The Wii That Should Have Been

It's not hard to wonder why Nintendo is losing the console war this generation: they released an underpowered console at a steep price tag. This is unfortunate, because Nintendo still has the ability to put out quality titles with the most iconic characters in gaming. The truth is, I'd like to have a Wii U, for games like Mario Kart and Zelda. The problem is at around $300, the cost of entry is too steep.

And the pity is that the majority of the cost seems to come from the touchscreen controller, which is the biggest hook of the system. And oddly enough, the Wii U can only support one of these controllers at a time, so far. This doesn't exactly scream fun party gaming.

I always felt that Nintendo really missed the boat on this system. And the saddest part is, they had the answer right in front of them.

Why isn't the 3DS the de facto controller for the Wii U, sold separately of course? It has nearly the same control layout and functionality. It would lower the price of the system to about $150, splitting the sticker shock among two purchases. Odds are, if you're in the market for a new Nintendo console, you probably already have the handheld. And what if it could support four 3DS systems at once? Then your friends can bring over their own controllers and jump into the action. And if they didn't already have a 3DS, this would be an enticing proposition. 

And they could have called the damn thing the 'Wii DS'!!! That would have leveraged the power of both brands and given people something really exciting and new.

What The Next Walking Dead Game Needs To Be

I've only finished the first chapter in The Walking Dead adventure game, and as everyone who's played it has stated, it's awesome. Essentially, all you're doing is making choices, who to side with, what to do, even who to save. These choices have impacts on relationships and events that'll play out in the story. Very cool stuff.

But I do have a suggestion for the next version:

Make it multiplayer!

The iPhone can already do multiplayer games. How about the action is streamed on your Apple TV, while everyone with an iOS device gets to vote on choices? Then after big decisions, it shows who voted which way. It's a way to share the compelling story, and argue with your friends about the choices they voted on.

The Douchiest Game I've Ever Played

Forza Horizon for the XBox 360 is awesome. You get to drive around a giant section of Colorado, winning races and earning cars. The engine audio is fantastic and the feel of the game is superb.

The one problem?

The game is incredible douchey.

It's like the developers tried to adapt the Fast and the Furious movies for 12 year olds. The video I posted shows the first 12 minutes of gameplay. Try sitting through it. Go ahead and click past the racing parts, if you want. The sad part is, the douchiness level only rises from here on out. You can thank me for sparing you the rest.

Posted with Blogsy

Disney's Next Acquisition...

They created these guys...

 And have held on to these guys for a while...

 And recently picked up these guys...

 Which is good news because they did so well with these guys...

Who's missing?

These guys.

This totally dawned on me while watching 'Wreck-It-Ralph'. Disney needs a serious foothold in gaming, which, buy all accounts, is the fastest growing sector in entertainment. Can't you just imagine a Nintendo Land in Disney World? Hell, it'll make a trip to Tokyo Disney all the more worth it. Mario and Mickey are a match made in heaven. I also think Nintendo fans would benefit from Disney's attention to detail and careful hand in dealing with nostalgia.

At the very least, they should pick up these guys.

Dusty

Found while cleaning.

I bet this commercial was a lot funnier in the writing room.

The system that started Sega's demise

Remember when polygons looked so cool?

Gimme Da Loot, Gimme Da Loot

I'm a bad, bad man.

Embrace the ridiculousness that is Black Friday. You can be righteous the other 364 days.

Forza Horizon $15
Assassin's Creed: Revelations: $8
Kinect Disneyland $10
WWE 13 $25
XBox Live 3 Months $11
Call of Duty: World At War $10
Just Dance 3 $8
XBox 360 Controller $35

Mall Rat Level 3 Badge

Thanks, Amazon

Regrets

Getting rid of these

Wii U: A Comprehensive Review

So I spent 5 entire minutes playing the upcoming Wii U at a Best Buy. I think that's enough time to make a definitive judgement on the device's merits.

Graphically, the system looked great. I played Rayman Origins, which has a cartoony style which lends itself perfectly to Nintendo's sensibilities. It definitely looked better than anything on the Wii, but wasn't mind-blowing. Speculation points to the graphical capabilities being slightly above the XBox 360 and PS3. That'll be fine this Christmas, but those systems are due for upgrades next year, which will most definitely blow the Wii U out of the water. This feels like a half-step, albeit, a welcomed one.

The controller is super wide, it has to be to house the new touch screen. But it feels good. It's a little strange to have so many buttons after the last Wii controller had so few. The problem I ran into was with the interaction between the two screens. When I started playing Rayman Origins, I controlled a character on the TV, that was all very familiar. Then, the characters swapped, and I was controlling a flying insect via touch gestures on the Wii U controller. I had to interact with parts of the environment to help escort Rayman through the level. I kept wanting to look at the big TV, because the visuals looked better, but I would then miss all the prompts on the screen. A little annoying, but this was the only game I got to try, so I can't really judge the gimmick, yet.

But, it didn't hook me. Not like the Wii did. With the Wii, it was like, "Hell yeah, this is a lot of fun!" This time, it's more like, "I guess this is kind of neat."

The real sticking point is the $300 starting price point. That being said, because it is backwards compatible with the Wii, including some great games I never got around to playing, I could see myself upgrading. Unfortunately, I can't justify it at this price. Perhaps in a year, when it gets closer to $200.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD: First Impressions

I've been a THPS player since the beginning. On days when it was too hot to skate, my buds and I would put hours into head to head competition. We played on PS Ones, PS2s, Dreamcasts and Gamecubes. Now the series gets an HD makeover. So, how's the game? Here's my first day impressions.

The XBox controller sucks. The D-Pad isn't accurate enough. Perhaps I need the newer controller.

No create-a-skater, park creator, and only 7 levels. It's $15. I guess that's how much nostalgia goes these days.

The graphics are better. The sound seems the same, which is probably a good thing. The soundtrack brought back some of the favorites (Goldfinger's "Superman") and debuted a few new forgettable songs.

My biggest problem is the career mode. You have to complete the entire game as each character to get their stats up. That might have been all well and good for the older generations of games, but today's gamer doesn't want to do the same thing over and over. They want to level up, get online and have fun.

Speaking of the online, it seems all well and good. And it's fun to play a gamer where I'm better than a lot of people.

Pro Tip: If you're going to build up one skater, don't make it your avatar. His body size to skateboard size ratio is unnatural and awkward.

The Perfect Generation(s)

Every 6 months or so, I get really into gaming. For the past few years, this has meant playing on my XBox 360. NBA 2K. Modern Warfare. Skate. I know there's a ton more great games out there, but I find myself having trouble getting into most of them. As the capabilities of systems increase, so does the expectations from gamers. Games are getting bigger and more in depth, but also too complex. I played GTA IV for 20 minutes before giving up. I never even got into the city.
Recently, I started playing on a PS2; I was always a Nintendo kid so I never really played the system. I looked up the top rated games for the platform, and ordered a bunch of them on the cheap. Persona 3. Bully. Shadow of the Colossus. Kingdom Hearts. Final Fantasy X-2. They're all new to me, and so far, it's been a real blast. Across the board, these games have an art style and sensibility I never got on Nintendo's systems. But what I've really come to appreciate is the perfect balance of difficulty in these games. Maturity without unnecessary complexity. There are no achievements or prestige levels or downloadable content. Just gaming.
Gamers often wax poetic about the 8 and 16-bit generations, but when we go back to play those games, we usually find ourselves a little disappointed with the experience. Those games were hard. Unfairly hard. I've probably only beat a few games on my NES and Genesis. But my 64 and Gamecube? That's where it's at for me, right now.
That being said, I know I'll play Skyrim in ten years and talk about how great that game is.