Finally after nearly 6 weeks, I have reached my goal for the year... Level 30. For 3 of those weeks, I haven't had the use of my computer (and still don't), so it's been slow and tedious going with my Wii. I hope to be back online with my PC within the next week... 2 weeks at the most. I managed to pick up 2 new emblems last month... Gamespot Players Ball & BlackSite: Area 51 Live Xbox 360 Demo. For record keeping purposes, how about a few stats: Profile views: 3824 (+18 new) Total friends: 132 People tracking me: 180 Games in collection: 1018 Blog posts: 29 (including this one) Emblems earned: 23 Messages read: 183802 Messages posted: 1961 Tags: 6138 Oh well... it's back to the point and click method of typing on my reliable Wii, as I struggle to remain active here at GS.

I'd like to say happy Veteran's Day to all current active duty personnel and vets... thank you all for the sacrifices you have made to grant us the freedom we enjoy and cherish as citizens of the U.S.A.

The last (which was also the first) blog entry created on my Wii was done for fun :) This one is being done out of necessity. Within the last 24 hours, my PC seems to have developed some issues :roll: that are beyond my comprehension :( I'm going to see if my brother, the IT specialist, can fit me into his ridiculously busy schedule... hopefully REAL soon. I'll apologise in advance, for possibly missing reading/responding to any of my friends blogs :cry: Hopefully this inconvenience won't last very long.

Yesterday, I reached a small milestone in regards to video game collecting. With the arrival of Waterworld for the Nintendo Virtual Boy, my collection for that system is now complete. Everything you see in the following photos is factory sealed and in mint condition.
First a little background information. The Nintendo Virtual Boy was released on 14 AUG 95 in North America at a price of around $180. Several price cuts were made in an effort to boost sales, but the console never caught on. The following year... Nintendo discontinued sale of the Virtual Boy in Japan and North America, it was never released in Europe or Australia. Approximately 700,000 Virtual Boys were sold in North America, and 14 games were released.
The list of North American released games is... 3D Tetris, Baseball, Galactic Pinball, Golf, Jack Bros., Mario Clash, Mario Tennis, Nester's Funky Bowling, Panic Bomber, Red Alarm, Teleroboxer, Vertical Force, Waterworld and Wario Land. Mario Tennis was packed in with the Virtual Boy Console.
Only one official peripheral was ever released in North America... the AC Adapter.
These are two different demo cartiridges for use in the store display models. These weren't for sale to the public, but were "loaned" out by NOA to retailers while the Virtual Boy was on display.

The Virtual Boy was available for a short while as a console rental from Blockbuster Video. This is the case (complete with instructions) used to transport the rental in. This item wasn't for sale to the public.
My Virtual Boy sunglasses... these weren't for sale to the public, but given away as a promotional product.

The quality of the pictures is a little off here in the blog, probably because of the size. If you look under the Image section of my Profile, you'll find better quality pictures.

All in all, it was good weekend. I know I'm a little late for a "weekend" update, but blame it on life and responsibilities in the real world.

First... I was made an offer, I couldn't refuse. Sorry, I also couldn't refuse using that line :) My brother and sister-in-law asked me to be the godfather of the newest addition to our family. You might remember me mentioning little Abigail, and her rough entrance into the world a few blogs back. Needless to say, I was very honored to accept their special request. No date has been set for the christening yet. But with the holidays coming, it probably won't be for awhile.

Next... I did make it to Toys "R" Us on Saturday afternoon for the in-store Pokemon special event. There was a nice size crowd of various ages, all there with a common goal... get Manaphy The download was quick and easy, or rather, I thought it was till I heard some confusion. I ended up hanging around to help a few parents with the process. One kid was funny... his DS was in Japanese, and said it had been that way since his sister had borrowed it. I think he learned his lesson ;) I showed them were the language menu was. They were also giving away Pokemon pamphlets and $5 off coupons for any DS game. I picked up the puzzle game Picross DS which has gotten pretty good reviews.

Lastly... I've leveled up again :) I'm now (wait for the drum roll)... Level 29, Radiant Silvergun. I managed to earn a cool new emblem this past week... Tokyo Game Show 2007, My revised goal is to make it to Level 30 by the end of this year, which I'd originally hoped to have accomplished this by my 3rd anniversary here at GS. Anyway... for record keeping purposes, here are the usual stats:

Profile views: 3696 (+7 new)
Game is collection: 1013
Blog posts: 25 (including this one)
Emblems earned: 21
Total friends: 132
People Tracking Me: 176
Messages read: 144898
Messages posted: 1716
Tags: 5625

P.S. Only 17 more hours till I pick up The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass after work tomorrow. I have it pre-ordered at GameStop, and have already received a phone call notifying me of its impending arrival by noon in store on Tuesday. The wait is almost over!

Way in the back (page 93 to be exact) of the October 2007 issue of Nintendo Power is a tiny little article... but, it contains IMPORTANT INFORMATION for all Pokemon Diamond and Pearl game owners. Below is the article as it appears:

Manaphy is a special Pokemon that you won't be able to find normally in Pokemon Diamond or Pearl; until now, the only way you could snag it was to find a Manaphy Egg in Pokemon Ranger and transfer it over. But now there's another way to get the Legendary Pokemon; on September 29 between noon and 3 pm, head to a participating Toys "R" Us store in the United States to obtain a special Manaphy that you can't find anywhere else. Bring your copy of Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl into the store to download a Manaphy just like the one in the latest Pokemon movie, Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. The Pokemon will be holding a Red Scarf like the one in the animated feature, and it will be enclosed in a Cherish Ball-a Poke Ball that is otherwise not available when playing Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. When you release a Pokemon from the Cherish Ball, a colorful animation appears, Manaphy is also the only Pokemon to have the the move Heart Swap, which allows it to switch all stat modifications with an enemy. Don't miss this opportunity to get such a rare Pokemon! For further details check out pokemon-games.com or toysrus.com.

So, to recap... take your Nintendo DS and Pokemon Diamond or Pearl game cartridge to your local Toys "R" Us tomorrow between between noon and 3pm for this special event to obtain Manaphy.

After almost 7 weeks, it's finally time to level up. I cleaned up my friend list a little, hence the drop in total friends.Total emblems earned went down also... we lost 2 tempoary emblems, Turkey Day and Pie.Here's the usual stats to mark this milestone:

Profile views: 3560 (+7 new)
Game is collection: 1009
Blog posts:23 (including this one)
Emblems earned: 20
Total friends: 129
People Tracking Me: 174
Messages read: 127056
Messages posted: 1530
Tags: 5271

It appears that the excitement from Saturday night (see the previous blog entry) has tapered off, and things will be getting back to normal. Or rather, what passes for "normal" in my family :roll:

After getting a clean bill of health, my sister-in-law has been discharged from the hospital this morning. After a quick visit to their home, and a stop to eat some real food (hospital food is NASTY!)... the proud new parents will be heading north to Philadelphia to pick up my new niece (no helicopter rides this time). After 2 days of testing, it doesn't appear any damage has been done... but she will be required to see a neurologist for the next year. That way they can continue to monitor her development. It'll be great to finally meet the newest addition to our family :)

I'm an uncle!

My brother and sister-in-law had their 1st baby last night, a little girl. It wasn't an easy pregnancy... my sister-in-law had problems from the start, and there were complications at the hospital from the moment she arrived on Friday 10 AUG 07. My niece was born in the Christiana Hospital in Newark, but wasn't breathing. It took almost 20 minutes to get her breathing and stabilized. She was then taken immediately by helicopter to Jefferson up in Philadelphia for treatment and testing.

We don't know the "how & why" it happened yet, or the long term effects/problems... hopefully they'll have some answers soon. Real soon!

For the 2nd time this week, I woke to the pulsing glow on the front of my Nintendo Wii... I almost hate to turn it on and check my messages, knowing that doing so will terminate the beautiful royal blue glow.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a 3-D sci-fi first-person shooter action adventure, that will take advantage of the unique powers of the Nintendo Wii system, as Retro Studios once again takes us to the beyond with bounty hunter Samus Aran. It is currently set for release on 27 AUG 07 in North America, and 26 OCT 07 in Europe.

A preview for the game became available to Wii owners, this morning on 10 AUG 07 on the Wii Shop Channel. The content, which can be downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel for free, currently features... a game play video, trailer for the game and 2 "hidden images" that can be revealed using the Wiimote. The free download also includes two additional trailers, though they will not be viewable until 13 AUG 07.

It's a nice first attempt from Nintendo in offering information/additional content to Wii owners. But... my only suggestion to them would be... how about a playable demo next time.