It's been some time now since I bought my Wii and I would like to make some considerations about my experience with the console so far. Although I can recognize that these are limited 'single-player-window' point of views I think they can hopefully raise a question or two.

List of games played (with completion status)

Super Mario Galaxy (100%)

Wario Land: Shake It! (100%)

de Blob (Completed and going for 100%)

Endless Ocean (Completed and going for 100%)

Pokemon Battle Revolution (Completed and still playing)

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Completed)

Star Wars - The Clone Wars: Light Saber Duels (Completed)

Mario Party 8 (Completed)

Okami (Now playing)

Elebits (Now playing)

Wii Sports (Can't be completed and NOT going for 100%)

Lego Batman (Abandoned)

Sonic and the Secret Rings (Abandoned)

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Trying it just now)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Trying it just now)

Best games played

Super Mario Galaxy: Obvious choice... But I can't say it's a perfect game with its camera issues and a little too much recycled action (I'll review it someday).

de Blob: Artistically impressive - mixing color and sound in such a beautiful way is a respectable achievement.

Okami: Once you manage to tame the drawing controls it's an astounding piece of art.

Surprisingly good games

Endless Ocean: Maybe this is not even a game but it's easy to spend hours in it.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: The motion controls felt unexpectedly fluent and enjoyable to me – especially in the "finish him" boss sequences.

Most disappointing games

Lego Batman: That game is a complete mess. I won't detail it that much but I can say that the gameplay elements were all scattered randomly into the game. It's far from the pleasant experience Lego Star Wars games gave me before.

Sonic and the Secret Rings: oversensitive motion controls and a terrible choice regarding the way you jump made this one a letdown to me.

Complaints

I must say my overall experience with the Wii until now was... Fair. Maybe my expectation bar was set too high but here are some major complaints that can support my point of view in some way.

Gimmicks: there's a fair amount of games in my list that were (slightly or badly) harmed by a bad execution of/unnecessary use of motion controls: Super Mario Galaxy (the ray races), Wario Land (the subwarine stages), Okami (the pointer is harder to use than an analog stick), Elebits (opening doors and faucets), Sonic and the Secret Rings (tilting the remote sideways to steer)... I hate that OBLIGATION of putting all the hardware features into a game – sometimes even at the expense of the gameplay or the experience.

Lack of polish: Some of those games should be a must have if the developers had put a little more effort into polishing them. Endless Ocean (bad human models and movement, a 'new' sign in the items/fishes you found recently), Pokemon Battle Revolution (a little more options with your starting team), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (better access to the extras and an easier way to start a 'New Game +') and so on. That really pisses me of because they're accomplishing the harder goals and letting the games down on account of some lack of care with details.

Final considerations

As said above my experience with the Wii has been only fair. I didn't run after any specific game to play, I just let the games surrounding me to enter my console and that allowed me to have a wider sight of its capabilities and potential. It's kinda weird to see that some of my favorite games in the system are ports (Okami, de Blob). I'll look for games that really interest me and see if they can change my mind, but until now I must say I'm far happier with my DS and I consider it a more solid gaming platform. And last but not least, being a Nintendista as I am is hard for me to say that games like Demon's Souls make me want to trade my Wii for a PS3...

Your thoughts, comments, recommendations?

I decided to create this journal because I needed a place to share impressions about games that I'm yet to finish and I know I'll never review. I'll start with Tom Clancy's EndWar (DS) since this is a game I can't review without playing the consoles version – which I won't do for sure. Also, because Gamespot won't do that review either and I think some extra info can be useful.

EndWar for the DS is a Turn-Based Strategy war game that somewhat tries to emulate the Real-Time Strategy found in its consoles counterparts by splitting the gameplay into two distinct phases: moving and action. Although it can't win a fight against any game in the Advance Wars series it can provide some entertainment for those into TBS.

So, let us go straight to the core - this is not a review anyway.

What's good

Real distinction between light and heavy artillery. AW series also has different units for this (Artillery and Rockets, for example) but here it was taken to another level of gameplay since you can use light artillery in the same turn you move it. Interesting, and opens new strategy paths.

Neat auto-difficulty system. If you're trapped into a map you won't solve there's the option for surrender; and doing this lowers the difficulty bar in that specific map because the next time you try it you'll have a new setup of units with so-called "reinforcements (some)". Surrender again and you got "reinforcements (all)". Good way to give inexperienced gamers more chances to play through.

Touch-screen friendly. OK, this is a winner against AW. The tiles are bigger and easier to touch with the Stylus.

Jamming/Blocking mechanics. 'Jamming' gives you a power boost when you manage to surround enemy units - the more they're surrounded the greater the boost; blocking allows you to close a path without the need to make a complete blockage – units can't pass through a one-tile gap. Both great additions to the strategy system.

Long-lasting. You can fight the same war 3 times (one for each faction) and every campaign has 3 fronts. Besides unlocking medals, awards, new maps, editing and sharing content...

What's bad

Waiting for enemy AI. Splitting the action in two phases has brought a cost: accumulating all units' movement at once. That means you'll have to wait for the enemy to move their entire army after your action turn. The process can be hastened but can't be skipped.

Overpowered air units. Even two of your AA units jamming an enemy combat helicopter can't bring it down in one turn. What?!

Uninspired maps. There's too much maps with a bunch of blue units here and another bunch of red units there. Just like a boxing ring.

D-pad sucks... Because the tiles are honeycombs. The cursor will swing here and there while moving vertically.

Weak story. Russians are terrorists. Again.

Lame dialogue. Take a look at the first dialogue you'll read in the game:

Gen. Havelock: "Ah, welcome! You must be the new operator. Take my seat! The command center is yours!"

You: "... ?!"

Gen. Havelock: "I was joking!"

Characters talk as if they were at a pub raising their beer mugs. And as if there was no hierarchy.

That's it for now. Impressions shared, job done, see you next time!

Last weekend I went to a big comics fair in São Paulo (I live in a smaller city 80kms away) with the excuse to help my wife to get some experience as a student of photography. Despite the fact I don't read comics for years it was a funny experience with the cosplayers and everything else, and I ended buying something – games included:

Loki (2005)

My very first super-hero comics was a Thor one. It impressed me a lot at the time, seeing him fighting against Jormungand and breaking Loki's – his brother – arm. This picked my interest for that.

The C|assic Felix The Cat (2005)

I always loved the simple and strong design of Felix the Cat – not to mention that amazing wallet. It will be good to take a look at his early years.

It's a Magical World (1996)

'Calvin and Hobbes' is among the best 'cute and touchy' comics ever - aside 'Peanuts', of course. And I didn't get any before this, so here it goes.

Ghostbusters (2009)

They seem to be reviving. And I like it. Let us see how this Manga stands.

Harvest Moon DS – Island of Happiness

My wife really loves the series and she's always trying to make me play it. So I bought it for her and for me to have a try... And I can say I'm completely addicted to it now. People complain about the touch screen controls in this installment but they work fine to me – maybe because I never tried any other controls in the series before...

Tom Clancy's Endwar

I bought this because of 1) I'm tired of seeing Tom Clancy's name everywhere without playing any of his games 2) it's a TBS, my favorite genre nowadays and 3) it was unbelievably cheap – US$10,00 while we're used to pay around US$40,00 for any DS game here in Brazil because of the high taxes and shipping.

That's it. Just wanted to share some pics and thoughts.

Pikachu: "I love Gears of War 2!"

Sonic dazzled by a shinier star (just kidding)

Goomba running away from a bag!

mangamangamanga...

A crowd around Mario Kart Wii

Deadpool and Wolverine doing the YMCA

(More pics at lrlopes)

I've been playing Endless Ocean for some time now and it reminded something I always loved in games of any genre: maps. No matter if they're useful or useless; there are some of them I would like to hang on a wall as if they were real.

Manoa Lai's (the place where Endless Ocean's play occurs) map starts a little shy, but as you go to new places it "sheds its scales" and show us some life. It's simple but I like it.

Here I go with some of my favorite maps of all the time:

World 2 (Super Mario Bros. 3, NES)

The piece of map hidden behind that rock at the top-right corner of the screen amazed me when I found it. A huge 'III' lake, an extra Toad House and Hammer Brothers shooting fireballs! How could I ask for more?

Onett (Earthbound, SNES) and every other map in the game

The entire game is a pixelated masterpiece and the maps are just the icing on the cake. I love the cities' names based on the order they appear in the game (Onett, Twoson...)

Manhattan (TMNT – Tournament Fighters, NES)

I'm not sure if Manhattan citizens would be proud of their place after seeing this brief look at the city: Water Front, Down Town, Pirate Ship, and Sewer. That's all.

Castlevania (Castlevania III, NES) and every other map in the series

Castlevania has been an impressive place since the very first game. I always loved the maps in the series – both useful and useless – but I can't forgive Konami for not giving us a map in Castlevania II as the game (and players) screamed for one.

Koholint Island (Zelda – Link's Awakening, Game Boy) and every other modular map in the series

I think that modular maps in portable Zeldas (exception made to Phantom Hourglass) are the more functional in the series. And they look neat too.

'Behind Enemy Lines' (Jackal, NES) and every other vertical map

There's nothing special about it. I just like to unfold maps heading up.

Metro City (Final Fight, SNES, Arcade)

It's interesting how this one is placed 'over' the screen as if it was a transparent gif - way before transparent gifs existed.

Marahna (ActRaiser, SNES) and every other map that used Mode 7 effect

The only thing that Sega fans would allow you to brag about the SNES was the Mode 7 feature - it was a particular way of zooming images that looked really good when well used. Some good examples were the maps in ActRaiser series and in Illusion of Gaia, where you "dive" into.

Plan A (Battletoads, NES) and every other blue print map

Blueprints are super-cool; the game is super-hard; that together make a big pleasure when you manage to get into the next blueprint...

World Map (Wacky Races, NES)

This one is somewhat unique. Europe appearing before America, square lands, whales sailing over a beautiful blue sea and the Amazon River flowing into São Paulo... WHAT?! Never mind.

Every now and then I run into some old game here at Gamespot that nobody has reviewed before. And if it's a game I know well I feel almost as my duty to make something about it - it happened with Gargoyle's Quest - Ghosts'n Goblins (GB), Hatris (NES) and Yie Ar Kung Fu (NES).

Now here's my newest contribution: RoboCop 2 (NES). Check it out if you have some interest in it.

(Thanks Dualmask for reminding me of this)

'To skip animation scenes in Okami

A heartless dark soul one must be'

- Ozuka the Shamisen Player

OK maybe I'm exceeding myself here; but yes, Okami is gorgeous. I could watch the feeding scenes for hours. And what about entire rivers being purified?

P.S.: you may notice that the two lines of my poem have the same amount of characters. Still not a haiku but it deserves some respect!

After spending some time playing Wii Sports and creating dozens of Miis in my brand new Wii I decided to expand my 'Wiiniverse' by borrowing a few games. Here they are:

. .. .

And I got new impressions to share.
First of all, we can easily conclude that Wii is not a graphical powerhouse. You can state it's obvious - and it is - but playing other games put that to another level of evidence. Wii Sports can be quite simple, but it's somehow elegant - it is not only a game, it conceals a whole concept of gaming that works fine.
I'm saying that because I couldn't help paying attention to graphical issues in all games. As for Mario Party 8, it looks just a little better than Nintendo 64 parties looked before (aside the horrible, unreadable fonts for the screens titles, as if they were made with that old Microsoft Word Art); as for The Force Unleashed, the empty (and sometimes out-of-the-socket) eyes and the robotic mouth movement of the characters keep bugging me; and last, as for Wario Land, the movies are ugly.
Among these three games Wario Land is the one which makes the best use of the Wii's graphical processing power. Its cartoony sty|e runs smooth and beautifully, aside being convenient too.

All that said I must reckon that these problems scratch only the surface of the games, since a gaming experience is made not only of graphics. And I can say I'm enjoying them!
MP8 is a so-so game. It uses the everlasting formula of the series, but the mini-games take advantage of the new control system. Nothing that would surprise me - it deserves the around-6.0 scores it's been receiving.
Wario Land is a great 2D plat that put the motion sensing controls to use too. Despite some of these features feel like gimmicks, there are other pretty good ones. The overall experience is rewarding, and I'm sure I'll keep coming back for the extras of each stage.
The Force Unleashed was surprisingly good for me. I thought I would have grown tired quickly of shaking controls, but that didn't happen. The way you use the controls to finish the bosses and to fight someone strong with the Force is cool (it reminds me of Dragon's Lair for Sega-CD), and it's awesome to see what the Force can do. Physics work great when you move objects around the environment and send shockwaves to knock down enemies.

That's it for now. Soon I'll come up with the promised Miis screenshots.

OK, I know I'm a tad late ("I'm so two-thousand-late"), but here I am! My own Wii has arrived!

I've been playing my father's (!) Wii with him for some time, and now I got myself one. Me and my wife just started spending some time in it, and our Mii plaza is getting crowded already (snapshots anytime soon). We're enjoying Wii Sports too, and my unexpected favourite sport is... Golf? Never considered playing that before, but it gets me relaxed and it feels good. I thought I would stick to Tennis (since I already played it before in the real world), but Mii's akward-auto-positioning bugs me a little. Baseball is fine, and so is Bowling (despite the fact my wrist always twist the ball to the left). Boxing is funny, but not precise - I can't stop hitting my coach's face while training.

For now I'll play some games borrowed from my father, and I think I will put more effort into WiiWare games because it would be cheaper for me here - no taxes, and no shipping. We'll see what comes next.

A few days ago I was watching a trailer of the new installment in the King of Fighters series and that reminded me of something weird (though funny) that started to happen when all these fighting games came to home consoles: the 'pausing contests'.

Take a whole generation of (teen) gamers being mesmerized by the graphics revolution started with the 16-bit consoles and mix it with some beauties starring fighting games and you'll get a pausing contest: just press 'start' during a match looking for the hottest pose!

I know it's shameful; but it really happened. I was 12 when Street Fighter II was released for SNES and I can even remember some guys falling in love for Chun-Li! How innocent... That's hard to explain to today's boys well acquainted to 3D models.

Along this post you can see sprites of some games that were frequently used for this 'purpose' and you can evaluate how silly it was. God bless us all...

That was an unpredictably nonsensical scene: Wolverine wearing my soccer team's shirt! While visiting Brazil Mr. Jackman went to Corinthians training center to meet Ronaldo, who gave him this unique 'X' shirt. They had a good time and 'Logan' said that 'Ronaldo is the real indestructible one'.
It really seems so since Ronaldo started playing again after three serious injuries and consequent surgeries in his knees. And he's doing well - he has scored 10 goals in 14 matches so far as a Corinthians forward.
Take a look:

Still waiting for the DS' 'Origins' review.