My Tonsils Are In Texas

It has been quite some time since my last post so I'll just have to make this epic multi game review post. I've been out of commission for a while after catching some flu like symptoms but was left with losing the ability to speak thanks to my tonsils swelling to the size of golf balls. All was not lost, as I was left with nothing to do but play video games. While I am aware that the internet has created a generation like myself that hates endless posts filled with text that just seems to run together, I promise to use pictures as an aid to break up what may seem as a rant to end all rants.



As has been talked about many times in previous episodes, everyone wants a Wii, and now we have Wii. My Christmas day was made with a Wii and reintroducing myself to my old friend Mario. Meanwhile I got my mother a DS and she has taken quite well to it, not quite the Nicole Kidman stage of taking it everywhere, but already it has been received better than expected. Back to Galaxy, where I have been so pleased and cannot help but smile when do those backflips, long jumps, and triple jumps I fell in love with so long ago. The gameplay is as solid as ever, with new moves such as the spin attack with a waggle of the Wii remote, and new suits like bee spring and ice.



It seems that most people that have yet to play Galaxy believe that all you do is jump from sphere to sphere, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. The pacing and variety of the worlds in Galaxy are bigger and better than any previous Mario game. One second you're slinging Mario through a space fortress, flying from flower to flower as a bee, walking on caterpillars as they extend from one apple to another, jumping as a spring on a giant toy robot, to walking on ceilings and walls in the gravity puzzles. In short the spherical worlds that are shown off in the beginning are just to give you a taste of the new gameplay elements you'll need to use in order to collect all the stars in the game.



With the addition to the Wii to my entertainment center I made sure to snag a couple games off of Gamefly. I figured I'd give Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Tresure a try. Zack & Wiki is a point and click puzzle game that has you play as Zack who wants to become the greatest pirate ever known as he is joined by his golden monkey Wiki who he found in his earlier travels. You start each level with the goal of getting to the treasure chest. Its up to you to find the items to interact with like turning a enemy into an totem with Wiki's powers and putting the totem into a crack so you can cross it. Zack & Wiki is more challenging than its cute exterior leads you to believe. You can quite easily get yourself stuck in a spot where an enemy or the level will get to you and cause you to start over. One problem with Zack & Wiki is that you can make it so that you can't possibly solve the puzzle, but the game does nothing to stop you from keep trying. I wouldn't call it broken, just a design choice I don't agree with. Zack & Wiki is a great game to check out if you're looking for something new, its challenging but not to the point where you want to pull your hair out or throw the Wii remote through the TV by any means.



I have yet to play enough of Twilight Princess to really give it a review, especially since Zelda is my most beloved franchise. Yes I'm aware that it came out over a year ago, but I never got around to it, so with the Wii now in my possession I figured now is the perfect time. The beginning to Twilight Princess left me thinking I might end up disappointed with its very slow start, and something about this Link at first just seemed a little off. Now that I have crossed Hyrule Field and about to enter the second temple I am feeling much better about the experience and expect great things by the end.

Up next is Metroid Prime 3, and in less than two weeks Burnout Paradise. After this month of no releases its been nice to catch up on these Wii titles and I can't wait for all the great titles of 2008.