Nothing much to say

Nothing really has happened today.
Well something kinda of happened but has not happened yet. If that make sense.
I've been asked to review a phone at work before it is released and (guess what) write a blog about it. Oh the irony. I'm finding it hard enough to my own personal one.
I can't really talk about the phone. Not because I've been told not to but just because I want to see what it is like first before I say anything about it. I think most of you guys know how I am when it comes to reviewing things. Hard but fair. I might post something when the phone is available for sale.
On another topic I'm looking at my options to get Guitar Hero: World Tour. I think I'll trade in my Guitar Hero 3 (plus guitar) on the Wii for the 360 GH:WT. I learned my mistake from getting the Wii one when I went looking for the downloadable songs. What a screw up that was.
Nintendo need to put their game up. It still costs £180 over here. A 360 Premium Pack (the one with a 60gb hard drive) is only £200. With an extra £30 for the Elite edition. That means that if I was chosing a console on pure merit then the 360 would win hands down. Better graphics, better online play, and (it kills me to say this) better games (oh god it hurts).
Dam it Nintendo. You must of made enough money now. Make the Wii 2 already. A Wii with improved graphics, improved online, a hard drive, better motion control, better (hardcore) games. I think i finally understand how some mothers feel when their little child that they wanted to be a Lawyer says that they want to become a Dustbin Man.

For a day that I didn't think I would write a lot I actually have. I would say it was a bit of a Random Ramble but then I think ?J will sue over copy right.
Ice Koobs

Wow maybe Nintendo are Listening

Do you like what I did there?
You get it huh huh. Well do ya?
Actually I'll be surpised if you do. The reason behind this is post is because of the release of a new Wii Channel called "Wii Speak". Well it's going to be released on the 5th of December in the UK to coincide with the release of Animal Crossing on the Wii. But in typical Nintendo fashion they gone and made it that you only communicate with people if you have their Friend Code.


Nintendo have always been wary of on-line communications. It makes sense, has anyone played a game of Call of Duty online? The amount of trash talk on that is ridiculous. And being all family friendly, Nintendo doesn't want any of that. So one feature that they have added is that everyone in the room is picked up on the microphone and everyone can also hear what is going on. Now all that Nintendo need to do is release a patch for Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart and I will definitely buy this.
Ice Koobs

I want a pair of these.

I've got a terrible thing for Converses. I love them too much. I think I've got five different pairs and I still want more. It slightly worrying because it's getting to the stage of being as bad as a woman with shoes and handbags.
I've put a stop on it for the time being but while surfing the net I found these.

*Drools*

Sorry. Got carried away again. I wish they did these in the shops. I would even consider paying £50 for them instead of the normal £35 that most Converses costs. Nintendo would make a mint off them. They should be making stuff like this instead of crap like this. Be warned it ain't pretty.
Ice Koobs

And I was going to buy a new DS

I'm not sure if I a little slow on this info (I always seem to be behind with the times). But I've found out that Nintendo is going to release a new version of the extremely successful DS with what is being called the DSi.
The first thing that needs to brought to your attention is the size differences.
Heres a pic:


Now the screens are bigger and it's skinnier too. Thats good. But it means the DSi is Wider and Taller then the original Lite.

Other features include:

• A build in camera, both on the spine (where the microphone is located on the Lite) and on the lid. It's not been confirmed, but it is believed that the cameras will be 3 mega pixels.
  
• A wireless web browser. (Hopefully not as crappy as the DS Web browser that was released last year).
• An audio player (I have a feeling this is because the iPod Touch is stepping into the games sector).
• A pedometer (We've had WiiFit now it's time for DSiFit).
• A SD memory card reader (The DSi will have downloadable software. So you will need to store it somewhere).

They have however dropped the Game Boy Advance slot. Which is slightly disappointing. I still play a load of my GBA games so this might mean I have to buy both a DSi and DS Lite. I was planing on replacing my DS Lite (and yeah I'm still sour at those ass muches that stole my last one) and the DSi isn't due for release in America for late 2009. The only thing is that I've been reading that Europe might be getting it for Spring. Maybe, just maybe, Nintendo are making up for all the neglect they've given us European Gamers? I hope so.
Ice Koobs

Wii LAN adapter

This thing has made me fall in love with the Wii online capability. It wasn't my connection in the long run. It was my Wii's Wi-Fi ability. God knows why it screwed up.
Anyway, I just got this little plastic block of happiness today and wow what a difference it makes.
I went onto the Wii Shopping Chanel and got on right away. No waiting, no nothing (not even Wii points to spend).
But after that the big test came. A game. But what game should I try? I wonder.
I believe that this is going to be the last chance Super Smash Bros Brawl has to make a good impression.



So what do I think of the online now. Well, its kinda embarrassing to say this after knocking it so much but I'm giving it a 3/5 now. It would of scored higher if it weren't for the blasted Friend Codes and the fact that there is no voice chat. I also don't like the fact that because of the anonymity of it all that it almost feel like your playing the computer on hard mode. But there is no lag. That is the most important thing. At least at the moment.

So with that new score in place how does it look for Brawl overall?
Well it looks like this:

Gameplay	4/5	Simple and easy to learn. But can get repetitive in signal player. And clones don’t do it for me.
Multi-player	4/5	You won’t be able to get a better multi-player game. Would be 5/5 if it weren’t for the…
On-line	3/5	...those damn Friend Codes ruin the fun.
Graphics & Sound	4/5	Beautifully renderer and clear as a summer’s morning (well as a summer morning somewhere other then England). It’s a shame the music wasn’t orchestrated.
Overall	75%	Just so you understand 0% is “Crap”, 50% is “Average” and 100% is “Wow”. Only a dew games deserve a “Wow” and this game is definitely not one of them.

So there you have it. Are you happy now? =0)
Koobs

Oh my goody goody gosh!

Oh my words.
I'm a massive fan of Chrono Trigger. It was a great game on the SNES that like many of the great games on the SNES was not released in the U.K.
One thing I hate more then delays is games not being released at all.
Games such as Earthbound and Chrono Trigger are prefect examples. They are good games. They where recived well in the US. Why the hell weren't they released over here?
If you wondering how I played them then I'm not ashamed to say it. I got them as roms.
I think a bit more explanation is needed about Roms. So when something needs more explanation what needs to be done?

That's right. It's time for Ice 101.
Lesson #003 Roms and Emulation

Very basically it is the a way to play Video Games on a P.C or certain Games Consoles (360 comes to mind). The main consoles that have become emulated are the NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance and Playstation.
Now to be able to do anything you need to have an Emulator. This is a program that acts as the console. Next you need the Roms. These act as the actual games. Now when the two are separate they are are rubbish, you can't do anything at all. But together they could give you hours of fun.
There is a but however. Roms aren't exactly legal. Yeah that's right I'm a criminal. Well I was. I haven't played a Rom in years. And when I did it was only to play games like Chrono Trigger.
But yeah that's that.


By the way you might be wondering what bought this on. This bought it on. To the untrained eye it means nothing. But to me. The clock is the clock from the start of Chrono Trigger. The sound is the from the start of Chrono Trigger. Its from Square Enix, which use to be Square, who released Chrono Trigger.
By my calculation what ever it is counting down to, will be done in around 432000 seconds. Thats 7200 minutes. Thats 120 hours. Thats 5 days.
Oh man, oh man, oh man. I can't wait till this is over. I think I know what it is for. I believe that it's for the re-release of Chrono Trigger on the Nintendo DS. I prey to god that that is the case.
I think I've rambled on for long enough. I just can't wait. Oh come five days hurry up and go by already.

The impatient Ice Koobs

What games get away with

Why do I always find the bad things?
First Head in the shop now this.When I first read this I did a double take. And yes, it does say "When you were IN a child". And from the shocked face of the Judge, you would be forgiven for thinking he did do some nasty things.
This game BTW is Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations for the Nintendo DS. Part three of a series you play as Phoenix Wright Attorney of law. Kind of a give away from the title. Now the gameplay is based on a classic point and click adventures that you use to get on the P.C. Don't worry if you never heard of played a Point Click adventure because guess what?

Ice 101
Lesson #002: Point and Click Adventures
That's right it's another Ice 101, this time about the Point and Click Adventures.
This a game genre where you travel around the game and click on certain objects. Now some of these object would be added to your to your inventory. This could then be use to solve a puzzle later in the game.
Here an example from a classic Point and Click game "Discworld 2 Missing Presumed...!?".
This is just to get some wax for some dribbly candles. I'll explain in detail after.

"Go over to the beehives and use the chili on the flowers. Give the clickie brochure to the
beekeeper and the use the petticoat on Rincewind. Light the incense with the matches and use it
on the bees. Now that the hive is smoking, use the clay pot on it and then double-click on the hive
to get some dribbly beeswax." 

Does this make no sense. Don't worry, Diskworld always had a strange logic. To get dribbly candles you need to have dribbly wax. To get dribbly wax you need to make the bees sweat. And thats why you throw chili onto the flowers. Because it makes the bees sweat. This is the logic does not apply to all Point and Click Adventures. Its ummm "Unique". But as you can see there is a lot of collecting and puzzle solving which is great for the logically minded.
Here's some point and click games that I would recommend: Diskworld 2 (I've never played the first one)

Day of the Tentacle (Yep you've got to protect the world from tentacles)

Broken Sword (This is just one of the a big series, but I think this is the best one)

And last but not least Escape from Monkey Island (This is again part of another massive series. And again I would say this the best one)

Anyway back to Phoenix Wright. Trials and Tribulations was never released in the U.k I don't seem able to find a reason anywhere. Then I thought hell might as well get an import and now I found the reason. Because of the pedo they have for a judge.
Only kidding I know it was a typo. But then again in this day and age I wouldn't be surprised if someone did complain about this. Maybe it was because of this one mistake that it wasn't released in good old England. I doubt it, but it could be why.
Ice Koobs

Gaming Goodness from all 3 fronts. First up the wii

Over the years I've gained a load of knowledge from video games. Like I mean a LOAD, we are talking around 15 years here, maybe even more. I do have to say that up till now, the gaming scene wasn't cheap. It still isn't.

But that where Nintendo have it sorted.

Before, if you wanted to play a shooting game you have to buy a light gun. It's impossible to play with the controlled because by the time you aim at something, it's moved and you have to start the whole process of aiming again. Of course if you had a P.c then you didn't have this problem, but then you had to make sure that your p.c was up to the job of handling the game.

If you waned to play a racing game and get the true racing experience, then you needed to buy a steering wheel. Well you could just use the controller but how could you show off to your mates that 180˚ hand break turn you've master. It doesn't have the same effect with a controller as it does with a wheel.

Now that is all a thing of the past with the wii-mote A.K.A the wii controller. It can do virtually anything. Aim it at the screen and its a gun, turn on its side and you can use it as a wheel. In a game coming out later this month you can even put it in your pockets and jog on the spot. Why is that cool you ask, because the console will tell you how far you have jogged. It like the swiss army knife of the gaming world.

Now throw in the point that the Wii is the cheapest console on the market you cold say that it is the best console. Right? Well kinda.

Don't get me wrong I would not sell my Wii for the world but, the graphics are somewhat lacking. Also add in the point about online game play. While being there it is missing a certain zing. I can't put my finger on this "zing" but as soon as I work it out I will defiantly post it.

In this day and age, with H.D tellies and Blue-ray disks, people expect to have realistic and almost lifelike graphics. This is something that the wii can't do. Not that it doesn't try. But as a gamer I can see why Nintendo did this. It's simple really. They needed to place their selfs back at the top. Now how are you going to this by not having at least similar graphics to the competition.

Instead of me trying to explain in technical terms think of it like this.

You go into a shop. There before you is two bars of chocolate, they are virtually the same. Both in wrapping, taste and price, but are made by different companies. Which do you chose? No don't send me e-mails. I know it will be split right down the middle. But now let say there is a slight difference.

This time one has a great wrapper, cost a bit but after eating a little bit of it you find that its either too chewy or too sickly. The other bar doesn't have the fancy wrapping, is cheaper and you love the taste. Now which one do you chose.

The majority of readers will go for the second one.

Now lets put things into context. The wrapping is the graphics of a console, the price is well the price and the taste and texture is the gameplay.

By doing what Nintendo have done they now have all the time in the world to iron out all the bugs of online gaming. Plus they can now work and test out different ways of improving graphics while not breaking and raping our banks and wallets.


Hope you enjoyed this post.

If you want me to do more or have any comments then just drop me a message or e-mail.