Posted by dkidwell on October 17th, 2006 — Posted in Christmas, console games, parenting
We are counting down the days ’till the release of the Wii and are very excited. I got to play with one at E3 and have been giddy ever since. Unfortunately, our local Gamestop filled up on pre-orders before we got on the list – they only had 20. So dad and a friend are already planning to camp outside the local Super Target to get them. Whoohoo!
If you haven’t already – go calculate your wii budget now:Â http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2440
I expect we’ll get Zelda and plan to play alot of Wii Sports and hold off on other games until Christmas. The kids are already hinting that Santa could easily leave wiimotes and nunchucks in their stockings.  32 Days till Wii!!
Posted by dkidwell on May 31st, 2006 — Posted in console games, parenting
This youngester is certainly better than I am at DDR, as seen in his own high scoring video:
Nintendo’s new Wii controler is likely to bring even more gaming activity into our living rooms. Games like DDR are not only fun, but they get your heart rate up too.
Posted by dkidwell on May 9th, 2006 — Posted in Nintendo DS, console games, parenting, reviews
At the Nintendo press conference this morning, the Nintendo executives drew a picture of a world where older couples practice golf swings in their living rooms, and whole families play tennis and baseball in the comfort of their homes.
I expect parents to be seeking the Wii and it’s wiimote and nunchaku for Christmas this year. It’s is engaging, and my 6 year old will love swashbuckling with the new wiimote. In fact, I can just see my kids jumping off of towered pillows, or the sofa, in fantastic moves that one would expect from only Jackie Chan or Peter Pan. We’ll have our friends over to lob tennis balls at one another, and my daughter will conduct orchestral symphonies – not sure which game that actually is, but they showed alot of conducting on stage.  In fact, WiiSports and Zelda will apparently launch on the same day as the device – hopefully with some nice bundle packages.
The wiimote will have some sounds directly on the device, which they demoed with Zelda’s bow and could be very engaging. And we thought we already had surround sound!
On Thursday I’ll get the grand Nintendo tour and I’ll post over on Killer Betties a full review and specials for families here at Gamermom.
Posted by dkidwell on May 3rd, 2006 — Posted in Electroplankton, Nintendo DS, console games, parenting
Super Monkey Ball Mini at Sega.com is a nice flash version of the real deal. We’ve had many hours of family gaming with Super Monkey Ball on the Game Cube. We’ve even been known to host competitions with our friends. It’s a wonderful party game.
The family got me a version for the DS, and with any luck, I’ll have some time on the plane next week as I’m traveling to E3 to play it and whip out a review for it. Stay tuned…
Posted by dkidwell on March 28th, 2006 — Posted in console games, parenting
Nintendo usually has titles that I’m perfectly comfortable with my youngest kids playing, but recently they announced a pinball variation that is downright grisly!  “Odama” is a pinball game based on medieval Asian battles, and you use the paddles to roll a large ball over the battle field, bashing walls and troops alike. Since you have to maneuver the ball through your own men, many of them get rolled. Friendly troops yell out when crunched, “We’re on your side dummy!” (Gamermom side note – ‘dummy’ and ’stupid’ are terms that are frowned about in our household. Using either term will bring a mighty admonishment, more so than many more common expletives. None of the kids or their friends are actually ’stupid’ and it’s very demeaning thing to call someone.)
Since you are killing off your own troops, Nintendo seems to have apologized ahead of time.
From their website:
The main character in Odama is Yamanouchi Kagetora, the general credited with creating the Way of Ninten, a philosophy that puts the greater good above the individual’s needs. With this philosophy to guide him, he finds that his individual soldiers can band together to create a force strong enough to defeat even the most powerful enemy.
Hmmm, so maybe that justifies the collateral damage, but the video they’ve released for the pre-launch does not indicate any of this nobility.  I can hear Spock clearly in my truegeek brain, “The needs of the many, out weigh the needs of the few, or the one.” But do the troops extol such virtue? No, instead you hear “This is no way to die!” Other dieing troops yell out proclamations that add a touch more depth: “Good bye, my liege,” and “Tell my kids I love them!” Or simply, “Ow ow ow!”
As Odama gets closer to launch, I hope we see a bit more of the game. Right now, it’s looking like it’s got all the brutality of medieval warfare, which may have been the point. We are likely stick with more traditional pinball games here.
