Games I'm (and the missus) playing this week 3

I may of already mentioned this game a few times on my blog, but recently I've mostly been trying to kick ass and take names on Mario Kart Wii


I've been a massive fan off the Mario Kart series since I picked it up as a little nipper on the old SNES.
Since then there has been about half a dozen games in the series and I've played nearly all of them (with the exception of Double Dash. The whole twin character kart thing put me off)
Since I played my very first Mario Kart years ago there have been a few things I have missed from the series, like the missing feather item from the original game, also the coin factor from the original and GBA versions.
There are also annoying factors, apart from the noted above Double Dash game, the only thing I've hated about the games is the AI's way of making every shell hit you if your are first.
Oh and Blue Shells. I! Hate! These! Things! So! Much!

At times Mario Kart can be the most frustrating game ever created (take word from the missus who lets rip 5 consecutive parental guidance word expletives every 30 seconds or so playing the game. I'll have to video her playing the game one time for you all to hear.)

There have been some great things happen to the series though. For a start all the games have had great playability. And the Mission Levels in the DS version.
I was pleased to see that the Mission Levels are in the Wii version too. Only problem is rather then like the DS version where you had 80 or so to start off with, in the Wii version you have to download the Mission Levels when Nintendo released them, which is about one every two weeks. That's a lot of waiting around for new levels.
But the Silver Lining is I can post my top racing/mission times online and compete against friends and relatives around the World. And the missus of course who is now starting to tell me she is beating my Time Trial Scores.

Those, as Mario Kart fans will know, are fighting words.

Also one of the most fun elements of Mario Kart Wii is the Wii Wheel. Playing with the Wii Wheel lets you steer like a proper car. All those times I laughed at my parents years ago when they tried to "steer" the kart by moving their hands, I know find myself enjoying that.
Also to those 'Fanboys' that slated the Wii Wheel before h'actually playing the game and said they were too hardcore to use kiddy controls, you have no idea what you're missing. The Wii Wheel could be the most fun way of playing any Mario Kart game in the series.

If you have Mario Kart and would like to add me or the Missus to your Roster, here are our FCs
Mine 1719 3801 4792
The Missus 3351 4677 3312

My Wii FC is 4859 7530 9312 3844

Games I'm Playing This Week 2

Well my gaming habits have been a little quite last few weeks, but since the weather hasn't been great here and I've not been working I've had chance to get stuck in to some games I bought a while ago.

This week I have mostly been playing No More Heroes.


I bought No More Heroes a few weeks before we left for Spain. I played a few hours of it and then put it away as it seemed like the kind of game I could spend a good couple of hours playing each day so I thought it would be best left until I had moved.

So this week I've gotten the chance to play with it for a few hours and I'm loving it.
For those that don't know, you control the protagonist Travis Touchdown, who receives a Beam Katana (think light sabre) and wants to become Santa Destroys top assassin (my current position is Rank 5). Queue lots of walking around streets and fighting till the death.

The graphics ooze style and look really good. There is a air of paying homage to retro games. Power ups and save points are highlighted with giant floating large pixeled signs. The leader board looks like something out of Space Invaders. The game also has a great sense of punkishness about it. You can definitely sense that alot of Japanese will be doing cosplay out of characters in the game (although what dont't they cosplay?). And their is a great deal of humour, for example to save the game you have to go the toilet. All very strange.
There isn't a great deal of skill, you hit the A button a few times, carry out a motion sensored final blow and move on to the next guy. The fun for me comes when rather then just one foot soldier attacking you, there can be dozens trying to kill you at once. It's a bit like an old school beat 'em up. Steets of Rage, Golden Axe, those kind of lost games. A whole lot of fun.
There is even one side mission were you have to kill 100 hundred enemies, and your arm takes a little beating with all the frantic swinging.

The thing I have most enjoyed about the game is all the sidemissions and objectives. Kind of like miniassasinations, take out various pizza owner's, 100 man war (mentioned above) or even fighting a pack of enemies and you can only take one hit, that's when a bit of skill and a lot of luck comes in. For example I've done Free Missions 1, 3 and 4, but keep losing on level 2. Damn you level 2, damn you.

I expected a lot from this game, I was looking for something meaty and enjoyable and it has delivered.
Now I'm off to see how high up the leader board I can get before my preordered Mario Kart Wii arrives and that is permanently stuck in my Wii.

Games I'm Playing Week 1

So trying to find a topic thats not Spain related so not to bore you all, let's go over games I am currently playing.

Having tried to get rid of a dozen or so games lately to lower baggage weight (I promise thats the only Spain related drop) I almost traded in Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles with a bunch of others, despite having only played just over an hour of it.

It wasn't until the shop assitant shown me my hidden £16 credit under my £2 credit note that I decided to keep hold of Umbrella Chronicles.

On my second time round I'm really getting in to this game. It's an "on the rails shooter" meaning you can only aim at the screen and have no control over the character movement.
There are other options in the game that I completely missed first time round, like side missions and upgrading of weapons, which makes the game much deeper and alot more fun.

I'm glad that I got the chance to give Umbrella Chronicles a second go, I've fallen a bit for it and it's a highly enjoyable game.

For those looking for some cheap thrills on their Wii I highly recommend this pick up and play title.

Anyone want to add my Friend Code, it's 4859 7530 9312 3844. Just drop me a comment to let me know.