October Game Releases

The season is upon us.  We all know that October kicks off a run of blockbuster titles.  Let's see what October 2009 has in store for us.

10-02-09 

Get you ODST Rookie figure

10-06-09 

Alpha Protocol PS3 360 

Demons Souls PS3 

GTA Chinatown Wars PSP

HAWX Wii

NBA 2K10 PS3 360 Wii PS2 PC PSP

NBA LIVE 10 PS3 360 PC

Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising PS3 360

Painkiller Resurection  PC

Ringling Bros Barnum and Baily Circus Wii DS

Saw PS3 360

10-13-09

Brutal Legend PS3 360

Cars  PS3 360 PS2 PSP DS

Cop The Recruit DS

Fallout 3 360 PS3 PC

Imagine Artist DS

Ju-On The Grudge Wii

Learn Chess DS

Mario & Sonic at the Winter Games DS

Might and Magic Clash of Heroes DS

Petz DS

Silent Hill Shattered Memories Wii PS2 PSP

Spore Hero Wii

Squeeballs Party Wii DS

Sushi Academy DS

Tony Hawk Ride PS3 360

Uncharted 2 Among Thieve PS3

Way of the Samurai 3 PS3

Where the Wild Things Are PS3 360 Wii DS

10-20-09

Astro Boy Wii PS2 PSP DS

Bukagan PS3 360 PS2 PSP DS

Ben 10 360 Wii PS2 PSP DS

Borderlands PS3 360

CSI Deadly Intent 360 Wii PC DS

Diner Dash DS

Dragon Ball Wii

Fifa 10 PS3 360 Wii PS2 DS

Half Minute Hero PSP

Korg DS-10 Plus DS

Lips #1 Hits 360

Marvel Super Hero Squad Wii PS2 PSP DS

Naruto Wii

Remington North American Bird Hunter Wii

Secret Saturdays Wii PS2 PSP DS

10-27-09

Come back later for these titles, there's a bunch.  I'll post these next blog. 

Avoid Wii Injuries or WiiInjuries (whine-jur-ees)

In order to avoid getting injured or sustaning a sports injury while playing Wii it is necessary to take a few precautions.  The right mind set is the perfect place to start.  Yes, the Wii is a gaming console and a toy, but treat it like a BB gun, with respect.  We all know that on the Wii it is necessary to make certain body movements and motions to play, so it makes sense to loosen up a bit before playing.  Here is my pre-Wii routine.

30 seconds each, calf stretch, hamstring stretch, quad stretch, shoulder strecth, back stretch.

1 minute arm windmills

1 minute alternating toe touches while having feet spread beyond shoulder width

15 Jumping Jacks

30 seconds run in place

30 seconds arm shake outs (relax arms and wrists loosely on side and shake lightly to loosen shoulders, elbows and wrists)

Deep breathing combined with shoulder shrugs and neck rolls until you feel you have the right mental attitude for Wii play.

Ok, so now we're all nice and loose and warm now what.

For one, remember it is not necessary to do really forceful moves with the Wii controller.  You are not really playing tennis, so please, don't get tennis elbow when playing Wii.  Take it quick and easy.  Smooth is what you're looking for, proper form is the key not erractic forcefull movements.

Also, make sure you use the wrist strap and have a firm but not tense grip on the controller.  Here is where a grip aid can come into play, like GhostGrip for example.

Lastly, make sure no one is with your range of motion.  This will help you avoid injury to yourself and others.  This article is just my personal opinion and tips and is not professional medical advice.  If you are experiencing pain or discomfort while playing Wii, I would suggest you stop and consult a professional.  Again, just my opinion, you should consult a doctor before attempting any exercise routine.

Little Mac

If you ever got the pleasure of playing the original arcade Punch Out,,, what up bra!!!  Nuff said on that.  If not, there was the NES version, which in itself was pretty dang good considering you had basically a rectangle with a d-pad and an a and b button to work with.  My favorite dude to whoop up on was Soda Popinski, and to this day, that's the name of my hockey player on NHL09.   On top of that, Nintendo went out and did something historically significant, they released Mike Tyson's Punchout, how bada$$ is that.  To bad ole Iron Mike had to be the guinee pig of blockbuster video game deals, I bet if his peeps could turn back the clock, he'd be getting a little jingle off this new release for the Wii.  Why,, cause MT put punchout on the map yo.  Anyway, enough about video game history, let's look at this classic from Nintendo.

Viva La France

Here's the best part of the new Punch-out.  Glass Joe has a voice now, and while 17 year old 107 pound Little Mac is hookin up the rights and left, heavy french accented Glass Joe pops off with things like "Viva La France" and "Bonjour".  How awesome is that?  All the old foes are there, the big Canadian Bear Hugger, you can still bust King Hippo in the gut.  Let's not forget the german Von Kaiser or the vain Don Flamenco from Spain.  However, there is a surprise new opponent, introducing in the glitter corner, Disco Kid, a dancing fool that may try to grease lightning you if you get dizzy'd by his fancy footwork.

All in all, Punch-Out on Wii looks to be all the fun of the original arcade classic brought right into your living room, courtest of Nintendo.  You may not need your GhostGrip for Glass Joe, but make sure you dab rub and clap for the Disco Kid.

The Wii is just a toddler

At just 2 years old, the Wii has turned out some decent titles.  Here are my top 10.

10- Wii Sports  This is like the Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt of the original NES.  Why?  Not only does it ship with the system, it's also a pretty darn good universal title that almost anyone can play.  It's replay factor is through the roof.

9.  Super Paper Mario  Mario, Mario, Mario.  All the great and classic characters in primary colors but great gameplay.

8.  Boom Blox  Games like this are what the Wii is all about.  Get your friends together for some exciting play.

7.  Metroid Prime 3  One of the more sophisticated Wii games graphically and control wise.  Great title.

6.  Okami  A great cultural and storytelling experience.

5.  Mario Kart  Dude it's MarioKart

4.  Super Smash Bros. Brawl  Get some well known characters together for some fighting action, what's not to like.

3.  Super Mario Galaxy  A game that has Super and Mario in the title are gonna make a top 10 list.

2.  Animal Crossing: City Folk  

1.  World of Goo  A good fit for the Wii.  Family friendly, mentally challenging, fun, and it's good for you.

Did someone say Wii rubber?

Ok, ok,, for most of us, ehh,, hmmm,, we can equate the use of the above mentioned substance to equal less sensativity.  Now, I don't know if you can officially say that the slip covers, gel covers, whatever covers that are made for the Nintendo Wii controllers are made out of rubber or not, the fact is, they are rather,, rubber-ish.  With that said, is there an alternative to putting a germ catching jelly jacket over your Wii controller?  I think so. 

Nintendo Wii Controller Sweat = Slippage

So, why the rubber controllers?  Maybe because the Wii remote was slipping out of players hands, threating LCD and Plasma screens everywhere.  What causes slippage, hmmm, maybe clammy clam shuckers, muggy mitts, greasy grubbers,  basically, sweaty hands.  So if you own a Wii and sweaty hands are causing you problems with controlling your controller, cut the problem off at the pass and get some help for those damp clampers.  For some, putting a bulky cover on the Wii remote is just not right.  It gets in the way, it's distracting, it's not natural.  If that's you, get some GhostGrip, shake it, put a dime size dab in your palm, rub your hands together, clap a few times, and GhostGrip will gently coat your grippers with a moisture preventing barrier, giving you a natural feel and grip on your controller.  

No need to wrap it, just get some GhostGrip, clap it and slap it..

Where do Wii Start? D-pad replaces Joystick.

That's funny, get it.  Well, Wii start with Nintendo, why, because of the NES.  The original NES controller was the first game controller that made a multi-button game pad make real sense.  Sure, it had the pause button, an a and b if I recall correctly, but more importantly, the joystick replacing D-pad, sweet!  The D-pad is that little plus sign looking thing on the NES controller that allowed you to controll the direction of your player by using your thumb instead of holding a joystick in your hand.  It was ingenious, because with a joystick (like the one on an Atari 2600) the player would need to use his entire left of right hand manipulating the player, which would leave very limited use of that hand for any button controll whatsoever.  Yeah, I know, the NES contoller didn't have any buttons on the D-pad side, but, it paved the way for them to exist at least.  There were some joysticks out there that had multi button capabiltiy, but the problem was, you had to stick the controller to a flat surface like a desk or something to even use them (remember the little suction cups on the bottom of the Atari 2600 joystick, who ever used those?).  

Touche, 2 joysticks replace D-pad

It's ironic that the D-pad gets replaced by two joysticks.  Difference is, they're not called joysticks anymore, they're called thumbsticks.  The thumbsticks sit on the left and right side of your modern day console controller and made they're first popular debut on the Playstation controller.  This setup, although not utilized to it's fullest on the original PS1 would lay the foundation for the integration of them into more sophisticated gameplay, and ultimately to their use in the revolutionary twin stick controlls you see on tons of todays hits.  My personal favorite, NHL 2009 by EA Sports.  But tons of games take advantage of this setup, and if you play any first person shooters, you already know what I mean.  So the PS1 controllers gotta rank up there.

Commadore 64 and early PC games joystick.

This is old school, but I'll throw it in there.  Some of you younger gamers are probably like,, dude, what?  Anyway, you had to use the Commadore one to understand (the early Radio Shack contollers were similar).  Basically it was a joystick with a base like the 2600 joystick, but the stick was a steel rod with a little plastic knob on the end and it didn't return back to it's original postition when you let it go.  So basically it was like playing with a wet noodle attached to a lead base with a little rectagular fire button somewhere on the side.  Perfect!  Click on the paragraph title or here to go to the wooden joystick link, daaaannnnggg.  How sweet is that?

Full circle.

That brings me full circle to the Wii.  The Wii controller(s) makes the list, because like the ones mentioned above they are groundbreakers and pioneers of what's to come, basically the next step in the evolution of game controllers.  Pretty soon, you'll be able to head down to your local GameStop and they'll have a certified nuero-surgeon on hand to tap right into your brain stem.  Then all you have to do is plug your head into your consol.  Bingo, no more worrying about sweaty controller paws or burning out your plasma screen!!  Awesome!!!

Until then, keep your hands off your pants and on your controller.