1926 - Indie Game

This was the must-see at Hot Docs last year and I, sadly, couldn't get a ticket.  It follows a group of indie game makers as they get closer to releasing their new products and what it means to them to be an indie gamer.  It's a love letter to creators of all artistic mediums, and it makes me want to play more games.  It's a really beautiful documentary, and a no brainer for those into nerd culture - and what's even better - it's now on Netflix.  Give it a whirl - there's even one story that follows a Canadian!

New Super Mario Bros Wii

 

I've been a Mario fan since I first got an 8-bit nintendo when I was... um... eight... six... damn... I can't remember.  Anyway, it's a fair estimate to say that I owned more Mario games than any other combined.  So I was excited to get this new side scroller.  And damn was it fun.  In terms of a single player, there's lots of great stuff, lots of challenges, and lots of replay value with rewards for those completionists out there who like to get all the goodies.  I think that the end bosses in each round could have been more challenging.  I found the courses to be more challenging and I got through most of the bosses on the first try.  When compared to how difficult some of the bosses in Super Mario Galaxy are, this was a walk in the park. 

I played the multiplayer version a bit with Emily and it was fun - although she gets easily frustrated by games.  At any rate this is the best two-player integration I've seen in this type of game (not like I'm an expert by any means).  

A damn fine game, damn fine fun.  The only thing that surprised me is that they don't take advantage of the WiFi on the Wii and have this hook up to other plays to play multi like that.  Alas.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Super Mario Galaxy

So I'm one of the last people on the Wii planet to play this game, I realize. I'm not a huge gamer but I'm a Mario-geek and I thought this was probably the best Mario game to date. It's challenging without being frustrating. As annoyed as I was with Paper Mario, I adored this - the game play was fluid and the thing just moved along with little to no pace-killers. It's a huge game, which makes you really feel like you're getting your money's worth - and even if you're good at it it takes a decent amount of time to play. Enough little things to really challenge you, but not in a way that makes it impossible. I've finished the game, but there are some extras to still unlock.
I don't play games a lot, except I often use them to cleanse my palette between drafts on something, or if I want to take a break from watching movies. I'll definitly pick up New Super Mario Bros and the sequel to this game at some point.... oh... hey.... now I know what I can ask for for Christmas...

Super Paper Mario

We bought this game YEARS ago when it first came out, and I played half of it right away... and then... I don't know why but I never finished it. Thankfully the Wii saves everything so I picked up where I left off. I don't play a lot of video games, I try to keep productive and there's a small part of me that says that they're a waste of time - but goddamnit, sometimes I deserve to waste my time!
I like Mario games. The gameplay in this is pretty simple, and yet it's not an easy game. It's a bit of a puzzle with a lot of pieces in play. As you go along you add more characters and powers to your palette and the trick is knowing how and where to utilize them. So there is a LOT of gameplay, which might delight some and annoy others who want the game to move quicker.
My biggest beef with the game is the story - I don't mind the story - I like it - it's just that there is a lot of it, and a lot of dialogue and it REALLY slows down the gameplay. Frustratingly so. ESPECIALLY when you're replaying a level and you know the story. I bet that once through the entire game you've spent at least two hours reading text, or furiously pushing the 2 button to blast past it. What I don't understand is why there isn't a feature to skip past it and head right into the next bit of gameplay. Something to consider, Nintendo if you do a follow-up to this game.
So this one is tough for me - I did like it - but I had a really hard time recommending it because of how annoying all the text is. I say that if you can put up with that you'll probably enjoy it. Now I'm looking forward to my next Mario game... Will it be Galaxy (the first one) or the New Super Mario Bros... any recommendations?

Bully (Wii)

I just finished playing this game last night. It's pretty sweet. To give you a quick summary it's Grand Theft Auto in a prep school, but the prep school is like the old-school Australia, back when it was a country that only criminals got shipped to. Who are you up against? EVERYONE! Which at first is a pain in the ass since you're trying to learn the game controls and avoid getting your ass-kicked at the same time.
It's smart too. For weapons you have a sling-shot, itching powder, stink bombs, etc.... There are classes that are mini-games, but also help you to upgrade skills, etc...
To regenerate your health you either drink soda or kiss girls. As the game progresses more girls become interested in you.
The story and world of the game are quite big, it's taken me over a month to complete the game, albeit I've only played it here and there - but I'd say that there's easily 40+ hours of game play in here. The characters are great and the dialogue is pretty well written for a video game. Some of the tasks are a bit repetitive but not so much that I wanted to stop playing. Wii isn't known for it's graphics, but they're fine here, and there's no lag except when changing some locations (you get used to it). My biggest complaint, but it's a nice realistic touch, is that it's time sensitive in that there is a real time in the world. If you stay up to 2am you automatically pass out from fatigue whether you're in a mission or not.
If you like first-person games I'd recommend it. There's a multi-player option but I haven't toyed with it yet.
Here's a link to the trailer for the game, since that's what originally got me interested. I think that there's actually a movie or TV shoe in here.