From a coffee shop...

Well, I know, it's been forever since I last posted on my gaming blogsite. Forgive me.

I had to take my car into the shop and got a lift from the dealer shuttle to this very nice coffee shop in Fort Wayne called the Firefly. I knew of it thanks to my Brother in-law. It is busy and packed full of people. Who knew anyone could survive the wrath of Starbucks. I tell ya though, if Starbucks had free internet, that's where I would have been! Damn Starbucks. Why does your coffee have to taste so good?

Back to the reason for this blog. Gaming. I haven't been updating this much and felt this was the perfect time to do so. I still am in love with my Wii. It is still a lot of fun and still play Wii Sports about every other day. Right now the game taking up the most/all of my time is Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It is amazing. By far the best looking game I have played to date on the Wii and the controls are excellent and intuitive. Metroid is a must own for fans of the genre and fans of FPS type games.

Even more exciting than Metroid is the long waited arrival of the Guitar Hero franchise on a Nintendo platform! Hoo-ray. I have had my copy reserved at the local GameStop for a few months and have been paying it off gradually. I'm glad to say that when it comes out, I will not have to fork any money over. For the past year or two the only times I have been able to rock out have been at my Wife's cousins house and at Circuit City. I enjoy the game so much, I contemplated getting a PS2 just for this game. Well the wait is over. On October 28th, the game comes out for the Wii and will come with online capable battles and a leaderboard for all platforms. How sweet is that. Unifying the gaming world in a sense. Needless to say, I'm frothing at the mouth to get my hands on this game. The only downer so far is the lack of extra guitars in the GameStop computer. They still do not have a listing for one. Looks like I will be the only one rockin' out. No two player in my household just yet.

A quick comment on Halo 3 is also probably needed. Damn! I knew it would sell a ton but the numbers are amazing. Something like 3 million in the first week. Just crazy. As great as this was, I am even more impressed that the Wii was able to almost keep up in selling consoles in North America. I really believe that most Halo buyers all ready had a 360 in their living room. Now if only Bungie would release that killer looking version of HaloDS I saw...

I promise to update this on a more regular basis.

What games are you playing?

Debating the Wii's Staying Power

It's come out recently that SEGA seems to think Nintendo's Wii is going to start to fizzle out. They say it has no staying power and that it is a fad. I say nay! The Wii is so much fun. Sure it's not the powerhouse of graphics like the XBOX360 or the PS3 but nothing has been more fun than this. And if you consider the price, how can you not get one? A family (for four) night out at the movies is going to cost you at least $50-$60 with popcorn and soda's. So for $250 you get a great family fun night that you get to enjoy over and over. I have had the Wii for just over 6 months and can't count the number of times friends and family have come over to play. And also I am starting to get a sweet collection of Mii's. I do worry about the support for great hardcore games but... meh. This is great the way it is. I believe the developers will come around. In the mean time, I'm off to enjoy another round of Tiger Woods on the Wii. It is so much fun. Especially when you play multiplayer with cold beers in hand!

So go get a Wii. It's such a great value. And when the 360 comes down to around $250, I'll probably pick that up as well. That way, I can still get my Gears of War hardcore gaming out of my system as well.

Guitar Hero Shirt Design!

I just had to post this here since anyone that loves Guitar Hero might get a kick out of it. I designed this shirt for the GH fans. It's simple enough to look nice and subtle enough for a non-fan to ask what it's for.

If you can't see the picture here is the link to check out the other shirts and products with this design. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

http://www.cafepress.com/redpilldesigns/2853779

Why an 80 GB PS3?

Can someone please tell me, in this day in age, why SONY would go from 60 GB to 80 GB for their internal hard drive?

Is it just me or is this the silliest thing I have ever heard of. They just dropped the 20 GB model and now they go from 60 - 80. Just when I was thinking my 100 GB external HD was small. These aren't iPODS for goodness sakes. Come-on SONY at least go up to 120 and double down. Heck, the gamers already buying the PS3 aren't going to mind spending a few extra bucks to get a mammoth HD. Since I am already not buying one at these prices you have nothing to worry about. And also, what would be the point of an 80 GB HD when the new XBOX 360 Elite is coming out with 120 GB. Don't you want to keep up with Microsoft. What? Chicken? I know. It's probably all the money your losing on each console. You don't want to lose anymore than you have to.

Let me know how you feel. Would 20 GB really make that big a difference?

Amazon US Chart Watch

I was just reading an article about how the UK Amazon chart was shaping up today and it got me interested in our very own US version. So I went and looked, just like everyone else can and saw some interesting things. It's still a Nintendo dominated list.

At number one, not suprisingly, is Super Paper Mario for the Wii. It was released today and that is why I am not suprised. Number 2 is the XBOX 360 version of Guitar Hero II. Guitar Hero is just fun to play. No way around it. I can't wait for Guitar Hero III coming to the Wii in Late 2007. Then from number 3 through number 8 it's all Nintendo, including the Wii console at 5. For Number 9, it's the new release of Lord Of The Rings Online and rounding out the top 10 is Wii Play.

For the fanboys on all sides, especially the Nintendo side, the PS3 is clocked in at #12 and the XBOX 360 is sitting at #29.

Galaga out for the Wii Virtual Console!

Oh man what a Monday!

Galaga was released for the Virtual Console on the Wii. I know, I know. What a tired old game with lousy graphics.

Graphics, Smaphrics! It's freaking Galaga.

I bought it and played for a few minutes before having to leave for work and it played just like it should have. Pure. The only thing missing is a joystick and a button strong enough to withstand countless bashings. Here's hoping that some third party makes an old school controller for the Wii that has just one Jostick and two buttons to just destroy.

That would be heaven...

Now if only Ninja Gaiden would hurry up and get released.

PSP just dropped price to $170... what next?

Well, SONY just announced that they are dropping the price of their PSP by 15% to $170. This is good news for gamers in general. I still do not own one but would start to consider as the price moves down.

However I do own an original DS! Which from the start has been very entertaining. I still play MarioKart online against others and still train my brain. So for now the DS is the only portable I need. Excellent games and good prices and still much cheaper than the PSP. And now I can see the DS going down to the UBER price of $99 just before the Holidays in 07. That will be something SONY is not looking forward to.

Review for Medal of Honor: Vangaurd on Wii

For the most part I am having a blast playing through the actual game. The story is captivating, the action moves quickly and the music and sound FX are great. I like how the game doesn't get side tracked from doing the mission. Sure I enjoy games like Zelda where I can rome around an entire map and look under things find hidden rooms with neat stuff but this MOH was refreshing. Pure action right from the begining.

Graphics wise, they are very good. I still wonder how much better they can get, given time. I can't wait for Metroid! That should look great in my opinion.

One huge draw for me buying this game was the multiplayer aspect. Having four guys drinking beer trying to kill one another is just a fun night for all. Though it will probably work for now, MOH: Vangaurd missed the boat on this one. The maps seem a bit small, and the option to include computer bots is not there. Another drawback to the multiplayer scenario is the complete lack of kick ass weapons available. My friend and I played each map and never did find a bazooka or true sniper rifle.

Oh well. I can't complain to much. I am finding the game to be about what I expected. And I was dying to buy a FPS for the Wii. I still have not tried any of the launch titles (Far Cry, Red Steel, COD3) since the reviews were not great for any of them.

Overall Score: 7.8 out of 10

Wii Still Capturing Retail Attention!

Yesterday night I was skimming the gamer news on Google News feed. I noticed a story saying that Circuit City had advertised in Sundays circular, they were to have Wii's gauranteed upon opening Sunday morning and vouchers were going to be given away one hour before open. Sure, I thought to myself, the hype must be dead bye now? Right?

Wrong.

I got up this morning to check the Sunday paper for myself and sure enough, page 9. Wii's available today and all that stuff about vouchers were also on the page in fine print. So I took a detour on the way to church just to see with my own eyes. There they were. Must have been about 15-20 people in line with folding chairs and coffee waiting patiently for the doors to open.

It's been four months since the Wii debuted in North America! I had to really hunt hard to get my Wii in December but I never thought the struggle would continue into the spring months. Good for Nintendo. They have created something truely innovative. I play almost everyday with my Wii and I love it. Sometimes just for a few minutes to check my Wii Sports fitness age and other times to bust open a round on Streets of Rage with the Virtual Console. I really think this is what Nintendo had in mind. Get people to play incrementally everyday. But I also have sat down for hours on end playing Zelda. Great for hardcore and softcore gamers alike. My wife even plays with the Wii when I'm not around. Hmm...

Sounds a little dirty. And I like it!

Sincerely,
Tom Schriner

My Wii is amazing!

Well after about one month of playing on the Nintendo Wii, it is safe to say it is amazing. I had parents playing video games for the first time since playing PacMan on Atari! It was crazy. Seeing my Dad sore the next morning after playing for a couple of hours on Wii Sports was a good feeling. Nintendo has truely done something diferent this time. Even my wife, who is rarely interested in playing video games, will challenge me to a few rounds of Wii Boxing or baseball or tennis. I hope that Nintendo will put out full versions of each mini game released on Wii Sports. I would pay full price right now for a full version of tennis and baseball. I also have to say that Zelda is also a must own game. The visuals are nice but it's the game play and story that make the game great.

The one game I'm looking forward to playing in the next couple of months has got to be Tiger Woods 07! As much fun as the small 9 hole course on Wii Sports is, it just teases you. What you want it to play Pebble Beach with the WiiMote. It should be awesome. I say should because EA will have had plenty of time to work on it. Tiger Woods 07 should be out in March.

I hope everyone gets a chance to play the Wii.