A new kind of Hack and Slash
Monday, 06 October 2008 12:30




A lot of my friends have the Wii.  And while I see the appeal of the system I still can’t get past it being more than a novelty/party game console for kids and those people who really don’t play video games much.  I also read about the inconsistency of the controls from game to game.  So the bottom line is I am a gaming snob and I just haven’t pulled the trigger on getting one yet.

 

Until now….

 

So let me get this straight…I can now simulate cooking fabulous meals minus the inviting aromas and actually eating the finished product?  Oh yeah…sign me up!  The makers of Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine are hoping you will really dig the 300 different mini-games within the game which will have you simulate everything from chopping and mincing to rolling dough and whisking.  You will enter kitchen stadium just like real chefs, get one of 15 “secret” ingredients and cook up dishes against what I assume are the likes of Bobby Flay, Emeril and whoever else is on the show on the Food Network.

 

This won’t get me to toss down the $250 for the Wii but the game below....

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Pour Me a Glass of Soda Popinski!
Monday, 06 October 2008 12:28



I enjoy going back in time, video game style, and when I heard they are bringing an updated Punchout! to the Wii...I was really interested.  The game won’t be out until 2009 which should give me plenty of time to justify buying a game console I will likely only play when I have people over to the house.  Punchout! and the original 8-bit Nintendo version with Mike Tyson is probably one of my top 5 favorite games ever! I remember popping quarters in the arcade version when they had arcades.  I also remember having all kinds of problems with Bald Bull and his silly uppercut.  Now I eagerly look forward to schooling him and the rest of what appears to be the original cast on the Wii!  The responsiveness of the controls will be key…but I have hope.

 

For those of you with the Wii are there more reasons I should consider getting this console in general??  Please let me know!

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Some things are just plain wrong
Monday, 06 October 2008 12:12




Hey all!  I finally finished Tiger Woods and sent it back to the fine folks at GameFly and they sent me Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (instead of Pure or Brothers in Arms or…) which was well down my list. But since I recalled playing SimCity way back in the day I gladly popped it in this weekend.

 

{Note: For Brent who replied to my last post…try out GameFly I think you will like it.  And if you don’t buy new games because you don’t want to drop the $...this allows you to play a game for a week or so, beat it and sent it back...get another one and repeat.  And if it’s just plain awful send it right back…it’s easy and fast!}

 

After about 4 games of just getting crushed by the CPU on Deity level I bumped it down to mid-range difficulty level and changed my strategy.  Instead of trying to build my civilization with a mix of scientific research and global exploration…I went agro!  Built Military Units early and often and guess what? Won the game easily.  Overall it’s not a bad game for a rental and if you have ever played any of the SimCity’s or enjoy turn based strategy games…it’s worth your time and a few bucks.

 

I will say the most disturbing part of the game is your ability to build the Manhattan Project, an ICBM and launch it.  When I did it I was sort of shocked at how it all played out…from launch to impact…very jacked up!  I can see myself skipping that scenario in the future.  I will likely mess around with this for a few more days and send it back in hopes of scoring a copy of Saints Row 2 next week.  After Stillwater there are a number of really cool releases scheduled for then next weeks.  Fable 2 arrives mid-month and Fallout 3 towards the end.  Then of course Gears of War 2 and the newest Tom Clancy Online Strategy Game next month.  It should be a fun fall!

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Going Back in Time
Tuesday, 16 September 2008 07:49

17 years ago it was the hottest game for sports gamers.  But this is obviously 1991 and when I popped Super Tecmo Bowl in an old Nintendo this week…I was taken back in time to when the “other George Bush” was still president!  OK…the graphics are horrible and the blinking of players based on the massive limitations of 8 bit technology is annoying but the game itself is still lots of fun!  The best part is playing with teams made up of guys who I have for the most part forgotten.  Another great thing…you can play a whole 17 game season…which I have done…in the better part of an afternoon.  Now when I go home the playoffs loom for the Bengals.  Yes the Boomer Esiason, James Brooks and Tim McGee Bengals!  And don’t leave out the NFL Leader in Sacks…Skip McClendon (who?!) with 40!  Based on two games, the postseason for Carson Palmer, Chris Perry and Ocho Cinco will probably consist of plenty of golf and who knows maybe some Tecmo Bowl…though I doubt it.

 

Once I capture the Lombardi Trophy I plan on finally finishing Tiger Woods (have just a few PGA tournaments left) and then shipping it off to GameFly.  Could the new Star Wars game be my next rental? What do you think? Let me know!  Btw For the three Lions fans left...savor what you will never see in reality!Only in a Video Game Would this Happen

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Back and Busy!
Tuesday, 09 September 2008 07:05

Hey All…it has been far too long since my last post and while I have been busy at work…I definitely have been busy gaming when I am not doing what pays for the games.  At this moment I am in EA Heaven or Hell depending on your take on them

 

NCAA Football 2009 is really a great game.  I played it hardcore the first three or so weeks after it was released, building up the sorry UL-Monroe Warhawks.  In my 4th season I won the National Championship, which has to be a record for how long it took me to accomplish the feat!  Which I think is a good thing.  But since Madden came out I haven’t played it much.  Then this last weekend I threw it in and played the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh…wow!  Pat White is insane and so much fun to play with!  The Option Read they run in reality combined with the ability to take off if no one is open down field is a blast against the computer…but would be major cheesing against a human.

 

Speaking of cheese, I had a buddy over this weekend and we hooked up a Nintendo, yes the old school circa 1990 Nintendo.  We threw in Super Tecmo Bowl and 5 games later I was hooked again.  Yeah its graphics are hideous; the cutaways are cartoonish at best and the constant blinking of players when they get close together is so ten generations ago…but you know what…the game is still really fun.  The Vinny Testaverde to Bruce Hill (who?) TD pass I threw against my pal to win in overtime of the 5th and deciding game of our series is something I plan on bringing up to him again when I see him.  Better yet I will text him now…he is still mad.

 

Madden’s 20th Anniversary was worth the extra $30 for NFL Head Coach.  Madden itself is a definite improvement over last year and is actually challenging.  I still have difficulty putting up more than 21 points on All-Pro with six minute quarters.  I am sure I will figure it out a little better, but like NCAA 2009 I like the fact they made it more challenging at least initially for those of us who buy the game every year.  In the past it would take about 5 games of learning some “money plays” and the rout was on.  As for learning what I do and the game adapting…haven’t seen that yet…mainly because I haven’t played it enough or found enough “money plays.”

 

I won’t go into too much detail about Head Coach, but if you like detail and simulations…this is a must buy!  The stand-alone version came out last week and is the closest thing you will find to Championship Manager for a console and it’s the “real” football.

 

The past couple weeks I have been trying to finish Tiger Woods 09.  Again I like the changes.  I still have no idea how to use the face generator well…I look like I have a really bad skin condition!  And like most Tigers once you figure it out it’s still too easy.  Maybe I will amp it up to Tour Difficulty once I get through my first season…then again I may just sent it back to Gamefly. 

 

So what are you playing and have you seen the new Iron Chef Game coming out for the Wii??  Virtual Cooking?  That could be the single dumbest idea I have ever seen.  If you are going to make simulated cooking moves…why not open the fridge, pull out some real food and then eat when you are done.  More on that later.

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