PDP Releasing Mario-Themed Controllers this November

Accessory company PDP has announced that their Gamecube-style controllers will be available this holiday season.

GameCube Controller Adapter Announced for Wii U

Nintendo has revealed a new GameCube controller adapter for Wii U. It will be compatible with the new Smash Bros. game.

Don't Lose Hope!

In Nintendo's latest release list, the oft-delayed Gamecube-turned Wii game Hoshi no Kirby (basically, Kirby Super Star) is still in development.  The title was shown at E3 2005 and literally no new details have been shown since.

The video below shows you what kind of game it may be.  This trailer is old, so many things may have changed.  Either way, it makes my heart hurt to watch this, seeing how it looks like Kirby 64, which, in my opinion, is the best game of all time.  I want my Kirby!

-benjamines

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of the holiday where people dress up like grass and limes, naturally the logical thing to do would be talk about games that have a prominently green cover.

The first one that comes to mind is Chibi-Robo Park Patrol for the DS. In fact, the whole game revolves around making a park greener and greener. As the tiny robot hero, you run around and pick up garbage, plant flowers, and make friends in the surrounding city. Sounds strange, but just like Animal Crossing and other life-sim games, it becomes incredibly engaging in a video game. I will admit, there are a few environmentalist flavored pieces of dialogue, but it is one of my favorite DS games. If you don't own it, you're doing yourself a serious disservice.

Speaking of life sims, of course we have to mention Animal Crossing. The greenest cover is for the Wii version, but all the games revolve around moving to a small town, making friends, catching fish, buying furniture, etc, etc. And since you're in a country town, there's grass all over the place. You can't see it in the winter, but there are cedar trees that are evergreen, so yeah. Green. Oh, and you can create your own clothes, so plenty of green there. Speaking of which, perhaps I'll go create a nice shamrock t-shirt for my character...

Ok, I'm back. Next up, we have Mario Super Sluggers. Baseball fields are green. And so is the cover of this baseball game. For those who haven't played it, I would recommend it. It's loads of fun and easy to play with anyone. Also, you can play as Toad. In fact, you can play as 5 toads. 6 if you count Toadette. My team usually consists of Mario, DK, Bowser, and a bunch of toads. Best. Team. Ever. Anways, the fields are green. At least some of them. There is an ice field. That one's not so green. And some of the others are different colors, too. Ok then.

Probably the greenest sport there is is golf. You go hit tiny orbs with sticks on a giant lawn. Fun times. Also, many golf games have green covers. Take True Swing Golf for example. It's very green. Just a logo and loads and loads of green. I try not to get too caught up in golf games in the winter because it makes me want to drive to somewhere warm and golf for real. But I know my car sucks, so I would get halfway there and break down. And then I'd be missing the cold weather while I fry in the extreme desert heat... What's that? Me, sidetracked? Never!

Next up we have a box from one of many games starring Mario's popular prehistorical mascot. Of course I mean Yoshi, the rainbow-spawning dinosaur. There are some games where Yoshi drives me crazy. But in his own games, he's pretty alright. Take this one, for example. Yoshi Touch n' Go is a DS game where you guide Yoshi and Baby Mario through various levels by drawing lines and creating paths. Not the longest game ever, but a fun one. Those who love Yoshi should get it. It's probably pretty cheap if you can find it. Not that anyone who reads this blog likes Yoshi. Especially not anyone related to me... Not you, ya dork!!!

Alright, so moving on, we have a green game that doesn't involve grass or idiotic global warming. Of course I mean Midway Arcade Treasures 2 for Gamecube. It's a compilation of a bunch of older arcade games. Some of the highlights include the excellent Mortal Kombat II and 3. Plus, there's Guantlet II, NARC, Primal Rage, and Rampage. Considering it was only $20 when it came out, it's a heck of a deal. You can probably find it on the cheap nowadays, too. I mostly bought it for MK II and 3, but I like Rampage and some of the others, too. Plus, you can get to know a few older games that you may have never played before. What a deal!

Finally, we have Pikmin, the odd yet popular Gamecube/Wii game. The Wii version just came out and it's a remake of the Gamecube one, just with Wii controls. If you don't have either, go grab the Wii one. It's only $30 and you don't have to fight for it on eBay. Anyways, the game involves Captain Olimar (who you may recognize from Smash Bros. Brawl) and the tiny Pikmin. Basically, the Pikmin are plant/human creatures that sprout from the ground. Olimar uses them to make bridges, defeat predators, and collect parts of his spaceship that fell of when he crash-landed. It's a little challenging, I will admit, but it's worth your time. A very cool game from the same guy who created a couple of other games you may have heard of (Mario or Zelda ring a bell?)

Well there you have it. Games you can play on St. Patty's Day to avoid being pinched by Mario. Take it from me. That plumber will give you such a pinch.

Honorable Mentions:

TMNT: Pretty much all TMNT games have a green logo. And four green turtles. Yeah. That's pretty green.

Luigi's Mansion (GCN): Mario's lil' green brother also has his own game. It's not totally green though, considering the brackground is an old run-down mansion and lightning.

Clubhouse Games (NDS): Another very green cover. Also, playing cards.

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Animal Crossing: City Folk, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Super Monkey Ball Adventure

Pinball? Famous?

Another one bites the dust! This time it was Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection for Gamecube. It's a bunch of pinball tables! Alrighty then!

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Excessively Long-Named Gottlieb Collection is an amalgamation of several old-school (and I stress old) pinball games all rolled into one (get it?). It includes tables from all the way back in the 50s, to some that are a little less stupid. I kid. But seriously, compared to current video game pinball tables, some of these are lame.

And I guess, there's a reason for that. They're trying to conserve the nostalgia of the older tables. They have no music, they have really strange themes and backgrounds, and I kid you not, one of them has a score counter that can go no higher than 9,999. Wow.

In all seriouslessness, though, some of these tables aren't too bad. There's one from 1993 with a golf theme. That one's pretty good. And really, none of them are terrible. In fact, the physics are, for the most part, quite accurate to real life.

But we haven't even got to my favorite part yet. You can enter cheat codes. And one of those codes lets you play forever. How amazing is that? Yeah, I know. Cheat codes are for cheaters. No duh. But I think that's about the only way to unlock everything. Which I have done.

Ok, so, in addition to the pinball tables, they have a few old-style arcade machines, like the love machine, that randomly selects how much in love you are with the other person. I recommend not playing this game with a sibling of the same gender.

Also included is a Playboy table. Seriously! But it's not what you think. It's Playboy as in rich person who gambles, not Playboy like Women-As-Objects Monthly. It's not so much a pinball table as it is a table with holes in it that you launch a pinball into. Each hole is marked by a playing card, so you try to get good cards (as if you can control it) and get the best hand. Yup.

So, in conclusion, I believe there's a reason this one is a bargain bin title. It's pinball, yeah. And I love pinball. But after games like Metroid Prime and Pokemon themed pinball, it's hard to go back to stuff like this.

Pros:

• Classic pinball tables
• Realistic physics
• Bonus arcade games

Cons:

• BOOOOORING! (sometimes)
• Annoying announcer
• There's a scary monkey on the 'Central Park' table

This game has earned a Blatantly Biased:

You got street in my jam!

NBA Jam was the best basketball game of its time. You could play as real stars, and you could push Dennis Rodman to the floor. It was great. There was no out-of-bounds, no fouls, and if you knew the cheat codes, you could dunk from anywhere on the court. It was pure fun.

NBA Street is the best basketball sim since NBA Jam. (Looney Tunes B-Ball is better, but there are no real players, so it's different). You can play as your favorite team, plus you can create a custom player so you can play alongside all-stars from years past. Surprisingly, NBA Street v2 is even better. It takes the adrenaline up a notch, intensifies the frenetic gameplay, and adds even more trick moves.

The premise of the game is street basketball, obviously. The courts range from trash-strewn alleys to high school gyms. It's all 3-on-3, so you can pick 3 out of the 5 best players of any team. If you beat enough teams, you can unlock legend teams and players, like Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy.

Now don't let the real players get you down. This is not real basketball. Anyone can dunk. Seriously. Anyone. You can alley-oop from 20 feet away, or do trick moves to throw your opponent off. There's no double-dribble or travelling either, so feel free to play like a girl. And my favorite part? No goal-tending. So feel free to grab the ball no matter where it is. Stand under the rim and block shots all day. No one cares.

One of the stand-outs of NBA Street is the Gamebreaker. It is similar to the Gamebreaker in NFL or FIFA Street games. If you build up enough trick points, you can shoot or dunk the ball. If you make it, you'll get points, plus your opponent will lose points. So make sure you do lots of tricks. Like a dog. Or... a rabbit.

In short, the game is a lot of fun. It takes everything great about NBA Street 1 and improves almost everything. It has great multiplayer and loads of replay value. Seriously. I never get tired of pushing Kobe Bryant in the back.

Anyway, this is the 5th game on my goal of 50 by 4-19. Yeah, I know, I'm way behind. But I'm workin' on it. I've got several games in progress, so I think I can still pull it off. More on that later in the week...

Pros:

• Awesome NBA Jam-style b-ball action
• No goal-tending!
• Loads of fun, with lots of unlockables

Cons:

• One-player mode can get a little repetitive
• AI is crazy sometimes

This game has earned a Blatantly Biased:

108 in 2008 Completion: Part 3

Sorry for the late entrance, fair readers. I slept in. Until 2. Well, almost. Oh, and then Word decided to not actually save my document. So… here we go again…

The first game to be beaten in this quarter was… Gunstar Super Heroes for GBA! It's a classic remake of run-n-gun Metal Slug-style action. Yahoo! All in all, I must say it's a fun game. It's not too hard (with the exception of the stupid end boss), it looks great, and it's just plain crazy. Cool!

Speaking of guns and explosions, the next game was Metroid Fusion. It's a Metroid game, so it's pretty hard. But it's cool. It has all the classic Metroid elements. Big guns, huge bosses… but it's done in a way that's not just violent to be violent. Go go Samus!

Coming up next is Worms Blast! It's one part Bust A Move, one part Worms, and two parts crazy. You use classic worms weapons to destroy colored bubbles within the time limit. It's done quite well, but there are parts where you wonder how anyone could beat the game without being a nerd. One wonders indeed…

Alright, so enough with the violence! Our next game is Yoshi's Story. Instead of protecting Baby Mario like in Yoshi's Island, you're simply on a quest to stop Baby Bowser from turning everything into a storybook. Sounds lame. But it's not! The graphics are a neat pseudo-3D and the music is fun to listen to. Usually Yoshi annoys me (in Smash Bros, Mariokart, etc.) But I gotta admit. This game is fun.

Well, that's enough of the fun games for now. Next we have Sonic Battle for GBA. It's one of those games where the designers decided to make it double hard just so some people would enjoy it more. But really, all they're doing is making other people enjoy it less. It's like this: You play as Sonic. You have to fight a bunch of people, and then they join your team. But instead of beating them once, you have to beat them all twice… in a row. I kid you not. It's like making a football team win the [extremely copyrighted phrase goes here] twice in the same day. Dumb!

But anyways, on with the better games. Next up is Nitrobike, the highly under-rated extreme MotoX game. While I do agree that the game has a few large flaws, it's still a lot of fun, if nothing else for the bowling and online play. Plus, you can explode your bike! That's pretty cool.

Speaking of extreme, how about a little Mario Strikers Charged? That's soccer for those of you unfamiliar. Take Mario, add soccer, throw in a dash of awesome, and there ya go. My only complaint? Too hard. It's a lot of fun, especially multiplayer, but yeah, it's difficult.

Alright, so this quarter has an interesting stat: I beat 3 Wario games. I didn't even plan it that way. It just kinda happened. First, I played through Wario: Master of Disguise. It's a lot like the old Wario platformers, except that you can draw on new costumes that give Wario new powers, such as fire breath or low gravity. Then I played WarioWare Smooth Moves. It is by far the funniest game I have ever played. It is the wackiest, most ridiculous, retardedest, but hilariously awesome game you'll ever play. After that, I played the Gamecube Warioware. It is also highly hilarious. The main difference is that multiplayer on the GCN version is much better. All three of these games are fun, though. So yeah.

Alright, so there's another group of 'similar' games this quarter. These are the type of games that everyone needs to play. They help video games as a while branch out into new, creative markets. The first of these is Professor Layton and the Curious Village. You talk to villagers, solve their puzzles, get clues, unravel mysteries. Sounds strange, yes, but there are 150-some-odd puzzles and they use the touch screen brilliantly, such as circling the correct item out of a group, or drawing a line through a maze. Can't wait for a sequel! Next on cool unique games we have Boom Blox. It's Jenga mixed with explosions. And who doesn't love exploding Jenga, right? You use the Wii remote to throw bowling balls, bombs, or other random heavy items at teetering towers to make them fall. Sounds awesome, no? Trust me, it is. Ok, so moving right along… Trauma Center. Easily one of the best games on the DS. I got the sequel when it came out. And it did not disappoint! You get plenty more of the write-your-name-with-the-scalpel, inject-gallons-of-morphine, suture-nipples-to-belly-buttons action, plus you can do it the right way if you want! (You get further in the game if you do it right, I found out.) In any case, these games all show how awesome the DS and Wii can be with the right minds behind the controls. Here's hoping for more awesome new game types!

Well, this year had a seemingly endless supply of great games, and the downloadable games on Wii were no exception. Particularly entertaining is Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. I played the first episode. Classic Homestar Runner humor? Check. Endless witty lines from Strong Bad? Check. Ability to insult and embarrass citizens of Free Country USA? Check, check, check. Here's looking forward to later episodes!

Well, another game I beat was Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Again! Just kidding. This time I beat the DS one. It's still fun, but it's not quite as fun as the Wii version. The Wii one seems more accurate, probably because you actually swing your arms to swim and run. It does have some cool events, though. Like cycling. And ping-pong. But if you do play this game, make for dang sure you have a screen protector. And use a good stylus. This game's a screen breaker.

Next on the itinerary is Sonic Gems Collection. It's a compilation of some old Game Gear Sonic games, plus a couple of extras thrown in for good measure. I used to own most of the games for the Game Gear back in the day, so this was a good dose of nostalgia for me. Some of the ones I hadn't played are pretty hard, but the game does let you save and load at any point, so that's nice.

This year, something awesome happened. I managed to get my paws on a Virtual Boy, Nintendo's highly underrated, but very, very fun gaming device. You put your head up the visor and everything looks 3D. It's all very cool. I also got a bunch of games with it. The first one that I beat was Galactic Pinball. It is, in my humble yet correct opinion, the best pinball video game ever, and the best game for the Virtual Boy. Enough said. The next game is Mario's Tennis. It's a fun little tennis game, and you can play as Toad! Yay! It does lack multiplayer, and it does get old after a while, but it's cool.

VB game #3 is nester's Funky Bowling. It looks pretty cool, but I've played better bowling games on my phone. Seriously. But, you can take turns in multiplayer. That's pretty cool. Anyways, next we have Panic Bomber, a puzzle game starring Bomberman. This is one of the more fun VB games, plus it looks extra cool. It's kind of like Wario's Woods, for those familiar.

So, getting to the bottom of the VB games… Virtual League Baseball and T&E Golf. Both cool-looking sports games. And both of them too hard. Virtual League Baseball looks amazing. But the computer obviously spends all its time playing in its mom's basement, cause it's too good to beat. And T&E Golf requires about 10 button presses each time you swing. Yeah… that can get annoying. In any case, the last VB game is Vertical Force, a space shooter that looks really cool, but can get old after a while. But I don't feel bad that these games aren't that fun. They were cheap and they're in 3D! Isn't that all games needs nowadays anyways?

Well, there were a couple of GBA games in the latter part of this quarter. The first was Jazz Jackrabbit. The original Jazz games for DOS were tons of fun. They were a lot like Sonic games, but you had guns. Double win. This GBA version is quite a bit different, but it's still fun. It's like if someone asks you if you like to eat at Wendy's and at Dairy Queen. Of course you say both! The other GBA game is Worms World Party. Obviously, it can't compare to the PC version. But still, they did a decent job of getting classic worms gameplay onto the tiny, but doable GBA hardware. I enjoyed it.

Ok, so finishing up here, we have Mario Super Sluggers. It takes the awesome gameplay of the GCN version and adds pretty good motion controls. And, it's not too terribly hard. It's way over-the-top, too, which makes it really fun. I would highly recommend it.

Then, to finish up, we have Kirby Super Star Ultra. It's like the original, only better. Basically, it's a mix of some short versions of Kirby games all rolled into one. Plus, if a friend has the game you can play at the same time. How cool is that? Additionally, it has some of the classic mini-games built in. I submit that this game is coolness!

Ok, so there you go! Only a few more to go and my documentation of my goal has been completed. Feel free to leave comments or compliments. Also feel free to send Wii points or gift certificates. Or candy. Candy is good, too.

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Trauma Center New Blood, Wario Land Shake It!, Line Rider 2 Unbound

I've got the music in me!!

Recently, you've probably all noticed a trend of music and rhythm games flooding the market. Especially this weird game called Guitar Hero. Heard of it? Anyways, Guitar Hero is not for everyone (an entire game of just Aerosmith music... really?), but there are plenty of other music games out there that let you bust a move without playing a plastic guitar with rainbow buttons.

Dance Dance Revolution (GCN) - This one predates Guitar Hero (and similar games) by a long time. As you probably know, you tap your feet on the dance pad to the rhythm of the song. Get the beats right to get new songs, etc. This game is fun. You don't have to know how to dance to play Dance Dance Revolution. You want proof? I can play DDR. So there. My personal favorite version is DDR Mario Mix for Gamecube. Expensive and hard to find nowadays, but fun.

Donkey Konga (GCN) - If there's an under appreciated music game, it's this one. Released for the Gamecube in about 2004, it had you slapping DK bongos to the beat of loads of different tunes. The song from the Chips Ahoy commercials, anyone? Donkey Konga and its great sequel Donkey Konga 2 were great party games and it's a stinkin' shame they quit making them. They did release a 3rd one in Japan, but it never made it here to the states. In any case, this is a must-play.

Wii Music (Wii) - This one looks cool. It's a way to let everyone in the family play a music game, but you don't necessarily have to know how to read or play music to do so. You can change the instruments to a song, too. The game features loads of instruments like the clarinet, cello, drumset, whatever. Plus, you don't need plastic instruments to play. You may hear people say, "But it's not Guitar Hero." WELL, NO DUH!!! I coulda told you that. To be fair, I haven't played it yet (hopefully Dec. 25th changes that), but it's made by Nintendo. Case closed.

Electroplankton (DS) - I don't actually own this one (yet [surprisingly]), but I have played it. It's less of a 'follow-along' music game and more of a fee-style/do whatever the crap you want to do kind of game. There are different 'planktons' on the screen that you tap or move around and they made different sounds. It's a very cool, very entertaining, and very hard to find game.

Elite Beat Agents (DS) - I don't care what anyone says. Elite Beat Agents is the best music game out there today. And that's saying something. You tap and drag icons on the screen to the beats of several classic songs, many of which are superior mixes to the originals. I still find it incredible how much fun, emotion, and hilarity they crammed in this game. It's one of those games that's worth buying a DS for.

And with that, I'm off to tap beats to the addictive 'Jumpin' Jack Flash.'

Have another music game that's awesome? Let us know in the comments.

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Elite Beat Agents, Animal Crossing: Wild World, Super Princess Peach

Happy December!

Holy crap it's been a long time! I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday and that you also bought loads of cheap games over the weekend. I know I did.

I had the whole week off from school. Which meant, of course... VIDEO GAMES!!! In fact, I've made some significant progress on my 108 in 2008 goal in the last couple of weeks. Since the 18th of November, I have conquered TWELVE games, including SBCG4AP Ep. 2, Mario Party Advance, and Viewtiful Joe 2. In fact, I beat 3 games on 21st alone. That means, for this year, my list of beaten games has reached an astounding... 106. That's right, only 2 more games to go and I shall beat my goal! Hoo-hah! 'Twill be a glorious day indeed.

In any case, I've started quite a few games recently and I would like to share with you some of the good and bad things of these gameses.

First of all, let's talk about Animal Crossing: City Folk. The newest iteration of the strangely addicting pull-weeds and buy-furniture sim is a lot of fun. It's basically the same ol' good ol' Animal Crossing we all know and love. Plus, now you can go the city, which is a small area outside the town where you can buy fancy furniture, go to an auction, or get your shoes shined. And get this: Cap'n is the bus driver! Cool! Plus, you can go see Dr. Shrunk every day and get a new emotion. Awesome!

One thing I like is how they took some good things from the Gamecube and DS versions and mixed them. Like presents. They appear anywhere in town like in the GCN version, but you still have to shoot them like in the DS version. Plus, they brought back the cool bi-level town design from the cube AC.

All in all, it's still a lot of fun. My only complaint: all the music is the same as the DS one. I was hoping they'd write something new for this one, but there's not much new stuff. Ah well. At least you can listen to Totakeke twice per Saturday instead of once. So yeah... so far, so good.

Another game I started recently is Mercury Meltdown: Revolution, also for Wii. It's one part Monkey Ball, one part Marble Madness, five parts awesome. You tilt the Wii remote to control a blob of Mercury and guide it to the finish line. There are different floors, such as a sticky floor and a slick floor. There are different modifiers, such as a heater that makes the mercury break up easier, and a cooler, which makes it stick together better. And, of course, there are mini-games, which are kinda cool, but not nearly as fun as the main game.

To be honest, I'm kinda surprised at well done the game is. It controls very well. It doesn't get as out-of-control as Monkey Ball can get, either. Plus, there's over 150 levels. Schweet! And don't expect all of these levels to be drop-dead easy, either. One level I played yesterday took me about 25 minutes to beat. But it was cool. It's one of those games that you can really get into, but it's also set up so you can play for a few minutes at a time and still make progress. Awesome. All in all, it works well. The included mini-games aren't completely stupid, but what can you do, right?

So there you are. Some foist impweshuns. Will it be one of these games that ends up being the straw that breaks the 1o8 Camel's back, or will it be something else? The answer shall be revealed soon. Stay tuned!

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mercury Meltdown Revolution, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

I Never Knew the Wind Slept

Before I begin, let me inform you all that progress in my 108 in 2008 goal is coming quite well. I spent some time recently playing through some NES games, which fortunately for me, takes very little time. Like... 10 minutes in some cases. In any case, I am on track to reach my goal, and quite a few reviews will be on their way this week (with any luck). Now, on with the post!

So, with a video game collection as large as mine (which is almost assuredly larger than yours), every once in a while, a game gets put on the shelf, and for a number of reasons, stays there for long periods of time, even while nearby games get played. Such is the case with The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I got it for Christmas (thanks, self!) in 2005. And it sat there for nearly 3 years without being played. And it wasn't because I didn't want to play it, becuase I certainly did. It's just that it's hard to fit in the bigger games likes Zelda and RPGs and the like.

But despite the lengthy absence from my "beaten" list, the Wind Waker is a fantastic game and testament to the awesome game designing powers of Nintendo. It is groundbreaking in that it introduces a new design to the Zelda series. Instead of becoming increasingly lifelike, the characters took on a cel-shaded look, which basically means it looks like a cartoon. When it was first revealed, even some hardcore Zelda fans became disenchanted, because it was so different. But it only took a few minutes of playing the game to realize it was still a Zelda game. It's a definitely more light-hearted than many Zelda games, but that's not a bad thing.

The story follows Link (no, really?) on his home of Outset Island. He wakes up on his birthday and dons the clothing of the great hero, a tradition for young boys since the great hero in green saved Hyrule ages before. When Link's sister Aryll is kidnapped, he tags along with some pirates to save his sister.

Much of the game is spent traversing islands in a small boat. The size of world is simply amazing. There are many islands, each with unique traits and designs. Of course, some of these islands are dungeons, which house new items and powers. Many classic Zelda items such as the boomerang and bow and arrow return. There are also a few new items, unique to this game.

Other than the fact that it's on the ocean, the game seems to follow in the same steps as its predecessors. As I played it, I noticed it had a lot of the same elements as Twilight Princess. (Twilight Princess came out after Wind Waker, I know. But I played it first.) Some of the tougher enemies are the same, which was helpful since I knew how to beat them already.

All in all, the game is amazing. There are so many sidequests and small missions to complete, it's a wonder they fit everything on one small disc. As far as difficulty, I would say it's a little harder than Twilight Princess, but it's not frustratingly difficult like Metroid (thank goodness). I would recommend not only to Zelda fans, but also to anyone wanting to enjoy classic Zelda fun with a cool new look.

Pros:

• Classic Zelda gameplay with a sweet new design
• Excellent story, fantastic adventure, huge variety of quests
• As always, extremely well designed

Cons:

• If you get lost, you can REALLY get lost
• Some enemies are just plain annoying
• That's about it

This game has recieved a Blatantly Biased:

The Birthday Haul!

Greeting, friends! The last five days have been crazy, so don't be whinin' cause you got nothin' to read. Play some games, nag-dabbit! Anyways, here is a list of the games I recieved for my recent congratulations-you're-freakin'-old celebration!

Mega Man 9: The classic Mega Man adventure remade for a modern audience. Genius!

Geometry Wars Galaxies: The arcade-esque title comes to Wii for crazy space shooting madness!

DK Barrel Blast: The once-destined-for-Gamcube racing title. No bongos, but still looks fun!

Custom Robo DS: Buy a robot, make a robot, fight a robot, fix a robot, make new robot!

N+: The awesome ninja skills platformer comes to the DS, complete with intuitive level editor!

Space Invaders Extreme: Space Invaders on Acid would be a more accurate title. Exciting!

Bubble Bobble Double Shot: Bub & Bob welcome newcomer Bubu to the bubble-pooping arcade game!

Contra 4: A return to the classic, with tons of bonus content and games included!

Looney Tunes Cartoon Conductor: Elite Beat Agents with Looney Tunes classic scenes! Amazing!

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: Sonic RPG! Fight! Go! Win!

Sonic Riders: Rail grinding action with everyone's favorite hedgehog and friends!

Kung Fu: The classic NES title. Hi-YA!

Track and Field II: Complete with box! That never freakin' happens!

Polarium Advance: The awesome DS puzzle reborn in GBA format. Schweet!

As you can see, my collection has grown considerably since last week. And that's ok! I shall spend the next while delving into and beating this slough of games. And with that, I'm leaving!

-benjamines

Currently Playing: N+, Space Invaders Extreme, Bubble Bobble Double Shot

Slough of New

Hello all! This last week was chock-full of great new gaming news! There's like a billion games coming out soon! Like, seriously! A billion!

First of all, Nintendo has announced a new Play on Wii series. They take classic Gamecube games, add Wii motion controls, and poof! Instant awesome! The first to be released will be the original Pikmin. Other titles will includes Pikmin 2, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, DK Jungle Beat, and Chibi-Robo. They all sound awesome. But I'm not so sure about DK Jungle Beat. I mean, it's a great game, but you just need the bongos to make it work. It's just not the same without all that tactile feedback. Either way, at least the Pikmin games and Chibi-Robo will finally get the attention they deserve.

Also, Nintendo showed a video with TONS of new games for both the Wii and the DS. Some of the Wii games include Punch-Out!, a remake of the NES Classic with cel-shaded (cartoony 3-D) graphics and motion controls, and the sequel to the fantastic DS title Trace Memory. It was one of my first DS games, but also one of my favorites.

The new DS games coming out are also awesome. They include a new WarioWare (you can't get enough of those), a new Mario & Luigi RPG, and a crazy-cool looking 3-D Picross. Also coming up is the Phoenix Wright spinoff starring his best friend/arch nemesis-in-court Miles Edgeworth. Details are sketchy, but it has something to do with running around with Detective Gumshoe and collecting evidence or something. Either way, I call dibs.

Also, there is more news on the DSi. At first, I was a little disappointed since I just got a new DS and it's coming out in less than a month in Japan. But after further review, I have decided it's ok now. First off, it won't be released until well into 2009, so possibly summertime-ish next year. Plus, it doesn't have any better hardware, so it's not an upgrade, just a redesign. The only thing about it I really want is the Virtual Console download thing they'll be doing. But I know that they will probably be releasing Gameboy and Game Gear games for it, the majority of which I either already own, or do not want. So, in short, I am excited for it, but I haven't decided whether I want it on day one or not yet. We shall see.

So there you go. Proof that there are a billion games coming out soon. And don't forget previously announced games like Animal Crossing for Wii and a new Strong Bad episode every month for the rest of the year. Awesome. Just awesome.

Don't forget to vote in the new poll! And by the way, you can vote multiple times if you use a different browser or computer each time. Hoo-hah!

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Megaman Battle Network 5 DS, Wario Land Shake It!, Nintendogs

Dual Screens International?

Hey everybody! What's better than homework?... Everything! What's WAY better than homework?... Blatant Bias!

So Nintendo dropped something of a bombshell last night at their press conference. They have created a new version of the Nintendo DS. They call it... Nintendo DSi. I'm not real sure what the i stands for, but I'm pretty sure it's not 'Icthyioid.' In any case, they have redesigned the DS Lite and added some new features.

As you can see, it looks mostly the same as the DS Lite. The major cosmetic changes are obviously the cameras (yes, there are two), and the SD Card Slot on the side. I'm not real sure why they decided on two cameras, but it's probably so players can take pictures of themselves while holding it, and of others who are in front of it. Interesting indeed.

But far more interesting than the cameras is the SD Card Slot. Nintendo has announced that the new DS will come built-in with a web browser, and a way to download games, similar to the Wii Shop Channel. In fact, with every DSi, Nintendo is giving away 1000 Nintendo Points (previously Wii Points). That's pretty sweet.

The new DSi will be available next month in Japan and early next year everywhere else. It looks cool, and I really like the idea of downloading older games. My only concern is that I just bought my blue DS a month or two ago, so it's a little irritating that they didn't announce this sooner. Thankfully, though, it's not a completely new DS, but a redesign, at least as far as I can tell. My hope is that somehow Nintendo will create a way for regular DS and DS Lite owners to play downloaded games, which would negate my need to get the DSi for a while. At the very least, the technical specs are the same, so the same games can be played on either one. Yeah...

In other news, Nintendo has also announced new major titles on the way, including Punch Out! for Wii, and the re-release of popular Gamecube games, such as Pikmin and others. Rock, rock on!

Anyways, now is the time for me to go and work on my continuing goal of beating 108 games in this, the year 2008. Megaman, Battle Routine, Set!

-benjamines

Currently Playing: Megaman Battle Network 5 DS, Metal Slug Anthology, Wario Land Shake It!

Wario Goes Guff! Guff!

I know you're all starving for another award-winning* installment of BB's very own GFGF Awards. Well, too bad.

Just kidding. Since the brand-new WarioLand Shake It! is coming out soon for the Wii, now seems appropriate to give out a GFGF Award (Greatest Freakin' Game in the Franchise) to the Warioland series.

The first Wario Land game was for the original Game Boy and it was actually called Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. I don't know why Mario was in the title, cause he wasn't really in the game, except for the very end when he came and stole your treasure. In any case, the original Wario Land was a fantastic game. It wasn't too hard, it wasn't too easy. There was plenty of treasure to find, and plenty of enemies to keep you from it. It changed up Mario's classic run-and-jump platforming a little by making Wario slower (have you seen his legs?), but also much stronger. Plus, if you manage to find some items along the way, you can increase that power. Some items, such as Garlic, make you stronger and faster. Plus you get to wear a sweet Viking Helmet. Other items, such as the Dragon Hat, let you breathe fire and burn things. You can't get much better than that.

Wario and Mario are two very different people. Mario is in it for everyone. He's always saving the Princess or fixing drain clogs. Wario is in it for himself. He's always trying to get more and more treasure. Not that that's a bad thing, because come on, he's Wario. Besides, that's where half the fun in the Wario Land games is. You go through it once to beat all the levels, but then you go back to find all the treasure. The replay value for these games is actually quite high.

In any case, the next Wario Land game came just a year later, and it launched with the Virtual Boy. Many consider it to be the VB's greatest game. I'm not sure I agree, but it's certainly in the top 14. Either way, the game is a lot of fun. It took the same great Wario Land platforming action, and added 3-D elements, such as being able to jump from background to foreground.

Then, in 1998, the game went back to it's Game Boy roots with the cleverly titled Wario Land II. This one added a new twist by making Wario invincible. Now you may be saying, "That's stupid! What's the point of a platformer if you can't die?!" First of all, there are lots of platformers where you can't die.** Secondly, the game was not made any easier by lack of death. For example, there are levels where you must climb around on nets. These nets are ridden with pointy bugs that will knock you off if you touch them. Basically, you're going to be going across those nets more than a few times. Trust me, the invincibility is for the best.

Wario Land II was also interesting in that there were multiple endings in the game, depending on which treasures you found. This gave the game even more replay value than before, letting you go back and find all the treasures, and in turn, all the endings.

But, like many TV shows and game franchises, Wario didn't hit his stride until his 4th installment. That's right, Wario Land 3. Released in 2000, it was everything Wario Land needed to be, plus more. It gave you everything from the previous games, plus a freakin' sweet golf mini-game and some of the coolest music since Mario Bros. 2.

Each level in Wario Land 3 has 4 treasures to collect. But you can't get them all in one shot. Certain conditions need to take place first. For example, one of the treasures in a level might be a light, which turns on the lighthouse, which lets you go to the level near the ocean. So some levels need to be completed before others can be played.

The level designs in WL3 are fantastic. Plus, the powers you can get accomodate a lot of strategy. Some levels have thin floors, which you can only pass through if you are a zombie. To recover from being a zombie, you need to get into the sunlight. Some areas can only be accessed by breaking through the floor, which can only be done by eating a donut and gaining a disgusting amount of weight. Don't worry. Wario has a lightning fast metabolism, letting him simply walk the fat off. These elements make for a great game all around.

Now, don't get me wrong. I think all the Wario Land games are fun. But it is clear that some are better than others. The GameCube Wario World was a fantastic piece of fun, whereas the DS Wario: Master of Disguise was good but not great. Either way, Wario Land 3 sits cleanly atop the pedestal of Wario branded adventures. Therefore, Blatant Bias proudly bestows its highest honor to Wario Land 3 for the Game Boy Color. Congraturations!


Agree? Unagree? Let us know in the comments!

-benjamines

* Yeah, right.
** But I can't think of any.

Still Waiting For: Looney Tunes B-Ball (SNES)

Small Robot, Huge Fun

One thing that bothers me about video games is that sometimes, a great game comes out. But because no one hears about it or knows about it, it doesn't get played. This is unfortunate, because fantastic franchises can wither away into the shadows simply because they did not get the attention they deserved. Such is the case with Chibi-Robo.

Chibi-Robo is a tiny house-cleaning robot who is trying to help a family get closer together. This particular Chibi was purchased by the Sanderson's. He starts out walking around, picking up garbage and cleaning up muddy footprints. As the days go on, he starts to notice that the family is not all that close. The Dad is sleeping on the couch because he has spent all the family's money. The wife is constantly hungry, cause she refuses to eat with her financially-deficient husband. And the daughter is upset because her parents are upset at each other.

Now, of course, it sounds like a ridiculous premise for a game. But just like Animal Crossing or The Sims, real life scenarios somehow become engaging in a video game. Anyways, Chibi-Robo continues to clean the house, but he also helps the family, plus their come-alive-at-night toys, who have their own share of problems. Chibi turns out to be the perfect solution to every problem in the Sanderson household.

The game is not limited to cleaning dog prints or picking up candy wrappers. Chibi races cars with a hot-rodding egg. He feeds a bird who dares not leave his nest. And he helps a group of soldiers find the strength to come together and defeat the enemy. Chibi makes many friends on the way to solving the Sandersons' problems. And because of his size and position outside the actual family, he becomes the glue that holds the family together, like how he can slip in vents to talk to the disgruntled mother who locked herself in the bedroom.

Chibi-Robo is one those gems that keeps you involved constantly as you try to help and clean your way to the top. The more you help, the more items you can buy. For example, Chibi-Robo has a battery that needs to be charged after a short time. The more you help people, the larger battery you can buy, thus letting you roam around longer without charging.

I could go on and on about this game, but there is one point that needs to be remembered. This game is one of the best the Gamecube had to offer, and more people need to play it. It's probably hard to find now, but I can assure you it would be worth it.

In any case, the game is great and when new Chibi-Robo games come out, you should consider buying (or at the very least, renting) them. The DS version of the game is also amazing, but I'll talk about that one another day.

This game has earned a Blatantly Biased:

Rarer than a straight Yoshi

Well, I may have been the lucky purchaser of a quite rare piece of video game goodness yesterday. I'm not going to say what it is yet, because I still have no idea if the person will actually send it. You see, there have been times when I bought a hard-to-find game and the seller, for whatever reason, decided not to/refused to sell it. Which is simply ludicrous. If it's on eBay for people to bid on, why would you not sell it. I'm sure such people will burn in hell.

In any case, I believe the items will arrive early next week, so expect me to get all giggly like a school girl when it happens. You shan't be disappointed.

With that in mind, today I'd like to share with you some of the rarest of Nintendo games. Behold!

#5 - Pikmin 1 & 2: These insanely popular games were developed late in the Gamecube's life cycle, and many people did not get a chance to enjoy them (myself included). When Smash Bros. Brawl came out this March, Captain Olimar (the main character in Pikmin), was included as a playable character. Many of the trophies described how the game worked. This caused people to want the game, so the prices skyrocketed. While the prices have gone down some since then, they are rare to find outside of internet auction sites. I was extremely lucky to find one 'in the wild.'

#4 - Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix: This one has a rather strange history. Nintendo only produced a few hundred thousand copies at first. Then they discovered a problem with the dance pad, so they stopped making them. Then, when the public clamored for more, they reprinted more copies, but it was never enough to satiate demand. And, not only is the game hard to get a hold of, it's fun to play, making it that much more difficult to get. Typically, copies of the game go for at least $50 on eBay, without a dance pad. I was able to get a pretty good deal on mine, but it was still more than the original price.

#3 - Megaman X3: - The third entry in the difficult but fun Megaman X series was going for around $70 or more on eBay five years ago, so who knows where it's at now. This is likely another example of an under-produced, over-popular SNES game. Other include Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Kirby's Dreamland 3.

#2 - Jack Bros. (and other Virtual Boy games): Ah, Nintendo's short-lived, but crazy-fun 3-D system. It has two screens and you put your face right up to it. Each eye looks at a different screen, giving the illusion of 3-D. But don't be mistaken: despite poor reception, the thing was a stinkin' blast to play. There were speakers near each ear for good surround sound, and the thing was portable (if you had some way to strap it to your head). There were only 14 games, many of which are nearly impossible to get anymore. Mario Clash is one of more hard-to-find ones.

#1 - Nintendo World Championships: - This is easily the most difficult (and expensive) Nintendo game to find. The Nintendo World Championships were a series of contests in the early 90s. Major cities would hold tournaments using a specially-made cartridge with timed versions of Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris. The further you got on each game, the more points you would earn. The winner of each city tournament was given a standard gray-colored copy of the game. Those people would go to the National Tournament to compete for $10,000 and a new car. These gray cartridges now sell for about $6,000 each. But that's not the end of it. Nintendo Power held a special contest where they gave away 26 copies of a gold-colored cartridge. These are considered the Holy Grail of video game collecting. Only 12 of the 26 have ever surfaced. It is extremely unlikely that you will ever see one, let alone be able to afford it. But if you can, I congratulate you, young Nintendo Freak.

So there ya go. Rare games. I have some of those games (and with any luck, I shall have more soon). Have any good rare games? Let us know about them in the comments.

-benjamines

Currently Awaiting: something awesome