One of the big news items of this past week’s E3 conference wasn’t Nintendo’s announcement of Wii Music, but rather the horrible rendition that the Nintendo crew did of the Super Mario Bros. theme while onstage. After some searching, I found a video of the performance.
…enjoy!?
It’s no secret that lots of people own the Nintendo Wii, or at least want to get their hands on one. Many of the Wii’s newest owners are non-gamers, and may not even be aware that you can play Nintendo Gamecube games on the Wii (provided you buy a Gamecube controller and memory card). I, however, was a big fan of the Gamecube because I was a very casual player during the last generation, and Nintendo’s little purple cube suited my needs perfectly.
So for those of you out there that may own a Wii but never tapped into the Gamecube, here’s my pick for titles to pick up and start a Gamecube library. Please note that I didn’t include Paper Mario, Resident Evil 4, Mario Kart and Metroid: Prime, because (superior) iterations of those games are available on the Wii already.
Continue reading ‘My Faves: Top Six Nintendo Gamecube Games for Wii Owners’
I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes a brother just wants to do some plain old side-scrollin’ platforming. I guess Nintendo heard my lonesome cries in the night for something new, because the footage above of the recently-announced Wario Land: Shake It looks to hearken back to the days of my youth.
Too bad Wario as a character annoys me. I would have been more excited if it was Mario. Or Luigi. Or Toad. Or Princess. Or if you could select from one of those four before each level…yeah right, like that would ever happen!
It’s no secret that I play the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games every night, and I have been doing so for the past six months. Those games are looong, and I only play a few minutes before bed every night.
I’m on the third case/chapter of the third game, Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, and was making pretty good progress. Usually, as I start to nod off, I hit the start button and the game asks me to save, at which point I do so and then turn the DS off. It’s such a standard move for me every night that I swear I have muscle memory from it. So, imagine my surprise last night when I accidentally turned off the DS while it was still saving.
“Oh shit,” I quietly whispered to myself in panic as my wife gently snoozed next to me; I quickly turned it back on to see if my saved game was okay. It wasn’t. The whole damn thing is ruined, but at least it remembers that I made it to the third chapter. Still, it’s going to take a few hours of just prodding through the dialogue again just to get to where I was. I’m still deciding if it’s worth it or not.
Mark:
Number of days with game: Unknown
Current BMI: Average, I assume
Current weight: One hundred and something lbs.
I know this says week 4, but it’s actually week 5 due to my procrastination. I haven’t touched Wii Fit in the past two weeks, other than the time I moved my balance board out from under my TV stand because I thought I dropped a dollar behind it (I didn’t).
I do feel bad, and I’ll be back on it this week. Sorry Russ, sorry Wii Fit, and sorry world.
Russ:
Number of days with game: 24 total (1 day this week)
Current BMI: 23.39
Current weight: 154.3 lbs
So I’ve actually gained 9.2 pounds since buying Wii Fit. Granted, today was my first time stepping on the thing in 14 days. My weight fluctuates depending on my medication, so this kind of increase isn’t a big deal. I will probably be back down in a few weeks, but that doesn’t make a weight increase like that any easier to swallow.
With finals finishing for me tomorrow, maybe I’ll finally get around to doing some (mildly embarrassing) yoga or step aerobics.
Mark:
First of all, screw both of you guys for posting this without my review. You are both dicks. Now that that’s out of the way, on with my third of threevue review.
Hate to admit it, but MP3C was the first Metroid game I ever really spent time significant time on. I played Metriod Prime Hunters on the DS, but it’s hard to make a judgement on a series based on its portable game. After I borrowed this one from Russ, I promised myself I would finish it, and went on a two night marathon trying to do so. I never finished it, but I think I’m close.
So needless to say, I had a lot to learn about the series as I played through it, but once I learned how it all worked, I loved it. It still has some of the most precise controls of any Wii game, especially among the FPS’s. Elements it had such as the pushing and pulling of valves and moving levers around worked really well with the Wii’s motion sensing. The story is…the story, but the game did a great job of making you feel like you were playing it on a massive scale while traveling from planet to planet a-la Mass Effect. It’s a good game, not great, but good, and hopefully some day I’ll be able to finish it.
Russ:
I played nearly all of Metroid Prime when it first came out in 2002, and gave up on it because it got too hard during the last level. I played through a quarter of Metroid Prime 2 last year, until I realized that it was too similar to the first game to pique my interest, and that there were two dimensions of play that were mirror opposites of themselves. I hate playing the same thing twice, and back-tracking, and it seemed like that was where the game was headed, so I gave up.
I’ve spent about an hour total with Metroid Prime 3 and I easily saw that many of my annoyances were fixed (the control scheme worked well, and it has a more explorative and social storyline) and that I was going to really enjoy the game. I then lent it to Mark and haven’t seen it since. I’m not knocking down his door for it - because even though I saw a lot of things I liked about the game, it never filled me with an urgency to complete it. This is a game that requires patience and a fair amount of forgiveness, which I’m not ready to give out just yet. It’s one of those games I like to keep in reserve for those reaaallly boring weekends.
Tyler:
Metroid Prime was a landmark game, it took a big gamble bringing the beloved epic of Samus Aran in to the first of person-perspectives. The second game did more of the same good stuff, not really innovating so much as resuming the title. Corruption is here and this third game is starting to wear out it’s welcome. Honestly, all nostalgia aside. This game isn’t really a novel concept for video games, Nintendo or the Metroid Series.
The thing that I did like was the added Wiimote functionality, updated graphics and corruption mechanic. Things I don’t like the still wonky controls, endless corridors and gimmicky corruption mechanic. The original Prime on the Gamecube was an inspired reinvention, a Metroid Renaissance if you will. If Prime was Leonardo da Vinci, Corruption is Dan Brown. It entertains but makes you wish you could go and check out the source, where it all came from.
Mark:
Number of days with game: 16 (actually played: 4)
Current BMI: 22.16
Current weight: 154.8 lbs.
I know it’s a day late, but after going to the bar after work Saturday night, and a beer-and-pizza filled, NBA playoff game watching Sunday, I was in no mood for Wii Fit to tell me that my posture is slightly to the left this weekend.
It did tell me that the date of my first goal had come and gone, and that I just missed reaching it, which brough forth a resentful “screw you, Wii Fit,” from myself atop the balance board. I set another goal of getting my BMI down to 22 two weeks from now. I can do that one, no problem.
Russ:
Number of days with game: 0
Current BMI: dunno
Current weight: ? lbs
Didn’t even attempt to play this week. Wii Fit does not work well with busy lifestyles. Nintendo should set up some sort of accountability method - like emailing you on your home email address to give you shit for not playing. Or make threats. At that point, I’d be compelled to play. As it stands right now, the game’s going to have to wait.
Mark:
Number of days with game: 8 total
Current BMI: 22.22
Current weight: 155.2 lbs.
I’ve only been able to play Wii Fit about two or three times since I got it because, like Russ, I haven’t really found its niche in my life yet. Especially since my real-life yoga class began, the last thing I want to do is come home and do more in front of the TV. I like it, though, but I have one major gripe, which you will read about soon.
I’m on pace for my goal of losing four pounds by next Saturday; I need to lose 1.5lbs more to achieve it. I can always trick the game and tell it my clothes weigh 10 pounds, though.
Russ:
Number of days with game: 10 total
Current BMI: 22.42
Current weight: 147.9 lbs
I must say, I only played Wii Fit once during this past work week. I only have a few minutes for video games in the evenings, and I sure wasn’t going to spend that precious time sweating or putting myself in awkward positions. I do that enough at work.
Has the fun been sapped out of the game for me? Not yet, it’s just that I haven’t found a way to integrate the “experience” with my current lifestyle and schedule.
Today what could be the most anticipated Wii download game so far was released, Dr. Mario Online RX. I know of at least two people that still own NESs for the sole purpose of playing Dr. Mario, and it looks like this updated version may finally snatch that boxy controller from their hands and replace it with another, um, boxy controller.
There’s a lot to this game for 10 bucks - not only is there the standard Dr. Mario game complete with 2 player, vs. CPU, and online WFC modes, but a whole different game called Virus Buster. VB was apparently included in Brain Age 2, and it is pretty much the same game but with Wiimote functionality. One neat thing is that you can manipulate falling pill pieces after they’ve been separated from their other half, which adds a lot of depth.
My wife (who is way better than me at this) played online for a bit with my Mii and wailed on some poor sap, as you can see in the picture above. She’s actually still playing it as I type this.
Welcome to a new weekly feature, where Mark and I sound off on our weekly Wii Fit experiences. Oh and don’t worry if our interest wanes and we stop posting at some point, I’m personally expecting it.
Since we both bought the game on Friday, we’ll just do a quick first-impressions post now, and follow up with the real deal next week.
Mark:
Number of days with game: 1
Current BMI: 22.68
Current weight: 158.5 lbs
Today was my first day with it, and so far, it’s a lot of things: fun, embarassing, challenging, goofy, and so on. I chose a girl trainer because it reminds me of someone I know, and I didn’t want a dude checking out my glutes. The Yoga is fun, but when I got a “Couch Potato” ranking on one of the early strength exercises, I wanted to jump out of my window.
I haven’t worked out much since I got out of the Navy, and I eat pizza six to eight times a week, so with this and my real life yoga class coming up, I estimate that you won’t be able to tell the difference between Bekham and me in about two months. I set a lofty goal of losing four pounds every two weeks, so at that pace, I’ll be down to a schvelt 78 pounds by next March.
Russ:
Number of days with game: 3
Current BMI: 21.99
Current weight: 145.1 lbs
I had some initial issues with our thick carpet until I installed the leg extenders, which made everything a-ok. When I first did my initial weight tests (without the extenders), it weighed me about 11 lbs lighter than what I really am.
This may be TMI, but let me preface this weekly entry with the fact that I have this weird pulmonary hypertension that makes me out of breath really, really fast. I used to be a long distance runner, and now longest I can keep up a slow jog is about 3 minutes. I’m still going to continue on a normal Wii Fit regimen as long as I can, though.
I’ve done every initially-unlocked activity, minus the balance games. It ends up taking 24 minutes for 14 activities (5 yoga, 5 strength training and 4 aerobic). I was really wobbly on the strength training exercises, and the 3-minute aerobic jog just about killed me. I must admit that it was pretty funny to see random Miis of mine pass me while I was jogging (Santa Claus, John Lennon, etc), or having them cheer me on while I did step aerobics. Three days into it and I’m pretty sore, but I do feel a bit more stable all around. So far, so good.
My friend Soojin (Susan, if you are white), was at the “right place (Gamestop) at the right time (soon after a delivery)” and was the lucky purchaser of three Wii Fits, two of which are about to arrive in the hands of your two favorite threevue editors (Hint: neither of them are Tyler).
For security purposes, I can’t tell you how much I’m buying them for, but I will say that she is Korean and knows how to drive a hard bargain; and lunch, on me or course, is also involved. Gotta go!
I’m a little mad at Wii Fit right now, mostly because I can’t find a copy. But as I was looking for a good picture of the game for this post, I realized that there is some serious racial profiling going on in the Wii Fit world.
GamesRadar has an interesting article about what they see as the next big Wii title, for this upcoming winter shopping adventure. Their two main picks are Animal Crossing and Kid Icarus (which Mark recently wrote about).
I’m not sure that any franchises need refreshing, but if I had to pick one, it would be Donkey Kong Country. Or maybe Killer Instinct.
What do you think?
Myst came out in 1993, and I remember being impressed with its graphics. I didn’t own a PC with a CD-ROM drive until 1997, and by that time the world had moved on and I never had a chance to play it. Maybe that’s why I was kinda-sorta anticipating its release on the DS this week; it seemed like the kind of game that would work well with the DS’s touchscreen capabilities and portability. It was the best-selling PC game of all time until the Sims beat it in 2002, so it has to be pretty awesome, right?
Apparently, I was wrong. The DS port is plagued by bugs and graphics that are so bad that you can’t figure out the puzzles, let alone the fact that there are even puzzles there to begin with. It’s times like these that I salute game sites like IGN and their 4.0 review for saving me $30.
Sit back, dear readers, and listen to my tale of woe. Back in the summer of ‘06, when I was but a casual gamer, I bought The New Super Mario Bros. (arguably one of the best Nintendo DS games ever) and I loved it. I was starting to get a little excited about Nintendo again, with their new DS Lite, impending Wii console and casual-gamer targeting. This excitement, along with nostalgia and the promise of a free guide to my recently-acquired SMB DS game, fooled me into getting a two-year subscription to Nintendo Power.
Why do I say “fooled”? Because although we all may have grown up, Nintendo Power has not. It’s gunning straight at 14-year-olds, and I’m insulted every step of the way. And really, it’s not the age thing, it’s just a garbage magazine in general. I haven’t even read the past few issues that I’ve been sent, and I am looking forward to when my subscription runs out next month. Worst $40 I ever spent.
Actually, no, that time I spend an entire summer’s chore wages on Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six was the worst $40 I ever spent. That was the most difficult game OF MY LIFE.
mark's twitter feed:
Recent Comments