates, and you have to jump into it, all before time runs out.

The story & characters... well I can't make heads or tails of it. Which usually isn't that important; look at Katamari-- but here, elements of the story play an important part of the gameplay. There are these little yellow fire-guys, and I can't tell if they're friends or enemies, but you need to bust things they hide in then hold down B which causes them to swirl around you-- you're still sucking them in but slower than normal-- you need to get as many little fire-guys swirling around you as possible before they are inevitably sucked in. If you have enough, you'll get a time bonus. The problem is, you get like a +7 second time bonus. Oh yay, 7 seconds! And you start with 3 minutes to finish the level. To find like 50 fire-guys & get into the device-thingy.

I hate time limits, they are one of worst outdated and cheap game mechanics in the history of video games. but I'm going to write a separate post about that. I can see the use of time limits in Tornado Outbreak to give it some challenge, but the time is so short that it wrecks the game; it doesn't matter how big the map is or how cool it is to grow larger and suck up buildings & whatnot, because you don't have the time to go very far away from the whatever-device that you have to jump into once you've got enough fire-guys.

Did I mention once you hold down the B and the fire-guys are swirling around you you slow right down? But as soon as you get a fire-guy you get a small speed boost, like a sprint for a second. So you have to get lucky enough to chain a bunch of fire-guy grabs together so that enough are swirling around you before they get sucked in. All to get your extra 7 seconds....

This crap game mechanic makes it so it barely even matters how large you grow because it doesn't make much difference how big you are-- all that matters is the number of fire-guys swirling around you. It's really stupid.

Maybe I just suck at this game, I've been trying to figure out how many fire-guys are needed to gain a significant time boost. I know 4 doesn't give you jack-squat. 10 will give you a bit, but how the hell does one string 10 together unless they are exactly beside each other??

Tornado Outbreak..... how the hell can anyone give this game a good rating? I will try it a little more & see if I can't make it work for me... I dunno.

Victor Lucas, what were you thinking???



later
don

couple Wii game pickups

I don't know what it is about the Superstore at Metrotown.... but it's one of my "lucky" stores. I usually find deals there whenever I can get over to Vancouver to check it out. I'm in Vancouver now, and I just got back from checking it out again-- I was hunting for a copy of Tornado Outbreak (Wii) after seeing the review on Reviews on the Run. What sold me is it's described as Katamari but with a tornado... and I *really* want a Katamari game on the Wii, but that's not happening anytime soon (if ever)

(video will be viewable in Canada after April 21, 2010)




I knew it was at Bestbuy, and it shows up in stock at my local"ish" one in Langford, for $20.00. Not a bad price... but I was hoping I'd be able to snag it for less. What a cheapskate I am, less than $20.00? What are the chances of that?

But my lucky Superstore pulled through for me again.... they had it for $9.98! I'm scanning the shelves of Wii shovelware thinking, "come on, like I'm really going to find it--hey waitasec. Seriously??" Damn I felt giddy.

I also bought Marble Saga Kororinpa for $9.98... really was on the fence about this one. I know it doesn't score very high reviews but I heard that the first half of the levels are fun, and it supports the Balance Board. I'm getting kind of desperate here, Nintendo..... but for $9.98, I figured what the hell, eh?

Plus Superstore is having a no-tax weekend! So I saved a couple more bucks. Nice. I love that Superstore, it's where I got Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed and I've never been able to find it for that price ($18.98) again.



later
don

Monster Hunter and other games

So... I've been really into Monster Hunter Freedom (PSP) the last little while. I really shouldn't-- it's frustrating, slow and the camera controls are broken..... but for some reason it is very compelling. It's so satisfying to take down a monster after tracking it & doing work to prepare for it.... there are a lot of good things going for the game.

In fact, I'm really getting psyched up for the release of Monster Hunter Tri (Wii) and I may just pick that up on day 1!

I tried out Pikmin (Wii) a bit last week... maybe it's my short attention span, but the learning curve is a bit steep. I'm determined to try to figure out RTS games like this, so I will put some more time into it when I can, to see if it's enjoyable.

I've also been playing a lot of Wii Sports Resort the last couple days. I never really played it much since I bought it, so this is the first time I've spent a lot of time with it. I'm sad to see that some of the new games, like Frisbee Golf, are *broken*. That's simply unacceptable for a Nintendo-first party franchise like Wii Sports. When we're talking about a simplistic experience meant to appeal to everybody, broken mini-games should NEVER make it to the finished game. Really Nintendo should be ashamed of themselves for that.

When it comes to PSP I'm in a funny gamespace right now. I find myself turning down UMD deals, in the vain hope that the PS Store would have as good a deal (yeah right) or that they'd even have the game at all (good luck)... so I haven't been buying PSP games at all. It feels like I shouldn't even bother continuing to buy PSP games because even Sony has given up on the system, and shows nothing but naked, obvious contempt for PSP owners like me. Is it wrong to think that? I still use my PSPgo daily, but I've been hardly been using my PSP-2001 until I started up Monster Hunter Freedom. But when Sony keeps saying to me, "we really don't care about you PSP owner at all." over and over and over, it wears me down.

I know things will change once the new Ace Combat game comes out, I will snatch that up probably day 1.

Not sure if I mentioned I bought The Conduit last week? haven't tried it yet.

Oh yeah, I also got Red Steel 2 last week, during a 1 day sale at EB games-- $40.00 for game & Motion+. Haven't played it yet. I needed a 2nd Motion+, so it is sort of a good deal, though that goes against my previous post about Ubi games. I may be kicking myself later this year when Red Steel 2 inevitably drops in price.... but yeah I needed the Motion+ anyway....



later
don

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up

Whew... need a breather typing that title out.... ok, yeah so I picked up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up last week at Future Shop for $9.99... only last night did I finally get a chance to play it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up is a 2-D style fighting game. At first when I started playing it, it seemed very "meh". I was using only the Wii remote turned sideways, and that was not good. Then I tried the Wii remote + nunchuk and that was better... this game needs to be played using an analogue stick. So finally I used my Wavebird GameCube controller and that seems to be the best controller setup of the 3. The game can also be played using the Wii Classic Controller.

So my initial impressions of the game were not all that good, it's basically a button-mashing-spaz-fest. Fights are fast & furious, ending in probably about a minute or 2. But after playing it some more, it has grown on me. The campaign is short; there simply aren't very many playable characters: the 4 TMNTs, Splinter, Casey & April (April can fight??) and there are a few different modes & some minigames, but not a lot of content overall.

I am a big fan of the original TMNT comics... included with this game is a mini-comic produced by the regular creative team... they also provided the cut-scene art, and while I don't mind it, I'm not sure the casual TMNT fan who only knows the cartoons would be too impressed. But they do use the voice-actors from the cartoons (as far as I can tell) and that's kind of cool.

There are basically 2 attack buttons, a grab button (do we really need a separate button for grab?) and a block button, and while the actions can be button mashed, the combos & move set are surprisingly complicated.

But playing this game gets me all wired up. Maybe it's the nature of fighting games but after all the button mashing & frantic gameplay, I'm left all jangly-feeling-- like I just drank 5 cups of coffee or something.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up is fun in short bursts, but there's not a lot to it.



later
don

Can there be too many games?

Yesterday I bought Pikmin (Wii) at Staples for something like $7.47.... and while I was there I saw 2 PSP games: Midnight Club L.A. Remix and Lego Batman, each for like $9.97.

I'd heard good things about Midnight Club L.A. Remix... and the Lego series of games are fairly consistent in their quality. But I thought about it: I already have a few racing games, Ridge Racer-- my fave racing game of all, and the 2 Wipeout games. Do I really need another racing game?

And I already have both Lego Star Wars games for my Xbox.... I'm not even sure if I've finished playing through Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (the 2nd game in the series)..... do I need another Lego game?

So I passed on these games for now. Pikmin is the first new game I've bought since just after Xmas 2009, when I got Crazy Taxi & Blast Off (PSP mini) for my PSPgo. But maybe I shouldn't keep buying games when I still have so many I bought that I have yet to play, and I have games that are similar to them already. I guess part of me being a Handheld Addict is being a videogame addict too......


later
don