So, Super Star Solder, (originally for the TurboGraphx 16) came out on the Wii Virtual Console… oh… within the past hour or so I guess. So, I decided to trade in some hard earned cash for some virtual Wii points, which I then trade in for the rights to download the game. Wait… so… what’s the point of Wii points? Why can’t they just say the game costs $6? It can’t be that hard to convert prices for regions. ANYwho, after a glitch in the system (or a remote-o, or whatever a typo would be considered with the remote), I purchased my Wii points and just as quickly gave them back to download Super Star Soldier. I have played a solid 5 minutes of it, and can say I’m quite happy with my $6. Not quite as cheap as the BK games, and not quite the same graphics, but I’m a huge fan of the scrolling games. Now I won’t be stuck playing RaidenX anymore.

Mini-review after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Heads up. Rumor mill has it that Microsoft dropped the price of the 360 core system to $100. This is just the minimum price that a reseller can sell them for, so it won’t be a widespread all of a sudden drop. But I can tell you this. I’m scouring the world looking for them. Amazon had a promo already for the core for $100, but with only 1000 units, they clearly sold out instantly. So, if I find any place selling them for $100, I’ll be sure to post a picture of it in my living room.

After Sony’s un-uneventful release was the less publicized Wii release. Why was it less publicized? One reason, Nintendo knows how to get shit done. 8 consoles for 60 people waiting is a mess bound to happen. But when you have 50 consoles for 60 people, it’s very easy to chop down to 50. And it makes it even easier when you tell them “We’re getting another shipment within 6 days. It should be around 90-100 units. Just check back daily, and we should have them available without needing to camp again.” With news like that, there’s hope for all before Christmas. But, for the hardcore, that’s not soon enough.

Read on to hear my camping experience.

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After 1 coffee, 8 hours in the cold, 1 hour in the rain, 6 layers of clothing, and $430 removed from my wallet, I’m now one happy (but tired) Wii owner. I got Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Monkey Ball, and an extra remote + nun-chuck. I’d write more, but it’s all I can do to even move my fingers to the correct keys. So… to bed I go. I’ll update on the awesomeness in the morning.

Shout out to Drew for driving down from NH to camp with me. Couldn’t have done it without you (well, I might have, but I’d have been booooorrreeedd)

According to representatives from Nintendo, they are planning on releasing a DVD capable Wii in 2007. Unfortunately, this is an entirely different system. A Wii 2.0 if you will. Currently, there is no plans for a DVD accessory, as it “requires more than a firmware upgrade.” Now, I don’t know about you, but DVD capabilities aren’t something that I’m really looking for. Yeah, the PS3 for BlueRay is a decent marketing plan, but that’s only because BlueRay isn’t widely available yet. But at this point, everyone and their grandmother has a DVD player already. (Maybe my grandmother is just more techno-suave than most) So the fact that my Wii 1.0 will have no chance to play DVDs means… a grand total of… nothing to me. I can watch DVDs on my computer, my laptop, and even my TV via this wonderful invention known as a DVD player. In this bloggers humble opinion, a gaming console should be that. If you want a media center to hook up to your TV, get a PC.

[source: DailyTech]

So, Sony has been in the news quite a bit lately. From BlueRay problems, to EU release dates, to suing Lik-Sang into oblivion, it’s pretty much all been bad. Now, it’s not all their fault. They don’t control the BlueRay shortages. The latest complaints about the console market is the ridiculous package deals. People complained last year when X360 had package preorders that force consumers to buy multiple games. Same thing with the Wii preorders from GameStop this year, since the bundle was almost 3x the price of the Wii itself. Now, I’ve never really had a problem with most of this. If you have the money, and plan on buying that many games and controllers in the first place, it’s worth it.

However, CompUSA and Sony have hit a new low here. “Reserve your PlayStation3 when you buy any Sony HDTV 40′’ or larger.” So… yeah. I don’t even have words. Additionally, Kotaku is reporting that Fry Electronics is forcing consumers to buy upwards of 8 games to be allowed to buy the console on release day. For a PS3, that’s bringing the bundle to $1080 right there. There’s apparently also a forced warranty, and who knows how much that’s gonna cost. GG Sony. You lose at press.

So, the last two or three times I’ve been to EB to get a game on release day, I’ve gotten the same answer. “We don’t have it”. Now, normally, I don’t mind when a store doesn’t have a game. It could be sold out, or maybe just hasn’t arrived yet. Yet, both times I inquired about why they didn’t have it, I received the same answer “It’s not out yet.” The first time, I thought, meh, maybe I just remembered wrong, or the date was changed or something. But I’ve come to the conclusion that EB is just so far stuck up their asses that they can’t tell the difference between a release date, and the date that their shipment of it comes in. Even this I wouldn’t mind so much, but whenever I mentioned that all sources (including EBgames.com and the little book of release dates IN the EB store) said that 11/14 is the release date for Final Fantasy III, I’d get an “I don’t know what stupid person told you that, but the date is wrong… stupid”. I’m just waiting for Sunday. “I’m sorry everyone, but you’re all wrong. 11/19 is the ship date of the Wii, the release isn’t until tomorrow. Stupids”

The funny thing is that a GameStop in another mall also hadn’t received their copy of FFIII yet, but at least they told me the truth and said “Sorry, we were expecting it in today’s shipment, but it didn’t seem to contain it. We should have them in by tomorrow. Sorry for any inconvenience.” So, maybe it’s just EB. Who knows, but I’m real close to never going into that EB again.

One Week

As I strum a few last chords, the lights go out, and the crowd erupts. Cheers and shouts of approval ring out. Through the noise, a few voices cry out “FREEBIRD!”. Eventually the whole crowd is chanting. After a few moments of silence on stage, we walk back out, and give the audience what they want. As the first note echos throughout Stonehenge, the crowd once again erupts into cheers. It was the single greatest experience in my musical career. Well… my Guitar Hero… career.

Thoughts and comments on the highly anticipated, new release Guitar Hero II after the jump.

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So, November 7th has come and gone, and 2 of the most anticipated rhythm games were released. The sequel to one of the hottest rhythm games ever, Guitar Hero II, an the Americanized ‘port’ of Elite Beat Agents. (Although, the EBA website shows 11-06-06 in big bold letters in a big star, EB and Best Buy both claimed that they didn’t get it until today) I’ll save my Guitar Hero II for it’s own post. It really won’t do it justice to share the space with an inferior game. Now, I don’t mean that Elite Beat Agents is bad, it’s just that Guitar Hero II is so good, not much else can even compare.

That being said, read up about Elite Beat Agents: Read the rest of this entry »