Sleepy Gamer

Brand new game series’ are usually few and far between, and good ones are even more unlikely.  The current generation has seen it’s fair share of potential new franchises, but many new notables have yet to have produced proper sequels.  The cycle of innovation, refinement, then innovation is the foundation that the games industry is built upon.  So, here are some recent gems that are definitely worth revisiting.

Dead Rising (Xbox360)

You, trapped in a mall with thousands of zombies and the freedom to use practically anything as a weapon.  It’s no wonder we haven’t seen this game concept done earlier.  The zombie playground idea could be applied to almost anywhere too. Amusement park, airport, or even a small, open-world town would all be great locales.  Throw in a bunch more interactive objects for creative, new ways to kill the walking dead and you’re all set.  Oh yeah, how about some online co-op, please?

Zack and Wiki (Wii)

It’s the brilliant, Wii, point-and-click adventure that was a critically success, but a retail failure.  Sadly, we probably won’t ever see a sequel any time soon.  Some of the later puzzles were down right diabolical, but when you finally did figure it out, that “eureka” moment was pure magic.  The cute, lovable animations, the multiple solutions, and the clever use of items and enemies all worked to create an experience that could only be compared to the days of playing an old-school, LucasArts adventure game.  More of the same is all I ask.

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Your gut is probably bulging the size of a bowling ball after stuffing yourself with turkey the last few days.  Don’t worry, there’s help.  I can show you plenty of games that can help you lose the holiday weight right in the comfort of your home.  Just make sure that you’re not pounding down donuts and hamburgers while playing these games.

Wii Sports
The ever popular Wii Sports comes bundled with a number of mini-games that include Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing.  These mini-games feel more like tech-demos, but is very fun and intuitive for first time Wii players.  Most newcomers will burn a lot of calories since they will be standing and exerting all of their energy in every swing.  However, once you learn the gameplay nuances, you’ll end up slouching in your couch and lazily flicking your wrist effortlessly to get the same results.  Hopefully Wii Sports will be used as a template for other Mario Sports games.  Give use Mario Tennis already!

Wii Fit
This is the pinnacle of all fitness games.  Do not…I repeat…do not buy Wii Fit expecting it to be a game.  It’s more like a fitness program than anything else.  The main thing that stands Wii fit apart from other fitness games is the balance board.  Not only is the board used for exercising, it also measures your weight, balance, and body mass index (BMI).  Typically, BMI tells you if you’re underweight, normal, or obese.  However, if Wii Fit calls you a fat-ass, keep in mind that it doesn’t count other factors like your body type and muscle mass so it’s very misleading.  I only found that the Yoga and Strength training to be particularly useful since it does a good job working out your core.  However, the Aerobic exercises are pure garbage since running in one place doesn’t make your blood pumping enough to be effective.  The beauty of Wii Fit is that it keeps track of all your progress, so you can clearly see how much improvement you’ve made.  Just keep in mind that the balance board only works if you weigh less than 350lbs.  If you weigh more than that… it’s probably a good idea to get a gym pass.
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Be sure to check out Part I for the Wii and PS3 breakdowns.

Xbox 360

None of the current consoles have fragmented the consumer experience more than the Xbox 360.  One could argue that the tiered offering of the of Xbox 360 line of consoles was designed to appeal to a broad range of gamers, from the very casual to the hardest of hardcore.  Unfortunately, most of the omitted features in the lower end models tend to be components you’ll regret buying piecemeal at a later date.  To make things a bit clearer, the Xbox 360 breakdown will be done in two separate parts, based on what Xbox 360 model you “jump in” with.

First things first, let’s get the common stuff out of the way.  Every Xbox 360 system comes with one wireless controller, and supports up to a maximum of 4 controllers at a once.  Each additional wireless controller costs $50, or if you prefer (although I’m not sure why anyone would want to), $40 for wired controllers that plug in via the USB ports.  Like the Wii’s wiimotes, the wireless gamepads also require either a steady supply of AA batteries or you could spring for a set of rechargeable battery packs made specifically for the controllers themselves.  The battery packs can cost as much as $15 a piece, and the charger itself can be bought as a USB “Plug & Play” cord for $20, or as an AC adapter plug-in “Quick Charge Kit” that comes with one battery pack and charges 2 rechargeable packs at once, all for $30.

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Sure, there are plenty more expensive hobbies out there to spend your hard earned cash on, but the cost of gaming can get pretty daunting if you’re not too careful.  With any big electronic purchase, it’s best to know how much of a dent to your pocket book it will all be with all the hidden fees and additional purchases added in.  This guide will try to give you an idea of which buys are absolutely necessary, which ones are nice-to-haves, and what you should avoid like the plague.  And for simplicity’s sake, let’s just round all prices up to the nearest dollar.

First things first, you’ll need a television.  Yeah, I know, everyone’s got a TV, but if you’d like to game on a nice big screen and don’t yet have one, you should probably factor that cost into your budget.  If you’re interesting in a high def set, check out our HDTV buyer’s guide, otherwise, any regular TV will do.  Just be aware that most 360 and PS3 games were made with higher resolutions in mind, and in some cases, the text is displayed using extremely tiny font sizes that don’t show up very well on SDTVs.  Okay, now onto the consoles..

Nintendo Wii

The Wii offers the most basic retail configuration out of the three consoles.. one box and one box only.  For $250, you get the Wii game system, one wiimote controller, one nun-chuk controller add-on, and one game, Wii Sports.  However, if you want to invite your friends over to play, you’ll need extra controllers ($40 each) and possibly extra nun-chuks ($20 each).  You might only need to buy one extra nun-chuk though, since most games don’t require the analog stick.  Otherwise, buying a full set of three additional controllers will cost you $180 more.  You might be tempted to buy a copy of the game Wii Play, since it nets you an extra wiimote, but unless you have really young children, I’d say pass.  Wii Play costs $50, same as any other game, so you’re really just buying a $40 wiimote and getting a mediocre minigame collection for $10 more.  Also, if you plan on buying any old Nintendo games on Virtual Console, you should pick up at least one Classic Controller ($20).  And if you decide to use the Wii’s backwards compatibility and play any Nintendo Gamecube games, you’ll need a Gamecube controller (I suggest the wireless Wavebird for $25) and a memory card (around $10), both of which aren’t sold at retail anymore, but are plentiful online at Amazon and eBay.

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- “Yes we can has change!” Obama ads show up in video games.. You heard right, Barrack “That One” Obama has taken the first leap by a presidential candidate and bought ad space in a video game.  Make that nine games, published by EA, from Burnout Paradise to their Madden ‘09 roster update.. err cash cow.

- Nintendo dominates NPD sales once again. In other news, ice is cold and paper cuts hurt.. No big surprise here.  The Wii dominated with an outrageous 687,000 units in the month of September, easily outselling both the 360 and PS3 combined.  The recent price drop that put Microsoft’s box as the same price as the Wii ($250) clearly gave the 360 a bump to beat out the PS3, but that race is more of a 2nd place affair between Microsoft and Sony.

- Xbox 360 Memory upgrade program makes HDD-less Core and Arcade owners less screwed.. By registering your console ID at this MS site, you can apply for either a free 512MB memory card or pay only $19.99 (rather than the usual $100) to upgrade to a 20GB HDD.  Even that might not be enough HDD space once you start installing console games like PC games this Fall.

- Valve’s Half-Life 2 Episode 3 continues to define episodic gaming as every 2 to 3 years.. Those of you eagerly awaiting the next chapter in Valve’s Half-Life saga will have to wait a bit longer.  Seems Left 4 Dead and TF2 have delayed the episodic trilogy’s conclusion.  You can also expect a more signficant play experience to come from Episode 3.  Here’s to hoping we’ll see something new before year’s end.

- Bioshock 2 sequel/prequel teaser shows off cutest Big Daddy ever.. Not much is yet known about the follow to the breakout-hit, objectivist, uptopian, FPS, critical darling of last year.  Seems it will be both sequel and prequel.  Whether that means it will contain flashbacks or some totally off-the-wall story telling device remains to be seen.

- PSP 5.00 update brings long awaited online store. Take that DSi.. The latest firmware update makes the PSP online store more accessible (see iPhone store) by no longer requiring you to be tethered to your PS3 or PC.  Also, the new PS3 2.50 update grants the gift of hulu.com video streaming, so you can enjoy the latest episodes of The Office on your couch, not hunched over a computer monitor.

Those interested in getting Rock Band 2 will inevitably fall into one of two camps: those who already own the Rock Band 1 bundle, and the rest who have yet to hop on the bus and join the tour.  For the latter group, the improved instruments and huge selection of songs make the choice a relatively easy one for anyone even remotely interested in an incredibly fun, party-accessible, music rhythm game.  But we don’t live in a vacuum and this isn’t exactly the first game in the series.  So, is Rock Band 2 worth your $60 to upgrade to this year’s model?

The Patch Upgrades.. I Mean New Features

While the first game was the biggest leap forward in the music game genre since the original Guitar Hero, it was also missing a couple key features.  One of them was the in-game music store, which was patched in early this year free of charge.  Unfortunately, the online and single-player band world tour modes, cost the price of admission.  Many of the improvements make Rock Band 2 feel more like a patch upgrade than a full fledged sequel.  This seems to be the current direction most game franchises are heading, so I’m afraid we’ll probably have to start getting used to it.  Despite all this, everything Harmonix has added makes the game a whole lot better experience overall.

From the UI improvements, namely adding difficulty ratings on songs for each instrument component.  To the improved character customization options and loosened restrictions on using which band members.  To an incredibly diverse song list that crosses through genres and music eras with surprising choices.  To the brilliant inclusion of a drum trainer, complete with actual drum fills for those overdrive (ie: star power) activation moments.  Even the new Battle of the Bands mode provides a host of unique daily challenges that keep you coming back week after week.

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