Endless Ocean

Wow. This "game" takes the cake.

The best games are always the most simple and it doesn't get more simple than this. Scuba dive with fish and coral. Go at your own pace and wherever you'd like to go. There's a story, but no rush to complete any part of it (they tell you that frequently). While you're diving, you'll find fish you've never seen before. Pet them or feed them until they like you, and it will catalog the fish. That's the whole game. The goal is to catalog all the fish around the islands that you're on.

Another neat feature is that you can take pictures of the areas you're diving in, save them to your memory card, and even put them onto your computer.

Did I mention this game has Wi-Fi online gaming? Find a friend and go diving with them. Too neat.

For $30, this game is a smash hit! One of the most relaxing games I've ever come across. I can't recommend it enough!

I took a brief video showing the simplicity of the game play. While I was diving, I even found a new fish and tickled it into my log book. It's just that easy.

Super Mario Galaxy

Also known as "U R MR GAY" (look at the stars on the logo).

If you don't know what I'm going to say about this game, you've been living under a freakin' rock! This title is worth the price of the entire Wii system. I honestly can't praise it enough.

I'm horribly biased against 3-D platformers. Unless the game is first person, I get disoriented, dizzy, and sometimes even sea sick. It takes a really great game to get me to play one. Super Mario Galaxy delivers.

The gameplay is a lot like any other Mario game, which is perfect. It's simple enough for anyone to play, but has enough subtle nuances to keep you coming back for more.

You spend the vast majority of the game on different planets that are very small. There are times that you'll be upside down, or sideways. They even twist things up by putting you INSIDE planets so the perspectives are even stranger.

Another great feature on this title is that you can pick it up for ten minutes, then put it away. The levels aren't overly long, and it saves after each one.

If you have a Wii and don't pick this up, you're doing a great disservice to yourself. This game is worth the price of admission and then some!

1-18-08

My latest slide show. I do these periodically.

Super Paper Mario

It's very rare to find a Mario game that isn't good. This lives up to the name.

The Paper Mario series has always been one of my favorites. They use 3-D graphics but make all the scenes and characters flat. When you turn from side to side, you can see how thin they are. Nintendo also throws in a lot of comedy by making jokes about paper. On the GameCube version, you can even fold Mario into an airplane or boat.

The previous versions have been mostly RPG oriented, which I've got no problems with. This one, for the Wii, took a new twist on the series. The game is a 2-D platformer. There's a twist, though: If you can't get through an area, press the A button and the game becomes 3-D and you can find new ways around areas or new items. It really gives you a great brain twister at times!

You can't go wrong with a solid 2-D platforming Mario game, and this is no exception. The 3-D platforming twist adds something unique to this title without being overused.

I can't recommend this game enough!

Link's Crossbow Training

I can't think of a single negative thing to say about this game. For $25 you get the game and an attachment that turns your Wiimote and Nunchuck into a shotgun/crossbow. The price is unbeatable on the system.

As for the game, think Hogan's Alley, but modernized and more diverse. There are at least twenty different games that I've seen so far, and they're all incredibly fun. Some are downright impossibly hard, which means I'll be working on them for quite a long time to get good.

This is, honestly, a must have title for the Wii like Duck Hunt was for the NES. My girlfriend and I haven't been able to put this one away since I opened it!

Rayman: Raving Rabbids

Have you ever wanted to play a game with no story, no goal, and just pure fun? This is it. The bonus is that I've seen this as low as $20 lately.

The game is a large collection of mini games that involve Rayman and the rabbids (goofy, stupid, and prone to screaming rabbits). You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll shave some cows.

My only complaint about this game is that it's not set up to be a party game out of the box. This game is so fun in groups, but you have to play through the "story mode*" to unlock each game. The first time I turn it on was in a group setting, so having no access to multiplayer wasn't ideal at the time.

All that said, if you want something fun to do that has no point, pick this one up!

*there isn't a realy story in the story mode. I don't know why they call it that.

Excite Truck

Ya know, I wouldn't have ever played this game if it hadn't been given to me for free. I'm glad it was, though, because this is classic!

What a lot of racing games have tried to do and failed at, this one succeeds. The Wii-mote is your steering wheel. The game itself is really basic: drive around monster trucks, crash them up, and fly through the air. Simplicity works, though! This game is pure fun.

One of the best parts is that you can load MP3 files onto your memory card and race to songs you want to listen to. That takes away the monotony of the crappy racing game soundtracks that plague this genre.

All in all, it's not the best game in the world, but it's a hell of a lot of fun!