I have noticed Best Buy had been getting Wiis fairly regularly since the release (like EVERY Sunday).  So I decided to get mine.  They were opening early (at 7 am) on Christmas Eve and I thought that would be a perfect time to wait at Best Buy for one.  I had not had a chance to wait on all the previous Sundays, and I did not want to wait by myself.  I finally convinced someone to wait with me, so off we went at Midnight to be first in line for a Wii on Christmas Eve.  I was not really surprised that no one was around 7 hours before opening, so we continued to wait, watching a movie on my portable DVD player and talking and whatever... We even left once to go to Steak 'n Shake for Coffee and Midnight snacks... Around 4 cars started showing up and parking at distance... employees waiting to start their day early... Waiting still, we saw another car pull up and just sit there... finally someone else had come to wait with us... opening time closed and there was no one else arriving... things were strange, and I had a bad feeling... Around 6:15 (45 minutes before opening) an employee came out front for a smoke break, the other car must have had the same feeling, because he pulled around to the employee and inquired about something... we only heard the tail end of the answer, which was, "If it in our ad we will have it."  It was 6 am on the day ads come out, how was I supposed to find out that info... well my feeling got worse, because that sounded like standard employee talk of "we dont have them, but I wont come straight out and say it."  I had already waited 6 and a half hours to find out... I wasn't going to bail early.  I was going to see for myself.  Seven AM rolled around, and the store opened and sure enough... no Wii's; not one; not a single one;  7 hours I waited, over night, in the cold, dissappointed at day break...

Thats my story... I suppose I should have checked a little better to see if they would have them... they would not answer over the phone though... I slept most of Christmas Eve... and still have nothing to show for it... Alas...

Its time to try again...

I got through Wind Waker finally....

Now its on to Skies of Arcadia... I have been playing it awhile and it seems pretty good.... I dont know if I like the battle system though... We will see how it goes...

I know I just got finished talking myself out of a PS3 for the time being but I saw on CircuitCity.com that they had some systems to ship next week in bundles.  In the bundle for the 60 GB version was NBA '07, apparently one of the crappiest games of all time, and a second controller.  That was a pretty sweet deal and at $704 might have been worth the crappy game just to get my hands on one NEXT WEEK.  I hesitated... I wanted to think about it to see if it were really worth it.  I am starting to believe it was and now it is too late.  There are bundles available at gamestop, but they dont ship till the 19th of January and come with 4 games 3 of which suck (one being NBA '07) and a second controller for $984 (?).  I should have gone with Circuit City.  So I thought the same might be true for the Wii, but I could find nothing.  I hope Best Buy has them on Christmas Eve.

I suppose I just saved $700 on a system I would barely play till some better games came out... I dont think this will be my last opprotunity anyway...

Until next time...

I was excited about the PS3 launch and wanted to pick one up on the day of release, but never waited in huge lines and wasted all that time trying to get one.  I am definitely not regretting it either.  The PS3 is getting a lot of bad press as of late.  It still only has one, maybe two, games that I would have even considered buying for it.  And I am guessing it is not totally technologically sound.  I predict huge firmware issues and other "bugs" that will need to be worked out.  I am in no huge hurry to acquire one now, but don't get me wrong; I still want one.  I would like to imagine that by the time they are readily available, they will be working properly (debugged) and have a large selection on games that aren't crap.  The PS3 has potential.  It has a large amount of potential, untapped, seething, and ready to be unleashed by a developer who knows what a PS3 can really do (Assassin's Creed?).  I want to believe that its just a really slow start.  I keep thinking that by the time I get a PS3, I will be able to pick up some of the older games for cheap.

On other news, this is almost a good thing for me personally.  It allows me more time to invest into playing what I have and into finding a Wii.  Honestly, the longer I wait to pick up a Wii, the cheaper their games will be too.  So when I pick up Trauma Center: Second Opinion and suck at it, I will have only paid $30 instead of $50.  I don't have the hands of a surgeon, so to speak.  Although, the only games I want for the Wii are Zelda and Trauma Center right now, but it shows a lot of promise.

I want a Wii before it snows.  I don't go outside when it snows.  I hate snow.  It is evil.  I hate the cold too.  I want to play video games all winter.  It should at least give me some time to catch up.

I am far behind, this is what I have on my "want to beat" list:

Wind Waker (working on it)

Dragon Quest 8 (LOTS to go)

Baton Kaitos (Stuck at "infamous" battle)

Kingdom Hearts (though not really a big fan)

Skies of Arcadia (own, but never played)

Baton Kaitos: Origins (don't own; pick it up if I find time)

There is probably something else I am forgetting, too.

Obviously there is a choice to be made in this area.  I am hearing good things about both the Wii version and the GC version of Twilight Princess.  There is no dissension about the GC version that would discourage me from getting it other than the fact that I do intend on owning a Wii at some point.  In fact, Gamespot gave the GC version a slightly better score (8.8 vs 8.9).  In the face of this decision, I will probably wait for a Wii and the Wii version of Zelda.  Only because I am still working through Wind Waker and have ZERO time on my hands anyway.  I was hoping to have a Wii by now so that I could play it on Christmas, because I will really have nothing better to do, but sit around and play games.  I will get a day off work and hopefully fill it with Wind Waker completion and then move on to Skies of Arcadia.

I'm still holding a torch for a Wii though... I just have to find the time to wait in line.....

All the videos I posted turned out like crap and I'm not sure why.  They looked good as AVIs, but apparently didn't like the transition to WMV.  I guess I should have paid more attention.  My computer sucks is part of the reason, but I think I tried to use too high a resolution when changing them... I will work on this and hopefully they wont be laggy with grey blocks anymore... This is what I get for trying to multitask.  I got careless.

I have 5 Triforce shards and 7 charts now in Wind Waker.  I dont look forward to getting on that ghost ship for the last chart, but if I have to I have to.  I did not get the other shards yet, because I wondered aimlessly down the outset island hole.  I was... unprepared... I just hopped in thinking it would be a breeze.  About 25 levels down, I wish I hadn't.  I did have some potions though, and with a little skill and a lot of luck managed to get all the way to level 50 where a piece of heart awaited.  I only had two hearts left and 0 potions.  LUCK.

When Skies of Arcadia first came out, it looked like a decent game.  I wanted to play it.  I found it for cheap not too long after its release and picked it up.  It has sat on my shelf, unplayed since.  Its been more than a year I think.  When I beat Wind Waker, I think that might be my next step.. Either that or I will try to finish Baten Kaitos... (I'm stuck at the "infamous" fight)..

I put up some videos a few days ago and then I did not say anything about them.  I really liked these games as a kid and continue to play through them every once in a while when I am tired of the new games.  They are final bosses and end credits.  I still have a few more to upload, but I just have not had much time.  I want to do some gameplay videos, but I have not had the time.  People seem to be watching my videos, so thanks to those people.

In other news, I have not found a Wii yet.  I keep searching, but really cannot fathom waiting in line for more than a few hours to get one.  I was hoping to have one before christmas so I would have something to do over the short break.  I thought I had an inside line on one, but it turned out false.

Still working through Wind Waker.  I now have to find all the triforce shards... That could take awhile...

Hopefully I will have some time tonight to upload some videos and play more Wind Waker.  That is my official plan... We will see in a few hours if that is true.

I finally got my videos up and working... This used to be one of my favorite games growing up so I put the opening story line up along with the final level...  The actual levels were more fun than the sword fighting but it gives the basic story.

I can now post videos, but while waiting for one to upload last night, I forgot and went to bed... it now waits for me to complete the transfer at home.  Hopefully I will have some time this evening to put it up.

I decided that it was high time I put Zelda Wind Waker back in the ol' Cube and defeat it once and for all... I stopped playing it awhile ago for no specific reason other than new games came out that occupied my time and I just let Wind Waker slide into the background.  I was playing Wind Waker frantically trying to collect all the side quest treasures and basically stopped doing the main quest.  I sat forever avoiding the Forbidden Fortress and saving my sister to complete these side quests.  I did not realize that I was one step away from getting some great items and finding the huge twist in the plot that changed Tetra into Zelda.

I did, however, remember part of the reason I stopped playing the game.... the OCEAN... there was well oceans of it!  I remember trying many times, in vain, to kill Cyclos and get the Ballad of Gales... At some juncture, I had to do it though.  It was necessary to beat the game.  I just could not do it.  After a few tries yesterday, I managed to get him finally.  I don't cope well with reversed vertical axis.  Not to mention that bow aim moves really quickly with just a touch of the stick.  I had travelled through this much of the game by ocean, the long way.  I realize now that I could have saved much frustration.

I also realized I had forgotten much of what had already happened and where numerous things were.  With a little help from an FAQ, I was able to make my next few moves.  I am caught up with where I need to be, and now am only going on the main missions.  I have decided to leave most of the side quests alone so that I can finish the game undestracted.  I still have a lot of ground to cover before the end of the game.  I want to get through it before I get a Wii and Twilight Princess.