Can You Bad?

When the 3DS first came out and was on display at various retailers, Nintendo chose to include a demo of Pilotwings Resort to showcase what its new hardware was all about. I played it for about 4 mintues and walked away unimpressed.

“That’s it? You just fly around and go through rings?”

In a nutshell, yes. That’s pretty much what the game is all about. There are 3 vehicles in the game. A plane, a glider, and a jet-pack. The whole game takes place on Nintendo’s private island called Wuhu Island (the same island featured in Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit, and Mario Kart 7) where you are charged with getting from point A to point B. There are points to be had while traveling that are essential to advance to the next set of levels. Your performance is rated by a 1-3 star rating, and depending on how many points you earned on a level, you could obtain one, two, or three stars. If you get a perfect your stars are outlined in red. There’s also a free flight mode that just lets you fly around as you wish picking up little collectibles along the way that unlock dioramas.

The whole game can be competed in under 2 hours which may have you thinking “should I even bother buying something that easy?” My answer is a resounding “YES!” Like any other Nintendo game, it’s not just completeing the game, it’s finding every secret and beating your old scores over and over again so that you can boast to your friends that you’re a Pilotwings champ. The levels may be quick, but it takes multiple try’s (and skill) before you earn a perfect score. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a 3 star rating outlined in red next to each level. Go get your Pilot’s Wings now!

With the Wii U around the corner and no more big hitters being announced for the Wii, Nintendo’s 5^th major home console is nearing its death. It’s beautiful when you think about it. It pretty much started with Zelda, and it pretty much ends with Zelda. It was a great ride.

There were a few titles that blew my mind (Super Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Prime 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns), a lot that I enjoyed many hours with friends (Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves), and a few that were enjoyed with my family (Wii Music, Wii Play, Wii Sports Resort).

I’ll be the first to admit that most of the games released for the Wii were nothing new, but there were plenty of new unique twists to those games that only reinforced my love for all things “Nintendo.”

My favorite memory happened at Ray’s house when we were play Super Mario Galaxy 2. It was a level where there were hollowed tree logs that you had to race through while on Yoshi. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but I remember Yoshi running at full force trying to get Mario to the safety of a ledge, and I panicked and flicked my remote. That made Mario dismount Yoshi in a way that Yoshi fell to what I can only assume was a frightening death. It was hysterical. After that happened, I knew I didn’t need to finish Galaxy 2 to know what the game was all about. The game was all in that moment, and nothing I did after that could ever compare.

What was your Wii moment?

I haven’t seen Black Swan. I don’t think any of you have seen it either because no one has mentioned it. I’ve walked into a few family members and co-workers who have seen it, but their reviews haven’t been that clear. Yesterday, one of my better co-workers came up to me and told him he just saw it. Here’s how the conversation went.

Carlos: I just saw Black Swan.

Mike: Did you like it?

Carlos: I’m not going to lie….it gave me like 4 boners.

Mike: ….

Carlos: …..

Mike: I gotta see this movie then.

I swear, if that statment was in the newspapers and on tv, the movie would gross a bajillion dollars.

I believe Mike posted a piece earlier about not buying anymore video games for an entire year as his New Year’s resolution.  Well, that’s all well and good (I mean, if he WANTS to withhold his money from the economy and ensure that more families are put out on the street), but my goals are somewhere on the opposite side of the spectrum. Here they are, all DVD and Blu-Ray-related:

1. Complete two more seasons in my collection of MST3K episodes.

2. Complete my Walt Disney Treasures collection.

3. Buy 10 more Criterion Blu-Rays.

4. Upgrade five DVDs to Blu-Rays.

5. Buy 10 new Horror movies in time for Halloween.

6. Buy 5 new Christmas movies in time for Christmas.

7. Obtain all the RiffTrax shorts and RiffTrax Live DVDs.

However, as far as non-DVD-related goals go, I only have one, and it trumps all the other goals if I do it.

1. Move out.

What about you guys?  Did any of you make any resolutions or goals?

I thought I would surely need assistance with optaining The Collector trophy, but I guess I was wrong. I accomplished this task all by myself. And it turned out not to be that hard at all. For The Collector trophy you need to buy every weapon off the wall (that includes the Bowie Knife, Claymore’s, and Grenades). The quick revive perk played a big part in helping acheive this goal. In solo mode, the quick revive will revive you when you’re downed, and it makes the zombies move away from you while you’re reviving so you have a fighting chance to get out of a sticky situation. Also, using the teleporter to take you to the projection room where you can buy grenades and lob them on the enemies below. By round 11, I bought every weapon and was a happy camper. In the end I made it to round sixteen. Tomorrow I will take down the Pentagon theif by myself, but I will need the help from the D, Navarro, and Roberta in getting the other two trophies. Friday night?

Has anyone messed with Playstation Home? I talked to Navarro about this, and displayed little interest (I can’t blame him). I checked it out last night and created my avatar, and downloaded the varous locations associated with it. Pretty much you create a character that is supposed to look like you, you get an apartment with some basic furniture, and you wander around a town and I guess what the purpose is you interact with other playstation users. You can chat via typing or bluetooth and ultimately are supposed to friend them so you can game together. You can buy furniture and other items for you apartment and custom clothing. You need to pay for these items, (With real money). The idea seems stupid, but I gotta tell ya, when you start looking at the cool items like a wampa throw rug, or a big daddy statue, and you realize this is an item that won’t take up any actual space, it gets you thinking. Anyway, check it out and tell me what your thoughts are.