B.G. Willers

12.24.11

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!  It’s 9:30 Christmas Eve and little Lucas just woke up from another nap.  I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get one in today too.  Luke’s first Christmas will be exciting as we’ll be in Wichita for Andrea’s family’s Christmas.  I know Santa has some presents waiting for him there!

I’ve played quite a bit of Guild Wars the past couple days.  It’s been exclusively the quest Strength of Snow which is only around during the Winter’s Day Festival going on now.  It’s pretty mindless, but sure has netted me a whole stash of holiday items.  I figure I’ll play some Guild Wars while the festival is around, and once it’s gone, get back to beating Zelda Skyward Sword.

I hope your Christmas is a joyous one.  Thank the Lord for his Son born on this day!  God Bless!

12.23.11

They’re still playing…

12.8.11

Look familiar?

Take a look at this video. This is a super old commercial from the 90’s, but might remind you of an ad campaign you’ve seen recently.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUqV_u_JgLQ]

12.6.11

Super Cute Zelda Video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiAwuz-YWSw]

12.4.11

Most Stressful Time of the Year

I like to think I’m pretty versatile and can handle just about anything.  But the last couple weeks have been mentally tough.  I’ve been spending some extra time at work trying to get all my stuff done.  Doesn’t help that I haven’t really worked a full week since Thanksgiving.  But now that basketball season is here, and we’re following four teams instead of two, it’s more than my brain can handle at times.  Plus we had one of our board operators quit, so that’s more stuff that we need to find fill in’s for.

When things are going smoothly, it all goes really well, but lately all it’s taken is one little thing to send my whole world out of whack.

Today was nice though.  I didn’t have anything work related to do.  I slept in until 8:00am and then got up and eased into the day.  Crazy… I remember thinking my 10AM classes at K-State were SO early… and I remember being out and about in the mornings thinking… wow so much goes on while I’m sleeping… haha.  Of course I used to stay up until 3am or 4am in those days.  Now a days my bedtime is a strict 10:30pm.

Went and saw a radio play version of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  It was pretty good.  I found myself somewhat confused as it started though since each actor played several characters.  Took me a while to feel out who was who.  But the local Community Theater did a really good job, and it was a fun way to spend part of the afternoon.

Then I got to play some Zelda!  It’s been several days for sure.  And man it is just such a cool game.  I could sit and play the game all night, but I wanted to get a short blog written, and get to bed.

So that’s what I did.  Onward into next week.  I have a new starter coming in for the Toronado tomorrow so I need to get that swapped out.  The starter hasn’t been engaging every time, and it’s starting to get less reliable.  But $50 for a rebuilt starter isn’t too bad.  Should last a few more years.  So that’s my project for tomorrow night.  Shouldn’t be too bad… and I’ve got a garage to do it in!

11.20.11

Skyward Sword Get!

I haven’t anticipated a game like this for quite some time.  In fact the last game I recall going to the store to get on launch day was The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.  That was 7 years ago.

Andrea had actually planned on getting me this for Christmas, and truth be told, I’m fine with this STILL being my only Christmas present.  I had been following the hype online and by most all accounts this is far and away the best game on Wii, and one of the best Zelda games of all time.  Now maybe that’s just one of those things they say to help boost sales and such… but either way, I was stoked to get it.

So we headed into the store this morning.  It was cold, about 25 degrees.  Gamestop opened at 11AM, but unlike the olden days I wasn’t there as they unlocked the doors.  Something about having Luke around and things just take a little longer.  So we had a few errands to run, and made Gamestop our last stop.

The preorder was under Andrea’s name, so I offered to stay in the car with Luke, while she went and picked up the game.  This is the part where it gets really geeky, so watch out.  I kinda wanted to go in there, just for the whole experience, you know.  To see them reach into those boxes that probably haven’t even been stocked yet, because, why bother putting them on the shelf? They’re pre-orders bound to be picked up by those who reserved them.  So the box is like some kind of cauldron that manifests this mythical game that so far has only exsisted through the stories and images you’ve read about, only to be willed into solid reality by months of patient waiting and $70.  That moment when the game finally becomes real.

For some reason… and probably all the wrong ones, I decided I didn’t want to be “that” guy.  So I volunteered to stay with Luke in the car.  Right before Andrea came out, another person, probably my age or a little younger came out with the game in hand.  He got in his car, but as I expected him to leave, he didn’t.  I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I knew.  He was opening the game and pouring over the contents of the limited edition box.  I actually found myself envious, and a bit regretful that I didn’t go in and get it myself.

But moments later, the woman I loved emerged with a big smile on her face holding our copy of the game.  It’s reasons like this I love her so much.  She hopped in the car, and handed me the game… finally there it was, in my hands.

As we drove home I turned the larger than usual game box in my hands.  Gleaning over the box art… game synopsis and multitudes of warnings in multitudes of languages.  The box had a very satisfying weight to it, as it contained not only a copy of the game, but a special 25th Anniversary Symphony CD, and a special gold Wiimote.

Of course I wanted to tear into the box right then and there… but I wanted to wait until we got home, so I could savor it and take the time to appreciate all the brand new items inside the box.

I brought in the house, Luke in my right hand, and the game in my left hand.  I found myself pondering as I walked up the stairs, which would be more appropriate to set down to free a hand to turn the door knob.  For some reason it felt like setting Luke down and holding on to the game to reach for the door implied some kind of messed up priorities… but as I got to the door, I thought… hell, setting the carrier down is just easier, so I did and opened the door.  Haha.

I set the game on the table, and as a good responsible father would do I tended to my son who was ready to get out of the car seat and kick it like babies  do.  Before I know it Andrea has the game and is peeling the sticker seal off the game.  PEELING IT!  (I know, who would do that?)  One of the things I regret is throwing away a bunch of old N64 boxes that I had held onto for a long time.  I’d had them long enough that I really thought… am I ever really going to want these things.  At the time, it seemed fine, but now.. I  kinda wish I had them back.  So keeping the boxes in good shape is something kinda important now.  Not in the grand scheme of things important… but in the way that it’s never going to be new again, so you might as well take care of it.  Because some day it will be 15 years from now, and I’ll look at that box and say… dang… that was a long time ago, but this is just how it looked the day I got it.

So one of my favorite things with getting stuff like this is pulling it all out of the box.  Kinda similar to getting the box itself at the store.  All of a sudden there it is… conjured into reality.  But Andrea was already beating me to it as I was being the good Dad taking care of Luke.  To be honest I was kinda miffed at the time.  But I dunno if she was genuinely excited about it in the same way I was (doubtful) or if she just likes opening shiny new things (more likely).  For whatever reason, she was the first to lay eyes on the beautiful controller, and the game and all its inserts and such.  Not a huge deal to NORMAL people… but this is me we’re talking about.

I didn’t automatically pop the game in right away though.  I for one was hungry… and didn’t want to get barely into the game only to have to stop because my stomach was growling.  So I took some time to relax and enjoy some of Andrea’s famous Mexican Dip and watch the Vikings get their butts stomped by the Raiders.  And THEN… I powered up the Wii… put New Super Mario Bros. Wii on the shelf, and put the game in.

First thing that happened was a System Update.  I’ve known they ship out system updates on the discs themselves from time to time, but more often than not by the time I get the game, I’ve already downloaded the update over the internet.  So this was the first time I’ve seen it happen from a disc.  Of course they warn you that if you’ve modified your Wii in anyway this system update could render your console useless, yada yada.  But man, compared to downloading the updates… this was fast!  Of course to my knowledge this didn’t change anything or add any new features that I could perceive.  Then again my main agenda was getting into the new Zelda game.

Starting it up the first thing I noticed was the music is FANTASTIC… already this could be my favorite video game sound track.  The second thing I noticed, unfortunately, is that the HDTV really highlights the low resolution of the Wii.  The game is still beautiful, no doubt,  but next to something like FFXIII in 1080p or even Guild Wars on the PC… Skyward Sword just seems rough around the edges.

Technical prowess aside, the game really is beautiful.  The colors and art are very painterly.  The music really is very beautiful.  But most of all the thing I like most are the characters.  They really got it right.  Moreso than any other game, right off the bat these people are interesting.  They’re not just yaking at you about how to use the controls… I mean they are… but not JUST that.  You can really feel a connection between Link and Zelda, and the characters around them  while not as impactful still feel like they’ve got they’re own personalities and their own impressions and feelings about each other.

I’m only a few hours into the game so far, but I really like what has taken place so far.  So far the direction has been pretty clear and your motivation to keep going is strong.  I haven’t gotten to any dungeons yet, but so far everything about the game has lived up to its promises!

09.22.11

Through the years

Here’s my gaming setup through the years.  Luke has so much catching up to do!

 

 

09.11.11

A Look Back: Perfect Dark

The wait for this game was excruciating.  Perfect Dark was the true sequel to GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64.  Most of my readers already know how much time I spend playing GoldenEye, and probably even attended one of the eight GoldenEye Fests.  007 came out in August 1997 and it would be (after numerous delays) three long years before Perfect Dark would see the light of day.

I’d had this game pre-ordered for quite some time I recall.  And as release day would creep closer and closer… inevitably it would be announced that development was behind schedule and the game would be delayed yet again.  As I patiently waited and followed insider impressions and reviews… it was becoming clear that the Nintendo 64 was aging and now closer to the end of its prime than the beginning.  In 1998 Sega released its next generation Dreamcast system.  That same year Nintendo announced the successor to the N64, codename “Dolphin” later known as the Gamecube.

Finally, on May 22, 2000 I finally was able to get to the store to be one of the first to pick up my copy of Perfect Dark!  The game had finally materialized and instead of reading about it I was going to PLAY the game!  Was it going to be a worthy sequel to GoldenEye or would the departure from the James Bond universe kill the game?  All these thoughts were running through my mind as I rode home from the store.  In these days game releases were big deals for me.  I made sure I had a couple days off of work, and my good friend Paul was coming over that following weekend for some good old multiplayer action.

One of my favorite parts of getting a new game is watching the opening sequence.  Perfect Dark’s is great.  It’s simple and only 30 seconds long, but watching it after waiting three years to play the game… it’s enough to make you positively amped.  I don’t remember much of my initial impressions of the game, though I assume they were glowing.  What I do vividly remember is Paul coming over to play and we played absolutely nothing but multiplayer Pistols matches until the sun came up.

The coming of Perfect Dark meant the end of the GoldenEye Fests.  Though just like PD carried on the spirit of GoldenEye, so the Perfect Dark Events carried on the spirit of the GoldenEye Fest.  Though nostalgia can color GoldenEye the better game, in reality Perfect Dark was better in every way.  There were so many more options to customize multi-player matches.  More characters to choose from, you could mix and match the heads and bodies.  But probably the coolest addition to multi-player was the addition of profiles.  Where it would track your stats and allow you to name yourself something other than “Player X”.  These additions brought everything I always wanted to GoldenEye’s multiplayer and more.  If only I could have ALL the classic GoldenEye maps available with such great flexability!  That alas I suppose I’ll never see.

So here it is, 11 years later.  I dusted off the cart for the next re-review.  Without recalling being too attached to any data on the cart I wiped it clean so it was just like pulling it out of the box in 2000.  I’ve been playing a lot of N64 recently so adjusting to the blurry graphics wasn’t too difficult… but one thing I couldn’t handle, was Hi-Res mode.  The visual improvement was marginal, but the decrease in framerate was too much to handle.    I just couldn’t deal with the choppiness of hi-res mode and decided to play normal mode.

I played clear through the Single player campaign, and enjoyed the varied level design, though the story still seems pretty goofy.  Introducing aliens though did open up the possibility for some pretty interesting weapons, and I’m almost convinced that’s the sole reason the developers went that route.  Story aside the gameplay is solid.  All the mission objectives make sense.  You get to use cool gadgets and devices in addition to just shooting things up.  Occasionally it’s not quite clear what you have to do to progress to the next objective, but truthfully that makes it a little more interesting.

After the N64, I really never continued playing First Person Shooters.  Interfaces and controls have evolved greatly since Perfect Dark, but one of the things I always wondered why it didn’t stick around, was Perfect Dark’s weapon select.  In the heat of battle if you wanted to switch to a different weapon, instead of tapping ‘A’ until your weapon pops up, you simple hold the ‘A’ button and a quick menu pops up, then just tilt the control stick the direction of the weapon you want.

Multi-player is where it’s at though and I could seriously play this forever.  There are so many options and the gameplay is so refined.  This is as good as it gets on the N64 when it comes to multi-player.  Of course I don’t have anyone to enjoy the game WITH anymore… luckily Perfect Dark give you the option to add Simulants.  You can play against computer players of varying skill level from “Meat” all the way up to “Perfect”.  You can have sims that prefer using shields and defensive abilities to stay alive.  Frantic seek and destroy.  Or just balanced all around sims.  It makes not having any friends a little easier!

My feelings about Perfect Dark today are probably quite different from most others who are fans of the FPS genre.  After this I shied away from them because I pretty much got my butt kicked.  And after doing a whole lot of butt kicking in GoldenEye and Perfect Dark… I didn’t take it too well.  Therefore I look at Perfect Dark as a highly polished shooter that just makes a ton of sense on every level.  There’s not much I’d change about it.  GoldenEye is still my favorite… just because of the nostalgia… but when I’m ready for some multi-player, it’s Perfect Dark all the way.

09.10.11

3DS

Well I dunno what to say about this one.  Sometimes people just do extraordinary things for no reason.  A buddy of mine, got ahold of me a few days ago and said, check your mail in the next few days.  I sent you something.  Turns out it was a brand new Nintendo 3DS!  I’d seen these in the store and thought they looked pretty friggin amazing, but they were out of my price range.  So for him to just send me one is… baffling for one… and totally awesome.  I hope someday soon I can return the favor.

So basically it’s the standard DS, but with some very siginifcant enhancements.  Most obviously the upper screen is in true 3D.  It takes a little getting used to, but after a while you adjust to it and it is pretty amazing how well it all works.  And no glasses required!

Another welcome addition is the analogue thumbstick.  It’s like a compact joystick that really works rather well.  Nothing against the ole D-pad, but this is what’s kept me from enjoying some of my old N64 stuff in portable form on the DS.  Speaking of which, they’ve already remade a few N64 titles in true 3D.  Zelda, and coming out soon… Star Fox 64.  Gonna have to sock away some cash for those now!

The 3DS borrows a lot from the Wii.  You can make Miis, and there’s an online store where you can buy (or find free) software.  They have a virtual console where there’s all sorts of retro Nintendo titles available.  And you can get online and play multiplayer with friends.

Of course right now the only other person I know that has a 3DS is the one that gave me this one!  But after spending some solid time with it and playing PilotWings Resort.. I HIGHLY recommend the 3DS to anyone, especially since they just had an $80 price drop!

09.4.11

I’m Still Just a Kid

Well one of the things I was worried about was that after Luke got here, I wouldn’t have time for “the old me”.  You know the geeky, obsessed nerd that I am.  That’s entirely not true.  If anything I’ve learned that if I’m going to sit down and do something, just make sure I’m easily interrupt-able.  Running GW missions with friends probably isn’t the best idea anymore since nobody wants to stand around in Yak’s Bend waiting for me to finish changing a dirty diaper.  But playing some N64 is super easy, because you can just pause it whenever.

I’ve actually been playing a lot of N64 over the past few days.  I ordered a replacement thumbstick for my worn out green controller.  While not exactly as advertised, it’s a very nice replacement.  More like the GameCube version on an N64 controller.  It was only $8, so I’ve been putting it through a Mario Kart torture test over the past two days.  It works well enough, I’ve been able to tie one of my old records, and now have a mild case of Nintendo Thumb.  So far it’s holding up pretty well.

I can’t wait to introduce Luke to a bunch of this stuff.  Although I know that when he’s older, all the games are going to be so much cooler, that his interest in this old stuff probably won’t be that great.  Though the nephews were over last weekend and had a blast playing the old N64.

I’ve spent a lot of time on eBay lately looking at cheap stuff to fill in my collection.  I’ve got this hairbrained idea that I know enough about this stuff to be able to find good deals and could buy low and sell high.  Not enough to make a ton of money, but enough to support my gaming habit.  Haha!  Andrea’s not too enthusiastic about the idea though.  I guess that’s understandable.

I just see a lot of cool stuff on there.  Like brand new original N64 controllers (which are regularly going for $100 a piece now!  Geeze).  I definitely couldn’t justify taking hard earned money to buy one, but if I had play money from selling crap on eBay might make it easier to pull the trigger.  I realize most folks have a LONG list of stuff they’d rather spend a Benjamin on but that’s the stuff I get a kick out of.

So I decided to focus on what I DO have instead.  Which is a pretty nice collection as it is!  I stumbled on a new website, called Backloggery.com it’s similar to IGN’s old collection feature, but it helps you keep track of not only what is in your collection, but the games you’ve beaten and the ones you haven’t.  It’s very retro themed, and a fun way to organize my games.  So far 105 games owned, 35 unbeaten, and 35 on my wishlist.

Since I’ve been so recently entrenched in my gaming vice I decided it was time to go ahead and finally unpack a bunch of my Nintendo stuff from when we moved it.  I set it up all nice and neat in the basement.

So I’m definitely enjoying the holiday weekend.  Tomorrow I’ll be outside getting the Oldses shined up since it’s going to be another nice day.  Maybe after that my Nintendo Thumb will have recovered to the point I can lay down some times again!  Haha.

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