The Nintendo Wii Game Console

Fine, I've been blogging on all the cool blockbuster hits and some sneakers from past and present.  But, gotta say, my hands got sweaty on the Wii when I visited the little bro and his family in Nashville to go head to head with the nephew on some Wii games.  After powering up the Nintendo Wii Game Console, first up was baseball, and I gotta say, being an ex college baseball player, I was up against some steep competition.  The little dude had his swing down.  His first round he parked a few and I was under the gun to get a few over the wall.  I came through and it was neck and neck, but the nephew swung into action and topped me.  So not to be out matched for the bowling round, had to dab on a little Ghost Grip and get comfy with the controller.  We went deep on a few games and it was close, but I was feeling connected with the controller at this point, confident in getting a good spin on the ball, I struck out the final frame and eeeked out a victory. 

Great For The Family

Even though I had a good grip on the controller, the little duder was able to come back and best me on round two.  Moral of the story, the Wii is awesome for kids!  It's great family fun and pretty much, with a little practice, puts everyone on the same playing field.  I haven't played any other games as of yet on the Wii, but I plan to when I get some time.  Bottom line, and sales back this up, the Wii is a great buy fot family entertainment.  It was a lot of fun playing with the bro, the nephew, and even his wife stepped up and got a few shots in on boxing mode.  Good clean family fun.  Don't know, gotta research on what may be out there on the Wii for me, but if you gotta some wee I mean Wii gamers in the house that wanna get in on some gaming action, it's a good clean choice.  Till next time, keep your hands dry, stay wry, and say whats up to your pops.

Ok, for a lot of you younger peeps, unless you are into history and are extremely estute when it comes to games, this blog post will probably fly right over your emo haircuts, come back around, reflect off your fake metal spike belt, and reflect off your teachers cornea, distracting them for a brief minute, untill they recoup, and finish trying to teach you about Ancient Egypt.  However, that doesn't mean you can't put down the black hair dye for a minute and google two great classics, maybe even download and play the bad boys.  Although, it wouldn't be the same as if you were in an actual arcade in the mid to late eighties, when you didn't need twenty bucks to play a few rounds, back then, a game play was only one quarter, not a buck for five minutes of zombie killing. Although, the pain of a quarter for five minutes back then was probably the same as a dollar for five minutes today, so you got me, we're even on that one, inflation, what can I say.

 Track and Field

Two classics, Track & Field, for one, if there was ever a need to control sweaty hands, this was it.  Track & Field was a button mashing fest the likes the world will probably never see again.  In fact, the entire game was built around who could crush buttons the fastest.  I even maybe firmly believe that these game was the spawner of the first popular game cheat, the infamous turbo button.  Competing on this game was intense action, why, becuase by the time you completed a running event, you had so much emotional and physical energy invested, you were basically ready to tear your opponents head off, literally.  I may be dating this quite a bit now, but loosing at this game time and time again to the same opponent would make you want to turn to him and say,,, I wish you were never flame broiled!

 Karate Champ Kung Fu

Now for an extra classic, and if anyone out there has ever had the priveledge to play this in arcade form, I say we all need to get together and have a reunion of sorts, because it was a trully special experiance to have been a part of.

Karate Champ, where you had two joysticks per player, 4 total on the machine, and timing and joystick combinations were everything.  I can't really write on this blog too much about it, it's on the level of kiss and tell really.  But, there are downloads out there that you can try, but, the actual details of the arcade experience and this game,, I just can't bring myself to get into.  If I could turn back the clock, I'd bring some GhostGrip with me when I planned on playing this game.

Guitar Games and synthesisers

Ok, we've all witnessed the tremendous rise of these musical instrument games, is it just me, or is this one of the most ridiculous things you've ever witnessed?  I mean, seriously?  Back in the eighties, they came out with these little synthesizer pianos, even down to key chain size, and I swear, if those hadn't of been brought to market, China would be half the population it is today.  Those little synthisizer gadgets feed half of Taiwan.  So anyway, basically some companies took out some duct tape and taped those things to Playstations and X-boxes and the like everywhere, sheeeesssh, I think they even have a full blown drum set you can buy.  Here's the thing though, to each his own.  Gaming in itself is entertainment, it's escape, it's fantasy, etc... So why not make a little fake guitar and intergrate it's controlls into a bunch of screaming fans and positive feedback on a tv set?  Awesome idea.  All I gotta say though, if you wanna play, I can respect that, fine, but don't go spouting off about your Guitar Hero skills or knowledge of what makes good music or who a kick a$$ band is.  Get a real Guitar and play that like a champ and then come talk to me.  That's like going up to some Marine and talking crap about your Call of Duty score.  Yeah, I'm running smack, and I don't even know how to play a guitar, so what?  Doesn't change the fact that I think there is just something slightly amiss with this whole Guitar-a-Game stuff going on, just sayin...

Halo 3 and Command and Conquer

Dude, with the Halo 3 slash Command and Conquer concoction that's out, I'm lost with what the heck is going on with Halo 3.  I mean, here's the thing, the Halo franchise is HUGE, and rightfully so, but, I believe it's in danger of being diluted.  Although not yet, just sayin the red flags are on the horizon, so far so good.  For those of you that moved on to other shooters, you know that when you try to get back into Halo for a bit, you can't help but have the feeling that you're swimming in a fish bowl, seriously.  Anyway, I thought the whole Red Alert thing using Halocharacters was a cool idea, I've never played it, but a good idea non the less.  So what's up with Halo 3 Recon.

I'll try to sum it up real quickly.

It takes the gap between Halo 2 and Halo 3 and fills it in, but sense it's an independant effort from Bungie, new things can be expected.  I expect to see a more personal story tracked sequence.  Basically, they're gonna take the helmet off a few ODST's (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper), and show some of the supporting cast behind the effort.  Think of Halo 3 crossed with Mass Affect, minus the choose your own adventure BS, and the awesome Halo 3 mechanics and physics.  Mechanics being how the players interact with imput you provide with your controller, and physics being how they interact with the other items on the screen.  I don't know if this is industry techy lingo, but it makes sense to me, so I use it. Either way, wether you agree that Halo should be careful of dilutiion or if you think they should start crossing over and putting the Halo brand on everything (i.e. Halo Tetris, Lego Halo, etc...), that's up to you.  From what I've seen and read so far, I think Halo 3 Recon will be a solid release and will please the vast majority of it hungry fan base.  Some of which are so infused with Halo that they refuse to buy any other games for thier Xbox, nuff said about the power of Halo.  Oh, one more thing, for all you Halo peeps that are yearning for the highly coveted, near impossible to get Recon Armor, you're chance is upon you!  Work on your Vidmaster Challenge achievements to get a jump on your homies.

Till next time, stop wiping your hands off on your pants.

The dictionary defines roost in its noun form as

1. a support on which birds rest

2. a place where winged animals and especially birds custamarily roost.

What?  So if I'm a bat or a flying squirrel, or a dude wearing a Batman costume, I'm a second class citizen when it comes to the act of roosting?

Having just gotten back from hang gliding, I wasn't satisfied with that, so I dug deeper.  The dictionary definition of the "verb" roost goes something like this.

1.  to settle down for rest or sleep: Perch

2.  to settle oneself as if on a roost

Bingo!!!  #2.  to settle oneself as if on a roost,,, perfect,, no need to search the urban dictionary on this one, the real dictionary has it covered.  So, by way of translation, the act of roosting can also be interpreted into meaning that if one is engaged in the act of roosting than the item that that being is roosting on can be called a roost.  Hence the title of this post, Past Gaming Roosts.

As a kid, when I went to my friends house to play Atari I sat on a stuffed turtle, I can remember playing Mortal Combat while roosting on an upside down five gallon bucket, there's the edge of the sofa, I've roosted on a coffee table or two to play.  Can't forget the good ole bar stool to play Centipede.  A pilates ball, tried to get into that to work out, but I think the problem was that the thing was too close to the tv and the xbox.  Everyone's sat on a chair pulled from the kitchen table, or maybe even a lawn chair from the backyard.  I've been known to roost in a folding camping chair while gaming. Haven't ever had one of those "gaming chairs" with the speakers built in and cup holders and all that stuff, but they might be a good roost.  My current roost, is a fiberglass racing seat out of a friends retired drag car.  It's pretty comfy, I'm planning at some point to mount it to a perch of some sort, maybe a spring with a base or something so I can kick it back a little and get it off the ground a bit.  Send in some pics of your favorite roost.

Call of Duty, World War II style

Got the new Call of Duty release in my sweaty palms and couldn't wait to get it home and let it bask in the laser light of my xbox.  Popped it in and played around with the game modes a bit, same basic stuff as Call of Duty 4.  However, noticably, the graphics and overall tone and mood of the game was different, thought I was playing some generic shooter.  The saving grace, the impeccable Call of Duty mechanics, it was this alone that allowed me to continue.  I gotta say, after a while the more colorful Call of Duty started growing on me, started to feel a little hip retro-ish in a way.  Then it was time to play online.  I jumped into a deathmatch game and immeditaly concluded that the multi-player game was on crack.  Everything moved at ridiculous speeds, it seemed like every player had extreme conditioning, naturally.  The excessive speed at which everyone in the match moved around combined with the "cap gun" like sounds of most of the weapons started to turn me off in a hurry.  After a dozen of so matches my nerves were shot, I was in the mood to down a red bull, rub on the sweat controller, and give it the old college try, after all, this is a Call of Duty release, something gotta give right?  Wrong, it only made me want to put in COD4 and play a real game for awhile before hitting the rack.  However, this one's staying in the stable, somethings gonna click someday, they might update or give it some other saving grace, but for now, it's gotta make due cleaning out the stahls.  I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone over the age of 17 or on any type of medication.  Now, that said, I am more than sure that this title will make a come back in my library, but right now, just not in the mood for it's hyper game play, but, to each his own.

 Gears of War 2 Now On Sale

Gears of War 2 is out, and for the past weekend or so, I've been applying the GhostGrip in steady 4 hour doses to keep my hands dry as the online play for Gears is ridicoulous.  Initial thoughts, wow, I really am impressed with the pre-game lobby.  They've basically taken the best of pre-game lobbies and combined them into one.  On top of that, you can practice by yourself or with friends by setting up a match with bots.  This will allow you and your friends to work on your technique and strategy on different maps. 

 Horde Mode Yo

Nice.  Also, in the new Horde mode, you can just have the game send you a steady supply of enemies to dispatch.  Now, that all sounds wonderful, so here's the bad, stinking grenades on walls... absolutely flawed and uncalled for.  #1. it's almost impossible to see the things when you're running around trying to find someone to shoot at.  #2.  Just the very way that they work is encouraging overuse and abuse by wussies.  Those two things combined do not make for very good game play.  Till next time,,, keep your hands dry.

With all the new titles out, gotta tell yah, hands are sweatier than ever, hyperhydrosis has kicked in, are you kidding me, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, and Call of Duty World at War... what?  Now, are you sayin, yeah man, dudes into the main blockbuster titles just like eveyone else, one crow in a murder of crows,, fine, you got me, I like games that game developers have spent multi-millions of dollars on.

Why? Why? Why? 

Why? They're the one's that make my heart beat and my hands sweat from instense gaming action, why, because they're well designed, cinematic, and engaging, why else?  You got me, I'm on the band wagon, if you know of any lesser known titles that can do the same, by all means,, let's hear it. 

If you follow this blog at all, you know about Gears of War, that's prevelant, but also, if you follow it closely enough, you know I give other titles their fair due, and I've mentioned some that weren't main stream, but the qualities they share with the new stuff coming out, the successful stuff, you'll agree with me, I know what I'm talking about.  Knowing a good first person shooter is easy. 

For Example! 

Let's take this example.  For all you coffee drinkers out there, you can go to Starbucks and know you're gonna get a decent cup of coffee,,, yeah there are haters, and most definately there are better cups out there, but the haters are the peeps that have had a better cup of joe somewhere else,, but where.  I live in the great PNW, so I go to a select few espresso's stands here and there if I'm in the neigborhood. 

I say select, because up here, they are a dime a dozen, and I know which one's suck and which one's don't.  However, I do know, that if I want a decent latte, I can hit Starbucks.  But what makes a good cup of joe,, it's all individual taste, so that's why small espresso stands here and there are kinda hit and miss.  That's why someone will swear by a mom and pop stand while others will not. 

Coffee Burgers! 

Thing is, companies like Starbucks have spent millions of dollars perfecting theirs.  Now you can say the same for McDonalds, but I don't go to McDonalds to get a latte, they make cheeseburgers... So here's the thing, you tell me where to get a good latte, and I'll try it, but the chances I'll like it are gonna be left up to just that, chance. If it fits my personal taste, it's on the list.  So why waste my time hitting up Lisa's coffee shop or whatever? 

Well, my adventurous spirit and empathy for small business.  So, basically, I'm not closed minded or a sheep, you show me something that can catch my attention and keep me entertained and I'm game for that, otherwise, the quirkie indy games will be just that, and rightfully so.  Which, they all have hope, look at Orange Box, it's a blockbuster, but it's kinda niche, but hit a vein, just sayin.