Maybe a Starbucks

Mario Kart Wii First Impressions

jacob — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:28:50 +0000

So, I just got Mario Kart Wii in the mail a couple hours ago. I played it for one hour and eleven minutes. Here are my first impressions.
Nintendo seems so darn proud of their precious Wii Wheel so I thought I'd give it a try even after reading review after review that bashes it. Those reviews were right. I was hoping it'd be more like that Rad Racer wheel from way back when, but it's too light. It needs to be weighed down some how. I moved on to the Wii-Mote/Nunchuk which I knew was a sure thing.
I played a grand prix with a kart as Mario. I played another in a kart as Toad. I played another on a bike as Peach. I definitely prefer the bikes.
There are definitely some stages that I love and some that I hate. DK Summit is bad; half of the time I'm lost sloshing through a snowy area. I really like the recreations of past games especially the ones from Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64.
I was beginning to tire of the grand prix mode and I feared I had wasted 50 bucks. Then I started up Nintendo WFC and remembered why I spent the 50 bucks in the first place. I don't get out much and the most social contact I get is through Nintendo Wi-Fi, whether that's in Guitar Hero, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or Mario Kart Wii. I'll admit, for my first two races I pretty much humiliated myself, but after much work, I won the last race.

Very Thorough Look at Brawl's Controller Options

jacob — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:02:39 +0000

I've read many other articles on the internet discussing Super Smash Bros. Brawl's four controller options, and they mostly seem to tell you that the Gamecube Controller (Old Faithful) is the number one choice, and that the Wii-Mote's control pad is too small for the average human's left thumb. Usually that's about it, so I'd like to give you the overly indepth and thorough look at the controller options.

Wii-Mote Nunchuk Combo. Ahhh... my first Brawl controller love. Fairly easy to get used to. A quick tap on the control stick makes you move faster (something you can't do with the control pad). When playing as Pit (my best character) I find it easy to fly by up-tapping on the control stick and then gliding my up-tapping on the control pad.
The Wii-Mote. The problem with this one is the control pad. It probably is to small for your thumb, unless you're under the age of seven, especially when you're involved in a super crazy match to end all others. Several moves and attacks are better left to the control stick, namely Sheik's side special move where she breaks out her chain. It's pretty useless unless you use the control stick to whirl it around quickly. This move is near impossible with the control pad (and I play as Sheik quite a bit). Also, when an opponent has grabbed you, you can get away by quickly twirling the control stick, another impossibility on the Wii-Mote.
Another problem with the Wii-Mote is pass-through platforms. You have to tap the down arrow very quickly to pass through, and this can cause quite a few problems. Similarly running fast is very difficult without a control stick.
Classic Controller. This one was kind of hard to get used to at first. It's been about five years since I played the original Smash Bros., and this controller option is modeled slightly after the N64 controller. It took some remembering to think back to the 90s... The first time I played with this, I didn't realize that you couldn't use the control pad to move, so I was taunting uncontrollably. So, make sure you use the control stick.
Gamecube Controller. If you've played Melee, you know how this is. I don't care much for the Gamecube Controller. Never have. Never will.

Tetris Stage Builder

jacob — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:26:23 +0000

I've been meaning to upload some stage builders for quite a while. So here is one of several.

Note: It's actually two different snapshots so the background is pretty messed up, but I think it looks fine.