Last Tuesday, for my birthday, I whipped out my NES and played a beloved game from my childhood, Crystalis. At first I was pretty scared to pop it in, because what if I didn’t feel the same way about it anymore? What if the gameplay or story was too simplistic for my current gaming tastes? What if I don’t enjoy it, and those memories are ruined?

As a little girl, I slept in the same bed as my Grandmother, and would sneak out of it every midnight to go into the extra bedroom that housed my NES. Then, until I had to start getting ready for elementary school, I’d play Crystalis on very low volume so I wouldn’t wake anybody up. I did that for weeks until I eventually beat it. When I played Crystalis last week, it was as if those 20+ years inbetween never happened. I remembered where everything was, I remembered the names of characters and cities, and I even remembered what to do. The only thing that I found different was how short the game felt, but I’m a lot older now, my gaming skills have gotten better over time, and since I knew where everything was, I was able to move through the game faster than when I was a child. Some games are timeless like Contra, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Toe Jam & Earl, Super Mario series, and many more, but what about the titles that fail to stand the test of time?

Sure, gaming graphics have changed, but we all know that no matter how visually gorgeous something is, everything else about it can be complete shit. The same goes for the opposite too. Take Final Fantasy VII for example: its graphics at the time were below what the PlayStation console was able to handle, but to this day it’s constantly lauded as the best in the entire franchise. While I strongly disagree with that opinion, it’s a solid case of how, regardless of graphics, gamers can still find a game completely enjoyable well into the future. Gameplay and controls have changed too, but so have the controllers. Is this really a plus? With the original NES controller, you had a d-pad, start/select buttons, and the A/B buttons to perform actions. Nowadays, gamers have to factor in a d-pad, two analog joysticks, left and right triggers, left and right bumper buttons, start/select buttons, four action buttons, and sometimes there is even a home button. Compare the controls for Super Mario on NES, or even SNES, to what is required for Super Mario Galaxy, and it’s insane. Sometimes keeping it simple really pays off.

The music has changed drastically. In our youthful days, MIDI tracks were all the rage, but now we are given some really amazing soundtracks, and also the option of listening to our own music when gaming (Sidenote: Back in the day, I would sometimes pop in a cassette or listen to the radio when playing a game, so it’s nice to see how that has evolved. A prominent memory I have is playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at a neighbors house and hearing Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine for the very first time). Gamers who owned a Sega Genesis should remember the funky soundtrack from Toe Jam & Earl, and NES owners can probably sing every single Super Mario track ever made. Right now I have the theme song to Legend of Zelda in my head, and that will forever be a classic tune.

What hasn’t changed much are the stories. We are still playing adventure games, still playing shooters, and still escaping into elaborate worlds where we are constantly saving the day. Granted, some stories are better than others, but it’s pretty much the same. As children we assumed the roles of Mario, and were tasked with rescuing the Princess from the evil Bowser. For some reason, and 20+ years later, Princess Peach keeps neglecting to hire herself a bodyguard, and Bowser still hasn’t learned his lesson. We have seen some big twists like how Samus Aran was really a female, Aeris getting killed by Sephiroth, and finding out that in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic you were actually Revan. Obviously there are so many more moments that could be listed, but those are the main ones that popped into my head right now.

With Crystalis, I really lucked out because it’s a game that I will always love, and will always find enjoyable. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for all games. So readers, I ask you this: are your fond gaming memories only because of your childhood nostalgia, or were we just given some really amazing games back then?

Check out some classic NES and Genesis games for old times sake. How many do you remember?:

- Me

For the past 48 hours, I’ve been binging on Chocolatier: Sweet Society by PlayFirst for Facebook. I’m already hooked, and I know that no good can come of this.

I know, it was only a couple of weeks ago where I ranted about people playing games on Facebook, but I stayed true to my word and I haven’t been flooding my friends with status updates. Had I chosen to do that, my friends would be well aware of how, in just a short amount of time, I’ve boosted myself up to a level 13, and I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty awesome at this. I generally try to avoid these kind of games for one main reason: I have an addictive personality. Whenever I begin something like this, I always have to be number one, and I have to unlock everything. Nine times out of ten, I won’t stop until I do so.

Many of you are probably already familiar with PlayFirst. They are the ones behind the popular Diner Dash series, Dream Chronicles series, and other personal favorites of mine like Wedding Dash and Sally’s Spa. Every single PlayFirst game I’ve had the pleasure of getting my hands on, I instantly loved and couldn’t put it down. If you were to thumb through my iPhone apps, you would find multiple PlayFirst titles because that’s how good they are. I will admit, I did have some reservations about Chocolatier: Sweet Society, but it was only due to the fact that it was on Facebook, and not another platform.

In Chocolatier, your main goal is to keep the chocolate flowing so your experience and prestige increase. When you hit certain levels, more recipes are unlocked, and more items are available for your Shoppe like display tables, wallpapers, flooring, and decorations. To celebrate the upcoming Fourth of July holiday, PlayFirst has rolled out some fantastic patriotic decor ranging from flooring to the table swag. I’m pretty confident that for future holidays and events, they will release other appropriately themed items.

When I began Chocolatier, I was immediately thrown in to a tutorial that led me through the chocolate making process, step by step. I found it to be quite handy because, to be honest, most games these days just assume the player will start knowing how to do it all. After creating my very first batch of ‘basic chocolate bars’, I began to focus on my Shoppe. Set in San Francisco, circa 1882, you really get that old-world feel, especially through your decor choices. Even your Shoppe patrons are dressed in the fashions of that time period, and I appreciated the attention to detail.

Graphically, the game is done very well. The colors are rich and vibrant, the lines are crisp and smooth, and everything is so aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Out of all the Facebook games I’ve played, Chocolatier: Sweet Society is easily in my top 3 in terms of appearance, and to be honest, it’s something I’d expect from a Nintendo DS title, not a free online game. Now, where Chocolatier really soars is in the music. When you are in your Factory, there is a specific, incredibly pleasant tune, and when you switch over to your Shoppe, you are greeted with a different one. Normally I mute games like this, because I find the songs too repetitive, and borderline annoying. Not with Chocolatier. As I’m writing this, I’m playing the game, and I can hear the steam pumping out of my five machines. It’s rather soothing.

The gameplay is what you’d expect from a game like this: basic, point and click, but it doesn’t get boring or monotonous. I enjoyed the simplicity because this is a game where complicated  controls or sequences would ruin it. When creating a batch of chocolate, it’s fairly simple. Just click on your machine, and select which chocolate variation you wish to create. Then you go and click on your machine three more times, to properly mix ingredients and melt it all down. Finally, the most important step: waiting. Your initial recipe only calls for a 5 minute wait time, but there are chocolates I’ve created where it takes 8 hours to complete. Last night I set some to be ready in 12 hours, ensuring that in the morning I’d have product to place in my Shoppe.

The key to games like these is to plan. Plan ahead if you want to be successful. Know that you have somewhere to go? Create a chocolate that will take a couple of hours to complete. Playing before bedtime? Set a chocolate that will be done in either 8 or 12 hours. It really is that simple. When I play a game that requires real-time, I make the labor intensive items during the night, and then obsessive-compulsively binge on the other items during the day. I can’t even begin to tell you how many chocolate bars with peanuts, milk chocolate, chocolate bars with honey, and chocolate bars with lemon I made yesterday.

Chocolatier really stands out from other Facebook games due to the fact that your Shoppe and Factory are in two separate locations. There was a game I played a few months ago where you run your own cafe, but the kitchen and dining area was in the same cramped space. Needless to say I quickly gave up on that because it was too congested. Having my machines separate from my display tables is so helpful because I can focus on both independently. Another stand out feature is this enjoyable mini-game called “Factory Optimizer”. With “Factory Optimizer” you are able to boost your machines, resulting in chocolates being made faster. All you have to do is shoot ingredients onto the production machine, matching it to the recipe shown in the upper right corner. The higher your score, the better your machines will perform. Sadly, you can only play “Factory Optimizer” once a day, but it’s one of those things where something so small can make a huge difference in terms of enjoyability.

To wrap things up, I love Chocolatier: Sweet Society, and if I had to rate it on a scale from 1 to 10, I’d give it a 8.5. I can’t give it a perfect score for a few reasons: you currently can’t sell back any items (tables, flooring, etc) you are no longer using so they just sit in your inventory, I haven’t been able to find a setting permanently disabling the occasional pop-up asking if I want to share my achievements with my friends, I wish they had a feature where for every batch of a particular chocolate it would count towards mastering it and awarding you extra experience, and finally because it’s so addictive. When going to bed the other night, I was worried that I would run out of chocolates and my prestige level would drastically drop, and yesterday when our laptop crashed, making it unavailable for hours, I again became worried about my chocolates.

So there you have it. PlayFirst has, again, created something so ridiculously entrancing that I might as well sign my entire life over to them. Why? Because in the middle of managing my Shoppe and typing up this review, I installed the Chocolatier app on my iPhone. You’ll have to excuse me now because I have to go eat some chocolate, and spend the rest of my Friday building up my cocoa empire.

- Me

* Chocolatier is available for Facebook, PC/Mac, Nintendo DS, Windows Mobile, and iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad

So I was browsing around this gaming press site I am a member of, looking for press releases and what not, and all of a sudden I saw this little blurb about a Resident Evil trailer for Nintendo 3DS. Oh reallllllly…..

Resident Evil has always been a favorite for me, but they lost me with RE:5. I just wasn’t feeling it, but I think Revelations might be something pretty awesome. The trailer is a little short, shows off no gameplay, and I’m unclear if the scenes shown are in-game. Some gripes on other websites are the changes done to Jill Valentine’s look, but fans are digging Chris Redfield.

Here is where I get a little thrown off: There is a guy sitting in a chair, but I can’t tell who he is. Jill asks Chris if he has something, but Chris says that she will have to kill him in order to find out. Could that possibly be a strain of the virus, and by killing him he turns into a zombie? Finally, the last line of dialogue is of the guy in the chair saying how it doesn’t matter because they are already….and that’s it. If I had to put money on it, I’d bet that the word needed to finish that sentence would be ‘dead’. I could be totally wrong though.

Either way, check out the trailer below. It’s truly gorgeous, and this is a title I’ll be looking forward to.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY2jY5ErhBI

- Me

The Nintendo E3 Press Conference may be over, but that doesn’t mean the excitement has waned. From the get go, Nintendo blew us away. Reggie Fils-Amie came out to debut a new Zelda game, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and it got fans really excited.

We were originally led to believe that a man named Bill would be the one doing the live demo, since Shigeru Miyamoto, a mad genius, seemed like he was being video conferenced in. Turns out Miyamoto-san would be the one playing Skyward Sword, and also discussing how it works. Bill remained there, as translator, and the fun began.

The live demo consisted of us getting a tutorial on the controls, the new items, and how we can interact with the environment. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be a must-have game for the Wii console. Unfortunately it isn’t slated to launch until 2011, but more details will be leaked out in the months to come.

Following the excitement over Zelda, Reggie came back onto the stage to announce a new Wii Sports title: Mario Sports Mix. Like Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Mario Sports Mix won’t hit store shelves until 2011, but we saw Mario and friends competing in different arenas this time around. From what I was able to see, I caught volleyball, hockey, field hockey, basketball, and maybe water polo. Everything seemed to go by so quickly, it was difficult to catch it all. Obviously other sports titles like Madden and MLB are coming to the Wii, but a nice surprise was the classic NBA Jam. For E3 attendees, a live demo will be available on the floor.

For those out there who thought the Wii was losing it’s steam, Reggie presented us with some impressive stats. Last December, the Wii set record sales. He also informed us on how “more games have been sold for the Wii in the 43 months since launch in any other platform ever, in the same launch period.” Wii owners were also found to play their console more than other owners, and as for other game sales, Mario Kart on the Wii has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide. The New Super Mario Bros. game has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Those are some incredible numbers.

Fans of Mario Party will be interested in the new Wii Party game. In Wii Party, fans can have fun with their Mii’s, participating in multiplayer, and having the ability to choose from 13 different party modes. Board Game Island, which features over 70 different mini games, and Balance Boat were a couple modes presented to us. House Party mode is one the entire family can play together. Wii Party will be available for this holiday season.

On the subject of dancing games, Reggie announced the sequel to the popular Wii dance game, Just Dance by Ubisoft. In Just Dance 2, players will have 40 tracks to jam to. They can also engaged in dancing duets, get their cardio in with the Just Sweat mode, and have dance crew face offs with up to 8 players. Just Dance 2 is slated to launch Fall 2010.

RPG fans rejoiced when details and a trailer for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn were given. I’m a fan of the Golden Sun series, and played the GBA one for countless hours. From what I saw, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn on the DS will be incredible. My only wish is that they made a Golden Sun for the Wii, but who knows. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn will be out in time for the holiday season.

Now, what happened after the Golden Sun section was so incredible. In a trailer, they showed a panel of young gamers, and a man who was asking them about GoldenEye 007. You know, the awesomely popular N64 game? Well, good news my friends – in November of this year, we will be gifted a brand new GoldenEye 007 exclusive for the Nintendo Wii. It will feature split-screen gameplay, multiplayer (yes!), 8 classic characters like Oddjob and Jaws, and 16 special game modes like paintball and melee only. Unfortunately Rare won’t be the ones giving us this gem, but I think we can trust Activision to deliver.

On a nostalgia high, Warren Spector and Adam Creighton graced the stage to give us another Wii exclusive, Disney Epic Mickey. The game, which honors the past 80 years of Disney creativity, was given no release date, but a live demo was nice. In Venture Land you can talk with other characters and purchase items. You can also get quests there and visit memorable places like the Tiki Room and Swiss Family Robinson areas from Disney Land. The Waste Land is full of forgotten things, but they just talked to us about that.

In Disney Epic Mikey, the two ‘weapons’ you have are paint and thinner. With the thinner you can erase people, buildings, objects… just about anything. With the paint you can bring it all back or create new things in the world. How you use the two affects everything in the Epic Mickey world. It will affect how characters interact with you, what they talk to you about, how their stories will end, and more. In the game you can expect adventure, platform, and RPG elements throughout, and we even saw a place known as Travel Zone. In Travel Zone, we saw a black and white level, with Mickey in color, and everything was based off of the popular cartoon Steamboat Willie. In Travel Zone, other popular cartoons will be levels as well, so you get something new each time. Disney Epic Mickey was very impressive, on every level, and I feel confident in saying that children and adults will find the game irresistible.

Following Mickey, another familiar face was shown – Kirby. Can you believe it’s been 7 years since Kirby has had it’s own console game? Neither can I! In Kirby’s Epic Yarn (I know, something about Epic Mickey and Epic Yarn back to back in the presentation seemed odd to me as well) you really get to interact with the enviroment. The trailer, to me, felt like this awesome, new Paper Mario game but with Kirby as the main character. The art style was fresh, the gameplay looked really fun, and you won’t have to wait long to play it. Kirby’s Epic Yarn will be out this Fall.

Another thing that got RPG fans excited was the announcement that Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies would be released in North America, finally. For a long time it was only available in Japan, received great reviews, and from what we were told today, it sounds rather impressive. Players will get to go on 120 mini-quests, participate in several Wi-Fi exclusive mini-quests, slay over 300 monsters, obtain 900 items to customize your character, have fun with an infinite number of randomly generated treasure maps, and be able to link up to 3 additional friends so you can quest together. By putting your DS in ‘tag-mode’ the game will automatically seek out people to play with, and add new maps for your character all while you are away from your DS. In 26 days, July 11th, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies drops so start saving your hard earned cash now.

Metroid: Other M was shown, and that will be released on August 31st. Metroid: Other M looks very nice. You will get some classic Metroid game play mixed in with Metroid Prime-esque moments. Being able to switch from FPS to third person is a nice combination, and I’m sure fans of the franchise will dig the new features. Samus will still be able to roll up into a ball and do everything we’ve become familiar with. I’m a huge Metroid Prime fan so I’m glad they kept those elements in.

Bringing the nostalgia back, we were shown Donkey Kong Country Returns, for the Wii. Developed by Retro Studios, Donkey Kong Country Returns brings us back to the 2D days of when DK and Diddy Kong were side-scrolling, platforming maniacs. Donkey Kong Country Returns will be out for this holiday season, and I need to get a copy. No joke. It looks that epic.

After all that DK goodness, we were shown the new Nintendo 3DS. I have to admit, it looks rather impressive and boasts some nice features. Satoru Iwata, Global President of Nintendo, gave us the rundown on the newest addition to the handheld family. I won’t go into too many details because we have an actual post going fully into the 3DS, but just know that there will be an analog stick, in addition to the D-Pad, you won’t need to wear glasses for the 3D to work, and you will be capable of watching 3D movies on the Nintendo 3DS.

Some of you might remember the name Project Sora. It was announced back in like January of 2009. Kingdom Hearts fans might have thought it was a new game in the works, but holy Hell, what they showed today was so much more. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I got teary eyed. Kid. Fucking. Icarus. Yeah I said it. KID ICARUS! As a child I loved the Kid Icarus game, so when I saw him, I couldn’t help but get amazing flashbacks. A Nintendo 3DS exclusive, Kid Icarus: Uprising looks absolutely gorgeous. I’m so excited about this game, I can’t even compose a proper sentence. All I know is that I want it, and I hope I get it. It’s Kid Icarus!

Nintendo has partnered up with E3 to create an E3 network for those who were unable to attend. If you check out their page, you can gather information on the event, get behind the scene looks, screenshots, trailers, and more.

- Me

Just a few hours ago, Nintendo unveiled the next addition to it’s handheld family, the 3DS. Global President for Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, presented the handheld, and gave us some really great information. The premiere of the device was a big deal. A lit up column rose from the ground, and atop of it was the 3DS.

Unlike other 3D technology out there, the 3DS doesn’t require you to wear any glasses. I think that’s great because I already have to wear glasses. I don’t need another pair on top of my everyday ones. No glasses ensure there is “nothing between you and the experience”. The 3DS boasts a 3.5 light screen display on top, and only the bottom screen is touch. Why? They found that touch screens mixed with 3D didn’t go over too well, and I can’t blame them for wanting to give us the best product possible. In fact, I’m glad they were looking out for us.

It’s been 6 years since the Nintendo DS first launched. Since then they’ve made improvements to the graphic capability and the 3DS will display those advancements. There is a 3D depth slider, where the player can control the depth perception, a new slide pad for analog play, motion sensors, and gyro-sensors. The 3DS will still come with a camera, and all pictures taken can be viewed in 3D. How cool is that?

One huge upgrade is that the 3DS can play 3D movies. No specific details will be discussed at E3 this week, but as the handheld launch gets closer, I’m sure we will know more. At the Nintendo booth, 3DS are on display and viewers can choose from How to Train Your Dragon by Dreamworks, Tangled by Disney, or Legend of the Guardians by WB to watch. The 3DS will still be able to access the internet via Wi-Fi, and even if you aren’t near Wi-Fi, new stages, quests, ghost data, and rankings will be automatically downloaded. Another awesome feature is if you are away from your DS, your 3DS can still communicate with other 3DS and gather new data, items, etc. No authorization required.

Loads of developers are on board with the 3DS, and they even announced who and what titles we can expect. Here is a quick rundown:

• Nintendogs featuring cats
• Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Capcom – Resident Evil. New, original and where players can explore all sorts of secrets, and who knows what can be hiding behind objects at the end of hallways, or even furniture?
• Ubisoft – Assassins Creed
• Square Enix – Kingdom Hearts
• Konami – Metal Gear
• Activision – DJ Hero
• Namco – Ridge Racer
• Level-5 – Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle

At the very end of the presentation, there was a short trailer for the 3DS, featuring Satoru Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Reggie Fils-Amie. I don’t know if it’s an indicator of what’s to come, but check it out and tell me in the comments below what you think. If it is, then some pretty amazing things are heading our way.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83GoGHBkdyg

- Me

At the beginning of Nintendo’s E3 Press Conference, we were treated to a surprise – Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Exclusive for the Wii, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword promises to be something so incredible, something so amazing, and by the looks of it, I want it… today. On hand to provide a live demonstration was Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Miyamoto-san, a genius in my opinion, gave us an awesome tutorial on how to play the newest installment to the Zelda franchise.

Using the Wii-mote Motion Plus, and having the nunchuck connected, players will fully assume the role of Link. The Wii-mote will act as the sword, and your nunchuck will be your shield. Miyamoto-san advised us to really get into it and pretend as if you were holding a physical sword and shield combo. By pressing Z on the nunchuck, you can target your enemies or objects, and the A button has two different functions. In combat, A will make Link jump. When you aren’t swinging your sword, the A button will allow Link to run. If you aim the sword to the sky, it will charge up with the power of the Heavens, hence the title Skyward Sword. From there you can use that energy to let loose some sword beams.

By moving both of your hands in the same direction, Link will swing the sword around in a quick circle. Shaking your left hand quickly will make your shield pop up. Another cool thing we saw was  how you can knock back rocks, or other projectiles by performing the shield bash move. The object can then be used to attack enemies.

Being able to interact with your environment is something more games should offer, and Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword doesn’t disappoint. You are able to cut grass, cut down trees, and more. Link, this time around, has a few more items at his disposal. To access your items, just turn the Wii-mote down, like you’re reaching into your pocket, and the menu will pop up on your screen. From there, you can select what you want to equip. Obviously his sword and shield have returned, along with the bow and arrow and slingshot, but Link now has a whip and a beetle. I found the beetle to be awesome. You just aim where you want it to go, and by using the Wii-mote, you can control where it flies. Your beetle can look around the world and even pick up items. With the whip, how you move determines the movement of it. We saw how you can whip enemies, items, and even use it to bring items to you. Swapping out between whip and sword was easy too.

Another thing I liked in the presentation were the bombs. Again, you select the item out of your menu, and you can do a couple of things with the bombs. You can raise the Wii-mote and throw them, you can place them on the ground in front of you, or you can drop your hand and roll it like a bowling ball. When demoing the bomb section, Miyamoto-san accidentally blew Link up. It was pretty comical. There were a few issues during the demo, like when too many people were using wireless devices, throwing off the Wii-mote connection to the Wii, but like true professionals, they kept on going.

Overall, the presentation was fantastic. It was so nice watching Miyamoto-san up there on stage having a blast, because that’s what gaming is all about. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, unfortunately, isn’t even close to being completed, so all we know for now is that it will be out sometime in 2011.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alsWeDp_z0k

- Me

And ANOTHER fantastic Giveaway.

This will have the same rules as our Harry Potter Giveaway, but obviously the prizes will be different.

How do you enter to win? POST A COMMENT!

For the next 24 hours (8 PM PST 7/25/09 – 8:00 PM 7/26/09) when you comment on this blog, it counts as an entry. Please do not spam the hell out of this post, but do feel free to discuss the DS, it’s other games, and even all of the Zelda games.

Want more entires? DONATE!

We are trying to help raise money for our charity, Reading is Fundamental, so when you donate to our charity that counts as an entry.

Again, the same twist is included like with HP – if you donate $1.00 to our cause, it will count as 10. $2.00 will get you 20 entries, $3.00 will get you 30.. etc.

Ok… now to the prize. This time, there is only one prize to be won so give it your all. You are free to enter in this giveaway along with the HP one so don’t worry, however you can only win one of them… not both.

The winner gets a Nintendo DS Duo Case Pack w/ special Stylus.

They work with both regular DS and DS Lite, so don’t worry

The contest is only available to people who live in the CONTINENTAL United States. Sorry Hawaii and Alaska, it costs too much to ship there. Sorry to all of the other countries too.

The winner will be announced Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM PST so please check back then to see if you won. The winner will need to contact us within 48 hours via email (that is provided on our site) with appropriate mailing information.

Good luck, spread the word, have fun posting, and thank you in advance for helping out our charity!

- She Who Has The Last Word

Viewing Review -

Before I go into my review for Grand Slam Tennis, I want to let you guys and gals know that I am not too keen on sports games. I have never been athletically inclined, and I’ve found most sports to be boring.

Tennis is a sport that I would never play in real life. I’m just too lazy to run back and forth on the court just to hit a ball, so that brings me to video game tennis. I’ve played it in the past on various systems (Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast, Smash Court on Playstation 2, Top Spin on Xbox, and Wii Sports Tennis on Nintendo Wii), but my most recent video game tennis experience was far better than I could’ve imagined.

Image Courtesy of Electronic Arts (EA)

Grand Slam Tennis by Electronic Arts (EA) for the Wii is a fantastic game. Right from the beginning you can tell that it’s a clean game. I liked how you had the option of playing singles, doubles (together or versus), Career Mode, and online. From what I’ve read, Grand Slam Tennis has been praised for having a highly addictive online play. Great thing is that you don’t need to have friend codes in order to play with people. All you  have to do is sign up for a free EA account to have access to the full online experience.

While playing online you can particpate in ranked or unranked matches. Having that choice is nice because sometimes all a person wants to do is pick up the controller and play a few games for fun without having to worry about being so competitive. It can take the enjoyment out of a game. Online also matches you up with people playing the game from all over the world and I think that’s great. Having such a wide community to play with adds variety and versatility to the game.

Image Courtesy of IGN

If you choose to play ranked, you earn points when you beat somebody. Those points then determine what your overall ranking in the world is. A nice feature is that when playing ranked, not only do you earn your own personal points, but you earn points for your country. There is even a National Leaderboard where you can see which country has the top players.  Unranked matches do not earn you any points, but like I said before those games will be friendly and very low-key. Unranked can be good for people to prepare for the leaderboards without all of the pressure and stress.

Grand Slam Tennis features 23 different players to choose from. 12 of the characters are some of  the current top players, while the remaining 11 are retired legends. The 12 current players are Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Lleyton Hewitt. The 11 retired legends are Chris Evert, Justine Henin, Martina Navratilova, Michael Stich, Lindsay Davenport, Pat Cash, John McEnroe, Björn Borg, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg, and Boris Becker. There is even a “Create-A-Player” mode that will be familiar to people who have played the Tiger Woods golf series by EA.

Image Courtesy of Electronic Arts (EA)

One of the things I noticed while watching the game were the stadiums in which you played in. They were very realistic, vibrant with colors, and you had 12 different ones. Grand Slam Tennis is the first game since Top Spin 2 on the Xbox 360 to feature a licensed Wimbledon. Here are all of the venues:

• Australian Open: Hisense Arena, Rod Laver Arena, and Court 15.
• French Open: Court Suzanne Lenglen, Court Philippe Chatrier, and Court No. 12.
• Wimbledon: Centre Court, Court No. 1, and Court No. 3.
• U.S. Open: Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, and Court 9.

Image Courtesy of Electronic Arts (EA)

When I was watching Grand Slam Tennis, I saw both singles gameplay and also co-op doubles.  Chris mostly chose Federer, while his cousin Lee would switch between McEnroe and Cash. One notable match was the two of them versus the Williams sisters. After the first serve, I knew that it would be an intense match. Both of the guys attached the Wii MotionPlus to their Wii Remotes so that their actions could be rendered identically on the screen in real time, and there is a dramatic difference between using the Wii MotionPlus and not. When they would swing their arms to volley back the ball, there wasn’t a lag like you’d get without it.  It was by far one of the most fluid tennis matches I had ever seen on any video game console.

The announcer who was calling the scores wasn’t annoying, the clapping after each round wasn’t overdone, and the sounds of the game were what you’d expect to hear when watching a real competitive game of tennis. Chris and Lee were really enjoying themselves and I found myself getting into it as well, even though I was just sitting on the couch.

I would highly recommend Grand Slam Tennis to anybody who owns a Wii console. For those of you who don’t, yet own a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, Grand Slam Tennis will be released on both of those consoles later this year in the Fall. Details on those versions are minimal right now.

All I have to say is, Virtua Tennis… you better watch out. Grand Slam Tennis delivers all you could ask for in a tennis game, and more.

-Lindsey

Playing review -

My cousin recently purchased Grand Slam Tennis for his Wii.  At his in-laws house on the 4th of July, we decided to give it a shot together.  We had both been great fans of Virtua Tennis on the Sega Dreamcast, and are both fans of tennis in general, so it seemed like the thing to do.  Loading it up, the menu system was very easy to navigate.  The selection screens are all well done, and very clean looking.  The animations are smooth, and do not lag.  We chose our location (U.S. Open, Arthur Ashe Stadium) and our characters.  I started my first match with Pete Sampras, while he chose Pat Cash. Finally, it was time to start our game.  My cousin didn’t go into a great deal of detail about gameplay, so I had plugged in the nunchuk and was prepared to dash around for the ball.  I controlled my movement for the first game, before finally realizing that the game itself will control your movement for you, if you want.  This helped me immensely, because the nunchuk wire was quite the nuisance when trying to swing at the ball.  It caused me to miss a few shots that should have been fairly easy.

Image Courtesy of Electronic Arts (EA)

The game got into full swing, literally.  While I have been told that smaller, suble movements are sufficient to manage your player, they don’t have the flare and effort a good game of tennis deserves.  With this in mind, I was playing with my entire body, and with as much effort and energy as I could.  This level of physical engagement, however, may have been the cause for some of my accuracy issues.  When returning a service, I would more often than not hit the ball completely wide of the court (especially in doubles matches).  I tried varying my swing strength and angle, but generally ended up out.  This continued through my matches as McEnroe and Federer.  Controlling the direction of the ball could be difficult at times, especially compared to DC Virtua Tennis.  There were times where the trajectory of the ball seemed to be completely arbitrary, having absolutely nothing to do with my actual swing.  However, this could be a sign that I was playing a bit too exuberantly, as I have mentioned.

Image Courtesy of Electronic Arts (EA)

When playing in a doubles match, the system handles player positioning fairly well.  When one player makes a mad dash for the ball, your teammate moves to cover, which is extremely handy given the recovery time after a particularly epic dive.  The AI players do a decent job, but as with all AI players, they do have exploitable patterns and routines.  Look hard enough, and you’ll find them!

Two days later, my right arm is still sore from the exertion.  Grand Slam Tennis has some incredible, and obvious, improvements over games like the Dreamcast’s Virtua Tennis, while in other aspects, I feel Virtua Tennis has the upper hand (ball control!).  As I mentioned, though, this could have been due to my flailing, and not any fault with the game itself.  When looking at Grand Slam Tennis, the most important thing to consider is the fun factor.  In that respect, Grand Slam Tennis is one of the most fun sports video games I have ever played.  What more could you really ask for?

-Chris

I love zombie games. I love zombie movies. I would go so far as to say that you can all start calling me Zombzi. That’s how much I love seeing those mindless, undead creatures get their heads ripped off.

A few days ago we rented, from Blockbuster, a copy of Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop for the Wii. I’ve been wanting to play a version of Dead Rising for ages, and since we lack a 360 right now I guess the Wii version will just have to do.

I will admit that I was skeptical. It’s Nintendo – they have a habit of dulling down the good games to make them more kid friendly, plus I wasn’t too sure on how the controls would work much less the graphics.

When I popped it in, I was pleasantly surprised. The graphics in the beginning for the intro weren’t that bad. Capcom does a great job with facial movements so they were right on the money with this one too. The intro also gave me a bit of storyline and set it up perfectly for the event that was about to occur.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Dead Rising or what it’s about, I shall share what little I do know. You play a man named Frank. He is a freelance photojournalist. You start off in a helicopter with some random pilot and are going to a town in Colorado (I can’t remember the name right now). Population is a little over 53,000 so it’s not that large. Apparently there were reports of civil unrest, and possibly riots, in the town yet very little information was getting out into the news. What was released seemed a bit off and also the death count was way too high. Frank decided to go investigate. As they are flying in, Frank notices that the roads going into the city are all blocked off. Very suspicious. Frank then sees a helipad on the roof of the large city mall and tells the pilot to drop him down on to it. As the pilot gets ready, three military helicopters swoop on it and try to drive you away. Frank, being determined to get his story, jumps out of the helicopter and on to the roof. From that point, you begin your escapades in the mall.

I like that the zombies in this game are the slow, stupid ones. Those are always the best. You can take your time beating the crap out of them, and there are plenty of objects in this game at your disposal. One that I used yesterday was a Servbot (from Mega Man Legends) head. It was fantastic.

The controls were easy too. You have to plug in a nunchuck for the game and use the joystick on there to move you around. When you use a gun to shoot, you hold down the B button on the Wii-mote to pull out your gun, then you move the Wii-mote around since that controls your aim and the reticle, and then you push down on A to shoot. Simple, no?

I also checked on the violence factor. The default settings are that the blood be red, and that the violence is on high. Me like. If you have children, or are sensitive to blood, there is the option to either make it green or to shut it off completely. You can also decrease the level of violence but honestly, if you want to play a game like that, you need to play it at it’s best. It’s just not the same.

I didn’t get to play the game for long, but what I did play I enjoyed. I know for sure I will play some more today because nothing puts a smile on my face like a pile of zombies.

As I progress in the game I will update you guys, but for now… if you own a Wii and dig zombies like I do, go pick up a copy. If you are skeptical, go and rent it. It’s worth it.

- She Who Has The Last Word.