Nuke

When I saw LEGO Secret of Evermore, I was thinking ah I miss that game... but then I saw LEGO Illusion of Gaia, and now I am going to open the box in my closet to play it. Thanks, Griffin, for setting me up for another several hours of a game I've finished one too many times already.

Considering that we have markings of a sword from Warcraft, a rune from Diablo, and a logo from Starcraft... I think Diablo is breaking through Sanctuary into the World of Warcraft where the Protoss are already invading. It's a new MMORTSRPG kart racing puzzle game... the World of Blizzard!

GameStop, just because it's cheap and convenient. I wish there were better places though.

It really does look just like Prey with better 3D models... and if that is any indication, the entire game will be 2D in the sense that it will be so linear walking down tunnels that you might as well be playing in 2D. Maybe the tunnel will go in a never ending circle... hence the name "Forever".

Sadly enough, I'd probably still play it.

I've played Counter-Strike on maps made of my high school, then my college when I went there, my friend's private school, and even a map of a now better known school with a bad stigma in Colorado (I didn't know about the last one until after I played it). I've never had the desire to take any of the action to real life.

It may be a scary thought... but schools just make EXCELLENT layouts for FPS games.

I know, when I play video games, there SHOULD be NO consequences in real life from what I do in that game. I know if I go do what I do in video games in real life, I'll be hurting others, as well as face consequences. I've never had the urge to hurt another person because of a game...

(Strangely enough I've had the urge to stomp on turtles and kick their shell at brick walls to try to break them looking for mushrooms and coins... hmm, maybe video games are bad for turtles.)

We've reached a point in video games... ahem, I mean, "entertainment software" where sharper and clearer graphics aren't the real definition of "better graphics." I think we've finally reached a point where artistic design is more important to graphic quality than higher resolution or realism. This is one of many games that prove that point... along with many more games for the Wii. Nintendo has always ruled the artistic design category, with a few exceptions of course (see Okami).

This is my biggest complaint about the new arguments on better graphics. If someone wants to argue that this game has better graphics than Gears, I wouldn't say they are right, but I also wouldn't call them wrong.

I missed the $100 Amazon listing too... didn't even get it to load. Considering I really want to play Oblivion, and my computer won't even load Amazon half the time, I'd love to get my hands on a 360 for that.

I've been playing with my Wii non-stop other than naps between midnight of release at GameStop and now (work always has to get in the way of more important things). I've tried out 5 games on it now... I think the graphics are just fine, because when it comes down to it, this is the most entertaining console I have ever played.

I set up the console, connected to my wireless-g router... no network. Damn. Took me about 5 minutes to realize the Wii is 802.11B, so I switched to mixed and it works like a charm. I have no problem typing on the onscreen keyboard... I just have to rest my wrist on my knee for stability.

Wii Sports was in first. I knew once I put in Zelda, I wouldn't stop. I tried boxing first... surprisingly, AWESOME! I wanted to keep boxing. I let everyone else have a hand with different sports. Then we put in Red Steel to make sure it works... I'm gonna go back in play it when I'm done with Zelda.

Next we played 30 minutes of Call of Duty 3. It didn't take long, but I think for that game, this layout is better than mouse and keyboard. You can turn on a dime, and aim with pinpoint precision.

Trauma Center was next... we were through 8 operations before we even realized it. This game is a lot of fun, yet, I can already tell, this is going to get extremely difficult in the end.

Then the moment of truth... ZELDA TIME!

It does feel like a bit of a port from GCN, the way you just flick your wrist to attack. It takes a little getting used to. It's not a perfect control scheme, but after about 11 hours of gameplay, I'd still take it over a GCN controller in a heartbeat. I wouldn't be able to throw my razor blade of a boomarang, or machine gun off arrows this fast on a GCM control. And for the speaker... I turned it down to about 2 or 3 bars, it's not stereo quality, but at that volume, it doesn't sound awesome, it feels awesome. Try it, and put yourself in the game, feel the arrow leave your hand. It works. If it doesn't work for you, you're being too critical.

College Station, TX: I showed up at the mall a bit after 3 AM wondering how to get in. I found an open service door and slipped in that way. I thought it was strange that I was the only one at the GameStop.

Closer to 4 am, a security guard came and asked me how I got in the mall, and informed me the mall is closed. I started getting some smart ass thoughts, considering there's a giant gate right there, but he was real cool about it. He let me know that some people are already lined up outside, and due to a bank and jewelry store robbery a few days ago, they're making us wait outside until 5:30 am.

I hurried out to find 7 people lined up, and they were already making their own unofficial lineup list. I was added on at number 8, and with 14 said to be available, I was fine. The manager validated the list when he arrived a few hours early to make sure everyone on said list was actually there.

I'm not sure exactly how many people we had to turn away after that, but a lot of people didn't expect such a big turn out for the Wii and therefore didn't expect to have to come so early. I think that's a good sign of the underdog's future. Whoop!