So, after several years of umming and ahhing over it, I finally got myself a Wii. I'd just about convinced myself that I didn't really want one, that it was just a gimmick, so I was happy to let this one go by. But then my local supermarket started flogging 'em for £135 complete with Wii Sports, Sports Resort and the Motion Plus thingy... and my resolve crumbled into dust. After all, I've got every other Nintendo console (well, aside from the Virtual Boy, and we won't go there) so I couldn't put it off forever!
The way I see it, I've got my PC and 360 for the latest well 'ard system-straining games, and the Wii will do for all the fun oddities that are about these days. Actually, I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of 'games for gamers' titles that are actually available for Nintendo's machine. I always assumed the software library for the Wii was so bloated with crap that I'd only ever want a half-dozen games at most - a major reason I put off buying the damn thing - but already I've drawn up much longer list of must-have Wii games! Eeeek!
Anyway, I've had the console for nearly two weeks now and I'm really enjoying it. I've picked up a couple of games already and have another few on the way. Next up is to get my hands on a Zapper; I'm a total sucker for light-gun games and I'm dying to play all those Resident Evil/House of the Dead games.
So, does anyone want to throw out a few recommendations for killer Wii games? I know I've already got a long list (featuring all the obvious ones: Mario, Zelda, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy etc.) but does anyone have any other, perhaps lesser-known games for me to explore? I'm up for pretty much any type of game, hell I'll even check out sports titles as long as they make innovative use of the controls. Also, any good Wiiware? I've got free points burning a hole right now.
Month in Review: October 2009
A drastic cut-back this month. Not for financial reasons or anything, it's just simply due to carboot season being pretty much over and a horrible time at work taking me away from any other bargain hunting. October is Christmas set-up time for me and it was a real pain in the butt-ocks. Management playing musical chairs, floods in my friends newly-acquired store, horrendous supplier issues, long (long) weeks and an outbreak of incompetance among the weekend staff. But hey, it's done now. Just in time for a slew of killer new games, some of which I hope to pick up in the run-up to Christmas (the one in December).
New Acquisitions
A brace of PC games that have been out for quite a while but have been sitting on my wishlist since release. I really like WWII games, so finding these new and sealed in a 2 for £10 deal was great. One downer, MoH:A is a ****** to install if you have anything newer than the included two-year-old Ageia PhysX drivers. Which means if you're a sensible computer user who likes to keep things like drivers up-to-date you can't play without rolling back about five versions. I think the developers should utter a collective "D'oh!" and get to work on a fix, pronto.
Fade to Black (and its prequel, Flashback) were two of my favourite PC games back when I first starting playing computer games seriously (sometime in the mid-nineties); cIassy sci-fi adventures from French company Delphine (also of Another World fame and, erm, Shaq Fu). The original PC versions I owned have long since been misplaced (or they're sitting in the loft somewhere) and besides they would require too much DosBOX tinkering to work so picking up a hassle-free PS1 copy on a carboot for 50p seemed like a smart thing to do.
And finally, introducing Lurky and Murky the baby Murlocs. I love freebies.
Games Played
Fallout 2 (PC)
I polished off Fallout 2 this month. Oh, how I love thee, despite thy aged interface and slow gameplay. Just as when I replayed the first Fallout I'm surprised at how quickly I rattled through the game, clocking in at just under 35 hours, and how much I remembered from all those years ago. I suppose that's a real indication of greatness, that something sticks with you for all those years despite playing hundreds of other games in the interim. I've decided to jump back into Fallout 3 again now, to play through the add-ons I haven't tried out yet. I might leave that until I upgrade my computer though (I've got the bits, so it's just as Soon(TM) as I can be bothered) - as even though my current rig can handle the game perfectly well, it's always nice to crank those sliders right up to the top!
Guitar Hero: World Tour (X360)
I didn't get much of a chance to play 360 games this month. It's talent show season which means my mum takes over the living room (and therefore, the big TV). After putting up with annoyingly untalented imbeciles ruining perfectly good rock tunes last night though, I put my foot down and shredded through a couple of sets of GH4. I'll be picking up 5 soon, I suppose.
In Conclusion...
Less than a week until Dragon Age! Yippee!
* Die große Fotographien sind hier.
Month in Review: September 2009
Another cracking month. That comment about cutting back on the game purchases? That turned out to be an outright fabrication on my part.
New Acquisitions
A bit of hardware first. Got this nice little 19" TV from my brother. It's a Samsung LE19B450 LCD TV/monitor and is absolutely amazing. It's going to be my new bedroom TV, which means it will be my first port of call for PS2 and GameCube gaming. It's also got my brand spanky Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray player (bargain buy from Richer Sounds) hooked up at the moment, but that's only a temporary measure so I can watch multi-region DVDs in bed. 1080p is a bit wasted on a 19".
Huge stack of Spectrum games from a guy on eBay. I bought them in one job lot for £9. Some commons, some cIassics, some rarities, a nice bundle all round. Only one duplicate (Dan Dare II) and even that was an improvement on my first copy.
I've always had a soft spot for this old LCD handhelds, and since the real collectables (such as Nintendo Game & Watch) are usually well out of my price range I'm content with whatever quirky little games I can pick up in charity shops and at carboots. These were picked up in a charity shop for £4. I only really wanted the Captain Scarlet one, but they were all together in a baggie so I figured what the hey? It's for charity.
But then I had to go and spoil it all by buying these two Game & Watch games off eBay. I got Mario's Cement Factory and Snoopy Tennis. They are not mint, so I got a bargain price on them, but they are still in very good nick and work fine.
Minty fresh Famicom versions of a couple of early Dragon Quest games (3 and 4). Dragon Quest is one of my favourite game series, so I was thrilled to see these two mint games go for a couple of quid each. Just collector's items to me though, since my Japanese is non-existant.
Ten Commodore 16 games that work on my Plus/4. The real reason I bought this lot (other than the price, just £2) was the inclusion of Tutti Frutti, a real gem from my childhood.
A couple of new PC games from the Zavvi autumn sale. Bargains both, Space Siege was less than £4 and the second Fallout 3 add-on pack (containing Broken Steel and Point Lookout) was £10.95 just a week after release.
A shopping spree in town only turned up two games, but at a pound each who's to complain?
Eight complete NES games from various sellers on eBay. All are in good to mint condition and priced between £4 and £6 each. Double Dragon II, Rygar and Duck Tales are awesome.
Another selection of items from eBay. The NES Max controller and SNES Game Genie are both boxed and complete and only cost a couple of quid each. The black cart is a Codemasters release, Ultimate Stuntman, one of the rarer UK NES titles.
Another minty fresh Famicom collectable I couldn't bear to pass up. This one is Final Fantasy I & II on a single cart and the whole thing is practically new, with map, manual, guide book, warranty etc. The white cart so is clean it hurts my eyes.
A small score from the first carboot I went to this month. Harvest Moon for PS2 is complete and as new. The Space Invaders handheld itself is also as new, but the box is a bit battered. Total cost for both: 70p.
Another small score from the second carboot of the month. These were all £1 each and are all complete.
Games Played
Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence (X360)
Yes, I bought and played this game solely for the points. Actually, that's a lie. I bought and played this game because it cost me practically nothing and it's a mindlessly easy way to spend an afternoon lazing in front of the TV. Any large increases to my Gamerscore are simply icing on a cake that is really only for fans of the show or people who know that the cake tastes like cardboard in the real world and enjoy pointing out flaws in the recipe. I have a degree in forensic science (specialised in fire scene investigation, so lots of burnt cake round here) and believe me when I say that rarely is the cake as delicious as the television would have you believe. Enough about cake, anyway, I'm starting to sound like GLaDOS. Five achievements here, for a whopping 1000 points. Cake.
Fallout 2 (PC)
I haven't played Fallout 2 since 1999. That's ten years since I last sampled one of the greatest CRPGs in history. Sure, I've played the first game several times and last year I was wowed by Bethesda's brand new take on the series, but I still have the fondest memories of Fallout 2. Dark, funny, tough... and despite the graphics and interface aging horribly, the gameplay is damn near perfect. 12 hours in and I'm at Vault City.
Guitar Hero: World Tour (X360)
Goddamn it, I'm never going to catch up with all these Guitar Hero games. Five's out now, Van Halen is on it's way... slow down! Nonetheless, I'm taking my time sampling all that World Tour has to offer. Namely, a disappointing setlist. Was I spoilt by GH3? I've hit 8 achievements so far, for a paltry 65 points.
In Conclusion...
Huzzah! Plenty of retro goodies. Hopefully I'll be getting my mucky paws on some new releases in the next few months too; there's a whole bunch of upcoming and just-released titles on my wishlist: Dragon Age, Guitar Hero 5, Wet, Ghostbusters (finally a domestic 360 release), Brutal Legend, Kingdom Hearts DS, Borderlands, Lego Indy 2... eeek! No time to talk, gotta catch up before I go splashing out on new releases. My 360 backlog is horrendous.
* Once more, big pictures here.
