Archive for January, 2007

Jan 31 2007

Driving tips for stupid parents!

Published by miguel under Wii, driving

  • When you see a kid crossing the street, slow the hell down!  Yes.  You do have the right of way but have you thought of what a speeding two ton vehicle will do an eighty pound child?  Think about this: Do you know what a parent will do to you if you even graze that eighty pound child?
  • Don’t wait across the street for your child to cross the busy intersection!  Get your ass across the street, hold his or her hand and escort the child.  It doesn’t matter if the child is yours or not.  Don’t watch. Do it!
  • Not even idiots make a U-turn in the middle of an intersection; Why are you?  And don’t get mad when other law-abiding drivers honk their horns at you.  You’re the idiot.  Smile. Wave.  Say sorry.
  • A red paint on the curb means no parking!  Ummm… it’s actually a law and not just a cute red mark on the sidewalk.  I love that fact you also leave your SUV while the school bus full of kids navigates against on-coming traffic.  I’m waiting for the day you get side-swiped.  You can’t complain, dumbass.
  • You can’t block the cross walk: two white lines drawn where people can legally cross the intersection.  I don’t care if it’s the last parking spot near the school.  Wake your ass up early and drag that kid to school to get a good spot.
  • Your house is a block away from the school.  Walk the kids to school.  This will eliminate one stupid moron from clogging the roads around the school area.

There.  I feel much better now.

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Jan 28 2007

Wii News Channel: Stop it, Nintendo!

Published by miguel under Wii

What are you doing Nintendo?  Can you stop adding useful features to my game system!  I find myself surfing the web on the Internet Channel, checking the weather on the Forecast Channel and shopping for games on the Wii Shop Channel.  A game system should only play games.  I only paid $250 for my machine and that’s all I should get.  These added features are adding value to a “toy” that is supposed to be wasting my time! 

To make matters worse, the darn internet channels actually works; even YouTube videos play flawlessly!  What are you going to do next?  Add a Wii keyboard or maybe a stand-alone Sports Channel so I can get up-to-date scores and video highlights?  Man!  There goes my play time!

P.S.
Thanks.

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Jan 20 2007

iPods: A video game player too?

Published by miguel under Wii, Nintendo DS Lite

I read a recent CNN article that EA or Electronic Arts is betting that iPods will be the next big thing in portable gaming. EA is hoping that puzzle games like Tetris and Bejeweled can piggyback on the omnipresent and uber popularity of Apple’s iPod music and video players. As a gamer, I can’t help but laugh at this idea. I’ve tried playing games on the iPod. I have two words for this: pain-full. Ummmm… make that three. I’d like to add: embarrassing. First of all, iPod screens are too small. I got crossed-eyed after two minutes of playing Breakout. My thumbs were all over the iPod’s clickwheel and the clickwheel is not responsive. Ouch!

But I can also see the “caching” that EA sees in this endeavor. The target is not me. I think EA is targeting music and video lovers who might see this as an added extra to their iPods. As far as a portable video game player, the iPod is designed to be light and small to the point of being invisible. Playing a video game, even a puzzle game, requires a person to be engaged with the game system. Nice thought but I don’t think this idea will fly.

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Jan 19 2007

Ultimate Alliance: Is it Marvel-ous?

Published by miguel under Wii, reviews, video games

Ultimate Alliance was one of the first games I wanted for my Wii game system. I’m glad I got it. As a fan of Marvel comics, I got the chance to play several of my favorite comic superheroes such as Spider Man, Wolverine, The Human Torch and Iron Man. I have to hand it to Marvel though. Having this franchise on video games will peak the interest of gamers to other comic book superheroes and characters. I was never interested in Deadpool and Ghost Rider. But this game made me want to read and buy Deadpool and Ghost Rider comics. Ultimate Alliance also doles out a ton of tidbits and trivia about Marvel Superheroes via in-game character conversations and trivia machines at the heroes headquarters.

This game is perfect for my busy schedule. I love the fact that I can save at certain points and return to the game after a day or so and not miss a beat. Each level provides ample action, puzzles and impressive Big Bosses at the end of each quest. The learning curve is not high. I learned the four basic Wiimote gestures within minutes. The trick is learning how to combine the Wiimote gesture + B button or A button. Once I got the hang of it, robots, demons and mythical beings were no match for my combo moves.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance I was not impressed with the ending. I thought the developers could have come up with something more creative and challenging. Ultimate Alliance does have unique gameplay features that should have been exploited for the Finale. In addition to the gesture+button combo moves, Ultimate Alliance also uses, what i call, timed-trigger moves. If you are familiar with the classic games, Dragon’s Lair or Space Ace, you’ll know what I’m referring to. Players will have to execute a sequence of moves in the correct order to defeat some of Boss Villains. The effect is actually cinematic. This concept was nicely integrated in the game.

Despite of the so-so ending, I’d consider Ultimate Alliance for the Wii a good buy. The replay value is high because players can easily blow hours, days and months learning power moves, unlocking new superheroes and creating different teams of superheroes to take on Dr. Doom and his legion of supervillains. Time to get back to the game… Elektra is waiting for me. hehhehhe

-Miguel

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